I went on my first expedition outside Munich, with a friend on Easter Saturday, to the highest peak of Germany and two nearby beautiful towns. We first went to the town of Mittenwald, which is 1 1/2 hours south-west of Munich by rail. The town is famous for making violins, handicrafts and the exterior decor of their Bavarian houses. Skiers would probably care more about the fact that the town is right beside a ski mountain range of 2200-metre altitude! Twenty minutes away by rail was our second stop of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It also had some nice traditional architecture, but it's more famous as a transit point to the highest peak of Germany called Zugspitz. Mr friend and I rode the cogwheel train to Lake Eibsee, where there were two ways of travelling to the peak. We took the more thrilling option of the cable car which took us to the peak (2962 metres) in 5 minutes or so. Reputedly, Zugspitz is a vantage point for the 4 adjoining countries of Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerl