Garmisch is incredibly scenic, located in a valley surrounded by tall, jagged mountains. It is also touristy, but surprisingly we hear very little English spoken and only a small portion of commercial signs include English versions. Since we are staying in a large American hotel here with American customers, that seems odd. Perhaps our sample is not representative. We have been renting bikes to explore the area, much better than fighting traffic in a car. Parking is at a premium. Today we also took a gondola ride to a mountain top for a true panoramic view. The peak still had substantial snow from a recent cold front that came through. The peak is also a launch site for paraglides. I watched a woman unsuccessfully launch. She misjudged the wind, didn’t get as much lift as needed, and failed to clear some trees. She was not hurt. The pine trees snagged her and her canopy but cushioned her descent to the ground. The weather was perfect, it was the weekend, and everyone was outdoors enjoying the sun before winter truly sets in.
We visited the Olympic ski jump stadium, recalling memories for me of when I took a paragliding /hang gliding course here and our final exam was a paragliding launch from atop a ski slope with a landing in this very stadium. I was too busy then to pursue the sport, and now I am too old. Nearby is a deep & narrow gorge where they have created a narrow walkway by excavating into one wall of the gorge. It was worth the ten Euro entry fee. The passage through the gorge was narrow and wet. It was also popular; at times we needed to wait for other tourists to pass through a narrow spot before advancing through the gorge ourselves.
From Garmisch, Germany, we drove to Hall in Tirol, Austria, a beautiful drive through forested mountains and only about 1 1/2 hours away. We found Hall to be even more enjoyable. Our first night there, Sunday, we had difficulty finding an open restaurant for dinner. Our Gasthof hostess gave us an address; after walking to the indicated location, we saw no sign (it was dark, and the sign was small and unlit), no people, only an unlocked door. Entering and ascending a stairway brought us the sound of conversation, the warmth of occupied space, and the smell of cooking. The evening was very enjoyable with a friendly host to interpret and advise on the menu. The goulash was wonderful.
The following day we rented mountain e-bikes from our Gasthof hostess and ascended above the Inn River valley to get a better view. We came across a steep logging trail (closed by a red crossbar) which climbed the backside of a mountain to where it eventually crested the ridged peak. Bypassing the bar, we started up the rough trail. At places, small avalanches had crossed the trail from recent heavy snow, leaving limbs and mounds of snow behind. There was no turning back. When we traversed the peak, we had gained more than 3000 feet in altitude.
These were pedal-assist bikes with limited battery capacity. If you don’t pedal, they don’t go. If you use too much assist, you are left with an exhausted battery and heavy bike to pedal on your own. There was no cellular coverage on the backside of that mountain. If we had a flat tire or mechanical problem, we were on our own. But the views were spectacular, and we made it! On the front side of the mountain was a restaurant with paraglide launch where we could get a drink and some apple strudel to refresh ourselves. The frontside road (with very little traffic) was paved and included many switchbacks in its descent. We coasted, swooping through the curves, for 20-30 minutes, riding our brakes, coming down that mountain, curve after curve. But with a great sense of accomplishment.
The following day we took the tram to nearby Innsbruck, a much larger and more touristy city. We have found that a good travel formula is to stay in a smaller town and commute to the metropolis nearby. In this case, the tram ride was free both ways.
No comments:
Post a Comment