3 Days in the Alps

We arrived at the apartment we had rented over the internet in Garmisch, a mountain resort town in Bavaria, in the evening. A short, middle-aged Spanish woman greeted us warmly and let us in. She led us through the building that was once a printing house to the apartment that would be ours. We discussed the details of our stay in broken English, German, and little Spanish thrown in.

It was an interesting apartment with 5 bedrooms. Each bedroom had it's own shower and sink. There were three small rooms along the hall with a toilet and a sink in each. The 7 of us would have plenty of space. But, the best part was on the kitchen table: the largest tiramisu I had ever seen! 

This is the living area. I failed to take my own pictures of the place, so I "borrowed" these two off a website.

Here is one of the bedrooms. They were all alike with a shower and sink in each of them.

I did not forget to take a picture of the unbelievable tiramisu!

The location of the apartment was ideal, right downtown within walking distance of shops and restaurants. The mountains were close, but our view was obscured by rain clouds throughout most of our stay.

Rainy days

Day 1:
It rained most of the day, from a steady downpour to showers. Even the locals held ill feelings toward the weather. One lady stopped us in the street and expressed her distaste by saying, "Dis vetter ist....S#*T!" It seems she couldn't think of a better word to use in English.

However, we made the most of it. I took the small children to the indoor schwimmbad (swimming pool facility), where they blissfully swam and went down the water slide a countless number of times.

Day 2:
After consulting the forecast, we decided this day would be our best chance of getting out for a hike. We took a city bus to the site of the 1936 Winter Olympics. The ski stadium, built for 100,000 spectators, still exists today much as it was in 1936. Even with the eerie silence, it wasn't difficult to imagine the cheering crowds and perhaps Hitler himself viewing the ski jumps from the covered balcony. 

Ski jump

Just beyond the stadium was the beginning of the route to the Partnach Gorge, which is a deep gorge cut by a mountain stream. It's about a 30-minute hike through the gorge on a narrow trial that runs along side the river. When we were there, the snow melt had filled the confined river transforming it into wild rushing waters. 

Wild river of Partnach Gorge

The narrow ledge trail and waterfalls

 

We clutched the hands of the small children and proceeded with caution and wonder. Around each bend, the views were exhilarating with steep walls, plummeting waterfalls, and swirling rapids. We emerged on the other side to a spectacular view of the mountains. The trail continued on from there, but we turned and made our way back through the gorge. 

The view from the other side of the gorge

By this time of day, the trail was getting crowded. In most places, the trail was only wide enough for one person to pass through, so often we had to stop and wait to let others pass through. In addition, it seemed the more the people came, the less prepared they were for the hike. People not wearing proper footwear and attempting to use umbrellas to shield themselves from the constant spray.

A view of the narrow trail and some yahoo with an umbrella, which was whacking everyone in the face!

Overall, it was a breathtaking hike, which I will rate in my top 5 all-time hikes.
 

Day 3:
This day was a German holiday, which means nothing would be open, so we decided we'd take a drive to nearby Innsbruck, Austria. We knew that we'd risk finding things closed there for the holiday as well, which it was, but we were happy to explore a new city. 

Innsbruck, Austria. Could there be a prettier place? I think not!

The mountains surround Innsbruck and capture it's charm within their walls. After lunch at a sidewalk café during a brief window of sunshine, we wandered through their fußganger (pedestrian zone). To enjoy the sights at a leisurely pace and to indulge the small children, we took a carriage ride, which began at the palace gardens and wound around through the old city.

Even though it rained most of our trip, it was a wonderful time. It only means we will have to make a return trip to see the things we missed.

Guest Post: Mr. Bloomsbury

Having received frequent praise for the standard of writing Mrs. B has set, it is with fear and trepidation that I take the reins for this installment of the Bloombury's blog.

 

Since you know us, you will not be surprised to find this entry lacking in terms of written and photographic content. In fact, the only surprise to you here may be that I'm writing this at all.

 

Aside from the purpose of maintaining communications and reporting goings-on, the Bloomsburys is, at heart, a travel blog.

 

As such, this entry is on topic.

