29 July 22: Today we woke up, saw the Zugspitze view off our balcony loud and clear and decided to make the trip up before the clouds enveloped it. It was a bit tricky to do with public transportation but we did it! It took a bus, two trains, and a gondola/cable car to get to the top.

29 Jul 22: For my meteorologist friends!! Dave and I got to experience a “Brocken Spectre” today!!

Greetings from the top of the Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany (~9700′). At about 1300 local time, so the sun was pretty high, and the cloud was below us.

28 Jul 22: Tim wanted “wursts” for dinner so we found this place in Garmisch right on the Marienplatz. It was good and we appreciated the smaller portions than what we had last night. I also tried my first “Aperol spritz” to see what all the hype was about….um…yeah…I saw folks everywhere in Paris and Berlin drinking these. They can keep them.

28 Jul 22: Partnach Gorge. A gorgeous hike with numerous Biergartens along the way! My kind of hiking!!

We took a bus from one end of town to the other so it wasn’t terribly difficult from the trailhead. However, once we made it through the gorge, unless you turn around and take the same trail back down (like the Manitou Incline, it isn’t illegal but ill-advised)…you have to climb up a pretty steep trail to get to the parallel trail down. But we stopped for beer and spaetzle on the way down.

28 Jul 22: Morning view off our balcony. Good morning Zugspitze!!

27 July 22: For dinner Wednesday night, Dave got us reservations at a Bavarian restaurant on the Marienplatz — Gasthaus zur Schranne — where we enjoyed good food and good beer. Dave had the chance to talk in German to the young family next to us and they had a great time!

The boys discovered “Dunkel Weißbier” and learned what a real beer can taste like.

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27 July 22: We made it to the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch!

It’s a lodging facility on a U.S. military installation in Germany…and we have been learning at every turn what rights we have as an active duty military retiree (Dave) vs. a government civil servant (me). Today we learned that Dave does not have commissary privileges in Germany as a retiree, but I do as a government civilian. I think the two of us put together get all the privileges, lol!

27 July 22: On to our next adventure!! Pardon the candid selfie…

26 July 22: Currently there are tents set up just outside the Berlin Hauptbahnhof with medical and supply services for Ukrainian refugees, with signs welcoming them and pointing them towards they assistance they need. Tim can read Cyrillic somewhat and was able to decipher the signs for us.

26 July 22: If you’re on the former East Berlin side of the city, such as where we are staying, you see pedestrian signals like this one. Aren’t they cute?

They are called Ampelmännchen and have quite a cult following. There are entire gift shops dedicated to them (but I didn’t get to stop in any, but there is an online store). There’s a whole story behind how these caricatures came about…apparently the green signal is based on a profile shot of former GDR Premier Erich Honecker. The individual who designed them recognized that pedestrians could be of all ages and abilities and the colors may not be able to be deciphered by color blind individuals.