Beautiful Bavaria-Traveling Around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

by Teri E. Popp, Tastemaker in Residence

My husband and I are best described as herd animals: we love to travel with friends. So we jumped on the chance to celebrate our friend’s birthday in the Alpine wonder of Bavaria!

Our hosts rented an entire chalet in the quaint town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, located about one and a half hours south of the Munich airport. Comprised of two separate townships, Garmisch and Partenkirchen, it is best known for its fresco painted, cobblestone streets, and winter activities revolving around skiing and sledding. Traditional Bavarian window boxes line windowsills, while cows roam the countryside with tinkling cowbells near old wooden ski buildings.

We spent our first full day as a group of eight traveling by rented van to the base of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain located in Germany’s Alps. From there, we took a high-speed cable car to the top and enjoyed hot Glühwein (mulled cider) after mounting an epic snowball fight on the summit’s platform. We also marveled at the panoramic views featuring Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. Travel tip: If you have more time, you may wish to approach the summit by track railway car, along with an older style cable car. Accommodations and restaurants are located on and near the mountain (for more information, click here ).

We capped off a wonderful day of touring by enjoying a great dinner with fabulous friends!!