Thursday, November 8, 2012

Europe 1.04 - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Actual date of this event: 25-28 October

All six of us were well rested after a calm last night in Munich, so it was not difficult for us to wake up on Thursday morning to head to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Right now, you are probably either 1.) wondering where is GP, or 2.) why would you go there during your trip. Well, Garmisch-Partenkirchen is located in south Germany in the Alps. We decided we would go see a small town, where the 1936 Winter Olympics were help and also use the city to take day trips elsewhere. Long ago, the area consisted of two towns, Garmisch and Partenkirchen, but were forced to join together by Hitler for the Winter Olympics. In the winter months, the town is obviously a great ski location and in the summer, it is great for hiking. Unfortunately, we are going at a time of year that is not great for much but leaving. But that's okay because this whole trip is based on experience!

We took a 9:30am train and arrived in SUNSHINE! Luke and I had not seen the sun in 6 days, so it was a special treat for us. And let's not even mentioned that we live in Aberdeen, an often cloudy and dark hole. The first things we noticed departing the train was mountains. With the sunshine, it was stunning! I still believe that beautiful spots show off for new visitors - ahem, Aberdeen!


We made our way to Hostel 2962, located at Partnachauenstraße 3, which is where the six of us were staying for the next three nights. The place is called "hostel" but it felt more like a bed & breakfast that what I imagined a hostel. I had never stayed in a hostel before, but this is not what I expected. We were able to rent a 2 bedroom apartment which had a bathroom and somewhat fully equipped kitchen. It had a coffee maker, and that's whats important right? But I wont mention that the coffee pot hadn't been cleaned out for a while and it was a bit moldy. Ooops, I wasn't going to mention that. We cleaned it over and over since we were desperate for coffee. Anyway, the place an interesting looking toilet but it had enough beds for all of us to sleep but more space if we had more people. The pillows sucked, I mean, they were basically square down comforters. So this was a major problem for me. I was not a happy camper after my first night staying there. The lady at the front wasn't the most pleasant woman we have met, but we just chose to avoid her as much as possible. It was pretty cheap for all of us to stay there, so all good.



After putting our things in the apartment, we went to the main street to walk around and have lunch.



The buildings in town are painted with pictures. It looks like there are window frame, shutters and door frames, but those are actually painted onto the building. Each of these pictures is of a different building.


We walked around the town a bit more going into a few shops on the main drag. And enjoyed soaking up some vitamin D.


White Chocolate with Gummy Bears - for my Aberdeen friends :-)

Still a little bit hazy, but at least the sun was out!
We made our way toward the Olympic Stadium which today would cause a major commotion. Not very impressive these days, but I am sure back then it was amazing. We tried to go in, but were unable to. We were able to see two rinks inside and both were in use as we could see skaters.




Afterward, we found a grocery store to pick up things for dinner, drinks, and sandwich stuff for Friday. Jen and Dave made a stew with coleslaw for dinner. And we all enjoyed a relaxing night. After all, we somewhere in there decided we would catch a 7:50am bus for our day trip the next day... Hohenschwangau is next!

This train takes people to the top of one of the peaks.
We wanted to do it but it was 50 Euro a person and we didn't have enough time.
What do I love about Garmisch-Partenkirchen? Even though I did not visit during the ski season, I could tell that it would be a great place for a ski trip. It is a very small town with buses that take you to nearby areas, and I felt very safe while walking around.

RANDOM FACT:
A ski jumping contest occurs every year on New Years Day.

-Debbie-

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