THE SPOT

Tag: Grainau

  • Eibsee Part II: My First Solo Trip to the German Caribbean — Lakes, Lasagna & a Creepy Waiter

    Eibsee Part II: My First Solo Trip to the German Caribbean — Lakes, Lasagna & a Creepy Waiter

    A Quick Recap

    I kind of left you all hanging. Instead of heavenly posts about Lake Eibsee, you were bombarded with posts about financial insecurity and depression. I promise — none of those have vanished. Would be too easy, right? But let’s move on and actually look at a Journey of Joy moment.

    In Part I we covered how I got there. In Part II we’re doing a quick and dirty rundown of how things went on my way from Heidelberg to Grainau.

    Day Two

    I woke up in the early morning on Saturday. I slept okay — unfortunately, since the B&B was quite old (though charming), I heard every minor step my fellow tourists made in the middle of the night or early morning. Still, I had a smile on my lips. I had waited so long for friends to join me on trips, and this was one I finally just went on by myself.

    I went into the bathroom and took a long hot shower with the door open. Paranoid, yes — I wanted to make sure that if someone happened to open my hotel room door, I’d be ready.

    After the shower I put on my comfiest clothes and went downstairs for breakfast. I had something — honestly don’t remember what. I noticed that beside me there was just a small group of adventure tourists who looked very sporty, probably heading up into the mountains. Since it was April, it was way too cold for them to be cyclists.

    I went back upstairs and, honestly, laid back down. Since I didn’t have a TV at home at the time, I took full advantage of finally being able to curl up in bed and just enjoy. I came across Shopping Queen — a show I hadn’t seen in ages — and dove in a little too well. For those of you living in Germany, you already know that on Saturdays you get the entire week’s episodes together in one neat package. So I indulged, enjoyed, and almost didn’t visit the lake at all

    The Lake

    I mentally gave myself a kick in the butt and put my clothes on. When I checked in, I had generously been given a bus ticket for the area, so I took the next bus to the lake. It almost seemed like every handful of tourists in Grainau had gotten on the same bus. Seats weren’t filled. The weather was unforgivingly dreadful — dark, gray, moody. I thought about my pictures and how they wouldn’t look as great without any sunshine. We made our way through empty streets straight to the lake, dark thick woods surrounding us on all sides.

    We arrived after a twenty-minute ride. I got off the bus and started walking. Straight ahead.

    There it was — the beautiful Lake Eibsee. I walked around and captured these gems.

    Eibsee I
    Eibsee II

    Almost Starved to Death

    After about an hour I took the bus back to Grainau, happy with my trip and — most importantly — my pictures. It never really happened if you didn’t post it, right?

    Another twenty minutes later I was back at the hotel and getting hungry. Since I hadn’t booked any lunch or dinner options at the B&B, I looked online and found a small store nearby. I figured I’d grab some apples or bread to tide me over. I was too late. It was already closed — and mind you, it was about 3 PM in the middle of the day. I cursed myself for getting my hopes up. Growing up in a village in the Black Forest, I should have known there was no way that store would be open that “late.”

    I turned around and spotted a restaurant on my way back, making a mental note to go at 5 PM. I went back to the B&B, watched more TV, and at 5 PM sharp — stomach growling — I headed out. I thought I might try the restaurant right across from the B&B, but of course they didn’t open for another thirty minutes. So back to the first restaurant I went.

    I was welcomed by an older man — maybe forty — who was the only waiter and host. It was a typical old restaurant with Italian cuisine. He was nice. Too nice. He asked what I was doing in Grainau and I, foolishly, told him I was a tourist traveling alone. Then the compliments started. With a lit candle on the table, a beautiful girl like me shouldn’t be sitting alone. He should be joining me.

    I smiled awkwardly and cringed. Ordered my Radler and a very tasty lasagna, which I inhaled in twenty minutes because this guy was giving me the heebie-jeebies. I left as fast as I could.

    At least the lasagna was good.

    After that brief adventure I spent the rest of the evening in my room. I called the taxi company to arrange my pickup for the next day and just reminisced.

    It was a fun trip. My first solo one during the pandemic.

  • Eibsee: Why This Bavarian Lake is Called the German Caribbean (Repost and Solo Travel Diary Part I)

    Eibsee: Why This Bavarian Lake is Called the German Caribbean (Repost and Solo Travel Diary Part I)

    Background

    I have talked about the German Caribbean before. It was long before I had decided what this blog was going to be about. Back then I was still trying to find my voice — trying to figure it out. Eventually, I decided that this blog would be about authenticity: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly. About my personal journey to joy.

    So I find it most fitting to repost this story. Not like the typical 1–10 list primarily consisting of recommendations about food or sleeping accommodations. More about the why, the how, and the feeling. I find that most fulfilling.

    So, here is the repost.

    In 2021, I was kind of tired of waiting. I was constantly waiting around for something to happen — waiting for people to join me in travels, for nights out in the city. Just waiting for life.

    So, after my dear friend told me about Eibsee, I was speechless. The pictures were amazing, and since my sister had already visited and loved it, I decided to go as well.

    The Journey

    I had booked the Garni Hotel zum Franziskaner. If you want to know more. It is a cozy B&B in Grainau, which is pretty close to the lake.

    To get to Grainau from where I lived, I took a high-speed train from Heidelberg main station directly toward Munich, getting off a couple of stations before the main station. Like always, I missed my intended connecting train, so I stayed on the platform waiting for the next one — at least 30–45 minutes. As mentioned, it was unfortunately quite cold. I was trying to keep myself warm, and while I was in the middle of losing weight at that point, I still gave myself the comfort of Burger King. I walked over to the nearest one and got a meal — don’t remember what exactly, just that it was worth it.

    Fortunately, the train eventually arrived. We rode past the Starnberger See. Bavaria has a lot of beautiful lakes, by the way — definitely worth checking out.

    I was in awe: the mountains, the lake, the idyllic ambiance. I was floating on a cloud, full of excitement for what was to come.

    We finally made it! I reached Garmisch-Partenkirchen — a quaint little city that actually felt more like a village. I walked over to the cab stand and talked to the first driver. He asked me in his very Bavarian dialect where I wanted to go. I seemed to have lost all ability to speak German, because I kept nodding along even though he was asking whether my hotel was in Garmisch — apparently the name the locals use for the city.

    I corrected him eventually, and he said in a no-nonsense way that I should have spoken up immediately.

    Well, too bad, so sad. We still made it. He gave me his card, and then I checked in.

    First things first… radiator up, Burger King devoured. Happy to be there! More to come in Part II.