Garmisch Partenkirchen, just a stone throw from Munich, and is a paradise for all nature lovers, mountain hikers and skiers. It was my first time to visit there and want to share with you our travel experience and how we did the short trip.
When we left Düsseldorf for the UK, I was happily saying goodbye and I could finally get away from Germany. I never expected I’d be back so soon, only after half-a-year. But sightseeing is totally different from living there, don’t you agree?
Munich is the third-largest city in Germany with over 1.4 million population. As a capital city housing the most famous German football team, Bayern Munich, with plenty of historic architecture and museums, the world-renowned Oktoberfest (October beer festival), and locating just 120km north from the Germany highest mountain, Zugspitze, turned itself into a charming and touristic city where I also wanted to visit once.
To me, a German city sightseeing is pretty much similar to elsewhere. You’ll see the Altstadt (old town), some churches, a palace with meticulously fancy decorated rooms, a shopping street where you can find the so-called top brands, same anywhere. I find the above sightseeing spots not so interested. That’s why I was looking forward to visiting Garmisch-Partenkirchen – a small ski resort town where you can immerse yourself in nature everywhere.
This time, by only staying for 2 nights, we aimed visiting Partnachklamm, Zugspitze and Eibsee.
A Smooth, Budget-Friendly and Short Bus Ride to Garmisch-Partenkirchen
The transportation from Munich to Garmisch Partenkirchen is very easy and there are 3 ways – by car, bus or train. Driving and a Flixbus both take around 1.15 hours. The train is also possible, but there is no direct train and it will take approximately 2 hours. If you prefer the train, then don’t miss the ‘train and mountain cable car combination ticket’. We decided to take Flixbus since we have a big suitcase and its price is reasonable (around €7, bought in advance). Although somebody commented that Flixbus could get caught in traffic, luckily in our case, the bus journey was pleasant and on time, no complaints at all.
A Perfect Guesthouse In Garmisch-Partenkirchen with a Private Sauna
For the accommodation, we stayed in a guesthouse called Weidegg Hotel Garni. It’s a traditional Bavarian-style house providing a private sauna in the basement. No need to book, use it whenever you want if it’s vacant. For breakfast, there’s a buffet which offers breads, ham and cheese, scrambled egg, yogurt, musli, fresh fruits, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and bell peppers as a salad.
Our room was neat and tidy, provided enough space for luggage and the view from the balcony was scenic. This guesthouse is located 10 mins walk from the main station, and to the other side, again within 10 mins’ walk, you can reach the characteristic Ludwigstrasse, which I find much more charming than the commercial city centre.
Partnachklamm (Partnach Gorge)
From our guesthouse we first walked 20 mins to the Olympia-skistadion (Olympic ski jump stadium), then turned right and kept walking 20 mins more and we reached the Partnachklamm entrance. At first I didn’t expect so much from this touristic spot, but it turned out to be my favourite in this trip.
This gorge carries melted glacier water from Zugspitze down to the valley. People used it to transport logs dating back to the 18th century. The owner would mark their names on the logs, then throw them into the fast flowing stream to carry downwards, and the woodworkers risked their lives to go get the wood trunks. Since 1912, it has been developed for touristic purposes. By now, it receives 200,000 visitors each year.
Our journey embarked through a dark and wet and hollowly rocky tunnel, which lasted not even a minute. Once we were out, the turquoise water in the Partnach river, running on our right side, became wild and loudly roared as long as we walked along the gorge. I was absolutely amazed by how they dug the massive rock a century ago, and made it into this powerful, unique and impressive gorge that I’ve seen nowhere else.
Notes for visiting Partnachklamm
The gorge is only 700 metres long and it takes around 20 mins to finish (30 mins or more if you take some photos like us). Inside the gorge is wet and chill, I would suggest wearing sturdy shoes and a wind parka can give you some protection. When you’re out and want to eat or have a beer, you can walk up the mountain a bit for like 20 mins, then a restaurant called Kaiserschmarrn-Alm with a nice view will appear to you.
Zugspitze
The next day, the weather seemed promising so we decided to go to the Zugspitze. Since there is only one train in a hour, we arrived at the Zugspitzbahn 20 mins before to grab a seat. You can take the train directly go to the top of the Zugspitze, or change at Eibsee for the cable car. If you take the train, it will go through some tunnels and we didn’t find it attractive, so we changed to the cable car at Eibsee.
In just 10 mins, we reached the top of Zugspitze. It’s 10ºC outside, with sunshine falling but super windy and bright. We put on jackets, thin long pants and sun-glasses. Some people only wore shorts and vests.
