Posts tagged ‘Zugspitze’
Fotoeins’ five : Capture the Colour
Fellow Canadian Holly Fraser at Same Skies Above kindly nominated me to “capture the colour” and participate in the present online meme sponsored by TravelSupermarket. It was a great opportunity to go through the past few years of my travel photography, and pick out some gems for this post.
BLUE
I’d heard and read about the blue skies, turquoise waters, and white sands in the Caribbean, and I’d dismissed all of the descriptions as “exaggerations for memories.” However, they’re all undeniably true. Spending a few weeks in the Bahamas was a magical and relaxing experience.
GREEN
I saw this little guy climb from the wall and onto the branches, just outside the front door. The curly-tailed lizard stayed still, checking me out, and evaluating whether I was a threat. Just as I clicked, it scurried off into the bushes. I’m fortunate I got the various splashes of green and the bokeh in the background.
YELLOW
In the German capital, the Berlin subway or U-Bahn consists of yellow trains. As this U6 train entered into Oranienburger Tor station, I had no idea when I made this photo how uniformly the yellow would appear throughout the entire frame. Sometimes, it pays to be lucky and patient.
WHITE
Standing at Germany’s highest point offers a look of the Alps, which on the clearest of days extends as far as Italy. Taking a chance on both the expense of the round-trip and cloudy skies (from the valley below), the view in clear skies at altitude of the surrounding peaks with the new snow-frosting was worth every penny.
RED
A favourite time of the year to visit Germany is during Weihnachtsmärkte or Christmas markets. Trudging through the snow in Frankfurt am Main’s markets, we stopped at an ornaments stand, when this explosion of red stars was begging to be photographed. And who was I to turn down such beautiful begging …
To continue the wash of colour, I’d like to nominate the following bloggers:
- Debbie at European Travelista
- Alexandra at Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
- Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox
- Maria & Catalin at 2away
- Leigh at HikeBikeTravel
I made the photos above with a Canon EOS450D (XSi) camera. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com.
Disclosure: The author has written this post which is associated with a contest, sweepstakes, giveaway, or other special offer described in the post. Please see additional details at the Travel Supermarket website.
Hanging out at the top of Germany, 4 of 4
This is the 4th and final post in the series about visiting the Zugspitze summit, which is the highest point in Germany.
In part 3, the view from the Zugspitze summit from the Austrian side was spectacular, as the clouds below cleared.
Wandering slowly back to the German side of the summit, you might imagine how difficult it was to leave the beautifully illuminated snow-topped landscape.
FROSTED PEAKS
Welcome (back) to Bavaria, Germany.
The clouds have cleared: Schneefernerkopf, Zugspitzplatt, Zugspitzeck.
Left to right: Hochwanner (2744 m), Kleinwanner (2548 m), Reintal, Hoher Kamm (2376 m), Gatterl, Hohe Munde (2662 m), Östlicher Gatterlkopf (2475 m).
Bergstation Gletscherbahn – Upper station, glacier cable car.
Left-to-right: Gipfelkreuz (summit cross), Hochblasen (2707 m), Innere Höllentalspitze (2741 m), Jubiläumsgrat, Leut. Dreitorspitze (2682 m), Oberreintalschrofen (2523 m), Hochwanner (2744 m).
ZUGSPITZPLATT (ZUGSPITZ PLATEAU)
The Gletscherbahn cable car takes you from the summit proper down 300 metres (about 1000 feet) to Sonn Alpin at the Zugspitzplatt plateau. It’s also there at the plateau where you take the cogwheel railway back into the valley to complete the day’s journey.
Umweltforschungsstation (environment station), Sonn Alpin, Zugspitzplatt. The Zugspitze summit proper is at the upper right.
Schneefernerkopflift, Gletscherseelift : but it’s still summer-season.
Kirche Maria Heimsuchung: the highest church in the country.
Sonnenklar and Weisses Tal ski-lifts.
Sonn Alpin, with Gletscherbahn and Zugspitze summit in the background.
With this final view from Sonn Alpin, it was time to head back into town.
Thanks for following me on this trip up to Zugspitze!
Have you also gone up to the highest point in Germany? Please leave your comments below!
The series:
- Ascent to Zugspitze
- Zugspitze summit : part 1, German side
- Zugspitze summit : part 2, Austrian side
- Zugspitze summit : part 3, Austrian side, after the clouds cleared
- Zugspitze : part 4, the summit and the plateau below (this post)
I made on 9 October 2011 the photos shown above. This post appears originally on Fotoeins Fotopress (fotoeins.com).
Hanging out at the top of Germany, 3 of 4
On 2011 October 9, conditions were overcast, but I took a chance, went up to Zugspitze, and hoped for the best.
Previously (in part 2), I wrote about hanging out at the Zugspitze from the Austrian side. Eventually and happily, some of the clouds cleared, and a number of nearby mountain peaks were revealed.
Zugspitze is one of the many peaks in the Wetterstein mountain range, which itself is part of the Northern Limestone Alps. The Limestone Alps are composed of “softer” porous rock, in contrast with the much harder granite composition found in the central and much taller Austrian Alps.
Standing at 9700 feet above sea level, the mountains, regardless of composition, all look majestic, covered in snow and illuminated by the noontime sun.
At this point, the clouds below cleared some more, and a winter’s preview was had from the Austrian side of Zugspitze.
“Radiative transfer” : antenna/fixture by Telekom Austria & Katastrophenfunk.
Southwest view – upper-centre: Schneefernerkopf; left-centre: Sonn Alpin, Zugspitzplatt; right: Zugspitzeck.
