thom space

Today I went for an absolutely fantastic ride through the alps and it came as a complete surprise. What I thought was going to be a quick hour ride up a hill on the side of town, turned into my friend Zak and I continually turning down unknown roads and riding them until they ended, always forward never back was the motto of the day. So we ended up climbing 4000 vertical feet over nearly 70km and in so doing we stumbled upon the most beautiful castle Schloss Elmuau and when you are not expecting for a castle to be around the next bend, let me tell you, it comes as a bit of a shock. From there we continued on a road to a tiny Alpine lake called the Ferchensee, which was the most lumencent crystal clear emerald green you would ever want to see, so we swam for nearly an hour, it was sooo nice. It looks like I have a few things to add to my top 10 list.

One of the things that I really enjoy about being here in Garmisch is that there are such a large number of things for a person to do in the outdoors with really not all that much preparation, for example, the other day two friends and I decided quite late in the morning that it would be a good idea to go for a hike, so we set off on our bikes to the start of the trail just on the other side of the valley, maybe 5km away, and before we knew it we were above tree line in a glacial basin enjoying an exquisite alpine environment. here is a picture of the hike, and where we ate lunch

I am going to start to try and keep track of interesting things that I eat and enjoy with a little photo log, I am sure that the internet going public has been waiting their whole collective lives for this moment, well I say wait no longer, HERE is my first entry!

I have a new Mobile Phone, so if you really want to give me a call, and I would love it if you did, you may at the following number.

from the US(01149) 1520598961

it is so exciting to be able to be able to hear people’s voices again!

I have just returned from a few days in the fabulous little city of Innsbruck Austria where I found a very quaint section called the “Altstadt” which means Old city and is just that, the oldest, earliest developed section of the city. It is located directly on the river Inn which is a very high water volume river that catches the drainage from a very large portion of the alps, and is also the same river I went rafting on when I ran the Imst Gorge last week, any how it is quite an impressive river and its color is a nearly perfect aqua marine. So back to the old town, it is characterized by very narrow streets lined with every sort of different type of shop, from tea venders (which there were surprisingly many more than one of), to stores that sold nothing but hand made hair combs, it was very interesting simply to walk around and look in the windows.

Once night time rolled around I discovered that Innsbruck is also home to a plethora of fantastic restaurants, cafes, and bars, I wish I had more time to explore each and every one, but they each had a very distinctive character that if I had to generalize about I would say is most easily characterized as “cool”. So I ate at a very nice little Italian place called Mama Mia, and had a Gorgonzola Tortellini that was as close to perfection as I would have hoped for at the price I paid, but it the courtesy extended by the people who worked there is what made it really outstanding, I had such a nice time enjoying my very slow meal and never once felt anywhere near being rushed.

So I will post pictures as soon as I can, but until then I would certainly say that if you are in the area any time soon you should plan on seeing it yourself.

I just came accross this piece which contains just about every bit of information you would ever want to know about Garmisch-P, like the fact that there are over 75 miles of total ski trails, or that the lift capacity is more than 50,000 skier per hour. Considering that the Yellowstone Club has never, and will never, see a combined total of 50,000 skiers I am a little put off, but I bet it will be fine.

Today I had the most spectacular cream puff of my life, a Windbeutel. Evidently it is a Bavarian specialty made with thick Bavarian cream and loads of fresh fruit, but it was enormous, nothing could have prepared me for the spectacle of being served a dessert that must have stood at least 8 inches of the plate which it managed to completely cover the surface area of. So I think that this is going on the list of must do things in Garmisch, so if you come prepared heavy cream goodness.

Tomorrow I am going to be rafting on the Inn River just east of Innsbruck going into Solden, afterwards I am planning on doing some hiking but I will have to wait and see how much time I have. I will be sure to take as many pictures as I can, so hopefully I will get something good. we’ll see.

It is much more difficult than I would have suspected it to be for me to have reliable access to the Internet. It seems that unless I am on a computer that is physically connected with a wire I am bound to lose contact. Any how, I have attempted to write a post every day for the past week, but just as I am set to submit it I find that I have no connection, it really is quite annoying, but that is however the only annoying thing that has happened in the past week.

One week ago I had my first day off and spent it exploring Munich, or as they like to say around here Muenchen, I posted a staggering set of 1 photos of my journey that you can find here. It is such an amazing city, not because it has the most famous sites or the biggest buildings, but simply because it is such a “livable” place, there are loads of open air markets where you can find every sort of fresh good or produce, biergartens every where you look, and bike paths and lanes on every major street, and the entire old town is a pedestrian only area and it is constantly packed with people. I am going to go back as many times as I can to get better acquainted with it, but so far I think it is one of my favorite cities ever visited.

Today I went on a spectacular hike up and down the Hoellentall gorge, which consist of a trail, that winds up via a set of tunnels and stair cases, right next to the bottom of a 1000 foot gorge, that is maybe between 5 an 10 feet wide, with tons of water rushing every which way, it is incredible. If any one ever comes to visit me here in Garmisch you can bet this is going to be on the agenda.

Well seemingly, like always, I am being rushed away from the Internet, tonight is a little bit of a party and the lounge where I am is going to close early to take full advantage.

ciao for now.