Our Saturday, (December 22) was spent traveling from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and back, and spending a good part of the day in these two small German towns. When I looked up Garmisch, I learned that it is a very popular area skiing destination and also is near the highest mountain in Germany.
Visiting Garmisch came highly recommended by others and though we didn't know exactly what to expect, we decided to just explore and enjoy.
The trip from Munich to Garmisch by car would have taken us about an hour, but since we were traveling by train it took 1-1/2 hours.
Looking out the train window, we were amazed to see fields of vibrant green grasses, even though it was December 22 and winter cold had set in.
Occasionally the train slowed down, and on one occasion it gave us a chance to snap a picture….
…. of a horse drawn carriage with automobile tire wheels!
Soon we arrived at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany!
This city as it now exists was formed when the towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen were united into one in order to bring the 1936 Winter Olympics to Germany. At the time, the IOC did not want Germany to be the host country because there were not enough hotels in Garmisch….or at least that's the reason they gave. So Adolf Hitler forced a unification of the the towns in order to create a larger host city, and the Olympics were held there.
It was much colder in Garmisch than in Munich…and there was much snow piled up on the streets and sidewalks.
It was going to be a white, cold, and beautiful day!
We spent almost the entire day outside…walking…eating….walking…eating…and of course taking lots of pictures also!
Below are Christmas trees for sale….kept fresh by imbedding their trunks into a pile of snow.
Behind Melissa is part of a small Christmas market. We enjoyed the food, decorations….and the small-town Christmas feeling.
I'm thinking the mountain in the background is Zugspitze….as this whole area is at the base of the largest mountain in all of Germany.
Mark continues his search for fresh gingerbread….
….while Melissa has her eye on some chocolate covered strawberries on a skewer. So many delicious choices.
We had blue skies and sunshine all day….
….and lots of time to enjoy being outdoors.
There were many sweet shops in Garmisch…selling traditional Christmas cookies, candies and sweets. I asked someone who spoke English if they could show us some typical German gingerbread and we were pointed to this display. The cookies were more like carrot-cake with ginger in it, and covered in chocolate….
….not really what Mark was looking for, but since they were traditional he bought them, along with a gingerbread Santa decoration.
The sugar cookie that Melissa is holding is entirely covered with colored candy sprinkles…they looked like so much fun to eat….but it's a Christmas decoration!
In many ways, the area of Garmisch-Partenkirchen reminded me of the Bavarian town Oberammergau that Mark and I visited last February. One similarity was the many homes painted with religious or historical scenes.
Bavaria has a long history of decorated exteriors on homes and business.
It was a delight to walk through neighborhoods, down streets and see how beautifully these homes and businesses were painted.
Below is an onion-dome tower that is very common in Bavaria.
Even this quaint town has a McDonald's…as the sign in the background advertises.
Melissa stood by the horse drawn carriage and just as she touched the horse it looked over at her.
For lunch, Melissa wanted a traditional German sausage in a bun….
….and Mark chose a traditional German stew. They shared and enjoyed their lunch choices.
The river Partnach flows through the town…
...Mark and Melissa are overlooking one of the walking bridges.
Melissa was ready to make some German purchases…she found an ATM and now had some Euros.
We walked up to the older part of town….the historical area as it's called….and we came to the Rathaus…city hall.
A small church….
….and many beautiful neighborhoods. I read that in the spring and summer the window balconies are adorned with baskets of flowers. I would love to revisit this area during the flower season.
As we walked through this quiet part of town we noticed that many businesses were closed….we thought that odd because it was the last Saturday before Christmas.
Though closed, many of the stores had window cases that displayed intricately detailed Nativity scenes. I'm not sure how many we saw but each was numbered as if stops in a tour….we saw numbers into the 60's and we saw many of the displays around town.
Above is a nativity in a typical German setting.
Below, a chocolate nativity...
Seeing all the beautiful nativities was a fun surprise.
A nativity made completely out of cork...
And one of my favorite nativities…it reminded me of a Bavarian country home….maybe this is what the countryside used to look like here in Garmisch!
We walked through a number of neighborhoods…once again, we saw painted scenes on the outside of homes….
….and beautiful stairways and balconies.
Rather than walk on a busy city street, we meandered through a neighborhood on this footpath. Not shown on the right is the river running parallel to the path.
It was so quiet and beautiful!
In the neighborhoods and fields we noticed large stacks of firewood. We had seen this same scene last February….it made me wonder again if these homes had any indoor heating?
Just before leaving Garmisch, Melissa purchased one of the fruit skewers with bananas and strawberries covered in chocolate. She and I enjoyed this tasty treat! Wow…it was good
We have had a great day in beautiful Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany!
The train slowly pulled away from the train station...
…snow-covered fields were everywhere…before we returned to the green fields near Munich.
The MP's were quite tired….
but no sleeping for me…I read and relaxed.
Even though we were tired we didn't return to the hotel upon arriving in Munich….from the S-Bahn we stepped out once again to the main Christmas Market at Marienplatz. The crowds of people were much larger than the night before because there was no rain.…so we enjoyed our day and evening a little bit longer.
Melissa found and purchased a beautiful traditional German nativity in the shop in the background. It will be shipped to the U.S.…we hope it will arrive safely and soon!
Mark found the best gingerbread…with raspberry filling and covered in chocolate! We all tried a bite and agreed…it was by far the best gingerbread we had tried all day!
Mark liked them so much, he purchased a dozen! The owner of the shop was surprised and asked twice…"Really? You want a dozen?" We brought them home and get one out of the freezer every now and then.
Another surprise….Melissa was in a small shop and noticed the name tag on the lady below. She didn't know the lady but recognized the name tag as one worn by missionaries from our church. It turned out that she was the wife of the president of the Alpine-German speaking mission, headquartered in Munich. And it further turned out that she is the aunt of one of Melissa's former roomates from Washington D.C. …. a small world moment!
Lots of crowds…good smells…good food…and a fun walk…going up and down the central streets of Munich.
It was a busy and long day traveling to a new German city, trying great new food, making a few purchases, and meeting new people.…what fun we had together!
An absolutely delightful trip. Thank you for including me on your tour.
ReplyDeleteThat was beautiful. I'm so glad you are blogging this and sharing it with the rest of us who will likely never get to see these things ourselves!
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