West view – left-centre: Ehrwald, Tirol, Austria; centre: Tiroler Zugspitzbahn.
Northwest view – left: Tiroler Zugspitzbahn, Tirol, Austria; right: Eibsee, Bayern, Germany.
North view – left-centre: Eibsee lake, right-centre: Grainau.
Northeast view – left-centre: Grosser, Kleiner Waxenstein; centre-background: Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Left: cross on the Austrian side; centre-background: Cross on the actual Zugspitze peak in Germany.
Have you also gone up to the highest point in Germany? Please leave your comments below!
The series:
- Ascent to Zugspitze
- Zugspitze summit : part 1, German side
- Zugspitze summit : part 2, Austrian side
- Zugspitze summit : part 3, Austrian side, after the clouds cleared (this post)
- Zugspitze : part 4, the summit and the plateau below
I made the photos above on 9 October 2011 with the Canon EOS450D camera, EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit-lens, and the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. This post is originally published on Fotoeins Fotopress (fotoeins.com).
Hanging out at the top of Germany, 2 of 4
Previously, I wrote about hanging out at the “top of Germany” from the German side, just as I arrived at the Zugspitze summit.
I wandered over to the Austrian side of the summit to have a look around for the view, which is about the time the clouds below started to clear.
Former border-control entry point from Bavaria, Germany to Tirol, Austria.
Left-to-right: Austrocontrol Flugüberwachung (air traffic control), Bergstation Tiroler Zugspitzbahn, Sendmemast ORF (broadcast tower).
Looks cold, doesn’t it? -12C (+10F) temperature at the summit, but -20C (-4F) with the windchill. At least the sun’s out.
Bergstation (mountain station), Tiroler Zugspitzbahn.
Partly obstructed view through blowing snow down to Schneefernerkopf (upper left), Zugspitzeck (centre).
Zooming in on the ski-lift near the top of Schneefernerkopf.
High winds and clouds surrounding Zugspitzeck.
Bergstation (upper station), Tiroler Zugspitzbahn cable car.
Arrival of Tiroler Zugspitzbahn cable car, Bergstation (upper station).
Have you also gone up to the highest point in Germany? Please leave your comments below!
The series:
- Ascent to Zugspitze
- Zugspitze summit : part 1, German side
- Zugspitze summit : part 2, Austrian side (this post)
- Zugspitze summit : part 3, Austrian side, after the clouds cleared
- Zugspitze : part 4, the summit and the plateau below
I made the photos above on 9 October 2011 with the Canon EOS450D camera, EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit-lens, and the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. This post is originally published on Fotoeins Fotopress (fotoeins.com).
Hanging out at the top of Germany, 1 of 4
Previously, I wrote about the ways to ascend to the highest point in Germany, the Zugspitze, in the Bavarian Alps.
I rode the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn railway from Garmisch to Eibsee, followed by the steep Eibseeseilbahn cable-car/aerial tramway directly to the summit. Although the mid-level clouds earlier in the morning looked like a no-go, I “broke through” the clouds into clear blue skies at the Zugspitze summit. As clouds continue to roll in and out, up and over the summit, I stayed at the summit for a number of hours in the glorious sun to snap away at the scenery around and below.
There is a truckload of photos to fill many posts and pages, but I’ve selected plenty for the following series of four posts to describe and show the view at the Zugspitze summit:
- part 1 (the post you’re reading now) is on the German side of Zugspitze,
- parts 2 and 3 are over on the Austrian side of the summit,
- and part 4 is a final set of photos from the German side, after much of the cloud below cleared.
Walking from one side of the summit to the other only takes ten minutes, even with the ever-present crowds in the way! Besides, with the pointy craggy summit at 2960 metres (9710 feet) above sea level, it’s not very far where one can wander off.
Downstairs to the Eibsee cable car, or the Zugspitzplatt.
Upstairs to the summit to view the cross, or over to Austrian side.
Summit temp. -12C (+10F), summit winds 17 km/h (11 mph), windchill -20C (-4F), visibility 30 km (19 mi). In the valley below in Garmisch-Partenkirchen: +5C (41F).
Bergstation (Upper station), Bayerische Zugspitzbahn. Yeah, it really does look that cold.
Background through the frozen fog/mist, left-to-right: Alte Zollhütte, Meteorologischer Turm, Münchner Haus, broadcast tower for Austrian ORF
Münchner Haus (Munich House): German Alpine Association (Deutscher Alpenverein) shelter-hut, built in 1897.
Mailbox with address & postcode: Münchner Haus, D-82475, Zugspitze.
With address and post-code “Münchner Haus, D-82475, Zugspitze”, this Deutsche Post mailbox at an altitude of 2960 metres (9710 feet) is the highest mailbox in Germany. When the post office is open, you can have outgoing mail stamped with “Zugspitze”, just as you would in any Deutsche Post in a German town below.
How did I get up to the top of Germany? You can read about my ascent to Zugspitze here.
Have you also gone up to the highest point in Germany? Please leave your comments below!
The series:
- Ascent to Zugspitze
- Zugspitze summit : part 1, German side (this post)
- Zugspitze summit : part 2, Austrian side
- Zugspitze summit : part 3, Austrian side, after the clouds cleared
- Zugspitze : part 4, the summit and the plateau below
The windchill estimate above was obtained from the U.S. NWS Wind Chill Index and from the Environment Canada Windchill Calculator. I made the photos above on 9 October 2011. This post is originally published on Fotoeins Fotopress (fotoeins.com).
