On a day last July when it was hitting 100° F in Munich, I headed south to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in search of cooler weather and to ride the cog railway to the top of Germany’s highest Alpine peak.
It’s actually two railways: a narrow-gauge train that travels up the valley from a station near the regular rail station in Garmisch to the edge of the Alpine lake Eibsee, of which more later. At Eibsee, we transferred to a similar train, but equipped with toothed cog wheels that use that center rail to power itself up the nearly 10,000-foot mountain.
Soon after we passed above the tree line, the train entered a long and boring tunnel, arriving at the top at what felt like a subway station in the sky. Not quite how I remember it from my last visit 65 years ago!
Leaving the station, though is not like leaving the subway…here are some samples of the view. This is the Zugspitzplatt, or plateau, at the bottom edge of a glacier.
There are still patches of snow in mid-July, but those big snow-moving machines won’t be needed until its time to groom the first snows for skiiers in mid-November. It’s Germany’s most snow-sure skiing, lasting until early May on the highest glacier spots.
For years, I’ve found it harder and harder to find mailboxes and post offices for my postcards in country after country, but they’re both readily at hand at the glacier station, along with cafes and souvenirs. Oh, and ski rental.
Looking up a way, there’s the Visitation of the Virgin Mary Chapel; it is a popular wedding venue. In the other direction, below the summit, sits the former Schneefernerhaus, built in 1931 as a luxury hotel. Extensively damaged by an avalanche in the 1960s, it closed in 1992 and is now an environmental research facility.
Next step: transport to the very top. But first a digression: Is this a cable car? If so, what are those streetcars in San Francisco. Is it a tramway? If so, what are all those streetcars everywhere else? Let’s settle for ‘aerial lift.’ In German, it’s no argument: it’s a Seilbahn.
Once aboard, you can look up to the summit… or down to where we just came from… or off into the distance.
At the top, there’s a multi-story structure with several eating choices, including outdoor seating—despite the 42° temperature—shops, a small museum, and boarding stations for several ski-lifts and for the Seilbahn that goes all the way back down to Eibsee, which is the large blue lake in the picture below.
Also, to my surprise, what must be Germany’s highest mailbox!
The truly ambitious… count me out… could make the extra effort to touch the pole and claim to have conquered the Top of Germany. Let’s don’t and say we did.
While at the top, there’s an opportunity for further international travel. That blue booth at the left is a former border post; from this point on, Zugspitze is Austrian, although it’s far from being Austria’s highest peak. It does have its own cog railway, though. In fact, it built it first, and only after it was making money did Bavarian rulers decide the project they had canceled was a good idea after all.
That’s what it looked like when it opened in 1930, along from pictures of the incredibly difficult construction task, and advertising posters from past decades.
But enough of the top; it’s time to head for Eibsee and the train back to Garmisch and ultimately Munich.
If that seemed a little of an abrupt transition, you can take the ride again more slowly in this video.
Awesome article and photos!! I’m glad you found a place to mail your postcards. I can relate!