June 29, 2009

Written July 18

Friends and Families ,

Today would be the last day of our Alpine visit. For the last four days, we'd been waiting for a time when we could go up the Karwendel cable car, high above Mittenwald. Mostly, we'd been blocked by clouds that hung around the upper cable car station but on Monday morning, things looked great.

In the end, Henry, Marianne, and I took at least a couple hundred pictures but we'll spare you most of them. There was just something about being high above everyone that made us want to take pictures!

The route up.	The little car.	The long cables.
The full car.	Passing a pylon	Climbing past rocks.
A sign that warns against falling. Well, duh.	The upper station.	Henry. On the right.
	The view of Mittenwald and the valley was wonderful.
	Henry made his first summer snow ball.
	Henry and I walked up a rocky path to the top of the mountain ridge. From here we could look over into the Austrian valleys and mountains. In fact, Henry walked all the way to the Austrian border, for a picture by the border sign.
	The ride down was even more spectacular, since we were the only customers in the small car.

OK, that was our first car ride of the day. After that, we headed toward home. The route would take us through Munich, but we'd scratched visits to any of the wonderful downtown museums because we'd need a couple days to do them justice.

But we didn't escape the Bavarian capital unscathed. Just before leaving the northern suburbs, we saw a sign to the BMW car factory and museum. Our 19-year-old nephew seemed interested, as were the uncle and aunt, so we pulled off the highway to see what we could see.

Unfortunately, it was Monday and the museum was closed. Next time. And a factory tour would take advance reservations. Next time. That left the car show room. This time.

	I'm not sure there was too much difference between this showroom and your local BMW car dealership, except for size and selection. Every BMW vehicle currently being produced was there, from luxurious sedans and convertibles to motorcycles.
	Henry even got a chance to get some practice "driving" a BMW or two. The simulators gave a taste of stability technology found in the new cars but, of course, enthusiasm overpowers technology every time and Henry's car did hit a tree or two.
	Marianne was ready to take the touring motorcycle out for a trek.
	One floor of the show room is set aside for people who have chosen to pick up their cars at the factory. Next time. Famous Munich white sausage and sweet mustard was offered at the snack bar. This time.

So, that's how our Alpine visit ended. Pretty good visit overall and this last day might have been the best. After this, it's local attractions for Henry. Next story.

John and Marianne

Websites:

-- Karwendel Cable Car: http://www.karwendelbahn.de

-- BMW Museum: http://www.bmw-museum.de