Day Twelve - A Very Busy Day

---

This day was going to involve quite a bit of driving and with the typically nasty weather of Southern Bavaria we couldn't be too sure what we might encounter. Making things a bit hairier was the fact that we had to get to Innsbruck (115 miles away) as early as possible because of the expected early store closings on New Year's Eve. When I put this itinerary together the only "must see" for Gail was getting some shopping time in the Innsbruck Swarovski crystal shop. We also knew from past experience that finding a place to eat dinner on New Year's Eve would be nigh onto impossible. Therefore I booked dinner months in advance at the touristy Werdenfelsner Hof restaurant a couple hours North on the opposite side of the Alps in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. When I booked it I was told that there would be a limited menu for early dinner in the little Bierstube. They were more concerned with their customers paying top dollar for the New Year's Eve Gala in their main hall.

We got an early start arriving down in the breakfast room at 8:00. Once again Tyler and Gen were late and once again we stuffed ourselves. As soon as we finished eating we wasted no time in settling our bill for the two nights in the hotel. I was a bit shocked to see just how much three rooms for two nights cost us (412 Euro), but considering our desperate plight of just a few nights before and how well things worked-out, it was a lot of money well spent.

Getting all of our stuff into the back of the once spacious van was a little tricky now that we had started to cram our dirty clothes into the extra duffel bag. Just the food items we purchased took up a significant area of the trunk. With all the bags packed tight none of the beer bottles were rolling around any more.

In order to get to Innsbruck as quickly as possible I took the relatively uninteresting Autobahn Route utilizing the A8 past Chiemsee before heading South on the A93 down to Kufstein where that same road became the A12. Most of the time everyone but Gail and I slept. In the past when we traveled along this route during this time of year the fields and mountains we drove through were full of snow, but this year only patches sprinkled the roadside. Traffic was moderately heavy but we still arrived in the outskirts of Innsbruck in less than 2 hours.

It took us quite awhile attempting to find a free parking spot - not "free" as in "vacant" but "free" as in "paying no money". We drove in circles for at least 15 minutes before finding a semi-legal spot next to some construction work. As we have done in previous visits to Innsbruck, we headed straight for the Hilton hotel where we utilized their clean warm toilet facilities. From there it was only a few blocks up the Maria Theresien Strasse to the pedestrian zone centered around the Goldenes Dachl.

As we walked into this most touristy part of Innsbruck I was very excited to see that the Christmas Market was still operating. This meant a nice cheap lunch; probably some tasty Wursts and Bier. But first things first: Gail headed into Swarovski's flagship store with three floors of the most boring junk I've ever experienced in Europe. Since she put up with all the stupid World War II and Cold War stuff Tyler and I were salivating over earlier in our trip, I did my best to keep quiet and just stay out of her way. I headed back outside where I enjoyed an outdoor jazz concert under the eaves of the Goldenes Dachl. It was a bit wierd and uncomfortable standing around in 20 degree weather but the square was packed with people and the musicians were quite good.

After listening to five or six tunes I returned to the Swarovski shop to check Gail's progress. She was still at the front customer service counter trying to return some defective merchandise she picked-up here the year before. She was getting nowhere with them so I went back outside. I then took a rather interesting walk along the secondary side streets and back alleys. Many of the old buildings were decorated with characters from famous fairy tales and German folklore. I also had time to map out vendors with tempting morsels for lunch if and when Gail ever escaped Swarovski's.

When I returned to the crystal palace I found Gail elbowing her way through hordes of shoppers evidently dropped-off here from their tour buses. All were in a hurry trying to buy as much merchandise as they could in the 10 minutes they were given to shop. I couldn't stand the milling crowds and the stuffy atmosphere inside so I returned outside for the third time where I listened to more of the New Year's Eve concert in the square. And I was worried places would be closed for the holiday? Downtown Innsbruck was a madhouse and getting busier by the minute.

At some point Gail got shopped-out. She was just getting into line to pay for her souvenirs when I walked back inside. Once she checked-out all of us were ready to grab a bite for lunch. Fortunately I was able to catalogue the various cheap options throughout this part of town. We settled on roasted Bratwurst, Pommes Frites and Bier. We spent maybe another half hour ducking in and out of shops without really finally finding anything we needed.

