Blog

Like every year, we wanted to celebrate that day in a somewhat special way - my wife’s birthday comes only once a year & 2016 was no different. That year, we managed to climb the highest point in Germany - Zugspitze … but as it turned out, getting back from there was more memorable.

We bought a Bayern ticket from Munich & boarded the Deutsche Bahn to reach the base station - Garmisch Partenkirchen. The idea was to take a Toy Train up to Eibsee & then ride the Gondola (Cable Car) to  Zugspitze. All of its 2962 meters height can be scaled in a little under an hour - thanks to German speed, precision & efficiency.

However, what the Germans probably did not bargain for, are the huge crowds that could gather during a bright, sunny day as that & could almost choke the entire transportation machinery.

After considerable waiting at each station, chugging through a picture-perfect countryside & then hanging on to our dear lives in the gondola, when we finally reached the top, we were quite literally overwhelmed by the view, the boisterous & colorful crowd … & gusts of strong, chilly wind. However, the famous Sonnalpin 2600 m Restaurant did provide us with a comfortable warmth beside some mouthwatering Bratwurst, Bratkartoffeln &  Schnitzel. We rounded up our special Birthday Lunch with Apfelstrudel (after the first few tongue twisters, this felt the easiest to order, and so my wife thankfully obliged).

After an enjoyable stroll over the glacier, a fun-Austrian-Border-crossing-&-back & a few regulation selfies, we decided to get down. After all, we had to return all the way to Munchen.

As we reached Garmisch - we were pleased to note that a train is already waiting at the station.

With our Day Pass, we could board any train & so were more than surprised, when the attendant frantically stopped us from boarding it. “Nein, Nein, du kannst nicht in den Zug steigen” .. etc blah blah. With her perfect German, she assumed that we have understood everything & smiled. We, however, could not make head or tail of it.

Seeing our crisis, a kind gentleman - who also spoke English - came to our rescue. He explained that due to some cable fault, the train services have completely stopped in that sector & there was no chance of getting it restored that day. In many other countries, we have seen that in similar situations, the train companies run buses or make alternate arrangements to transport their passengers. However, he was not aware of any such arrangement.

Looked like the Germans did not bargain for a few other things as well.

So we were stranded in the middle-of-somewhere but where exactly, we had no idea.

As a last-ditch effort, we went outside the station to hire a cab, as staying back in Garmisch or climbing back to Zugspitze were not viable options for us. We simply had to get back to Munchen that day, as we were flying out of Germany the next day.

We were excited to see no less than 3 cabs in the stand - but as we approached one, the cabby looked suspiciously at us & explained in broken English, that we had to pay if we wanted a ride. We tried to assure him, that is usually the arrangement the world over, but he remained unconvinced.

Later we realized, that he meant, there would be no compensation from the Train company & so we had to pay from our own pocket … which we had no other option, but to accept.

The cabby agreed to take us till Murnau - though why specifically Murnau & not Ohlstadt, Oberau or any other destination, was not clear. My wife conjectured that probably, the cabby did not feel safe beyond that point. However, we chose not to pester him further & were happy to reach somewhere closer to Munich.

As we drove through the picturesque countryside to Murnau, some 25 km from Garmisch, we momentarily forgot our predicament & even started enjoying the pastoral beauty.

At Murnau, another surprise was waiting for us.

As we approached the Murnau Station, we saw a big bus standing, & then the cabby behaved very strangely … he swiftly maneuvered the vehicle, took a sharp right turn & screeched to a halt right in front of that bus - so that it could not move. Now, my wife & myself are not familiar with such stunts in real life & I could not fathom out, why even after having agreed to pay the amount the cabby wanted, is he subjecting us to such treatment.

But then the cabby explained that this is the bus that DB has arranged to transport its passengers to Munich, & we realized his true reason for bringing us here. And God ! were we thankful!

Though the bus attendant totally ignored us, by then - we did not really care. We practically barged into the packed vehicle & managed to settle down in some comfortable seats. Though the cabby said, we were still not sure whether the bus is actually going to Munich. Nobody asked for tickets, fare, anything! We just went in & sat.

Once we settled down, we realized that the entire bus is filled with disgruntled, complaining passengers like us, who all were thankfully going to Munich. Very soon we were served refreshments & then - wonder of wonders - an apology coupon from DB, offering us to refund our fare!

Germans really loved giving surprises! And how!!

In about an hours’ time, we reached Munich. That night we had a special celebration dinner at Hofbrauhaus. But this time, we tried a different dessert.

PS: Like the above, the Germany Trip was filled with surprises & magic & also endless opportunity to sketch & paint - some field sketches are shared here.