The Partnach Gorge… in Garmisch

On Saturday morning we set off to hike the Gorge.  We parked at the Olympic ski jumping stadium and walked in right at the beginning of some big championships.  Yes, in 90 degree weather the Austrian ski team and whoever else were skiing down the jump which looked like fake grass.  then as soon as they landed the handsome young skiers unzipped their ski suits and walked around bare chested with their skis in hand.  We watched for awhile and then headed towards the gorge.

For 15 Euro we climbed aboard a horse drawn carriage to take us the couple kilometers up to the base of the gorge.  The carriage was squishy already so we had Emily and Katie sit up front with the big German driver.  20 seconds later, our driver asked another couple to come for a ride.  As Chris and I thought, “Where are they going to sit?” the big German driver picked Emily up and put her on his lap and the couple squished Katie over.  Emily was silently but extremely annoyed… poor girl.

The gorge  was incredible.  The low light and spraying water made it tricky to get clear pictures so I only took a few but I wished Mike was here to really capture it… or that I had a camera that could go to 3200 ISO… hmmm. 

Inside the gorge the temperature dropped drastically and we welcomed it.  Chris had Matthew in the backpack and I held little Luke’s hand as we walked on the pathway that followed the windy river through a series of narrow damp tunnels.  It was gorgeous. 

 

On the other side we found  rocky shore and ate Pringles and Honey Chex Mix (thanks Nikole for our new favorite snack) and drank Gatorade while the kids threw rocks in the water.

We walked back the several km’s to the van (instead of horse and carriage much to the disappointment of Luke and I since he didn’t want to walk and I had to carry him.)  Once back towards the van we checked out the Alpine Slide and each of us did it twice.  Really fun.  Back at the hotel we went swimming again, got ready and went to the hotel buffet for prime rib.  It was fabulous.  The kids filled up on soft serve ice cream with sprinkles and a few other buffet essentials.  Both nights we ate here we had great soups, which reminded us of dining on cruises. Must do that again.

After dinner we drove around and found a big park with lots of grass, pathways, trees and flowers.  Ryan, Katie and Dad played soccer while Emily, Megan, Luke and I played silly games and entertained Matthew in the stroller.  Another fun day.