Sardines on a Wire and the Holy Grail of Hiking

Well, currently I am sitting in Zurich, Switzerland in disbelief that I am on the last leg of my traveling adventures before heading back to the farm. The last few days since that first/second night in Munich have gone by so fast! I have traveled to Salzburg, Austria where I saw the birthplace of Mozart and film locations for the Sound of Music, seen the "fairy tale castle", the sight of a miracle and seen some amazing landscape via trains. And while there are so many stories to be shared, yesterday is by far one of the best days I have had to feed my outdoorsy/adventurous spirit. I am also experience "sea-legs" (when you feel like you are moving on solid ground!) from those train travels and the craziness of yesterday.

The town of Garmish is a quaint area nestled in Germany amongst jaggedy topped mountains. It has a load of shopping, woodcarvers, ice cream, authentic Bavarian music and food, cobble stoned streets and frescoes on the outside of all its older buildings. Yesterday we took a cogwheel train to the top of the Zugspitz mountain - the tallest mountain in Germany. From the top you can see the mountains of Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. Of course, there are no giant signs to mark these terrain changes, but they are there, I know...I stood in Germany and Austria at the exact same time!!! (that doesn't happen every day!) And...I didn't even need my passport! But moving on. The actual highest point has a golden cross on top of it. To get to the cross you have to climb on a VERY narrow ridge of rocks that are ice-slick from weather, other people, and who knows what else. Me, being me...decided that I absolutely had to conquer this opportunity. Rock scrambling to a cross on THE highest point in Germany?! HECK YES! So, in my Chacos and windbreaker I trekked past the "leaving safety area" sign and started the necessary descent leading to the ascent. Fortunately for me the path had been modified a little bit with a cable to hold on to and a steel ladder. But even so, my heart was pounding as I looked at the sheer drop below me on either side. It was even better that for half of the trek my dad and uncle came with me! As I left them behind for a realistically very stupid adventure, my "must can do" spirit kicked in. As I grappled for good footing and ignored my freezing hands (It was 27 degrees F!), I slowly made my way to the cross. When I made it, staring at my mom, aunt, and other family across the way, I felt a glee flow through me. I love the feeling of accomplishment. I yodeled softly out loud to myself and admired the view. Going back was actually very scary, I lost my footing once and that cable kept me from falling to certain death. The german speakers around me kept pointing at my chacos and looking at me like I was crazy. I am. When I was safe back in the safety zone, I had my first adrenaline rush of the day.

We spent the afternoon wandering around the ski slopes, eating lunch overlooking the mountain ranges and taking pictures. On the train ride back down I wanted to do some more hiking. After about oh, ten plan changes the final result was my mom, dad, Jane and Gary coming with me. We didn't know where we were going or what we would find. We strolled along a stream flowing with beautiful, clear blue glacier melt water and climbed up and up. About twenty minutes into the hike three turned around and my dad and I continued the adventure. One of the things I have come to love most about hiking in Europe is the Crucifixes planted along the way. They remind me to stop and give thanks to God, which I did many a times. A few of the inclines were steep and hard, but...I kept going, my dad right behind me. A couple of times we almost turned around. You see...the last train back to Garmish left at precisely 5:37...we HAD to make it back on time. Around 4:45...an hour into our hike the trail narrowed. I told my dad I was just going to go two switchbacks up to see what was there and would come back. I suppose I took longer than intended (I went 4 or 5 switchbacks) because after a pause, when I turned around...there was my dad. So more from my curiosity then anything we kept going up and up. Alas, we came to a restaurant in the middle of nowhere, at the base of a gorge. The view into the valley was absolutely incredible. And after a small entrance fee, we passed through a gate into THE holy grail of hiking. What I saw in this gorge took my breath away. Words and pictures won't do it justice, but I will try. Keep in mind that this is a place NOT advertised, it is a place (we later found out) known only to locals. A place we had NO idea we were hiking to. So you can imagine the glee and joy I felt when I walked into a pathway carved into the side of a giant rock wall. It followed into a tunnel in the rock and then zig zagged from one side the other rock wall using old wooden bridges to connect each side. Below the water sprayed path (yes, we were that close) lay rushing falls carving crazy patterns into the gorge...layers of rock. The gorge walls were covered in moss, trees and waterfalls. All you could hear was the rushing water splashing again the rocks, our pathway. As you looked up the sky was white from the light beaming down onto us, most of the vision covered by these looming rock gorge walls. Truly, it was incredible, one of the most beautiful breath taking places I have seen in a LONG time. Unfortunately by the time we found this treasure the time was 5:15. Turning around we BOOKED back to the train. We RAN. High on adrenaline and the excitement of our find and having an experience I could share with only my dad, I could only laugh when we were JUST in time for our train. We made in with a whole minute and a half to spare.

After that we had a great dinner at a local Bavarian restaurant with live music and dancing...beer, wine and delicious food. The day was wonderful. Tomorrow we are hiking again. My legs are SORE...I hope they will last long enough to take me on another amazing adventure.

And as always...there is SO much more to share, sorry that is rather short...internet time is almost over, or I would keep babbling. Love and miss you all!
Oh, and the ride up to the zugspitz was literally a crammed car where we were as packed a sardines...hanging above 7,000 feet in the air like that is nerve-racking!!

These are all I can remember right now (it is getting late!)

Lessons:
Always look around the next bend
Hiking is a great way to get an adrenaline rush
A minute and a half is still in time
Beer is better with lemon

Also: never seperate of Munchen from his beer.