Day #275 - Garmisch, Germany

Ski-jump venue

Impressive ski slopes

Huge mountain peaks

Resort town

Great views

Tuesday, December 14th

Today I did a day trip from Munich. I took a 9:30am train down to the town of Garmisch, Germany. It was a 1-1/2 hour trip. The name is actually Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The 2 towns were separate for centuries, until Hitler forced the mayors of each town to combine forces in 1935 while leading up to the 1936 Olympic Games.

Garmisch is a small ski town located on the Germany/Austria border. It's location is not far from Oberammergau - the village I visited for the Passion Play back in late September. I really wanted to go skiing today after seeing the slopes and getting that craving. 3 reasons I couldn't: (1) Main reason -- I don't have the proper gear. I would have to rent it all or buy. (2) Can't afford to get hurt with my investment in the Antartica trip (3) More fun with others.

I spent the day walking around. I made my way over to some of the Olympic venue sites. The ski jump was awesome to see. Supposedly, they have a big ski jump competition each New Year's Day. The tallest mountain in Germany - the Zugspitze (9,731 ft), sits at the base of the town. There's a cable car or cog railway to the top. Since it was pretty overcast today, I didn't make the journey up the hill. Major skiing area - as the 2011 Alpine World Ski Championships will be held here.

Jumped back on the 3pm train and returned to Munich at 4:30pm. I'm calling it an early night tonight.

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Alright, coming in tonight as my #10 most favorite country on my Gap Year 2010: NORWAY

Israel (#12)

Iceland (#11)

Norway (#10)

NORWAY (#10)

The Norwegian Fjords. This area will forever leave an impression on me. It was the best boat rides of my entire trip. I spent 3 days looking up at these huge cliff-faces as our boat passed through the gap between them. Our ferry looked like a toy in a bathtub along side these solid masses. I also went on the famous Flam Railway. I got to take pictures of this incredible waterfall at the halfway point. Then, you have the city of Oslo. Expensive, but great to walk around. I really enjoyed the Nobel Peace Prize Center - looking at the room of honor with the descriptions of all the recipients. You can take a boat from the Oslo Harbor to access a number of interesting museums: Viking, Kon-Tiki, and Munch. Throw in the fact that Norway lays claim to the North Pole and has spectacular sites north of the Artic Circle (including the Aurora Borealis - "Northern Lights") - it's easy for me to include Norway as my #10 Most Favorite Country.