Monday the 27th was to be our last full day before travelling to Munich for 2 nights. It dawned not just bright but brilliantly sunny. Excellent weather for going up a mountain. I had read that toboggans could be hired at the top of the Zugspitze. This is 2964 metres and is Germany's biggest mountain. Another massive breakfast was obviously required to fuel up for the day.

To the east of GAP is Mount Wank (not a rude word in Germany although it is here). Directly south is the Kreuzeck. South-south-west is the massive bulk of the Alpspitze. South-west of the town is the even bigger Zugspitze. This multi-peaked monster is so big, skiers can do 3 different runs each day for a fortnight without doing any run twice. One run is 15 kilometres long. My knee, having injured it several times on the rugby pitch, is not strong enough for skiing so I wanted to go on a toboggan.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen railway station sits between Garmisch (west of the line) and Partenkirchen (east). The Olympic skating arena is next to the station on the Garmisch side. Next to the arena is the station for the Zugspitze cog railway (Zugspitzbahn). From our hotel, it is about 1.5km to the main railway station. We walked along Ludwigstrasse and then Bahnhofstrasse. We went through the main station and out the other side to the Zugspitzbahn.

On a rollercoaster, a ratchet device called a chain dog prevents the train rolling backwards as the train goes up the lift hill. The Zugspitzbahn is like an ordinary electric train with a rather beefy version of a chain dog. The train calls at 7 stops as it passes through the hamlets. GAP is 700 metres above sea level (2275 feet) and the train starts a gentle ascent for the first 5 or 6 km. Then it gets gets steeper and the chain dog becomes essential. For the last 25 minutes, the Zugspitzbahn disappears inside the mountain. The gradient increases even more. If you are in a backward-facing seat, you feel as if you are being pulled out.

Finally, it evens out as you reach the underground Zugspitzplatt station. Now you are at 2585 metres (8400 feet). Exiting the station, there are 2 cafes. One, horribly out-of-place, glass modern style and a larger, more traditional looking place. It was in the modern glass fronted cafe that toboggans were supposed to be available for hire. Unfortunately for me, someone was hiring the last two. I muttered an oath because I had really wanted to hire one of these sledges.

Further up the hill is Germany's highest church. Around the back of the more traditional-looking cafe is a cable-car to the summit.

Denise was stunned by the whole scene. We were far higher than the wisps of cloud we had passed through on the train. The sky was a brilliant blue and the snow was reflecting so much light. I've been to the top of mountains before but always in cloud.

After the 90 minutes on a heated train, we needed a drink and went into the more traditional cafe. We decided to have a snack. I chose a currywurst and was shocked by the size of it and the mountain of chips piled onto the plate as well. A 30cm (12 inch)sausage close to 3cm thick is hefty fare. Not many fish & chip places would consider the pile of chips to be a portion - more like 3 portions. I ate the sausage and about half the chips. Unfortunately, the beer on offer was Lowenbrau. Still, it washed that sausage down.

The summit of the Zugspitze is the border between Germany and Austria. If you were touring, you can stay a night in GAP, go up the Zugspitzbahn, walk from one cable car to another and take another railway to Ehrwald or Obermoos in Austria for the following night. I wouldn't recommend taking a 20 kilogram suitcase but...

There were still no toboggans available (blast!) so we took the cable car up from 2600 metres to the summit at 2964 metres. As we got on the cable car, I noticed the thermometer. It read -17 deg C (2 deg  Fahrenheit). When we got off the cable car at 2964 metres, it was much, much colder. We couldn't see a thermometer but it must have been at least 10 deg C colder than at 2600 metres. The only exposed parts of us were our faces. I went to scratch an itch and realised my moustache had set solid.

We walked over to the Austrian side. In Germany, the building sheltered us from the wind. The Austrian side had a strong southerly breeze and it became bitterly cold.

In GAP, we had not met any fellow Brits. Americans, plenty. Canadians, a few. Britons, none bar ourselves. In fact, Bavarians are likely to have an American accent when they speak English - which is annoying. Then, on top of the Zugspitze on the Austrian side came a Welsh accent asking whether I could take a photo of them. This had the disadvantage of having to remove a glove. The Welsh couple came from Cowbridge, where my niece's wedding reception was held. They took a photo of us on our camera by way of returning the favour. I noticed both the women kept their gloves on whilst we fellows took the photos.

A helicopter then started circling the summit. I tried to zoom in but it moved faster than the camera's zoom. This was irritating as it would have been the only photo Anna Nicholls would really enjoy!

Eventually, the cold got just too much. We returned to the German side and got the cable car down to 2600 metres. We bought a stein in the souvenir shop and then faced a choice of routes down the mountain. Either we could take the Zugspitzbahn all the way back to GAP or take an open chairlift down to one of the intermediate stations. Quite frankly, 30 minutes on an open chairlift would have been fun but clouds were gathering. More snow was coming so we took the Zugspitzbahn.

As it happened, the snow didn't make it to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. We wandered out of the Zugspitzbahn into Garmisch as Denise wanted to visit a couple of shops. We bought a present for my mum and then wandered back to our hotel in Partenkirchen.

Dinner was at the Drei Mohren (see Part 2/Christmas Eve). I had the roast wild boar washed down with Thurn und Taxis Roggen. This beer uses malted rye as well as malted barley. This produces a beautifully balanced, crisp flavour with a dry finish. Magnificent beer, well worth finding. We got back to the hotel about 9:30 and started packing up ready for the morning.

A lighter breakfast - I hate feeling too full when I travel - and a few final photos around the hotel then our taxi to the station. We had 2 nights in Munich to come but, fun as Munich is, I know where I'd rather be.

When we told my mother we were going to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, she looked shocked and asked why on Earth we were going somewhere cold. Surely, we should be going somewhere hot. We have been to Africa - and endured 46 deg C (115 Fahrenheit) with 95% humidity. All you can do in those conditions is laze about. Cold is more fun!

If you have never thought of Germany as a holiday destination, why not? The food is good and the people are great. You can walk about at night without feeling threatened by drunkards. In summer, it is 3 to 5 deg C warmer than Essex. In the winter, 5 to 10 deg C colder and you need plenty of clothes and snow boots with a really good grip.