Later I realised, took advantage of a cable-car, I ride up to the top of a mountain without making any effort, it didn’t satisfy me in a way I expected, despite the view of the Eibsee and the mountain edges with ice and glaciers were spectacular. I was thinking why, and I came up with 3 possibilities. First, as I mentioned earlier, I didn’t climb the mountain, I went to it. Second, I’ve seen similar views like this before, like Mont Blanc, Mt. Fuji or while going skiing. Third, I guess I like more colours such as green and blue. If the view could’ve been clearer, the better.
Probably next time we will hike a feasible mountain like Wank, and enjoy the Zugspitze’s view from a distance.
Notes for visiting Zugspitze
Mountain weather changes rapidly. Especially at a height of almost 3,000 meters, good preparation ensures you more enjoyment. With good weather, the sun is out, like the day we visited, the temperature on top can rise to 12-13ºC, which looks not-so-cold, but it’s super windy, so we were happy with our down jacket and winter mountain jacket. Also, there is still ice on top and it reflects sunlight sharply, you’ll feel more comfortable putting on a pair of sun-glasses.
Eibsee
When I looked at Eibsee from Zugspitze, this undisturbed piece of lake filled with steel-blue color, with pale-turquoise diamond-like islands decorated spot by spot, amazed me. Instead of standing on top of the mountain slapped by the relentless wind, I wanted to go to see this peaceful and picturesque lake to soak in the fairy-tale vibe.
After descending from Zugspitze, we arrived at Eibsee to have a lunch break. There are not many options, only the Eibsee Pavilion is situated in the prime location. I like that they offer small portions of some famous German food, but sadly, Curry Boy’s fish was undercooked.
Anyway, the unsatisfactory meal should not impede our mood towards hiking around the Eibsee.
The hiking trail around Eibess is 7.5 km and it takes approximately 2 hours to finish. Considering the timetable of Zugspitzbahn back to the Garmisch Partenkirchen centre, we didn’t want to rush to finish the whole hiking trail, so we hiked clockwise from Eibsee Pavilion about 1/3 and came back the same way.
Many people were already wearing swimming suits underneath and ready to dive into the water anytime, while some were enjoying standup-paddling or simply sun-bathing. We didn’t do any water activities, only accompanied each other, sometimes soaked our feet into the clear-bottom water, listening to birds chirping and taking some photos.
Notes for visiting Eibsee
The path around Eibsee is mostly flat. If not rainy and muddy, I think a pair of sneakers can do the job. If you need to take Zugspitzbahn back to the centre, just bear in mind that there will be only one train in an hour, so plan accordingly.
Recommended Restaurants in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
These were the restaurants we tried in 2 days. I didn’t regret anything except a little disappointment – undercooked fish at Eibsee Pavilion. I hope that’s an occasional case.
Most people come here after the Partnachklamm and a small hike up to the mountain. The view is unbeatable. Enjoy a beer or a pair of sausages. They have big German meals too.
At first, we visited the popular Salvte but found out they only serve light food like focaccia. The owner then suggested us go to Renzo if we were after pasta. Indeed, Renzo offers many kinds of pasta that you can even mix and match for a reasonable price and the quantity is huge. Their pizza is good too!
A Mediterranean kitchen cooks right in front of you, smells heavenly, seriously. They have pasta, fish, seafood dishes. Price are affordable, like we ordered a Mama Rosa Penne for just €8.9, and a Gnocchi Parmiggiana with aubergine and mozzarella for €9.9. Both were tasty.
Beautiful Bavarian Houses and Architectures
If you have a chance to go to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, take some time to walk around the town, you’ll find many houses and buildings are very beautiful, with wooden structures, a lot of paintings on the walls, and full-bloomed colourful flowers in the summer time. Only roaming around this small town by appreciating these well built houses is already a pleasure to me.
Later I found out, these paintings are called 𝑳𝒖̈𝒇𝒕𝒍𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒊. Literally translated in English would be ‘airy painting’.
But why are there so many paintings? It can be related to the wide spread of the Christian religion thousands year ago, its influence can still be seen in the south of Germany.
Although, after the war, many houses together with the paintings were damaged, they were then rebuilt and kept the traditional style, some owners also took this medium to show off their wealthiness. And most of the motifs are depicted as saints, mural life, sundials, or something related to God that you feel familiar with church decorative paintings.
If you’re interested in the history and story behind these paintings, head to the website called Lüftlmalerei, whose writer is an American residing in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, sharing the same interest and offering a lot of interesting details.
Back in the UK, Curry Boy asked me, ‘how do you find Munich?’ ‘Munich is okay, offering a lot of touristic places and much more to see than Düsseldorf. But I like Garmisch-Partenkirchen more.’ When I again get the chance, I want to hike somewhere to appreciate Zugspitze from a distance, and take more time to soak myself into this quaint, peaceful and artistic little small town.
