Day 12 - December 21 - Will the world end?

We are in a beautiful spot of God's world if it is to be the end  - although we are going about our business and making plans for tomorrow and beyond! Not even the Mayans believe it!

This is our last full day in Garmisch, and we were busy doing laundry (a visit to a laundromat), packing and re-arranging, disposing of rubbish, etc. No garbage disposals here - and LOTS of recycling - things need to be separated by clear glass, green glass, brown glass, plastic, and papers. There are special bins where you drive to deposit these items.

A lot of you are familiar with Garmisch, but for those who aren't I failed to mention that the highest peak in Germany, the Zugspite (around 9,700 feet), is located here - well, actually it is in nearby Grainau in the Wetterstein Mountain Range. Garmisch is situated on the Loisach River, and is correctly called Garmisch-Partenkirchen. These were two separate entities until forced to merge prior to the 1936 Olympics. Partenkirchen is the older community dating from around 15 AD, and the main street follows the original Roman street. There are many beautiful, old buildings - often painted with murals.

Garmisch Bahnhof

After laundry, our first stop (as most days) was the Bahnhof (train station) to buy the "International Herald Tribune" and "USA Today". Although we can read all the news on-line, we enjoy having the hard copy to peruse over our tea, coffee, or other beverages!

My favorite Chinese restaurant, Asia City, is just across the parking lot, so we walked there. The lady did seem to remember us, and I ordered the same thing I do every time - chicken with lemongrass and chili on a hotplate. Ron had ginger beef. Everything was good.

After a visit to the local VW dealer to see if the newly suggested rental car will hold our luggage, followed by a few other errands, we went out to Grainau to a place we like behind the old church, Cafe Zugspite. They were already closed, but allowed us to come in for a good German beer.

Grainau

Later, after packing, around 7 PM we walked over to the Mukkefuck Cafe. Yes, it is a very strange name in English, but it actually means "ersatz coffee" - a kind of fake coffee made from grains and chicory. I think it was common in WWI when coffee was scarce and rationing was in effect. It is a cute little place, and once when I was here alone for a week it was my "neighborhood" place where the waitresses knew me and were so friendly. They have fabulous breakfasts (although they don't open until 11 AM) and lunches with lots of great salads and baguettes. Unfortunately, it is also the place where a few years back I slipped on "black ice" (after following Ron on a "short-cut") on a dark night and ended up with two black eyes, a bruised cheek bone, a bloody lip, and thankfully didn't break my nose or my neck. Ron came to "help" me and slid on the same ice and fell right on top of me! This is the incident that contributed to me being so fearful of walking in the snow and ice!

  

Mukkefuck - by the drainpipe on the corner is where I had my terrible fall

More pork for Ron

So, we are now back in our cozy apartment, and most of the suitcases are packed up. The clock is ticking down to midnight here, although it has passed that in other time zones - so we heave a sigh of relief (no we weren't really worried) that the Sun will come up tomorrow, and we won't hear about the Mayan calendar again!