(Recommended by Pat - QueenAn2)

Hotel-Restaurant Grieserhof
Jakob Schonger
Gries 18
6631 Lermoos
Tel - 05673/2325 ~ Fax - 05673/2325-6
Email - info@grieserhof.com
Singles - Doubles - Triples available
Rooms with bath/shower/toilet, TV, radio, balcony, phone, hairdryer
Sauna, Solarium, Steam Bath,Tanning beds, Fitness room
Gameroom (billards, etc), Child friendly (playroom, play area, etc)
Breakfast buffet, Garage, Parking area, Bicycle rental
Restaurant, guest lounge, hotel bar, hotel safe, reading room

(Comments by QueenAn2) ...We drove to Lermoos by way of the Fernpass. BEAUTIFUL!! Indescribable scenery! You just have to drive it and see for yourself. Lermoos (thanks Deenise!) is in a valley surrounded by mountains, some green & lush, some rocky. The Zugspitze is way up there. The Pension Hochmoos is full, so we choose the Hotel Grieserhof, on the edge of town. It is a lovely hotel, and we get a HUGE room with 3 beds and a balcony for ATS800 per night ($54). There's a great restaurant in the hotel. This is John's favorite stop. Since the rains began, we spent a lot of time in our room, and this was a delightful room to be stranded in. We had lunch on the terrace, then walked around Lermoos. There are lots of hotels here. It is a charming spot. I found a Spar and got some salami, cheese, brotchen, senf, nectarines, popcorn, chips and Hohe C. Lesson for today: put fruit or veggies on the scale, key in the # that is on the fruit/vegetable bin & the scale spits out your price tag! I saw a young mother do that, so I tried. I am just too savy! I carried the groceries in the Wal-Mart bags I had brought from home. (They charge some places for bags. And you DO bag your own groceries. And you'd better do it quickly!) Those were the sweetest nectarines… Do you suppose it's because we were eating them on our balcony in Lermoos, watching the farmer & his wife across the road as they headed up to their field with their wheelbarrows?

The next day was to be Castle Day, but the rains began. We headed toward Reutte then Füssen then Schwangau. We were hoping to call a friend from Suzanne's in Füssen, but the rains made our drive through that area a quick one. John jumped out of the car at one point with the video camera: "There's a castle. There's another castle. There's a church." So much for Castle Day. The tour buses had arrived in Schwangau, and the place was packed. We decided to head toward Linderhof via Plansee. What a magical place Plansee is! The mountains rise right out of the clear lake. Hardly any people are around. We stopped for a while by the lake. Could have stayed there all day! But it's starting to sprinkle again. One of the best things we packed were our windbreakers. We used them just about every day from this day on, as the weather gods decided it was time for rain. Ours folded into small pouches - - easy to carry. Great for layering when the weather got cool. Our's had hoods, which came in handy when we got caught without umbrellas.

Linderhof was crowded, but the sun was out again, so we enjoyed walking around the grounds. I had toured the Schloss 2 years ago, so didn't mind missing it this time. If you have to do one castle tour, I vote for Linderhof. It's very accessible. The fountains and grotto & environs are magnificent. Yea Ludwig!

We drove back to Lermoos via Ettal and Garmisch. Both were packed with tourists. Garmisch is only about a half hour drive from Lermoos. In fact, I asked our innkeeper if there was a laundromat in Lermoos, she said no, but there was one (and only one) in Garmisch. I decided we could wait a few more days. It was raining in earnest now. Serious thunder boomers. We had a picnic in our room. We never eat salami & cheese at home, but we sure do like it on this trip! We made it to town for some sinful dessert. John had his favorite Coupe Danemark & I had raspberry-topped cheese cake.

The next day we planned to go up the Zugspitze, but it is rainy and cold. The car temp gauge reads 9 degrees C. The mountains were in clouds and mist. They tell me it's a quick cable car ride up to the Zugspitze from Ehrwald, which is a very short drive from Lermoos. It's supposed to be less expensive than going up the Zugspitze from the German side. Well, we'll have to find out on our next trip, because the rains stay until it's time for us to leave this beautiful valley. It's known as the "Zugspitze Arena." Tons to do here - hiking, luges, biking, & of course skiing.