Zugspitze!

After having another hearty German breakfast we put our gps to the test and drove to the Zugspitze, which is the tallest mountain in Germany and the peak boarders Austria. The drive was about an hour and we only made a few wrong turns but luckily they have roundabouts! We made it Eibsee which is where you park your car and can ride either the cogwheel train or a cable car up to the top. The lady in the ticket office convinced us to take the cogwheel train because there were really long waits to take the cable car up. We listened to her of course and took the cogwheel train up and decided to take the cable car down. The train takes you up the mountain and most of it is in a tunnel inside the mountain. I believe it was about a 45 minute train ride. 

It was the most beautiful day and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. We could see for miles up there and it was absolutely gorgeous!

The cogwheel train drops you off at the first level and then you can take a cable car to the peak of the mountain. On the first level, there is a very small church which Pope Benedict has blessed. It was pretty amazing. After exploring around the first area we got on the cable car and headed to the peak of the mountain. 

There was a restaurant up there which was a good thing since we were starving. We grabbed some spots at a long bench table on the patio at the restaurant only to later find out that flocks of birds dive bomb you while you are trying to eat and relax. Since I hate birds this was a semi horrible experience. It was straight out of the movie "The Birds". Basically my worst nightmare! Fortunately, we met a very nice German couple that sat at our table. The man was named Harry and he worked at a knitting needle company. It was a good distraction from the horrible birds. 

After finishing out lunch, we headed out of the restaurant to the top floor that was an observation area. We had the best views up there of the mountains and the surrounding areas. There is also a giant gold cross on part of the rock mountain which is very picturesque. 

We then went to go get on the cable car to descend down only to find out you have to have reservations and the next one was in two hours. So unfortunately, we decided to take the cogwheel train down. We then headed back down the mountain and once we got to Eibsee we then headed back to Hohenschwangau to spend the night again.