2020. Corona. Travelling is a different game. Yet our Fernweh acted up too often. So we arranged a train trip to Germany and Austria. Specifically to Leipzig in Saxony, several spots in Bavaria and returning home with ÖBB‘s Nightjet from Innsbruck in Tyrol to Brussels in Belgium.

To ascend the Germany’s highest mountain we made use of the 90 year old Zugspitzbahn and the various cable cars on the top. We bought a Garmisch-Classic ticket to travel, which also enabled us to ascend the Alpspitz mountain on the same ticket.

After coming back down the Zugspitze by cable car to Eibsee we boarded the train again until the station of Kreuzeck-Alpspitzbahn. From there it was just a short walk to the Alpspitzbahn taking us up to the Osterfelderkopf. This was a slightly older cable car, which can be noticed due to the retro style of the cabins.

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As the weather was getting cloudier and rainier we had a nice ride up, breaking through the clouds. Up on the top we enjoyed some more magnificent views over the valley and Garmisch-Partenkirchen below. They also built a sort of viewing platform with holes in the bottom plate, reaching over the edge of the mountain. It provided us with both a splendid view and an attack of fear of heights.

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On the top we also had the opportunity to travel further onto the Hochalm, which was also included in our ticket. We opted not to do so as it was getting late and the cable cars where approaching their closing time, instead we just enjoyed a cup of hot cacao before heading back don into the valley.

As it took quite a while for the next train back to Garmisch-Partenkirchen to arrive we travelled back to the hotel on the city bus line 3, which had its starting point here at Kreuzeck.

We had a very nice day on the top of Germany, and it truly is a must see and do when you are in the region. Have you been on the Zugspitze and what did you think of it? Let us know in the comments below!

Previously on this adventure

1. The delicious German state secret: dining onboard Deutsche Bahn.
2. VIDEO | Leipzig Hauptbahnhof.
3. Leipzig Bayerischer Bahnhof.
4. EAST GERMANY | Zeitgeschichtliches Forum, Leipzig’s GDR museum.
5. Hyperion Leipzig.
6. Leipzig.
7. By ICE from Leipzig to Nuremberg.
8. Nuremberg Transport Museum / DB Museum.
9. Novotel Nuremberg City Centre.
10. Documentation Center NS Party Rallying Grounds in Nuremberg.
11. Nuremberg’s Zeppelin Field with the Norisring.
12. Memorium Nuremberg Trials.
13. Nuremberg’s real-life Playmobil Imperial Castle.
14. You need at least two full days in Nuremberg.
15. DB Regio from Nuremberg to Regensburg.
16. Thurn und Taxis princely palace museum in Regensburg.
17. Eurostars Park Hotel Maximilian Regensburg.
18. Regensburg.
19. With Alex from Regensburg to Munich.
20. BMW Museum & BMW Welt in Munich.
21. Munich’s Olympiapark.
22. Sofitel Munich Bayerpost.
23. Deutsches Museum’s Verkehrszentrum or Transport Centre in Munich.
24. Deutsches Museum’s main site on Munich’s Museuminsel.
25. By train to Neuschwanstein.
26. Only 15 Minutes and No Photos in Schloss Neuschwanstein Castle.
27. Museum of the Bavarian Kings in Schwangau near Neuschwanstein.
28. Füssen in Bavaria, the gateway to Neuschwanstein.
29. Münchner Stadtmuseum – Munich City Museum.
30. MUNICH | Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum / Pinakothek der Moderne.
31. Five days and four nights in Munich, including Neuschwanstein.
32. By train to Lindau and Lake Constance.
33. Lindau at or in Lake Constance.
34. Hotel Bayerischer Hof Lindau.
35. Trainspotting at Lindau.
36. By train from Lindau to Garmisch-Partenkirchen via the Ausserfern railway.
37. Staying firmly on the ground in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
38. Mercure Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
39. Visiting Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze.
40. Nightjet Vienna/Innsbruck to Brussels, or how we got thrown off the train in Aachen.