Wednesday 6th May - Partnachklamm.

Today's task was to get to the Partnach Gorge by bus, and take a walk through the gorge and beyond.  We knew from the website that the entrance was a good 25 minute walk from the nearest car park/bus stop which was the Olympic Ski Stadium.  Google maps is very good for public transport directions, and I had faith, - Peter was not so sure.   So the first adventure of the day was getting to the stadium.

And it all went fine.  Peter's fears were soon soothed by Google's instructions and the information screen inside the bus.  We managed to get off and change where required and arrived at the stadium around 40 mins later.  

The walk to the gorge seemed quite a long way, but the scenery was pretty special, and that made up for it. When we got there, our guest card (the one that we were given for free bus journeys), got us a discount on the entrance fee too, €9 instead of €10.

I knew what to expect, but Peter didn't.  The gorge is narrow and dramatic.  A level, fenced off path has been created with tunnels cut through the rock, allowing the public to walk along the gorge and be safe at all times.  I wonder who had the foresight to do that?  I'm glad they did, as it was absolutely amazing!  It almost made me forgive the cable car misinformation.  The photographs can't do it justice.

First steps into the gorge, note the bridge above

Looking up

Still looking up

We came out the other end to an open area alongside the river and sat down to enjoy lunch.  We met an American couple who chatted about the royal family and stuff, then we had a choice to go back the way we came, or work out a different route.  With info from the  American couple's family and Maps.me, we decided to climb the many sets of steps up the side of the gorge and follow the path back to the bridges that we'd seen from below, and from there back to the ski stadium.  

Scary looking bridge over a washed out part of the gorge side

I'm not normally one to enjoy walking in the woods, but this time I did. It didn't matter that there were constant showers. I loved the rock formations, the peace the views of the mountains.... everything. 

Looking down on the gorge from the bridge seen earlier

I also enjoyed the icecream we treated ourselves to once we'd got back to the entrance.

Due to bus timings, we confused ourselves slightly, because really we had an hour to wait, but we got back fine, treated ourselves to some fresh salad in Aldi and settled in.

We're having a domestic day tomorrow, weather wise it's not the best, so I'll be doing things like getting the washing done and  Peter will sort out online students etc.   At home the local elections are underway, so we'll be looking out for the results the day after.  There should also be a repair to the sewage system on the street outside my house, I've been complaining about it since July last year, let's hope they get it sorted. 

The day after that - The Zugspitze!  Although a lot of the cable cars are closed down at the moment, the one to the top of the Zugspitze is still running.  We'll work out the buses and trains (free) to Eibsee, and then go up.  I'm really looking forward to it.