Die Zugspitze, Bayern, Deutschland

When I was in Bayern (Bavaria) a year ago, I saw die Zugspitze (the Zugspitze), Germany’s highest point. It lays to the south in the German Alps. If you love mountains, then this is the place for you. Obviously, I want to go to the “Matterhorn” in Switzerland because I hear it’s impeccable as one of the highest peaks in all of Europe. But, the Zugspitze is in Germany, so who needs to go to expensive Switzerland, anyway?

You arrive by train to Garmish-Partenkirchen and basically follow the signs (as seen above) until you find the office at the “Zugspitze Station” and pay for a day ticket, which includes a tram and entrance fee (about €37,00 or over $42.00). The tram will take you up the side of the mountain and will stop about halfway so you can see the Elbsee or Elb Lake. As you can see from below, it is so very worth the cost.

The gorgeously lush pine forest and crystal clear lake was like a fairytale dream. Again, I’m a fan of forests — something about trees just make me feel comfortable. Then, there was the sudden change as the tram began its journey again and took us into a deep, dark tunnel that lasted for several, several minutes. You could feel your ears popping from pressure. But, we finally arrived at the top and to our surprise, there was snow everywhere.

Even though it was June, the landing site of the Zugspitze was high enough in the sky to be around freezing temperatures. Somewhere in the mid 20s in Fahrenheit and -3 celsius, maybe? They had a welcoming center, the Maria Heimsuchung Chapel (because why not), and a restaurant. In this area, you could go sledding down one of the little hills, which I did and hit my ass on a bunch of rocks. You could also go skiing, I believe, which you may have to schedule and pay extra for. But other than that, it was fun… afterwards, you could go further up the mountain by taking a gondola or by hiking up the cliffside… which is a little too extreme for my tastes.

As you could see, poor Professor Miriam lost the race to her niece, Anika. But, she didn’t lose to the rocks like I did shortly after… we all took the gondola up to the peak after a few sledding races. Reaching the peak, several of our group became really quite light-headed. So, I can’t imagine trying to climb up the cliffside to reach the top.

More than that, there were people who would climb the mountain and keep going to the peak. We stopped on a platform and got to look at the Zugspitze — marked by a golden cross. But, we didn’t climb all the way there and I was okay with that.

I zoomed my camera in to capture the people at the very top. This was difficult because, as you can see, we were so high up that the clouds swept over us. It was a breath of fresh air up there, though, at least for me. Walking up on the top platform, there’s a stand where you can buy souvenirs and, why wouldn’t you when you’ve made it to Germany’s highest peak?

But, after breathing in all that fresh air, you start asking yourself where the nearest cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or wine/beer is. Luckily, there’s a very lovely restaurant at the very top next to the Zugspitze — the Panorama Lounge 2962. They had very delicious food and since my class trip was paying for it, I tried not to pay attention to the prices, but I don’t think they were too terribly pricey for being at the top of a freaking mountain. Not like the Swiss counterpart where they probably charge 15 Franks for a coffee.

A trip to the Zugspitze is a day affair by all means. I can’t write a whole lot about many things in particular that I did because honestly, half of the trip was just getting there and back. I kid you not that you might be on the gondola a total of almost an hour going all the way to the very top. For the most part, you’re just standing in awe at the gorgeous snow and mountains. It’s absolutely breath taking and when you get your breath back, it’s nothing but crisp, clean air and wintry winds even during summer.

I highly recommend a trip here to experience a very particular type of mountains. I’ve seen American mountains like the baby Appalachians or the stunning Rocky Mountains of Colorado, but the Alps are a very different type of mountains. They definitely have a different feel and vibe than American mountains. So, I highly recommend a trip to the Zugspitze.

And this leads us to Ehron’s Takeaways

• A Must-See: You obviously have to go to the tippy-top or near it to take a picture of the cross on the very top of the Zugspitze. It’s very much a “pics or it didn’t happen” kind of moment.

• What I Recommend: I’d go into the Panorama Lounge 2962. You don’t have to buy a full course meal to enjoy the gorgeous view and comfortable atmosphere. You can order a coffee or hot chocolate and gain some of your consciousness back after the high heights.

• My Favorite Place: I think my favorite place was probably the landing before the final gondola to the Zugspitze with the Maria Heimsuchung Chapel. You can just experience being surrounded by pristinely snowcapped and snow-covered mountains. It feels so fresh and clean like a literal slice of heaven — it feels so withdrawn from everyday concerns and worries. A place to simply be and reflect.

Thanks for reading.

Until next time, lovelies,

Ehron