Germany, Garmisch-Partenkichen, and gute Getränke

On my way to Germany, I met a travel buddy on the bus to the airport in Sweden. She was speaking Russian on the phone behind me and when she hung up, I couldn’t resist starting a conversation because I found it strange to hear Russian in Sweden. Turned out that we were taking the same flight, so we chatted the whole way and then even sat together on the plane, as there were extra seats. It’s nice to have someone to talk with when traveling sometimes.

Got to Germany without any hitches – as I was buying my train ticket, some older gentleman approached me and wanted to help me and showed me some special ticket that I could buy that saved me a couple euros. I didn’t understand why someone would simply help someone else – he didn’t want to preach to me or anything like that… guess I’ve been living in K-stan too long…

Jessi picked me up at the train station in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and we enjoyed a nice bottle of wine when we got back. The week was spent fairly quietly walking around town and doing a fair amount of hiking in the nearby mountains. I’d actually really like to go back and spend another week or two hiking around that beautiful region of Germany.

Tuesday evening was spent at the Partenkirchen festival, a great event filled with everything that is traditionally Bavarian. Live music, dancing, large Maß’s, and lively conversation with people dressed in Lederhosen and Dirndl’s. In fact, if you weren’t wearing those clothes, you were in the minority and I felt slightly disappointed that I didn’t purchase a set at the second hand store earlier that day.

Wednesday we went out to dinner with an older gentleman that works at the military resort there. His nickname is Pineapple and he’s a guy in his 70’s from Hawaii that served in the military and apparently has hard core experience, but you’d never know by looking at this cute little man. He ordered a Chateau Brignon (sp?) for 8 and it was so much food!

Thursday morning I left to go back home to Kazakhstan… I was quite sad, though satisfied with my journeys. When I connected in Riga, I could tell I was getting close to Kazakhstan by the lingering vodka smell in the waiting area and the very marginal, yet loud music playing from cell phones with 4-5 men huddled around. The next morning, as I was kicking trash on the dirt path to the Peace Corps office in Almaty, I thought about the vast differences between the two lands and how lucky we really are as Americans.

I’ve tried to not take anything in my life for granted, but it’s impossible to not do that until you’ve lived or at least spent a lot of time overseas. In the States, if the AC stops working, we get irritated and angry. Should I be so lucky to have an AC even if only for a week! Or how about trash collection that is barely functional? Feeling safe going for a walk in the neighborhood at night? A variety of fresh foods year-round? Knowing more than 5 recipes? So many things I’m grateful for these days, especially after a 3 week reminder in Western Europe.

Enjoying a beer in the garden.


A hike up the mountain reveals a gorgeous scene.


WW1 and WW2 memorials at a monastery.


The highest mountains in Germany - the highest is off to the right (looks small because of depth perception) and is called Zugspitze


A cute little cottage by a lake up in the mountains.


Partenkirchen Festival - woohoo!


Bavarian dancing.


You'll notice in the very bottom left corner that beverages are necessary to play good festival music.


Maß number...?


If it isn't in the movie Beerfest, it should be: The liter chug on a bench that is hoisted in the air.