The Ski Stadium That Hosted the 1936 Winter Olympics, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GAP) is a little slice of paradise for anyone who loves skiing, nature or just casual travelling.

The beauty of this quaint town, surrounded by stunning sights, such asthe Zugspitze, cannot be denied.

While Garmisch-Partenkirchen is an ideal destination for the outdoorsman, the city holds a piece of Third Reich history that is worth visiting.

In 1936 Adolf Hitler's power in Germany was still growing. With a desire to impress the world, he had built an impressive Ski Jump Stadium complete with luxury boxes, (at least that time's version of them), restaurants and enough space to hold 100,000 spectators. Before you get too excited, the majority of those spectators were 'standing room only.' And I can only imagine that they were stuffed in there pretty tight.

The ski jumps were towering, and they still are today, although they have been renovated and modernized.

The stadium still hosts a number of national and international ski jump competitions, and if you make it to GAP during the winter, it would be worth your while to try to attend one of them.

The present-day stadium also houses a hotel with rooms facing the ski jumps. If you do happen to stay there, make sure you close the curtains before doing anything naughty because you're sure to have peeping eyes peering in from anyone up on the ski hill.

The Jumps

Not only are the jumps themselves an impressive sight, but the stadium structure is decorated with various monuments to Olympic legends.

Unless you're there to view a ski jumping event or stay in the hotel, the stadium won't take more than an hour or two to view, not including sitting for lunch on the outdoor patio of the restaurant.

The Olympic stadium is definitely worth the visit, if for nothing else than the historical value of the site, but it's also on the way to the Partnach Gorge, a must see if you visit the area.

So, on a day where you're recovering from the Zugspitze, don't forget to visit the Garmisch-Partenkirchen ski stadium, host of the 1936 Winter Olympics.

The Zugspitze, Bavaria, Germany

Whenever you have a chance to visit the highest peak in Germany- take it.

The Zugspitze stands nearly 10,000 feet above sea level in the Bavarian region of southern Germany right on the Austrian border. In fact, the border between those two countries runs right through the mountain and, if skiing is your game, it is highly likely that you will find yourself in Austria after launching down the ski slope from Germany.

Stretching high into the air above the towns of Grainau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Zugspitze is located in the mountainous terrain of the German and Austrian Alps and is continuously clogged with tourists year round.

The Zugspitze from the city of Garmisch and Grainau

In the winter, the mountain is predominantly dominated by skiiers looking for the thrills of skiing in the fresh air of the Alps, but in the summer the snow melts away, exposing miles of hiking trails that allow enthusiastic nature-goers the chance to hike to the peak of one of mother nature's greatest creations.

The melting snow of the spring and summer creates a fabulously deep gorge that runs through the heart of the valley below the mountain. A path runs alongside the gorge, high above the river, and much of that journey on that path is spent holding the guard rails of the iron fence while staring down to the depths of the raging river below. It is truly a magnificent sight.

View From the Top

Aside from hiking to the top, which is probably not reccommended for amateurs, the zugspitzbahn or a cable car can also serve as your mode of transportation to the top. The zugspitzbahn train originates from Garmisch, runs through Grainau and stops at the Eibsee lake resort on it's way to the near-peak of the mountain. The views from the train are gorgeous, although the last twenty minutes of the ride ar spent rumbling through the tunnels deep inside the mountain before the train pulls into the final station.

If you've got the stomach to dangle hundreds, and then thousands of feet in the air, you'll enjoy the exhilarating views that an elaborate system of cable cars can provide.

One car runs from the Eibsee lake resort, a luxurious vacation option at any time of year, and the other from the Austrian town of Ehrwald. Additionally, a third cable car brings you from the first peak where the train stops to the actual peak where the observation deck is locate. The third option is only needed if you decide to take the train up, the other two go straight to the top.

Germany's Highest Altitude Chapel

A (roughly) fifty dollar ticket will give you a day pass on the train and any (or all) of the cable cars, including the Auspitz. The price of that ticket will vary depending on whether you are skiing or not.

