Garmisch-Partenkirchen to St Gallen

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Our leaving GaPa to make our train connections today nearly didn't happen. We had stood around waiting for half and hour for our train to leave thinking that we were waiting for another train. A couple turned up one minute before leaving time with their bikes and we thought they were cutting it fine before realising that was our train! We moved fairly quickly to get on board just in time. The signs were confusing - well, that is our excuse. On a later train, we got on the back carriage which was being dropped off to another destination. That could have been interesting! Fortunately, the guard checked everyone and moved us out.

We said good bye to GaPa at 10.00am and headed across southern Germany using a Bavarian ticket on regional trains. A Bavarian Ticket costs just E31 to travel anywhere in Bavaria for one day as long as it is on regional trains. This suited us just fine as instead of going to Munich then St Gallen on an Express Train we took the slow scenic route. Our first train was through the Alps to Reutte im Tirol. The scenery was superb with many hikers and bikers out and about. This would be a great area to cycle through - on an ebike, that is! Our next train was a slow diesel train to Kempton which brought us out of the Alps and through beautiful rolling dairy farms. Then a large, old fashioned but quiet train to Lindau on Lake Constance. At Kempton, a local German proceeded to give us all sorts of information about where we were going, what we should do, what sort of train we were going on (by all accounts an old East German train), and the state of the nation. We couldn't stop him talking, but he sure was interesting.

At Lindau, we soon recognised the harbour area which we biked through last year. In particular, there is a tower there with a huge long plait hanging out of it. Supposedly, Rapunzel's. Our train to St Gallen from Lindau continued on our biking route around the lake so we relived a few more places and memories before arriving in St Gallen. That really was a lovely route to do a cycle trip.

We were met in St Gallen by our Swiss friends, Bruno and Gertrud who expouse all that is good about being Swiss. They showed us the finished re-outfit of the train station which is superb. The old part has kept it's style but is completely modernised and a new building has been added. It is very nice indeed, as is this city. From there we went back to their home in Abtwil and spent a long evening over drinks and dinner catching up with each other.

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Photos

Our home for a week in GaPa
Our apartment was the top floor

One of the many painted buildings in GaPa
Nearly every building in GaPa town was adorned in paintings depicting it's history