I never knew, until I told people where we were headed on our trip, that there were so many people in this world who have visiting the Alps on their bucket list. Now, the Alps covers a pretty wide range of territory, crossing eight different countries, so you have your choice of places to go if you want to visit the Alps. After spending a few days in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, better known as Garmisch, Germany, I highly recommend it as a place to visit, whether it’s your destination or you’re just passing through. Expedia is an awesome way to find flights and accommodations for your trip.
Garmisch is a gorgeous little resort village at the foot of the German Bavarian Alps, close to the Austrian border. It’s a popular destination both for skiing in the winter, and during the warmer months. It is full of traditional bavarian buildings, and gorgeous mountain views. There are lots of good restaurants, featuring everything from traditional bavarian food to Italian, and shops in the town, which features a walking zone several blocks long.
One of the most popular activities in Garmisch is visiting one of two mountain peaks: the Zugspitze and Alpspitze. The Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany, and has three glaciers on its planks. The Alpspitze isn’t quite as high as the Zugspitze, but still offers amazing views and lots of hiking. Both peaks have cable cars that take visitors to the top where you will find bars, restaurants, and hiking trails. We were advised that each peak needs a day for itself, and as we were short on time chose to only go the Alpspitze as it cost half as much as the Zugspitze and we were told it had better hiking trails at the top.
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Once at the top of the Alpspitze we found absolutely breathtaking views. We chose to do a little hike (optional as you can just take the cable car back down), that offered gorgeous views the whole way, but was a a very steep decline so those with injuries may opt not to do it. There were several spots that were great for photo opps, and we enjoyed watching the parasailers take off. The scenery felt like we were in the Sound of Music. At the end of our hike we found a restaurant for lunch and drinks, and then took the cable car back down the mountain.
Included in the price of the ticket is the train to the Elbsee. I wish we had allowed ourselves more time here. It was a gorgeous sparkling lake in the valley of the mountains with hiking trails around it and a restaurant that sits right on the lake.
Garmisch is also an easy drive to several picturesque castles that are popular tourist destinations built by King Ludwig II, who really liked castles. These castles include the famous Neuschwanstein, the King’s House on the Schachen, and Linderhof Castle. The King’s House on the Schachen is actually in Garmisch, but we did not visit it and instead opted for the Schloss Linderhof, which Ludwig built to be a smaller model of Versailles.
The Linderhof Castle is only a 20-30 minute drive from Garmisch and is a beautiful and ornate castle, and one can definitely see why people got mad about how much money the King spent. It’s a small castle so the tour is quite short, but our 17 month old was not a fan of the tour. For small children it might be best just to tour the grounds and not do a tour. The grounds themselves are beautiful and worth a visit even without a castle tour. There are gorgeous gardens, and we really enjoyed the tour of the King’s grotto, or manmade cave. On display was the boat Ludwig used for taking friends on, and the murals in the cave.
Neuschwanstein is probably the most popular tourist destination in the area, but we were advised by several people that it wasn’t worth seeing as it gets so crowded and there isn’t much to see inside the castle. We still stopped by while traveling to take pictures of the castle from the road.
We found Garmisch to be a peaceful and relaxing Bavarian town and really enjoyed our time there. We visited in September and had nice weather with high temperatures in the 60’s while we were there. I would love to return and see how the town is in the winter and experience some Alpine skiing at some point in the future.
Honestly, I doubt if I will ever be in Germany, but I am so happy that you had a great trip. Your photos are absolutely gorgeous.
What a beautiful place. I have been to Germany and stayed near the River Rhine was such a great trip.
I've always wanted to visit Germany. I find the landscape to be beautiful, and I think the culture and food are great, too.
Wow.. Wonderful photos! 🙂
I am SO jealous! I want to get there some day! It looks absolutely gorgeous! Keep traveling with your little one, it's the best education you can ever give her.
Wow, it looks like an amazing trip! I haven't made it to Germany yet, but I have been to Austria and had some spectacular Alpine views. Thanks for sharing your impressions & photos!
Oh your images make me want to pack my bags and hop on a flight right now! How wonderful that you could make these memories for your family! BTW I had the ERGO baby carrier too and LOVED it, especially when we traveled….. so glad I discovered them way back when they were still teen tiny.
My husband's mom was born and raised in German. I have been to Europe before, but only slept on a train as we traveled through German. It is definitely somewhere I would like to go. There is so much rich history and art.
First of all, your family is gorgeous! Your daughters eyes are absolutely breath taking! I want to visit Germany so badly – I love Europe and Germany is definitely on the list for my next European vacation! Your pictures are beautiful, thank you for sharing your trip and it looks like you had such an amazing time!! : )
xo Adriana – Daily Dose of Design
I am in total awe over this beauty. The lake, the castles, everything…it's all just absolutely stunning!
Wow, what a gorgeous place! Definitely on my bucket list too 🙂
beautiful place! My mother and father in law just visited Germany a few months ago and they had a great time
Oh wow, what a beautiful place. Your photos are amazing. Too bad we weren't able to visit Germany when we visited Europe before. I will definitely include this on my bucket list.
Wow such beautiful views! I love the family pictures, this si something worth scrap booking for sure.
Wow. All of these photos are breathtaking. I can't imagine what it must have been like to see that in person. Gorgeous.
So beatuful and amazing. I hope to be able to visit one day.
Those are beautiful pictures! And I loved the swing you were sitting in with your daughter. So cool.
Wow, those pictures are stunning! My family is from Germany and I would absolutely love to visit it one day. Gorgeous.
This would be a dream vacation for me. Germany is so beautiful. I would love to go see the The Linderhof Castle. These are great photos.
Ah yeas, I would love to visit. We went for a layover and it wasn't long enough to leave the airport. Maybe soon. 🙂 Your pictures are lovely.
These pictures are stunning! Haven't visited Germany yet but now I really want to. I got the itchy feet to travel.
Germany looks like such a beautiful place to visit! Thanks for sharing your trip and nice photos.
How beautiful! It looks so tranquil. Germany is one place that I'd love to visit someday!
How beautiful! It looks so tranquil. Germany is one place that I'd love to visit someday!
Looks like a lovely place to visit. I have never been out of the country but that looks like a place I need to add to my list.
What a lovely trip! I am sooo jealous! I might panic a wee bit on the ride to the top of the mountain – but I imagine it would be worth every moment!
I love that swing! What a beautiful place to visit, I would love to go one day.
Such gorgeous photos!! Garmisch is just 2 hours from us and I think I need to add it to out to do list. The landscape is just so beautiful!
Annessa
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