Back to Garmisch Partenkirchen, Klais and Mittenwald , after two nights in London – Day 50 – 54 on the journey.

Well I am back on the road again, after my brief departure to the UK.  I spent two nights in London, which, apart from having a coffee with my niece, was work. It was lovely to briefly catch up with Harriet, but then it was back to work!  I bought new boots – which took about 3 hours, and then found a laundromat and gave my clothes a good clean.  It is the first time that they have seen a washing machine since I began, and so it was lovely to have really clean clothes – hand washing doesn’t do the job nearly as well!

This is only 1 of about 5 photos I took in London - Covent Garden

Much of my time entering and leaving the UK was spent in queuing.  It took an hour to get to the border control person, and then heading towards another hour to get on the bus.  I got to my hotel at 9.30, having arrived in the UK at around 3.30 and so I didn’t actually see much of London at all in the time I was there.  On the way to London I had the foresight to arrange a hotel room through the tourist office to stay overnight in Munich on the way back otherwise it could have been a very expensive exercise as there was a trade fair on that week.

I arrived back in Garmisch in lovely sunny weather, though a thunderstorm was forecast, and did eventuate.  I tried initially to get the tourist office to help me find a room in Klais, about 12 kms up the road.  That was all I could walk that afternoon as I wasn’t starting walking until lunch time.  They weren’t, initially, able to help me, but as I was leaving a man saw my pack with the Via Romea flag on it and stopped for a chat.  He too worked in the tourist office and he was able to find me a room in Klais.  Thank you Tony.

It was lovely walking out of Garmisch, but the clouds were getting blacker.  I happened to be passing a Gasthaus on the outskirts of Kaltenbrunn which was open, and so just as the first spots started I was able to stop there and have a coffee and an apfelstrudel, and best of all sit out the downpour.  This took some time, and so I didn’t make it to Klais until dinner time.

      

The Rathaus, leaving Garmisch (left), and gathering storm clouds (right)

                         

Pfarrkirche St Martin

Looking back towards the Zugspitze, German's tallest mountain.

Almost at Klais

The next day, heading for Mittenwald was warm and sunny, with what now seems to be the usual rain clouds starting to form in the late morning.  It is truly wonderful walking in these mountain regions, crossing meadows, some of which have been mown, seeing the wooden huts dotted across the meadows, and then walking through forest, always with the mountains nearby. 

                         

A little chapel on the side of the road, leaving Klais (left), and an ancient path (right)

      

Spectacular views approaching Mittenwald.

 Across meadows.

Mittenwald

I had foolishly forgotten that this particular weekend was a holiday weekend – Whitsunday / Whit-Monday.  Because I kept getting distracted taking photos I arrived at the tourist office 10 minutes after it had closed, so I had no help finding accommodation.  I knew that on booking.com there was not one room to be had, and so I stopped at the Eiscafe to try and solve my problem.  The waiter suggested I just walk around and knock on doors, and a lady I was sitting next to – Claudia – offered to help me.  We spent about an hour knocking on doors, her husband having been co-opted into driving us around,  with no success (she and her husband run a hotel 3kms from the next town I was headed to).  In the end, they left me near the church, where I knew some pilgrims were going to be later in the day.  In the meantime I managed to find a room in a hotel down the road, and somewhat poorer,  went looking for the pilgrims, spending the afternoon with them.

      

Mittenwald in a downpour!

As we were walking around the village looking for somewhere to eat I noticed that there were a lot of people standing waiting, and firemen directing traffic.  Being alert to such things I asked one of the fireman what was happening and was told that they were welcoming a skier to the town – I think something like giving him the freedom of the village.  My day was made, when a few minutes later I heard in the distance some drumming, soon joined by brass instruments.  The town band came into view leading the parade.

      

The band plays on!

 The fireies have done their job now!

Mittenwald is famous for its violin making and this statue commerates one of the skilled craftsmen.

Though I managed to roll my ankle as I was descending into the town of Mittenwald, it has come good.  Both feet now feel pretty good and the new boots are working a treat.  I am again behind in the blog but will try and update it soon.  I am now half way across Austria, leaving Innsbruck tomorrow.  Will give you all that news in the next post.