The View From The Top
Yesterday, we had a day of catchup and chores. Tracey used the washing machines on site and I caught up with my online students. The rest of the day was spent updating our travel blogs, relaxing, enjoying the view, and doing as little as possible. Did I mention enjoying the view? Turns out it was a good day to stay on the site because the weather was quite changeable, with frequent showers throughout the day, occasionally heavy.
We’ve spent several days enjoying the view of the mountains from the campsite, and during our visit to Partnach Gorge on Wednesday. Today, we caught a packed 323 bus to Eibsee (which was late turning up; it was scheduled for 9.25am, but was getting on for 9.40am when it arrived) and then squeezed into an equally packed cable car to the top of Zugspitze. I think I now know what a sardine feel like.
Cramped transport issues aside, the moment we arrived at the top of the cable car, our day took on a whole new turn. Conditions couldn’t have been more perfect; the sky was clear except for a handful of meandering clouds, and the views in all directions were simply stunning. In fact ‘stunning’ hardly seems sufficient to describe stepping out onto the outside terrace and gaze upon a world of monumental, towering snowy peaks; in some ways it was all slightly overwhelming. Despite my love of anything mountain-related, and having climbed to the top of some stunning peaks in my day, to be stood on top of a 6000 ft+ mountain in the Alps, gawping at such jaw-droppingly spectacular views was very much a first for me. I’ll not try to describe it, I’ll just let some of the photos speak for themselves…
We took our time, working our way around the open terrace, absorbing it all as best we could, knowing full well that photos and videos could never truly capture the whole physicality of the experience. Alpine choughs whirled their way around the peak, and there was even a paraglider soaring on the currents, making it look all so very easy. At all times, there were the mountains, receding into the distance, grabbing you by the throat and saying ‘look at me’. They were mesmerising.
Once we’d done a circuit, and then some, we headed inside to grab some lunch in the restaurant. €50 for two lunches seemed pricey but not entirely unexpected. At the top of a mountain visitors are a captive audience, and easy prey – and we hadn’t brought any sandwiches with us.
By the time we’d eaten and headed back outside for another circuit, the cloud was starting to roll in, giving the views an entirely different mood. When the clouds came, the temperature also dropped, there was even some light snowfall. Eventually we took the cable car back down the mountain, satisfied that we had enjoyed the views to the max.
A return bus was due, signified by a large crowd of waiting passengers, but we weren’t quite ready to go back to the campsite yet. We were still on a bit of a high (and it was only 2pm), so we headed for the lakeside and sat enjoying the view while waiting for the next bus, which would be in another hour’s time. As the next bus arrival time approached, however, we still weren’t ready to go back, so we decided to rent a pedal boat and take a ride on the lake.
€18 for one hour seemed very reasonable. We struggled to steer it at first, and tended to over pedal. It was a lot of fun, though, and once we’d got the hang of it, it turned out to be quite relaxing. Eibsee is quite a big lake with several islands, providing enough of a navigational challenge. to make it interesting, whilst the towering mountains provided a stunning backdrop. We used our hour efficiently and returned to the quayside at bang on the hour. We didn’t even make a dogs dinner of parking it.
Our timing continued to be perfect, arriving at the bus stop just as it was loading, and was back at the van by about 4.45pm. Time for a well-earned cup of tea.
