Garmisch is a traditional-looking German village where the streets are lined with shops, restaurants and plenty of places to sit down to have a stein if good German beer.
We walked around a bit on our first afternoon getting a lay of the land. The resort itself was quite American and in some ways that was a refreshing reminder of home. One of the hotel restaurants served traditional bar food and I ate a basket full of onion rings like it would be the last time I'd ever see them!
We were located right next to the Zugspitze, which is the highest peak in Germany. There were fields, farms and small towns all around us giving us the feeling of solitude and tranquility. This area is a popular ski destination but we were there in the beginning of June. We definitely plan to return for the winter.
Thursday was mainly a work day. We had classes to attend but we did make it out into the village for a wonderful German lunch. The potato gratin is to die for! After our meetings we decided to walk to a lake we had found on the map. Our walk started out on pretty level ground, making our way on the paths through the fields and towns. Eventually we started hitting some elevated areas and our walk then turned into a hike. 4 hours later we finally came to this lake! There may have been some complaining on my end at this point. I didn't come prepared for 4 hours one way! Needless to say, on the way back we hopped on a bus. :)
Friday it was overcast and rainy so we decided to lay low, sleep in, have a late breakfast and then explore the town of Garmisch more. Nick and I had just come off of sight-seeing overload with our Rome trip so we really didn't want to be tourists this weekend. We could gone to Munich or many other destinations in the area but that will wait until the next time.
All of the town's buildings are built in traditional German style giving the town a fairy-tale look to it. I just loved it. Everything was so clean, the vegetation so green and of course a view of the mountains were always in the background. We found a Thai restaurant for lunch. I know that may sound strange to have Thia food in Germany but we can't get Thai food (or really much of anything other than Italian) in Italy so we were quite excited about this lunch. My meal was really good but Nick's cashew chicken wasn't exactly how he remembered it from the States. Oh well, it was still good!
That night was an early one since Nick and his friend Kyle were planning to summit the Zugspitze. I drove them to their entry area at 6am then went back to bed. Maggie and I had massage appointments that morning! I can't say enough positive things about the massage I had at Edelweiss Resort. It was heavenly! After my massage experience in France I didn't have the highest of expectations but this massage was one of the best I've EVER had..
After our massages we headed out in my little green monster (Ghia is her name) to see the Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle that inspired Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. In one word it's breathtaking. It's situated on a small hill in the midst of the valley and the mountains. It looks just like the pictures in the calendars that we've all seen at one time or another. Maggie and I had lunch where we could look out onto this amazing view. Afterwards we rode a bus up the mountain and then walked up the rest of the way to the entrance.
The only thing that was disappointing about the tour was that King Ludwig passed away well before this castle was completed. The rooms that were completed were extremely extravagant and mainly intact. There was so much that wasn't completed that the tour of the inside was pretty brief.
The area around the castle was much more interesting and enjoyable. We walked up to a bridge that was built over a canyon. We were able to take some amazing pictures of the castle from our vantage point.
We returned to our resort by way of Austria. I'm still not sure where I made a wrong turn but our keen sense of direction led us back the way to Garmisch. We found our husbands soaking their tired bodies in the hot tub. Unfortunately there was too much snow to get to the top of the Zugspitz but they were in good spirits anyway. We had a full day of climbing under their belt, were able to see some gorgeous views and will now be better prepared for their next attempt.
This was our last night in Garmisch which meant one more German meal. We found a quiet place in the next village to check out. I will say that I love German food and it feels comforting, however it's way too heavy for me. But while we were there I couldn't stop eating it! That and the onion rings from the hotel. :)
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