From Tennessee To Texas to Saudi Arabia

We woke up with one purpose on Christmas Eve – Rodelbahn. We had told the kids that there were sledding trails that were a few kilometers long and that was going to be a have-to-do while in Germany. Unfortunately, Grainau was unique in that it had snow on the ground. Much of the surrounding are had little to no snow. Definitely not enough for sledding. I checked the slope reports for those in the area and came up nada. We decided to drive into Garmisch again to check Eckbauer, thinking maybe they had enough to be open. The slope was located right next to the Olympic ski jump stadium from 1936 and the new ski jump built in 2007. They were preparing for a New Years competition and so everything was white. This gave us false hope, as the Eckbauer itself was green. We went in to ensure, and the man said, “No. No snow” like we were idiots. Which we were, but you do a lot for your kids.

We walked through Olympic Stadium and onward towards the Partnachklamm. It’s a gorge that’s a popular hiking spot. There were lots of people headed in the general direction, but the first sign we came to convinced us we didn’t have time to make the hike, return, and get to Zugspitze in time. So we had an all-out snowball fight as we walked back to the car.

We made the drive back to the Eibsee train and tram station. The original plan was to take the cog-wheel up and the cable car down. The ticket allows any route up and down and the lady who sold us our tickets told us the train had just pulled out. It would be an hour wait, but the cable car would leave in 20 minutes. We decided to flip-flop the routes and walked down to the tram station. The facts: 1950 meter elevation change, up to the peak at 2962 meters. Total span 4453 meters. Two support towers. The last span is 2635 meters. 46 degree rise. The reality: Shear terror. The towers cause a nice rocking motion. The lies: The thing was built in 1654. It does a loop after the first tower. Crosswinds sometimes cause a barrel roll. The cable is made from dental floss. It was fine as long as you didn’t look down. Or up. Or around. Actually, it was an awesome ride up with amazing views of both the area and the peak itself. We saw two mountain climbers as little specks. It was truly an exhilarating ride.

We reached the top and spent some time taking in the view. We then took another cable car down to the ski area on the glacier. The wind was stiffer and this one did rock quite a bit. We made our way to the rental stand and grabbed 5 sleds. There was a kiddie run right next to the shed, so we all went down to get the hang of the sleds. This one had to be walked back up, so we just did it once. We were all ready to go hit the grown up Rodelbahn. But first, our measly gloves required an upgrade. And I couldn’t run to Wal-Mart. 200 Euros later, we all had a very nice pair of gloves that will sit in the closet. But it was money well spent, as we all stayed toasty warm and had nothing but fun.

The most complicated piece of machinery ever invented by man and implemented for use by the masses has to be the T-bar. In theory, a person sits down on their sled next to another person who situates likewise. The T-bar operator than hooks both sleds into the T and you are pulled up the mountainside. In practice, the snow causes physics to behave in unnatural ways, resulting in T-bars chewing you up and spitting you out. We all had at least one false start before making it to the top. Even a successful trip to the top resulted in the realization that you know how to fall off without trying, but you have no idea how to fall off with trying. It wasn’t graceful.

We all had made a trip to the top and a ride down, except for Cade. After a few failed attempts, he ended up with his head buried in the snow feeling like he would never succeed and end up living in a van down by the river. We finally made it up without about 30 minutes to spare and so we all got to experience the ride down at least once.

The ride down. Hmm. Greene went once. She realized she was only going to do it once about 10 seconds into her first run. She recalled that feeling when you realize as a teenager that you are in a position that you shouldn’t be in and the consequences could be serious. And despite this great danger, you can only hear maniacal laughing emanating from deep in your gut. She had went with Drew, who screamed halfway down, “Mom, I think I peed my pants!” which made the laughter even louder.

Greene: “That was the funnest thing I’ve ever done, and I’m never doing it again. At least not today.”

I made my first trip up solo, and the ride down was awesome. The steering and braking are accomplished with your feet. I dug in hard and ended up with a beard full of ice by the time I got to the bottom. My next trip up was with Macy. I told her she needed to use both feet for brakes, as one foot would quickly throw you off course. I went down first and made it most of the way down before bailing to avoid the big orange X’s placed on one side of the trail. I looked up to see Macy flying by, screaming, “I never even used the brakes!”

The next trip, Cade and I ended up at the top shortly before Drew and Macy got there. Cade went first, and we all panicked as the slope dropped off and we lost sight of his head. But he soon reemerged and made a perfect run. His whole vacation was made. I went next, and perfect run I did not make. I veered to the right and decided to abandon ship pretty early. The first bail had been a butt slide for maybe 50 yards. This bail was completely uncontrolled. I slid on my back for 3 miles, hearing nothing but the swoosh of me sliding on the icy snow, then started tumbling. The soft swoosh was replaced by soft grunts as I impacted. I stopped, took inventory, then signaled that I was okay.

The girls made their last run and we were close to time to return the sleds. We climbed back up the hill to the rental shed. That sounds pretty easy, huh? The physical exertion from T-bar and sledding had us all gassed. Plus the elevation was hitting us hard. The small climb took Drew 10 minutes and a group of cheerleaders at the top yelling encouragement. Macy and Cade fell asleep waiting on her.

Sleds returned, we went for more coffee and hot chocolate. The weather changed very quickly, and it was soon near white-out conditions outside. We then made our way down to the train station and waited for about 15 minutes. The crowd was light. The kids fell asleep almost immediately. The first 2500 meters of the ride is through a tunnel, so by the time we emerged darkness had fallen. We still had a decent view of Eibsee and distant peaks.

We then headed to a Chinese restaurant that we had scoped out a few days before. Greene had stopped in a few day earlier to make sure they would be open on Christmas Eve. We went in to order while the kids rested in the car. The food was ready in short order and we took it back to the house to eat and watch A Christmas Story, our family tradition. We played some more cards until we were all ready to turn in, with Cade being the first to give up. But I’m proud of the guy for not giving up on that T-bar.

Christmas Day was excellent. The kids decided 4 a.m. was the time to wake up. After a straight coffee infusion, Greene made our French Toast Casserole for breakfast. Everyone fell asleep again with full bellies. It was just a day to enjoy the new toys, hang out, Skype with family, and have fun. And to recover from the sledding. Greene made an excellent Christmas dinner; it truly was a special meal considering we do only get some of the food once a year. And the scavenger hunt required to come up with the “American” ingredients lends a sense of accomplishment. We visited Garmisch again that evening because we knew our time was coming to a close.

We headed out the next morning for Munich with the intent to stop and do some shopping. We expected maybe a few stores to be open despite St. Stephen Day, but had no luck. We did get to see more of Germany at our pace, so the day wasn’t a waste. We spent most of the time at the airport, which was open as normal. One more Schweinhaxe for the road.

This trip had been much anticipated and lived up to those expectations. The kids got snow and Schnitzel, Greene and I got to experience everything Bavarian. And I got to drive on the Autobahn. We will, above all other places, make a return trip to see this beautiful part of the world again.