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From our base in nearby Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we ventured to Zugspitze in the Wetterstein mountains, a branch of the Eastern Limestone Alps that separate Germany from Austria.
That's a crow at right -- he has a long way to go before he needs to flap his wings as we are on Germany's tallest mountain, Zugspitze which is about 9700 feet for citizens of Burma, Liberia, and the US. For all others, it's 2962 meters above sea level.
It's not just the highest point in Germany, it's also the southernmost. The summit shares a border with Germany which we think is marked by this icon. Before European Union members agreed to open borders, there was once a border control station here. From either side, tourists can take a cable car up to the shared peak.
Another symbol up here is the gold cross. This one was put up last April and it still glitters. The original was erected with much difficulty in 1851 and it lasted until 1993 despite being a lightning rod -- and a rifle target for those God-fearing American soldiers. Its replacement came by cog train and helicopter. It rise about 16 feet on the east side of Zugspitze's summit.
This hazy afternoon shot shows Lake Eibsee at left; at right is the remains of a declining glacier. This peak has 3 of Germany's 5 glaciers. Artificial snow building prolongs the ski season here -- and adds to the glacier. If they ran them all year, would they reverse global warming?
A sorry looking glacier! The "Zug" in the name "Zugspitze" has its root in the German word for avalanches which are common on the north slope. After WWII, the American military assumed command of this peak because of its strategic lodge which they redeployed for the troops at the price of $1 per day. We found prices a bit higher, even with the dollars slight climb against the Euro since our last European adventure. (If you want to see some serious glaciers, try our pictures of the Columbia Ice Fields in the Canadian Rockies at http://picasaweb.google.com/schmitt.dick/ColumbiaIcefield#slideshow/5381369503446051074 or those above Whistler, British Columbia at http://picasaweb.google.com/schmitt.dick/WingOverWhistlerBCCanadaSupplementalSlides#slideshow/5381751442966203826 . Some think that North American beer is not as good as that of the Bavarians, but our glaciers are better -- so far. But Canada has good beer and glaciers. What a country!)
Atop Zugspitze we find mostly tourist and research infrastructure; but someone built a chapel here. This 1981 building was consecrated by the then archbishop of Munich, a guy named Joseph Ratzinger. He now has a much bigger place of worship in Rome, having clawed his way to the top of the Catholic Church. Here, as in many limestone mountains, we find many caves, perhaps as many as 300.
The Alps and the Rockies go up just about as high, around 15,000 feet. But the German Alps are only about 2/3rds the height of Mount Blanc, the highest Alp that separates France from Italy. Mountaineers who start on the German side for the 10 hour ascent get some assistance from the iron ladders called "via ferrata" -- and from a few lodges along the way.
But most visitor take the Bavarian Zugspitze Railway -- a civil engineering feat from the 1920s. Here we see the tracks entering one of several tunnels.
Along the way, the railroad makes many stops to let off hikers who wish to ascend the rest of the way on foot. In winter, of course, it can pick up skiers after their descent.
The cog system is necessary to get the weight up what is a 25 degree ascent. Note the middle track...
...which we see at bottom with the cog wheel here...
...and in this detail.
We stopped briefly on the way up (on the cog train) at Riffelriss to take pictures...
...and smell the flowers.
Here's the view when we arrived at the top: Mostly rock with scratchings of snow even though this area has 310 days a year when temperatures drop below freezing.
Through the afternoon haze, we see Lake Eibsee -- a private lake.
Its green tint makes it one of the most beautiful lakes in the Bavarian Alps. It has 8 or 9 tiny islands -- some as small as 4700 square feet. Your house may be bigger than that. (In Texas, our garages are that big).
The lake was formed about 3700 years ago when a landslide dammed up one of the many rushing rivers that carry snow melt down the alps.
Here's a tiny pond just off Lake Eibsee. A walking/bike path surrounds the lake which is easily accessible from its own station on the cog railway.
We found these mammals wandering atop Zugspitze.
If this is the camel's back, I don't want to see the front.
All in all, a place of bleak beauty.
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