Up to the Zugspitze we went. It's the highest mountain in Germany. The day had dawned slightly cloudy so we were a little worried about the weather but we set out anyway, wearing warm clothes (always easier to strip than freeze, we always say). We had free bus passes from the hostel, so we took the bus downtown, and switched to a train that eventually turned into a cog train. We got to 2600 metres, after a 75 minute, 19 km trip that included a 25 minute segment through a mountain tunnel. During this portion of the trip, TV screens on board played a movie describing exactly how to escape should something horrible go wrong. Very reassuring!

When we arrived at the Zugspitzeplatt, we explored outside, marvelling at the engineering that went into creating this particular experience. Then we walked up to the highest church in Germany, consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI. Afterwards, we had a cup of tea (hot chocolate for Tessa, hot white chocolate for Connor) just to warm up before going to the summit. It was time to trust technology and man's ingenuity. We got on board the cable car which went staggeringly straight up to the summit (2962 m), or at least what we thought was the summit. When we arrived, the sun was shining beautifully and we could see to the horizon on all sides. Despite the breathtaking views, the boys realized to truly reach the summit, they would have to do a little climbing. Margaret opted out, recognizing that someone needed to record their fall to death, and Tessa decided she would also rather be a recorder than a statistic. The boys courageously hiked up and across "a total lawsuit waiting to happen" and stood officially at the highest point in Germany, looking into Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. Pretty cool. Afterwards, we had a beer in Germany's highest beer garden (Tessa had a pretzel and Connor had apple strudel), so we felt pretty German. Our adventure was complete, save for almost taking the wrong cable car down into Austria, instead of back to Germany. We strongly feel someone would have stopped us before we actually did it.

Back in town, we headed for the Welterbad (swimming pool) complete with multiple pools, both indoors and out and ranging in temperature from hot to cold, two waterslides, diving boards, and sun loungers. We enjoyed a fun afternoon. That evening, the hostel was having a noodle party, which meant 3 types of pasta and multiple salads and vegetable dishes for dinner. Afterwards, Connor and Barry crushed Margaret and Tessa in a game of Canasta, and then the kids were invited to another pick-up game of soccer. Unfortunately, we leave tomorrow. The final game of the soccer series (English vs. German) is tomorrow night and Connor (7 goals) and Tessa (3 goals) will be missed, but Italy calls and so does our rental car, so we say goodbye to Germany...