First of all, go on a clear day, if you can. We went in September and there was snow at the top. We spent about 30-40 minutes there. I would recommend a minimum of 15 minutes, if it is windy, up to 1 hour, if the weather is nice.

HI! You can check here zugspitze de cable car to Osterfelderkopf Open time: Oct. - Feb. 8:30 - 4:30 pm March - June 8:30 am - 5:00 pm July - Sept. 8:00 am - 5:30 pm

Birkenstocks would be a no-go. If you are only hiking the section between the Kreuzeck and the Hochalmbahn or from the Hochalmbahn to the Alpspitze with the Garmisch Klassik Ticket, leather boots could be ok, but I would make sure that they have good tread and no raised heel. The general rule of thumb in these parts is anything ending below the ankle for footwear is risky (chance of injury high).

When I was there in August there weren't any explicit restrictions in that regard. I didn't specifically ask about them either though. That being said, there was no one there to monitor whether you climbed to the upper reaches, beyond the hiking path and gondola. Currently your main restriction would be weather conditions. Are you an experienced winter mountaineer? If not, the upper portions of Alpspitz would be an extremely dangerous place to play. I only put this in here because TripAdvisor has a large number of inexperienced outdoorspeople who undertake outings they probably shouldn't. If that's not you, no offense intended.

I do not believe there is any type of road heading to the Alpspitze viewing station. The Alpspitzebahn or hiking trails get you there. One of my favorite webcams is up there. If you have not checked them out, google: garmisch gapa livecams. I check them out all of the time. Some new ones recently been added too.

It's a very long up hill hike, about four hours up and about 3.5 down. All nature all the way so be prepared. You can Google average temperatures in Garmisch-Partenkirchen to help guide you.

You can buy a ticket for both. It would probably take you all day to do both peaks.

The best way is to get on the train from Garmisch.Visit the information centre in Garmisch to get the best deals. They have different passes for sale and you can choose the ones that best suits your needs.