Cassie was a far different story. She found a couple of clothing shops where she tried on stuff, but Miss Particular was unable to come up with anything that suited her "needs". As we made our way back toward the Hilton and our nearby van, Cassie spotted a Lush cosmetics store. Gail has her crystal fetish and Cassie is gaga over makeup. Another half hour of inspecting every item in the store followed by further minutes of indecision. Two doors down from there was a perfume shop which also warranted a visit. It wasn't until 2:30 that we reached our parked and unticketed vehicle. We still had some nasty driving to do and darkness would be coming soon.

The last time we tried to get from Innsbruck back into Upper Bavaria we stumbled and bumbled our way there by getting lost numerous times. This time our Garmin Nuvi and my memory saw us through. As we began the climb out of the Inn River valley into the Tyrolean Alps snow started to fall. The car rental agreement went to great lengths telling me how I would be responsible for anything that occurred due to not having snow tires. As much as we might have liked to stop and enjoy some of the panoramas and alpine scenery along the way, we motored in fearing some nasty stuff might be coming along.

Although it felt likewe spent hours driving through the towering snowy mountains, it actually took only about an hour and a half to reach the little town of Reutte near the German border. Here we drove through the town where many many years ago Gail suffered through a horrible toothache and her Mom and I nearly froze to death in a seemingly unheated old Gasthaus. Reutte seemed much more happening these days. The stores were still open even this late on New Year's Eve. There were ski racks on every car and lots of men and women wearing ski parkas and fuzzy white boots. We motored through town but stopped for gas on the outskirts of town. Here we found some of the cheapest diesel of the entire trip - 1.15 Euro per litre.

After filling up the van with 12 gallons for a "mere" 52.50 Euro (almost $70) we continued on over the Austrian-German border into the town of Fuessen. Only a week before leaving home I had made yet another last second change and booked the Euro Park Hotel in downtown Fuessen. For three double rooms booked for New Year's Eve and the following night we paid $465.00. Considering it also included breakfast it seemed pretty reasonable. Pulling up to the hotel was interesting since there were no parking spaces in front and our van was too tall to drive into their garage. Instead I parked in a short term lot next door. After checking-in and taking our bags to our rooms we returned to the van in order to head for Garmisch for our dinner reservation. When we got to the van we found ourselves parked-in. We waited a good ten minutes for someone to come out and move their car. When no one appeared we went to the hotel desk and asked for help. It took another 15 minutes and two more trips to the front desk to finally get the driver to come out and move his vehicle.

Our reservations were for 7:00 and the drive would take 1:05 according to my Nuvi. It was almost 6:00 as we left the hotel and headed up the extremely narrow steep road out of town. It was quite dark as we retraced our route back into Austria, past Reutte, then through the Loisach River valley. Almost as soon as we crossed into Austria snow began to fall. I was beginning to really question the wisdom of driving through the dark in a snowstorm over mountains and through isolated mountain passes on New Year's Eve just to eat dinner. But recalling past Winter holiday experiences we knew that we would probably never find anywhere to eat without reservations on this the most "important" of holidays for the Europeans. The Europeans simply go wacky on New Year's Eve setting-off fireworks all day, giving big parties and shutting everything down to celebrate. It seems to be of more significance to them than Christmas itself.

By the time we reached the ski town of Lermoos the snow was falling rather heavily. It began to accumulate on the road and before long the lines along the shoulder were obliterated. I drove down the center of the road just to make sure I wasn't about to veer off into an alpine lake. Fortunately we didn't encounter much trafiic along the way. By the time we crossed back into Germany again the snow was tapering-off. The roads in downtown Garmisch-Partenkirchen were covered by about an inch of wet snow and rather slick. It was trickier weaving through the city streets than negotiating the mountain roads. In town there was very little traffic too. I expected to see the Polizei out checking for drunks but we didn't see any at all that night.

After finding a free parking spot in a closed supermarket lot we walked about 500 yards to the Werdenfelser Hof . We arrived, as per usual, late by about 20 minutes. The main section of the restaurant was blocked-off but the little Bierstube was brightly lit and packed with people. We stood around like confused tourists for a few minutes before a waitress came out of the kitchen. In my halting Deutsch I explained that we had reservations. She gave us a big smile then turned around and kicked a group of 6 off a nice big table near the bar room entrance.

Naturally the first order of business was a round of beer. The only disappointing aspect of the evening would be the very limited dinner menu we were given. Most of the dozen dinner choices were game dishes and the only Schnitzel was the breaded Viennese style. But the food we ate was delicious as usual. The ambience inside was as cozy as it gets. The white-washed walls, pinewood trim and warm lighting made my birthday dinner very special. The little Bierstube only held about ten tables but each remained occupied the entire time we were there. As we finished our dessert members of a local band dressed in traditional Bavarian attire headed into the bar area. At first we surreptitiously peered around the corner to see what was happening. When no one challenged us we walked into the bar entrance to watch the little band play holiday music Bavarian-style.

After Tyler paid the bill we spent some time walking around the silent streets as snow flurries fell. Somehow Cassie and I got far ahead of the others. As we made our way past a bend in the street I saw a brown fuzzy creature skulking across the road. My initial thought was that it was cat, but it was much too big. If it was a dog it was the rattiest looking dog in the entire German nation. I asked if Cassie saw it and she did. She wasn't sure what it was but thought it might have been a fox. If so, it was a monster. I actually think it might have been a wolf. It looked like a mishaped German Shepherd. None of the others saw it.

The snow began to come down a bit harder as we drove out of town. I deliberately curtailed my alcohol consumption for just such an eventuality. As far as we knew it might be a blizzard back within the Alps as we returned to our hotel. Getting stopped for drunk driving in Europe is no picnic either. But the way back was relatively calm. Still no one on the roads and virtually nothing open. People must do their celebrating at home for the most part. Barely a soul was stirring as we passed again through Lermoos.

The night was still young when we reached the outskirts of Fuessen. We decided to take a little drive past Ludwig's Royal Castles. Tyler's was getting very serious about his photography and made me pull over and stop a couple times so that he could whip out his tripod and get some good night shots. Most of his pictures came out bautifully while my unsteady hands made mine look like Rorschoch tests.

We decided to bring in the New Year by watching some TV together and drinking some of our beers that we had accumulated along the way. Our hors'd oeuvres for the party were Bounty candybars and stale potato chips. It wasn't exactly a New Years Rockin' Eve with Dick Clark but we tried to follow along with German TV's coverage of the celebration throughout Germany. Once the party ended 5 minutes after midnight we went straight to bed. Unfortunately that's when everyone else seemed to get started. Throughout the night we were kept awake by a near constant cacophony of fireworks and horns.

---

Photos

Doug's on a Walkabout
Knowing Gail could be in Swarovski's for hours, I decided to take a look around the old side streets and alleys around the Goldenes Dachl. You can see some of the booths that were set up for the Christkindlmarkt. I can still smell the Wursts cooking.

Goldens Dachl
This is the primary landmark of Innsbruck. The Golden Roof was built by Maximilian the First to commemorate his marriage.

Doug Does a Walkabout
Knowing Gail could be in Swarovski's for hours, I decided to take a look into some of the side streets near the Goldenes Dachl. You can see a few of the Christkindlmarkt vendors' booths. I can still smell the Wursts.

Standing on the Innsbruck
"Innsbruck" means "bridge across the Inn River". Just a few yards from the shopping district I walked on to one of the bridges across what I would consider a creek, rather than a river.

Heading Back to the Stores
There wasn't a lot to see standing on the bridge. During the summer when the air is clear and the sky is a deep blue, you can get awesome glimpses of the snow-peaked Alps hovering over the town. Today it was absolutely freezing standing over the rushing river (creek).

A Glimpse of the Fairy Tale Decorations
As I walked down some of the back streets many of the shops displayed characters or scenes from famous fairy tales mounted above their entrances. The nearest mannequin represents some kind of fairy princess while the one next to it is Snow White.

Mother Goose?
The placard beneath this exhibit claims that this is the "Goose Maiden". Never heard of her.

Yet Another German Folktale
This one is "Max and Moritz", a rather famous German tale that never really attracted any attention from Disney. Thus I have no idea what wisdom or moral these two goofy-looking guys impart to us.