 

I am a fan of traveling and, while there are many reasons, the root of my interest (like nearly all of my interests) is that travel is a medium for engaging the world at life-size scale.

 

For the past several years, travel has been a work requirement for me. The range of destinations has been extreme; from tense and dangerous places to quiet and serene places.  I cannot say that I’ve enjoyed all of it, but I will say that I’ve found likeable (if not attractive) qualities of nearly all the places I’ve been.

 

Today, I'm writing this from somewhere in between, alone on a train rumbling across a surprisingly picturesque plain.

 

The train is hot, a still kind of hot, enabled by nonfunctioning windows and a late afternoon sky without clouds.

 

After having spent a winter split between Europe and the U.S. Pacific Coast, I am not well adjusted to the heat and can't readily remember the last time I broke a sweat just sitting still.

 

This ride of a few hours passes through a variety of landscapes including some agrarian settings that appear to be stuck in time from a century ago. In fact, when sorting my ticket as best I could with the station agent, I took pause to notice that handwriting and rubber stamps were still very much a part of the ticketing process. This process was not made easier by my working vocabulary of 6 words in the local language.  While my youngest child would credit me with speaking a number of languages, “Alabamian, British, American, and German," the reality is that I speak very little of any language outside of English.

 

Perhaps it was that moment at the ticket counter that reminded me of these things:

 

1) I was planning to provide a Bloomsburys blog entry.

 

2) As someone convinced they were born far after their time, travel is a way to connect with aspects of the "past."

 

3) The past few years I've travelled a lot of miles, and Mrs. B has done more than most can imagine keeping the ship afloat at home while I'm away (which is slightly more than she does to that end while I'm home).

 

4) Traveling is still one of my favorite things to do.  I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to go many places for a variety of purposes and to often do so with fantastic companions.

 

I will now turn the reins back over to Mrs. B's more capable hands.

 

I know she likes to hear from folks who read this, so let her know what it is that makes you like to travel or what it is that makes you dislike traveling.

Thoughts about Bed Sizes in Europe

We've been doing a bit of traveling over the last few weeks...(more stories about those adventures to come). And we've spent a good number of nights staying in European accommodations, as opposed to staying in American hotels with American standards.

One of the major differences between European hotels and American ones is the bed sizes. Specifically, the "king" sized beds. In Europe, the "king" sized bed is typically two twin beds pushed together. The two twins each have separate fitted sheets, and come with one cover over both beds or two covers, one for each twin.

Here are two twins with one cover.

As I pondered this difference, I thought of some possible explanations for their system and how people could benefit from this logic at home:

1. To prevent too many people from sleeping in one bed. Two people can sleep comfortably, however, if you add a third person, the one in the middle gets stuck sleeping on the crack.

When would you have three people in one bed, you may ask? I slept in the middle of my two small children here.

2. To prevent one person from waking the other whilst flip-flopping in their attempt to get comfortable. 

3. To prevent one person from hogging all the space. (There is a line. Do not cross!)

4. To encourage an end to cuddle time. (Back on your own side to sleep!)

5. To replace half of the bed in case one side gets soiled or worn out, which would be less expensive than replacing the whole mattress. (Perhaps hotels beds in America would be less scary if they got replaced more often!)

6. Perhaps to accommodate different tastes in mattress firmness. 

7. When there are two covers: to prevent one sleeper from hogging all the covers. 

8. Perhaps to give hotels more flexibility to offer a room to tourists and families. If they have a family, push the beds together. The next day if they have tourists, the hotel staff can make them into two twins. 

9. To allow each person to select the weight of covers that suits them.

10. To allow for easier transport. There are no elevators in many places, and stairways can be narrow and very steep. King-sized mattresses are big, bulky, and very heavy. 

Try lugging a king-sized mattress up a few flights of stairs like these!

King-sized beds are an American creation, only invented in the 1960s. Would it be so terrible to sleep side by side with someone in a separate bed? It makes me think of Lucy and Ricardo in I Love Lucy or June and Ward in Leave It to Beaver. We've had the same mattress since we've been married. Perhaps it's time to embrace the culture and upgrade!