At the top, the observation deck allows you the opportunity to venture outside, into the usually freezing temperatures of the Alps. If you're smarter than VFC you'll wear more than a paper thin souvenir sweatshirt that was purchased in Rome and be the butt of jokes for a bunch of giggling tourists.

View From the Cable Car

The Garmisch-Partenkirchen-Grainau area caters to skiers, both cross-country and downhill, so transporting your ski equipment around town and up the mountain is a piece of cake.

There are various hotels in the town of Garmisch that can provide a luxurious winter stay, as well as the resort at the Eibsee, but guest houses are another option as they are sread throughout the area, epsecially in Grainau.

The Zugspitzbahn Takes You to the Peak

Of note, the Zugspitze also houses the highest-altitude internt cafe in Germany as well as the highest-altitude chapel which was blessed by the current Pope himself.

If you're planning a ski vacation, you can't get much better than Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the nearby Zugzpitze.

Even if you don't ski, the Zugspitze and the surrounding areas are loaded with outdoor activities, gorgeus scenery and pleasant people at any time of the year.

Don't miss out on this place!

Eat, Drink, Ski and be Merry at the Top!

The Imposing Zugspitze

Tokyo, Japan Part II; The Surgical Masks and Slurping

Tokyo, Japan Part I

Some additional notes from VFC's Tokyo trip:

The Surgical Masks

Aside from possibly being the most polite people I've ever encountered, the Japanese may also be the most health conscious.

Upon arriving to Japan, I was taken aback by the amount of people wearing surgical masks, which I thought was a response to the Swine Flue outbreak.

I learned that, while the Swine Flu had more people than usual wearing the masks, it is in the culture of the Japanese to don the masks, in order to prevent the spread of airborne germs, whenever they fall ill.

An interesting fact, I thought, as you don't often see that in America.

Of course, the investor in me had me believing that the producers of surgical masks in Japan stood to have a pretty good financial quarter.

In fact, according to the local paper (English version) on the day I left Tokyo, production of the surgical masks had to be increased to meet the recent consumer demand. Stores couldn't keep the masks stocked.

Safe as it may be to don the masks, it's also quite a barrier to communication. I couldn't understand a word of what anyone was saying to me anyway, let alone someone talking through a mask.

It didn't take too long for me to get used to all the masks, however, and I actually thought it was a considerate action on the part of the Japanese society.

The Slurping

The first occasion that I sampled the Japanese food was actually at the Tokyo airport. I ordered a bowl of noodle soup that was also, in addition to the noodles, stacked with fresh vegetables and a variety of other unknown-to-me ingredients.

As is the custom in Japan, the soup was served with chopsticks and a spoon from which to sip the broth.

The second I sat down to eat, I realized that the entire room had filled with the sound of people slurping. Not slurping from the spoon, as I initially thought, but from the chopsticks, as they all lifted the noodles out of the bowl and then slurped them up into their mouths.

I'm not much of a slurper, and I thought this was hilarious.

The slurping knew no boundaries.

To the right of me, a young couple sat across from each other and slurped.

To the left of me a businessman in a suit, probably in his late forties, slurped those noodles up.

A few tables over two girls, probably in their mid-twenties, giggled in conversation and slurped noodles in between giggles.

Kids were slurping with their parents, and the parents slurped with their kids; the young slurped, the elderly slurped, the middle aged slurped- everyone was slurping and no one thought anything unusual of it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and I wondered what a first date must be like with the slurping.

Just one of those things that will always stick with me.

Tokyo, Japan

Admittedly, I was not able to enjoy Tokyo to it's fullest, as a tight schedule constricted my grandiose plans, though I managed to fit in a day trip to the city while staying overnight in Narita, from where I caught the train that carried me to the capitol.

Before arriving to the Tokyo, I had no idea what to expect. Would I be blown away with centuries-old temples that dominated the local landscape or would it be skyscrapers and modern day towers that would reach for the skies high above me?

