Our last breakfast at the Edelweiss hotel…made it count! Ha! I did snap a photo of something I hadn’t paid attention to and that is the huge glass covering over the cheese that was weighted by a big rock. Check it out in today’s photos. Also, I forgot to mention that you can get Nutella out of a ginormous pump, hard boiled eggs and the little canned spreads I saw yesterday were quite different. Tomato spread or lemon…I didn’t get one but they looked fancy. I had more of my usual today and it was really wonderful. Not as much coffee since we’ll be driving shortly.
After checking out we put our next location in Google maps and set out in the rain to our next destination. Garmisch, Germany. You know how sometimes on cloudy days the colors seem a bit more bold? That was today. There was a bit more snow on the mountain tops today as the clouds hung low in the valleys. The greens seemed greener with specks of color beginning to bloom with the anticipation of fall that is just beginning to make an appearance. As we drove through the quaint little towns, there was so much to take in. The colorful houses, freshly mowed fields, and even pumpkin stands starting to pop up along the sides of the road. Everywhere you looked there were paved sidewalks for walkers and bikers. At first you think it’s going to be a golf course, but instead, it’s just tons of perfectly paved paths for the locals to enjoy. I videoed a short bit of the early drive because it was so beautiful, but of course once you decide to film, the good stuff had passed! Still, tho missing some really cool scenery, it will still be a great memory of the drive.
We were on the interstate for about 50 miles or so. It was raining pretty good and I stayed in the slow lane and took my time. We have all day and we are in no rush. I’ll let the locals zip by me as fast as they’d like. At one point we decided to top off the tank, and for the first time in awhile I needed a coin to use the bathroom. It was PACKED and I stood in line for at least 15 minutes. I didn’t mind, but I hadn’t brought my mask in. Oh well, the lady in front of me had one on as well as the lady behind me. But they were the only two with them. I suppose I was lucky to be sandwiched between them like I was. The Lord clearly watching out for me on this Sunday morning that I’m NOT in church.
In the distance I saw some mountains and told Guy “more snow!”. He wasn’t sure if it was more snow or low clouds, but the closer we got it was for certain snow. A few more turns and a few more miles began to reveal the beauty of this area of Germany. Considered Bavarian Alps, Garmisch is a prominent place for skiing and hiking and is very close to the Zugspitze, which is the highest point in Germany. You can take a gondola to the top and I’ve seen pictures of it. I won’t be making that ride up, but I’m trying to convince Guy he should! It’s something I tell ya! Supposedly at the tallest point there is a glass floor you can stand on and look down. No but thanks. Oh wait “Nein aber Danke”. Just in case I need to know how to say HECK NO in German.
I also videoed as we drove into Garmisch. The mountains are truly spectacular and while the sun was out for a moment I tried to get as many photos as I could. Tomorrow and the following day bring the promise of more rain which might dampen the plans for some hikes. I have one fear…it looks as if we might need to pick up some sweaters. Oh drats. Shopping. I’d really hate that, but if I need to do it to keep us healthy and comfortable, then I suppose I could. *wink wink*. As we drove into the town, it’s not too terribly large or crowded and the drive was pretty simple. It has stopped raining and that is a good thing. In fact, the sun is actually out!
Arriving at our hotel Guy checks us into what is the cutest little traditional looking hotel we’ve been to in a long time. It’s really cute. However, I was a little bit concerned when Guy comes out of the hotel with the front desk receptionist and says “follow us with the car”. Ok…but to where? So around the back there are several smaller houses that are also rooms. My concerns deepen as we get out and have to walk all the way to our “room”. Inside the house the floors look as if they are covered with indoor outdoor carpet and are creaking with each step. Up the stairs we go and we are led to what will be our little room for the next three nights. As the door opens, to my delight there is the cutest room with hard wood floors, a wooden bed and head board, and the coolest bathroom I think I’ve ever had! Weirdly there is a skylight above the shower and toilet, but I’ll pretend it would be impossible for someone to be up there looking in. However, the room is heated with a hot towel rack and the sink is made from an entire large stone that has been carved out. I took lots of pictures before we messed anything up and this little room with a balcony and a view screams ski villa. The the doors have the coolest handles! I think they are my favorite thing here!
