one week
I have been holding off from making an entry for the past few days because I have wanted to do so in conjunction with a few photographs, but my card reader is acting out, so I have been unable to get my pictures off of my camera, I will fix this little problem soon. Any how I have now been in Garmisch for just over one week and the time has flown by, I can imagine 18 months from now feeling like yesterday. I climbed a neat mountain the other day called the Krammerspitze which is literally just out the door from where I have my room, so it has very easy access. One of the things that I like so much about the Germans is the way they organize there services, that is to say no matter where you are you are never far away from a beer. Half way up the Krammer, which rises 4000 vertical feet from where the trail starts, is a great little resturant called St. Martins, you can hike up there and tie a few on as you over look the sun setting on the Zuegspitze (Germany’s tallest mountain at 2900 meters) right across the valley and then stumble back down the hill, or you can keep going all the way to the top where you will find another place just below the summit where you can tie a few more on. it is really great. Not to say I am drinking beer every chance I get, far from it, but I enjoy the fact the the infrastructure exists to support a life style where you could choose to take it easy and enjoy the mountains with out roughing it with a camp stove. And people really do seem to take advantage of the trail networks regardless of their age or apparent fitness level, I have see all types of people out and about on the trails so far, old people, young people, fat people , fit people, you name it they are out and enjoying the outdoor life style.
I also have made my way to a lake in Austria via my mountain bike called the Plansee, it is the picture perfect alpine experience, it is completely aqua marine, with an almost iridescent glow, set against innumerable snow capped alpine peaks. Evidently this is going to be one of the main places that I take groups on day rides for my job so it is important that I really familiarize myself with the route. Out and back from Garmisch it is nearly a 50km ride, but today we all went on an area familiarization ride and made a huge loop that was nearly 80km with about 3000 vertical feet of climbing, it was great. Riding though fields filled with thousands and thousands of blooming wildflowers is something else, and today it happened time after time after time, I think that if I try hard I will be able to get used to this, I better try hard.