6/28/2010 Living the High Life in Eibsee

I knew that McKenzie and I would get into a little adult trouble yesterday and indeed we did. He arrived about 4 in the afternoon with Carlyn and a student friend of theirs named Brian. Dad and I met them at the front door of the La Fontana and immediately sat down and had drinks. It was just another common, beautiful cloudless Corvara day. It was wonderful seeing Mac but I must say I spent the bulk of the evening getting to know Carlyn and it was my impression we hit it off well. I am sure Mac had warned her I have a flair for the dramatic so there were probably no surprises.

After a wonderful, conversation full dinner we asked our server where to go for drinks in town and were told about a bar called the Underground. It wasn’t anything special. Just a ski town bar, and we honestly did not do what I’d call heavy drinking. After all I had a long day on the bike ahead. On the way home however, as we approached the hotel, we all realized none of us had our room keys. The La Fontana really closes down after dinner. No front desk or personnel on staff throughout the night. It was stupid of us to leave our keys, but we had become accustomed to it being the European way and we just didn’t think about it when we left. Confusion set in quickly as we tried to open doors around the building. I noticed my room windows were wide open (no screens) and with a boost from Mac I was certain I could climb up the roof which is just what I did, scraping and bloodying my hands and forearms along the way. Once in my room I went to the door and quickly remembered that you need your key to get out as well as in. So now I was in my room and the other three were downstairs. I missed the next 45 minutes as Mac told me to stay there was no sense in me coming back down. When Mac finally came and opened my door he took me downstairs and reenacted what had happened…

Carlyn had found a door to the basement open and was able to get into the hallway to her room but still none of them could get to the wall where the keys hung. Mac called the hotel about 10 times and no one answered. I guess you are on your own in any kind of emergency. They called the Cabinari (police) who said they’d come and stand around but could not get them in the hotel. Mac went to talk to the bartender across the street who, again, could not really help but gave them a big bottle of wine as a consolation so they were all a drunker than I when I was released from my room. What finally happened was Mac found a key in the kitchen which unlocked the doors, including the door to the hotel bar, so when I came downstairs Carlyn was pouring herself a shot which she felt the hotel owed her for not having any staff around to help. Granted we all shouldn’t have left our keys, but that doesn’t mean we should have to sleep in the street. We all got a good laugh out of it and I hit the hay as I had to get up early.

Dad and I had our last breakfast in Corvara this morning, packed and were ready to go at 9am. Mac, Carlyn and Brian came to say their farewells. We took a number of pictures and were back in the saddle heading up over the Passo Del Gardena one last time. Today’s ride was really the most boring of the entire trip. It was just a pure travel day as our final destination was about 250 miles away in Eibsee, Germany near Garmish. We rode the autostrada for a while and tried to ride the Timeljoch Pass but it was closed for a bicycle race (on a Monday). That may have been best as I was not hung-over by any means but was a bit foggy from being up late and having consumed more beers in one sitting than I had so far on this trip. We rode over the Brenner Pass, which isn’t much of a pass at all, but Dad told me that Mom had crossed this pass many times as a young girl. The Brenner took us into Austria, which I was really looking forward to visiting but was sort of disappointed. The areas we rode in were kind of dirty and very industrial. We did ride thru the outskirts of Innsbruck, which seemed like a nice city but it was difficult to get a feel for it.

Roads and slow traffic all day today with not much to mention. Austria did put us back in the Alps which are incredibly beautiful and I’ve realized it's unfair to make comparisons to the Dolomites as each range has it’s own unique beauties. The end of our day brought us through Garmish which is an American base town and onto Eibsee and the Zugspitze. The reasons Dad wanted me to come to Eibsee were twofold. First it is a place my mother vacationed at as a girl living in Germany and it meant a lot to me to be in a place that she has such fond memories of. Second, it is the home of the famous Zugspitze tram which rises from the lake at Eibsee straight up to the top of the mountain. I plan to ride it in the morning but try and imagine two giant tram towers (like huge electrical towers) down near the base and then nothing but tramline literally 1500ft straight up to the top of this extremely rocky, totally exposed peak. My father is very afraid of heights and I don’t think he will be joining me but he feels it is an important experience for me to have and I honestly can’t wait.

We are staying at the Eibsee Hotel which is a four star hotel that after WWII was exclusively used for American military and State Department personnel which is why my mom used to come here with her folks. The grand old hotel sits on the edge of the most beautiful crystal clear mountain lake with views right up the Zugspitze. I went for a very brief, very cold swim off the dock which was incredibly refreshing but gave me a bit if a headache it was so cold. Dad and I enjoyed a fantastic dinner on the deck of the hotel surrounded by German and American hoitoi and felt very high society. We concluded dinner with a short walk around park of the lake to get views of the Zugspitze in the sunset and as the darkness begins to set in over the lake and mountain I am sitting on the dock writing this. I can hear the guests finishing their dinner and all around me are the splashes of fish coming up to the surface for a dinner of their own.


Even though the ride was not one to remember, this wonderful evening and moment of absolute tranquility is one you cannot really experience sitting on a motorcycle. Another wonderful day.