Bavarian Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Fussen

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Bavarian Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Fussen, Germany


On Saturday October 17, we rented a car in Munich and headed out on the Autobahn. Bryan got a charge out of doing 100 mph, legally!

I got a charge from the yellow, red and orange leaves, the straight-as-a-pin pine trees, the green pastures and the blue mountains ahead. We stopped for lunch as we entered an increasingly Hansel & Gretel scenery. We passed by little Bavarian houses with wooden decks, red roofs, carved wood supports, flower boxes and murals–many with delicate lace curtains blowing in the breeze. And there were onion-domed churches and beer-hall restaurants along the corkscrew roads as we headed up into the mountains. I laughed out loud when Bryan said “It’s like Gatlinburg.”

Onion-Domed church in Bavaria
Onion-Domed church in Bavaria: Driving from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Cool clouds rolled into Bavaria
Cool clouds rolled into Bavaria

 

 

We checked in to our small hotel (Garmisscher Hotel) and were delighted to find a small deck facing the mountains and a mini-bar stocked with beer and wine. We changed into the skimpiest clothes we had to improvise bathing suits, and spent the afternoon enjoying the sun and the view from our deck.

Bryan went into town to scout out a place to eat, while I enjoyed the solitude–writing in my journal and mulling my thoughts. You could smell the mountain trees, cow pastures, and firewood burning. I sat there a long time, and eventually watched the sun sink behind an onion-dome steeple.

Sundown in Garmish-Partenkirchen
Sundown in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

We spent a few days in the area. It turned colder and the rain came. We wandered the little fairytale town–and even saw a big-eyed cow with a colorful cow bell around her neck meandering through the town. We ended up in a bar talking to the German bartender and an Austrian who lived there now.

Gatlinburg-like Germany
Is it any wonder Gatlinburg came to mind? Gatlinburg is inspired by Bavarian towns like Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Fussen.

We moved on to a B&B in Fussen (at the foot of Crazy Ludwig’s) to see the castles. Cute little wood-covered room and they served breakfast on delicate transfer-ware, with fancy teapots, smoke-cured bacon, cheese, and poached eggs. The castles were almost unbelievable in their size and ornateness–Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau and Crazy Ludwig’s Bavarian palace (the one that inspired Disney to create “the castle”). We stopped at a Bavarian restaurant for lunch of fried potatoes and braised steak in onion sauce…tasty…meat and potatoes.

Crazy Ludwig's Bavarian Castle Neuschwanstein, Germany
Crazy Ludwig’s Bavarian Castle, Neuschwanstein, Germany
Carol & Bryan at Crazy Ludwig's Bavarian Castle Neuschwanstein, Germany
Carol & Bryan at Crazy Ludwig’s Bavarian Castle, Neuschwanstein, Germany

On Oct 20, we left the area to return the car to Munich and catch our train to Vienna.

On the way, we took a solemn tour of Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp. It was an awful place. The pictures in the museum and the feeling of the rows of wooden bunks haunt my mind. I can’t understand how people can ever believe that they have the right to treat others like the Nazi’s treated people. It’s a sad, terrible thing. Our train left Munich around 4:30 p.m. Both of us admitted we may not ever want to return…not sure if it was the personal sadness, the concentration camp, or what…but we left Munich with heavier hearts.