Guy said they were serving lunch so we went inside to check it out. He forgot, but remembered that all are meals are included here. Breakfast, lunch and dinner! It’s been awhile since we’ve stayed at a place like this but in our past experiences…the food is amazing! Apparently lunch is served by the bar area and we helped ourselves to the offerings of the day. Salad with veggies, soups, venison goulash, potato casserole, all kinds of breads, spatzel with a stroganoff topping and several desserts. The place was somewhat full, but they still had plexiglass strategically placed between seating areas and you felt fine in the small room. There was a full bar with anything and everything you could think of to drink, but we stuck with water and enjoyed our lunch. I could see where it would be a fun place to hang out with your friends after a long day on the slopes. Lots of character and characters.
After lunch, since the weather is pretty much perfect right now, we hopped in the car and drove about 5 minutes to to the Olympic ski jump right in the town. Garmisch was the location of the Olympics in the 1930s and is famous for the true story of Eddie the Eagle, a British underdog, who made a historic showing at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, but trained here on these jumps. We laughed and said we’d watch that movie tonight. Anyway, the area is really cool and there are actually 4 jumps…all different levels of skill. Well, it’s missing one level, that would be MY level which would look more like a curb instead of a jump. I asked Guy how much money it would take for him to come down the big one. He just stared at me then said his knees were squiggly just looking up at it. So I’m thinking he’s thinking the payoff would be more like his life insurance being payed out to me than a reward coming to him. Ha!
Afterwards we walked along the paths and checked out some possible plans for tomorrow. You can take a gondola ride up the mountain and walk down the ski runs that are currently just grass, or there is a waterfall/gorge that is an easy one hour walk from the bottom. We might try that tomorrow. I’m suffering from a ginormous blister between two toes that I got in Venice on our hot walk to the train station and I’m not sure I have the right shoes to handle a trek down the mountain or if my blister will play nice. If I ever return, I will be in better shape and have better shoes. But there are so many beautiful areas and paths to walk on we don’t need to get overly ambitious if we don’t want to.
Once back to the hotel I walked to the end of the road to get some shots of the mountains that are SO much more beautiful in person. I got the shot tonight because I fear if the weather is as bad as predicted the next few days, they’ll be hidden from sight. So I went for the bad shot with the sun over them in the evening as a back up plan in case the best shot with the sun on them in the morning doesn’t happen. They are truly amazing (and snow covered).
Thinking about dinner, Guy called me and told me to stop at the front desk because the information in the room read as if dinner was either at 6 or 8 and we needed to let them know which time we’d like to come. When I stopped at the desk, I told the girl this was our first night and we didn’t know for sure what to do about dinner times. She said it was open to come anytime between 6 and 8 and we didn’t have to choose a particular time. That’s good because 6 was a bit early and 8 was a bit late so we headed over about 7pm.
Yeah, ok…this may not be a 5 star hotel, but it is for sure a 5 pound hotel. Our meal tonight was phenomenal. Six courses. I ate everything! You didn’t get a choice on what to order, but you could refuse a selection if you didn’t want it. So here’s the rundown of the 6 courses:
•Smoked breast of duck on endive salad with apricot-tomato chutney (server called it turkey 🤣)
•Tomato consommé with root vegetables and pancake strips (was clear but tasted like tomato)
•Filet of confit pike perch on beetroot and lime foam (the beets underneath were the bomb)
•Mango sorbet with vanilla foam (to clear the palate of course)
•Slices of pink roasted beef on vanilla carrots with a filled potato pocket and rosemary jus
•Duo of pancakes with choclate-chili sauce and tonka bean marscarpone ice cream (I have no idea what tonka means…but it was wonderful)
So here’s the deal. We had a nice conversation after dinner with two German ladies sitting by us and they said the food has always been good here, but the cook they have right now is REALLY good. Also, only on Sundays do they offer the 6 course meal, normally it’s only 4, but she promised it would be very good! So we’ll see. Breakfast already looks promising, altho there is no way I would even compare it to Berchtesgaden. That breakfast was a freak of nature! Ha ha!
So on this very full belly I bid you good night and hope that tomorrow brings an occasional peek of sunshine. Either way, we’ll have a great time checking out this new town.
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