Have you ever had your breath escape you when you saw something extremely beautiful? Have you ever experienced such a beautiful sight that you thought your heart might burst with happiness and joy? Is there a better adjective to describe the most extreme beauty that one has ever experienced?
Here I sit in my hotel room, windows wide open, and I hear the enchanting birds tweet in deutsch. lol The silence is deafening yet appreciated. The peace felt is indescribeable. The beauty of this place is indescribeable. There are no words to describe it here. You can see pictures all day long but you can't smell the incredibly fresh air. You can't hear the birds chirpping. You can't touch the amazing trees. To fully appreciate this place, you have to experience it first hand. As much as I loved Munich, that is nothing compared to this. It was worth the HELL we went through to get here from Munich.
We got up and got ready for the day's travel. The weather seemed like it was going to cooperate. A nice semi-cool morning. We arrive at Munch's central train station among all the hustle and bustle of the people going to and fro. Rolling our enormous suitcases through the crowd we learn what train and platform we're on. We had some time, so we ate a quick breakfast at Burger King....nothing like what we're use to across the pond. Lol
We get to our platform......the train just left. It was 9:34. We missed it by two minutes. When these people say the train leaves at 9:32, by god, that's what they mean. They aren't late with trains.....because of the number of trains and limited number of tracks/platforms.
We quickly learn when the next train leaves for Garmish. We only have to wait an hour. We find our train right then and get on it.....this one will not leave us. We're the first onboard! So we wait.
At exactly 10:32, the train leaves and this time, we're on it! We ride for about an hour or so. As we leave the city the scenery get more beautiful with each passing minute. A well meaning/helpful german advises us to get off the train at Obergau instead of Garmish to get to Oberammengau. They told us to take a bus. When the train stops, we're only ones to get off the train. We stand alone.....on the platform......watching the train leave us.....wondering..”what the hell did we just do?” We have no idea where we are. When have no idea what to do. We look around at this tiny but quaint village. It's very charming. Thankfully, a lady, around mom's age, approaches us and we ask for help. Little to no english. We muttle our way through a conversation about the bus stop. She directs us. Finally, we know what to do. We wait. While waiting, mom starts talking to an old local lady who spoke VERY good english. Which is unusal because in these parts, only the younger people speak english. Come to find out, this old lady had once lived in Midland, Texas. While she was there, she worked at some A/C company. George and Laura Bush were one of their regular customers. She knew them!
The bus arrives. It's a city bus! We look and see it completely full. OMG! Here we are with two huge HEAVY suitcases and a couple of small HEAVY suitcases. We squeeze our asses onboard. The locals, onboard, help as much as possible. It's so hot. I started to sweat. I don't usually sweat. The bus winds its way up a mountain. Mom sits down. I stand with the bags. I fly from side to side with each curve. I am caught by the friendly people. They catch me before I fly out the side door.
I thought we would NEVER arrive what seemed like an hour, was 15 minutes. We're dropped off at the bus stop. Once again, we're the only ones to get the bus. We stand with our enormous suitcases. We don't know what to do. I walk around the immediate area looking for a taxi or how to get one. Once again, we're at the mercy of these friendly people who help us. A cab flys up and suddenly stops directly in front of us. We get in. Little english. We stumble through a conversation about where to do and end up at the correct hotel! THANK GOD!
We get out and look around at the most beautiful and amazing sight that surrounds us. The scenery. The bright flowers in flower boxes. The clean fresh air. The trees, etc.
The HELL that we just went through.........is worth it. However, I beg my mom to NOT make us ride that bus to Garmish.
We check in and get to our rooms. We collapse. We fall asleep for a short time. We wake up excited about where we are.
We eat supper then head out for a nice walk in the forst, nearby. It has an enchanting trail. We take it. We explore. Mom gets tired and turns back. I continue. I enjoy exploring, walking slow, thinking, looking, smelling, going further, etc. I reach the end of the trail, the top of a hill with an amazing view.
I find edelweiss. I pick a couple. I smash it in a book I have with me. I hope to perserve it in that way.
It was a wonderful end to a terrible day.
