Obermoos, Zugspitze, SzG3

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I managed to conquer another Top (the first was the Top of Europe in Switzerland), this time it was the Top of Germany. The former was 3571 m high, while the current one was 2964 m. 

First, let's look at some facts. The peak is divided between two countries, the smaller part belongs to Austria, the larger part to Germany. The German part also belongs to two administrative units: Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GP) and Grainau. The Austrian and German parts are sharply separated, the old Alte Zollhütte (Old Customs Hut) still stands, and above the gate is the inscription: Warm greetings to Tyrol. On the Austrian side, the colors of their flag can be seen at the bottom of the building: red-white-red stripe. For this reason, since we crossed into Austria (we had lunch there), I have included the report among the Austrian reports as well, since we were actually on Austrian territory, and from there you can also get up here by cable car (after all, there are three cable car stations at the summit: one Austrian, two German).

Now let's see the ascent: from the Austrian side, the easiest is a large-cabin lift that goes up directly to the top. The German side is more complicated, but also more interesting for that reason. The classic solution: the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn 1000 mm gauge railway starts from the train station. The first section is a traditional railway. As it turned out, you have to change to the rack railway at Grainau. We didn't know this in advance, so we sat in the innermost part of the railway, which later became full, so those who were standing or closer to the doors got to the other train faster and got a seat more easily. Fortunately, a polite young German man gave up his seat to My Majesty. This is important because the train leans heavily due to the steep track and is also uncomfortable due to the many passengers (and we were there on a Thursday in the pre-season. What about in the summer?). The ride is also quite long, about 70 minutes in total. The cogwheel train doesn't go up to the top, it stops at a place called the Plateau. You can actually see snow here, barely up at the top, as it's a completely built-up area, there are only a few piles of snow pushed together there. 

Once you've enjoyed the snow here, head to the Gletscherbahn cable car. This will take you to the top. You can use it multiple times (up and down) without any restrictions, there is no single entry system here. 

Once you reach the top, there's nothing left to do but admire the panorama (you can buy some good sunglasses here). More than 200 mountain peaks are visible in good weather and you can see the peaks of 4 countries. I won't write more about this, it's a must-see.

The highest tourist lodge in Germany is located here: Münchner Haus on the Zugspitze (2964 m)

There are restaurants on both the Austrian and German sides, we liked the Austrian one better, so we had lunch there. All the waiters were Hungarian and they said the chef was too. I should note that the portions of both the Austrian and German main courses are significantly larger than the portions here, so we mostly ate two soups with one main course at lunch, sometimes we could barely eat them even then. We also had a problem with the portions here, I was finally able to eat half of the soup, my wife asked for a total of one apple strudel, but she got such a large portion that the two of us couldn't eat it (I even managed to have a Bavarian sausage), but there was a little left over. 

Recommendation. If you came up by cogwheel, take the large cabin cable car down to Eibsee station (Eibsee Seilbahn). This has several advantages. The train travels a good part of the way up in a tunnel, so you can't see anything. The 120-person cabin of the cable car is glazed to the floor, with a good view during the descent, and it takes you down to Eibsee in 10 minutes. Here you have to change to the cogwheel, and then to the small railway at Grainau. You can get through the gates everywhere with your existing ticket. You have to scan the barcode. It seems complicated, but it all goes smoothly.

If we read the official publications, we see that this cable car (Eibsee Seilbahn) boasts three world records:            

- a./ the world's largest steel structure support pillar 127 m high             

- b./ overcomes the world's largest elevation difference in one section: 1945 m             

- c./ the world's longest free span is also located here: 3213 m

In 2023, the ticket for the Zugspitze round trip was 69 Euros. 

I think this much information is enough, just do the tour in any direction you like and enjoy the view and maybe the culinary experiences (it's worth it).

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