The next morning, we all sluggishly got up early and got dressed to hit the slopes. Thankfully, the new ski pants I bought fit just right and my backpack didn't seem like it would drag me down on the mountain. Walking to the slopes I was beginning to get a bit nervous, as three of the people on this trip had never been skiing before. I was nervous how they were going to handle the ski rental aspect of the trip and then handling their first time on skis. Once we strolled up to the main ski area, we realized how PACKED it was going to be on the mountain. People and cars were everywhere and my stress levels immediately sky rocketed. Once we got inside, we got in line and started the ski rental process. It took about an hour for everywhere to get there gear, but thankfully there were no hiccups. Step 1: complete. After buying our lift tickets we hauled our gear to the main gondola. The amount of people in line was NUTS, something I have never experience before while skiing. Also, it became quickly evident how much of a struggle it was to get our key card out to even access the lift. Thankfully, we all made it to the top of the mountain without too much trouble.
Once everyone put their ski's on, it became evident who was cut out for it and who wasn't. Lawrence was the definition of a HOT MESS, falling down pretty much every five seconds. Joseph and Artavia also fell a lot but they were able to continually make it down the mountain. Brynn and I were clueless on what to do, but after hanging with them for a couple of hours we felt like they could handle their own. Around noonish we broke from the pack and ascended to the higher parts of the mountain. Unfortunately, the lift crowds were still pretty heavy, but it was worth it to see the views at the top. Another plus was that the runs were much more geared to Brynn and I's ability at the top so were able to get a lot of skiing done in not much time. While at the top we ate a restaurant and I got goulash soup which was just lovely. After heating back up we took the final gondola to the tippy top of the mountain before making our way down to the bottom to meet the others.
That night we decided to eat dinner at a restaurant near the hostel because we were too exhausted to walk any more long distances. We all got wienerschnitzel and it definitely hit the spot. Afterwards we quickly went back and showered and went to bed. I don't think I have ever slept that good in a hostel as I did that night. I didn't want to wake up the next morning but we all drug ourselves out of bed and got ready for the day. Since we were leaving that day we had to bring our duffel bags with us to the mountain. Thankfully, it only cost us a Euro to leave our bags at the storage hold at the ski rental place. Also, the second day of skiing was much less crowded which meant we got to do a lot more runs. Artavia and Lawrence decided to take ski lessons that day so me and Brynn took Joseph up to the top to do some runs. At the start he stumbled quite a bit but little by little he improved his skills! I was extremely impressed by how fast he was learning. I felt like such a proud Dad in those moments. After skiing for a couple hours we all got lunch at the cafeteria before getting in some more final runs. Around 1:30 pm, we went back to the bottom to return our skis and hop on a train that would take us to the tallest mountain in Germany: Zugspitze. Once at the final train station, we went outside and took a final gondola to the peak. It was indescribable the views that we had from the top. Seeing all the Alps poke up through the clouds along with the Sun setting is a sight that I will never forget. We didn't stay up at the top too long because it was blistering cold up there, so we took the main gondola back to the bottom. After getting back to Garmisch we got all of our stuff back and changed into our main clothes.
Once we were all reunited we set out to the town to get dinner and wait for our overnight train back to Bonn. We found a nice local Italian restaurant which had the most divine pizza. It makes me even more excited to go to Italy to get the authentic dish. Also, it was quite cheap which is always a plus. After eating dinner we went to a souvenir shop to get some things before making our way to the train station. We had a couple of hours to kill before our 10 pm train so we set up camp at the nearby Burger King to get some work done. Since I was an idiot and didn't bring much to study on the trip, most of the time was spent gossiping with Artavia and playing sudoko. The time didn't fly by too fast, but before we knew it, it was time to get on the train. On the train to Munich, we had to deal with the most inconsiderate train attendant yet. The lady demanded to see our passports even though we had proof we bought the train tickets. She was very rude and acted like we were wasting her time which was infuriating. Thankfully, my ID and insurance cards sufficed, and she didn't bother us again. Once in Munich, we had a 50 minute layover before our next 5 hour train to Frankfurt. Once on the train I struggled to get to sleep but by 1:30 am I was able to doze all the way until Frankfurt which made the time fly by. In Frankfurt, we got croissants which held us over on our final 2 hour train back to Bonn. The whole overnight train experience was not miserable, but something I hope to not have to do again while I am here.
Once school began on Monday, we all the hit ground running for hell week. Us BIMS students had three tests and a presentation all this week, so we were all a little high strung. We also had three labs due at the end of the week and an essay for VIBS 311 due on Saturday so all in all, this was the most intense week of school we've had since we started this experience. However, it was not all grim as we had Paris and Spring Break to look forward too which was a great motivational tool. The first test I took this week was Phys Lab, which was absolutely dreadful. I only knew 2 out of 20 questions and I guessed on about half of the math questions. So I'm just hoping for the best at this point. On Thursday, we took our German Final and our first Physiology test. I smoked German, but Phys was a little tricky. I came out of the exam pretty confident though, but when I heard the highest grade was an 81, all my confidence went out the window. On Friday we gave our first Enmodes presentation which was a success! To celebrate we all went out last tonight to the Taco Bar and got happy hour drinks and nachos before heading out on the town. It was beyond fun but we had to wait to catch the 4:30 am bus back to our neighborhood so I didn't even end up getting home until around 5 am this past morning. Let's just say I'm a little exhausted. However, I'm taking today to do some laundry and pack before heading out for Paris tomorrow morning! I am so pumped, and I will take about all my French adventures on the next post.
Until then,
Tschuss!
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