One thing I already knew, after spending a week in Japan, was that the Japanese may very well be the most polite people on earth. From every walk of life and every demographic of the country, the people of Japan seem to go out of their way to show courtesy and respect to others. Although I don't their understand the language in the slightest, I could see that the Japanese people were all very thankful to be alive and they wanted everyone around them to feel that way. And they treat you like it is truly a pleasure to have met you. Even while departing the bus after checking passports at the airport, the inspecting agent turns and bows to the riders, much as a student of martial arts bows to the Dojo before stepping off the mats. That's my kind of country and I can understand why some become so entranced with the Japanese culture and society. Especially when, in parts of America, kindness is quickly becoming a lost art and being replaced with a sense of entitlement.

The Maid

A maid in one of the hotels that I visited during my stay realized, after my asking her for a coffee filter after a day on the town, that she had forgotten to straighten my room. To me it was no big deal, but for her it was a crushing blow to the day as she darted back and forth, up and down the hallway to find clean towels, new toiletries and fresh packets of coffee filters. She then, sweat dripping from her forehead and a look of worry etched into her face, appeared at my door and broke into a profuse apology in her native tongue of which, to my dismay, I do not understand a word. The heartfelt apology included repeated, enthusiastic bowing gestures that did all to demonstrate the sincerity of her apologies.

The irony of that situation is that in America, where high tips are expected for bare-minimum service, it was refreshing to see someone taking great pride in their work; when a simple oversight on this woman's part was nearly an earth shattering event in her day, not because VFC couldn't make coffee, but because she prided herself in her job.

I only wish I could have spoken her language in order to communicate my appreciation.

The Train Ride

Already having discovered that the Japanese are a polite and friendly bunch, I looked to discover more of their culture on the train ride from Narita to Tokyo and, amid the controlled chaos that engulfs a train heading to Tokyo, I did.

Gadgets. I thought America loved its gadgets, but it looks like America has met it's match.

While conversations were plenty, and the occasional napper let out a startling snore, the gadgets dominated the scene.

And it wasn't just the youth on the train who were texting away on cell phones that looked like they'd put the iPod to shame; it was everyone. The NintendoDS, which I've never thought of as anything but entertainment for my daughter, served as a pleasant way to pass time for many on the train, as children and adults alike had their DS pens scrolling, entranced by whatever activity appeared on the tiny screens.

While VFC watched and observed, a good 40% of the people in my car were occupied with technology.

When I looked up from the gadgeteers, and peered out the window, the train had just descended into the tunnel that leads to Tokyo's main station.

Tokyo

There's nothing like the hustle and bustle of Manhattan at rush hour. Only it didn't take me too long to realize that I wasn't in Manhattan.

I should have noticed sooner than when the train doors opened that everyone around me had stashed the technology and put on their game faces because, once those doors slide open in Tokyo, all bets are off.

Navigating through the busy Tokyo station at rush hour takes either a keen sixth sense, if not some kind of appropriate radar device. It is definitely no place for VFC's leisurely stroll, as I soon discovered, because that stroll got me bounced around like a pinball as I attempted to take in the surroundings. As friendly, as the Japanese are, anyone who bumped me apologized as they rushed off, but I'm sure any number of them instinctively uttered the words, "Damn Tourist" to themselves; just as I have many times in Times Square at the tourists who, while crossing the busy intersection, are caught ogling skyscrapers as a taxi cab is barreling down on them.

Of note in that busy train station, a woman with a baby carriage heroically charged unafraid across heavy traffic, from one end of the arena to the other in an attempt, assuredly, to catch her train that would soon depart. I still don't know how she managed to avoid any serious collisions during her daring feat, but the crowd just swallowed her up and spit her out on the other side, unharmed.

As I ascended the staircase into the city, my anticipation got the best of me. That's always the best part of arriving to a new city for the first time, in my opinion, the first site, the first breath of city air or the first locals that you encounter. This may be why first impressions sometimes kill New York for a tourist, because you're just as likely to see a bum urinating on the sidewalk as anything else.

What really struck me as breathtaking about my first images of Tokyo, however, was not the magnificence of the city itself, but at how much the city so much resembled New York.

Everything from the hustle and bustle of the crowds, the businessmen and women on cell phones to the obnoxious taxi cabs utilizing every inch of space between two vehicles in order to be the first one in line at the red light; it was all so similar. If it wasn't Manhattan I was visiting, it surely was a close cousin.

