#gletscherbahn

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Granat Chapel, Granatalm, Finkenberg, Austria.

Architectural adventures in the Alps

By Albrecht Voss

Ötzi Peak, Schnalstaler Gletscherbahn, Italy.

Chapel Santa Maria degli Angeli, Switzerland.

Monte Rosa Hut, Zermatt, Switzerland.

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Dachsteinsüdwände - Dachsteinstraße Gletscherbahn Ramsau Steiermark - Austria

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After Linderhof Palace, we drove to Garmisch-Partenkirchen where we got tickets for the cog train and cable car that climbs up to Germany’s tallest peak, the Zugspitze. The train ride took 70 minutes. We were treated to grazing sheep, tiny villages, and amazing scenery. The hiking/skiing in this area of Bavaria is superb. The alps and the forest are just breathtakingly beautiful.

The cog train stops at the glacier (2600m) where a slew of activities await the daring. There are free sleds, hiking, a jungle gym with awesome bust your ass potential and even a beer garden. From there, things get much more fun. The cable car to the top of the Zugspitze takes only about 6 minutes, but there is a solid drop in temperature. The air is very thin at the top, but what air! 

It was close to 3pm and we hadn’t eaten lunch so we stopped by PANORAMA 2962, called that because it’s right below the summit at 2962m (9717.8 feet). There we toasted on top of the world and had some very good goulash and pretzels. They even had GF beer! 

The view from the restaurant can’t be beaten. While we enjoyed a meal we watched the daredevils scale the side of the mountain for the selfie up at the golden cross. While we were there some guy slipped and almost fell. Just crazy! I love Europe though. There is always a sign that tells you, ‘hey this is dangerous,’ but there are no ropes or barriers, the choice is left to the person. In the US everything is guided or controlled. Anyway, I digress. 

The summit had some cloud cover and I couldn’t get that super clean shot that I got down in the glacier of the various peaks, but it didn’t matter. The experience of being up there was phenomenal–religious even. What’s more, the Zugspitze at the moment is in the process of building a brand new cable car and it’s a huge construction site. I seriously felt like I had landed in a space station in Mars.  Many places are hard hat areas and watching those guys and gals work on scaffolds at 10k feet was nothing short of shocking. The new cable car will open this December, so when we go back we hope to experience it. It was kind of cool to see the work as it happened. It didn’t bother me that the place was an absolute mess.

Back down on the glacier, we got on some sleds and had some fun in the snow. All in all, it was a perfect day with perfect weather. Had we waited to do the summit the following day we would have seen nothing but snow. A storm rolled through the next day. Going up to the top was one of the highlights of our trip.

Zugspitze, September 22, 2017

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1 Gletscherbahn Kaprun, 928-3027 m, Blick zur Krefelder Hütte. 2295 m, auf Kaprun, Zell am See und Steinernes Meer

2 Jausenstation, im Hintergrund Rettenwand 2708 m

3 Antriebsstation Krefelder Hütte, 2452 m

4 Krefelder Hütte, 2295 m

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Gletscherbahn Kaprun

Blick von der Station Salzburger Hütte zum Kitzsteinhorn, 3204 m

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Stubaier Gletscherbahn, 3200 m

Ganzjahresschigebiet an der Europabrücke

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Gletscherdrachen, Gletscherbahn Kaprun, Tauernkraftwerke Kaprun, Limbergsperre, Großglockner, Felbertauernstraße Salzburg Osttirol, Heiligenblut, Hinterglemm 1100 m, Krimmer Wasserfälle, Weißsee, Schmittenhöhe, Zell am See, Mittlerer Fall unterer Fall

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Europas höchstgelegenes Skiparadies.

Übungshang und Abfahrt von der Bergstation der Gletscherbahn, 3029 m