Marzipan Pigs
I could probably set-up a whole website dedicated to "European New Years' Marzipan Pigs and the people who love them" just because of all the photos I've taken of them over the past few years. Little pigs of any kind (marzipan, chocolate, cake, plastic or stuffed) are for sale at almost every business once New Years approaches. They are supposed to bring good luck.

The Girls Are Still Shopping
After taking a lap around the Old Town I returned to Swarovski's only to find the ladies still perusing the rooms of glittery fake jewelry. I turned around immediately and went back out into the cold.

There's Those Big Old Alps
There's quite a contrast between what this building looks like in the Summer and what it looks like in the cold cold Winter. On our summer EF trips I've seen this palace decorated with scores of window box flowers and colorful bunting.

Fancy Schmanzy Windows
I don't remember what building this was, but it obviously belonged to someone of wealth.

World's Biggest Advent Calendar
Cassie and Gail noticed this before I did. I was busy checking out that chocolate shop and nut shack below.

The Shopping is Far From Over
I thought we might actually get out of Innsbruck without much further damage to my wallet, but as we headed back down Maria-Theresian-Strasse toward the van, Cassie was distracted by store after store of cosmetics, soaps and perfumes. Some of these buildings were painted in the same colors as the lavender, eucalyptus, rose and strawberry soaps she HAD to buy.

Making the Ugly Look Pretty
Innsbruck's streets are crisscrossed with all kinds of electrical, phone and trolley cables but during the Holidays they make a nice attempt at making the clutter look presentable. This too is normally an absolutely amazing view of the Alps when the weather is nicer. Today you can barely see them in the distance.

Up, Up and Into the Alps
Once we finally escaped the clutches of the merchants of Innsbuck we piled into the van and headed North toward Fussen. Our route took us toward the Fernpass which is one of the most accessible of the Alpine passes even in the dead of winter. But with a vehicle lacking snow tires and flurries just beginning, we were more than a little nervous about heading into High Country.

A Very Brief Photo Stop
Mostly because this little castle enclave looked so charming and partly because my injured heel was starting to bother me again, I made a short detour off the two lane highway so that we might get a shot of yet another place I want to return to someday - preferably in the Summer.

Should We Stay or Should We Go?
If we stay there could be trouble; if we go it will be double. Conventional wisdom says we should've just stayed here for the night instead of carrying on through the nasty weather, but we had already paid for our hotel rooms in Fussen in advance. We were lucky because this was about as bad as the snow squall got. The farther into the Alps we went, the less snowfall we encountered.

Make a Note of This Place
I took a wider angle shot of this area in order to record the name of the Schloss Fernsteinsee for a future visit. And note that despite the swirls of snow descending on us, none of it was laying on the road....yet.

Our Hotel in Fussen
Just kidding. All along the roads in this part of Austria and in nearby Germany these little farmer's huts decorate the landscape. They are used to store farm equipment and hay which the farmers then throw out on top of the snow to feed their freezing cattle.

View from Our Fussen Hotel
Each of our rooms had balconies which served as refrigerators for our beer and soda. Even during the Winter the view was gorgeous. Tyler gets credit for this photo.

Gen's and Tyler's Haul
Tyler took a picture of all the stuff he and Gen had purchased thus far. I think he documented all this just in case they had to leave half of this behind due to overweight luggage or violating customs laws.

New Year's Eve Activities at the Werdenfelser Hof
After dinner we poked our head into the barroom where a private party was just starting. Before too very long the slap-dancing began.

No Dinner Pics
Now we skip along past check-out time at the hotel, past the scary drive from Fussen through a blizzard to Garmisch, past a wonderful dinner and on to our brief little detour past Neuschwanstein. Not much was going on out here in the boonies on New Years' Eve, but in the nearby town of Fussen the wackiness was just about to start.

Tyler's "Professional" Take on Neuschwanstein
Mr. Photography spent a long while in the freezing cold lining-up this shot taken from his tripod.

Hohenschwangau at Night
Tyler got very serious about his night photography but it was too cold for me to stand outside the van and set-up the perfect shot. This blurry mess will have to do. Had I known how long the firecrackers would be keeping me up that night I might've been more willing to spend a few more minutes out here taking pictures.