I joined in the herd of pedestrians that gathered at each crosswalk and navigated my way around Tokyo, surely missing many of the highlights, but taking in as much as I could in short time.

I saw a mini fifth avenue,

and my credit card twitched in my pocket as I walked by this site as I might have caught a glimpse of wifey doing some damage in there:

Speaking of wifey, I noticed that the Japanese women love expensive high heels, many familiar to me from the personal collection of Mrs VFC . It was almost as if the entire city raided my wife's shoe closet to hit the town that day; and have no doubt that my wife's shoe closet holds enough heels to outfit the entire female population of the city of Tokyo.

Next I encountered what could only be considered a mini-times square:

Of course, some things speak the universal language:

I'm pretty sure that "Go-Go" means only one thing around the globe.

And if I didn't feel like I was in Manhattan before, this guy did his best to make me feel at home:

During my time in Tokyo I tried to eat some authentic Japanese food. When I first sat down and observed my salad, I'm pretty sure that I saw the fish and octopus in swimming around in the seafood salad.

Talk about fresh.

The soup I tried was a little more to my liking, although I'm not quite sure what was in it. The broth was delicious, but aside from the noodles and sprouts that were served in my swimming pool sized bowl, everything else could only be described as either crunchy or squishy.

On the way out of the city I had some Japanese curried rice with chicken. I was quite surprised, not knowing anything about the culture before this trip, at the amount of curry dishes I saw served at various locations around the city. My plate was as good as any, although some of those 'mystery' ingredients (squishy, crunchy) were also mixed in with my curry.

If anyone out there can help me out in identifying the mystery agreements, please do.

Unfortunately, my day in Tokyo had to end. I wasn't able to enjoy the nightlife that I'd heard so much about, or enjoy the finer delicacies of the city, but one thing can be assured- I'll be back.

Tired from a day of walking, I dragged myself back to the main station and trekked through the maze that lies within, following the pictures of the airplane to find my track.

As luck would have it, the Narita Express pulled up, which I knew would cut the trip back to the hotel in half.

I sat back in a nice comfy seat, closed my eyes and, as people typed away on their laptops around me, wondered if it actually was my wife that I spotted with five shopping bags leaving that Luis Vuitton store.

Some pics from around the city:

Hotel Review: Narita Hilton, Narita Japan

If you're planning on doing anything else other than sleeping on your way in or out of Japan, don't bother with the Narita Hilton.

While the hotel offers shuttle bus service to and from the Narita airport, train station and local mall, it is located in a fairly isolated location and offers nothing outside of the amenities of the hotel itself.

Since the Hilton caters to business travelers, they spare guests no reprieve from the outlandish charges to use their facilities, such as the pool and gym. The pool is nice, without a doubt, but nothing special enough to warrant an extra fee. The same can be said for the gym, while spacious, is equipped with the bare minimum. To use those facilities, which include a whirlpool and sauna, it'll cost you a daily 3,000 yen charge. Only worth it if you habitually put your money to a cigarette lighter for fun or if you don't plan on getting out into the town.

The food in the hotel is pricey, as expected, but it's not good enough to justify the high price. The food in the city of Narita is exponentially better tasting, more authentic for a fraction of the price.

For that matter, if you're staying in Narita, I recommend staying in somewhere in the city center. An Internet search shows that many local hotels also offer shuttle service to the airport and you'd have the luxury of staying in the town itself and not having to be concerned with waiting for the Hilton bus, which ceases service just when the night life is picking up.

A taxi from the town center to the hotel will run you approximately 2,000 Yen. That includes to/from the Narita station where you can catch a train to Tokyo for just over 1,000 Yen (each way). A little more pricey, but well worth the extra money, is the Narita Express, which makes it to Tokyo and back in half the time with twice the comfort of the regular train. On the express, however, you won't be able to mingle with the locals and get a feel for the pulse of the culture as you will on the local train.

The Narita Hilton hotel staff is very polite, as is customary for Japan I've learned, and although the rooms are nothing special, guests are guaranteed a comfortable stay.

However, if I had it to do over, I'd stay in the Narita town center.