5/6/19 Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Leaving Salzburg in the trusty Peugeot, our tour guide Cindy took us into the Alps with the final destination being Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which is back in Germany (on the German/Austrian border). Garmisch-Partenkirchen is located close by the Neuschwanstien Castle.

The weather semi cooperated with partly sunny skies and staggering views. The drive, not long ( 3 hours on the Autobahn) but construction on the autobahn and side trips took most the of the day. We stopped and enjoyed a picnic in the Alps, lovely. The valleys here are still snow covered from Sunday’s snow.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is an interesting place, founded by the Romans (who else) in 400AD, it never gained traction as a city because of the lack of trade. It’s a hard place to grow crops because of the weather and farm animals were killed by the areas wild animal population.

The area also had the Bubonic plague and witch trials in the 1500s, taking the population down to less than 100 at times.

Hitler changed all that with the 1938 Winter Olympics held here. Garmisch-Partenkirchen became a Nordic sports Mecca.

During WW2 Garmisch-Partenkirchen became a hospital area for Germany and later the USA. Today there are several military bases in the area.

Now Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a ski and summer destination for both Germans and Austrians. It’s like their Vail/ Breckinridge area. Homes/chalets are incredibly expensive and driving through the area there are hundreds and hundreds of them.

The city is beautiful and built for ski/summer tourists. It’s really expensive 😎

We walked the city yesterday PM and enjoyed a glass of wine on the deck!

Today the weather so far is perfect, so we will be taking a driving tour of the Alps with the hopes of getting ahead of the next storm.

Auf Wiedersehen