Carl Reiner once said "A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. " Well he obviously had not been to Garmisch.
When I told friends that I was going on a Christmas/Skiing holiday they thought I would go somewhere like France, Switzerland, Austria or even ... Read review
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Advantages: Traditional, Attractive, Plenty of Activities, Great cuisine, Friendly and Helpful community Disadvantages: Skiing not challenging enough for the expert
Carl Reiner once said "A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. " Well he obviously had not been to Garmisch.
When I told friends that I was going on a Christmas/Skiing holiday they thought I would go somewhere like France, Switzerland, Austria or even Italy, not one of them thought or had previously concieved Germany to be a possible resort for this type of holiday. Well, trust me they ... ...this place.
My family and I arrived in Munich airport on the 23rd of December following a very comfortable and exceptionally resonably priced flight with BA (around £500 for a family of 5 return with taxes inc.) We had decided not to take the car as to make the trip less stressful for everyone involved, so the train station beckoned.
We managed to purchase a Bayern ticket (a special family ticket, for around 60 euro's ... more
Carl Reiner once said "A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. " Well he obviously had not been to Garmisch.
When I told friends that I was going on a Christmas/Skiing holiday they thought I would go somewhere like France, Switzerland, Austria or even Italy, not one of them thought or had previously concieved Germany to be a possible resort for this type of holiday. Well, trust me they will now because I not going to keep quiet about this place.
My family and I arrived in Munich airport on the 23rd of December following a very comfortable and exceptionally resonably priced flight with BA (around £500 for a family of 5 return with taxes inc.) We had decided not to take the car as to make the trip less stressful for everyone involved, so the train station beckoned.
We managed to purchase a Bayern ticket (a special family ticket, for around 60 euro's return- Munich airport to Garmisch station). A short trip on the underground and we arrived at a station called Pasing. My first impressions were not great, the station was bleak, dirty and the surrounding town looked like a decaying, garbage bin, the industry this area once relied on had obviously ceased leaving some reminents behind, large warehouses for instance. But this dirty exterior was coated in pure, white, snow, and for some reason snow always puts a smile on my face.
From Pasing we caught a very old, wooden train, which was fit to burst. As I was squashed by a window in between two carriages I turned my attention to the countryside and was mesmorised. Living in England, being surrounded by warm waters and a huge climatic influence that is the Gulf Stream we do not get winters like our latitude would suggest, but boy Germany do! This pristine environment with underlating hills looked beautiful with a deep smoothering of snow, shimmering in the mid-day sun. Gradually as we made our way to Garmisch we recognised the growing mountains around us and of course the depth of snow was increasing. As we pulled into Garmisch station the sun was just dissolving behind the highest peak in Germany, the Zugspitze...it was truely a winter wonderland!
A short 8 euro taxi ride to our apartment and our holiday could begin! We had found this second floor apartment in a wooden chalet on a holiday rentals website and we certainly were not dissappointed. Two good sized bedrooms, large kitchen/diner and a wonderful bathroom (my mum went wil, what with the underfloor heating and sunken bath). The apartment also had a balcony where we could stand and appreciate this beautiful (and cold) environment.
The fun started when we went skiing!!!! People often question Garmisch as a ski resort due to unreliable snow fall, well when we arrived the bottom slopes had 30cm and the tops over 130cm- more than enough, no need to be greedy, especially when it snowed on and off for the next four days.
The actual skiing area is pretty plentiful, if you purchase a Happy Ski Card you can ski in 4 areas, one of which is in Austria. For beginners the ski school was excellent, we booked all our ski hire and lessons as soon as we arrived, all of which were reasonable and the ski guide spoke great English. With numerous blue and red runs the novice to intermmediate skiier will not be dissappointed. For the expert very few black runs exist, but well...there is the world renowned Kandahar (World Championship Downhill Venue).
As for the town, Garmisch rules, with its traditional buildings all beaming out christmas lights, the people selling mulled wine on the streets and the general spirit and atomosphere about this place just made everyone smile. We have not even mentioned the restaurants yet, if you like meat and cake come to Garmisch, both are in plentiful supply. One place I would recommend is cafe Kroner, cakes all under 3 euro's and honestly they are amazing....go for the sacertourte, the choclate is divine.
To be blunt, I could talk for hours about this place,sadly though I do not have the time. I've previously been to Zermatt, Gstaad, La Cluzaz, Les Diablarets, Villars and Bad Kleinkirchen all of which are also amazing, but for some reason Gamrisch Partenkirchen is the winner!!!
Advantages: beautiful all year round, charming, breathtaking views Disadvantages: borderline tacky, overrun with tourists
...the little-known but much loved Garmisch-Partenkirchen for such a getaway....
The moment you arrive in this dreamy town, you'll be transported to a different world. This world (at Christmas time) is one of cobblestone streets bathed in festive lights, and filled with the soothing smell of mulled wine, or Glühwein. The Zugspitze towers over the town like a magical wizard, frosted in snowy whiteness.
In summer, Garmisch Partenkirchen takes on a whole ... ...air.
Truth be told, Garmisch-Partenkirchen will charm you. To soak up even more magic here are a few tips:
Cafes: Be sure to visit Cafe Knightinger in Partenkirchen
and Cafe Kröner in Garmisch. You might just experience the best torts/cakes of your life here.
Restaurants: Partenkirchen is filled with old-fashioned Bavarian restaurants. Don't worry too much about hit or miss, they all have an excellent standard of quality. Nightlife: Ok, Garmisch-Partenkirchen ...
Laura_t 23.01.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Value for Money
Sightseeing
Shopping
Nightlife
Ease of getting around
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Advantages: wide range of activities all year round Disadvantages: no summer skiing
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!!!!
4) Western station:
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I may not forget that Innsbruck has a second station, the Western station. This station will be used more and more for loading activities and for the local train traffic to Mittenwald (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) and the upper land (Landeck). Its meaning fades away more and more due to the new main station. The lounge hall could even need some renewal. The little sidekick of its big brother respites now a shadowy existence.
5) My opinion to the old and new main station:
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I have always felt that the old hall was too dark and unfriendly. Especially at peak times it was often overfilled and I hate something like this. This is now past thanks to the large space of the new station.
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Munich at the motorway 8 to Salzburg, position near the "Bavarian sea" is by its size and scenic if a popular destination of the outing for the city dwellers. It is the best to begin in Prien and to take one of the ferries regular in summer from here. One must as a stopover is the island of "sir Lake Chiemsee" and this on this situated closed, a copy of the world-famous Parisianly closed ', Versailles, builds of the fairytale King Ludwig II. The island of woman Lake Chiemsee and the cloister there, not less beautiful but natural always is in the shade of this island a little less spectacularly.
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