"Welcome to my Ga-P page! " a Garmisch-Partenkirchen Travel Page by lareina

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is all about location, and what a location! Ga-P is nestled in a valley at the base of the German Alps. Imagine walking out of your door in the morning and realizing you are surrounded by mountains! I lived in Ga-P for a year and have many fond memories of the place. It is the kind of Bavarian town were cows still walk through the streets and the taxi drivers wear lederhosen, yet you can go downtown to buy designer clothes (although overpriced) and eat international cuisine. Ga-P is a definite stop for any outdoor lover!

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The many barns of Bavaria

Explore Bavaria

One of my favorite things to do in Garmisch is to hop on a bike or strap on my hiking boots and head out. There are hundreds of trails around Garmisch and they are all well-marked and well-maintained. Germans seem to love their outdoor activities and it shows! There are trails to take you up the mountains or away towards Munich or into Austria. The tourist information in town gives out city maps and a list of hikes. You can also buy a more detailed hiking map from them or go to the bookstore and browse their collection. I usually don't even take a map, but I like to keep track of which trails I have hiked. One of my favorite hikes is to go from the War Memorial on the Kramer to the Ruine Werdenfels.

Visit my travelogue for more info: Hiking and Biking in Bavaria.

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View of Garmisch-P.

A Little Bit of History

Nowadays, you can't tell the difference between Garmisch and Partenkirchen, but once upon a time they were separate villages. Partenkirchen is the older of the two and was a main stop on a 14th century Roman road. In 1935, being that the next year's Winter Olympic Games were coming to the towns, the mayors were convinced to unite the towns into one. Still, there remains a bit of competition between the two and you can even get a group of Italians to argue over where the dividing line lies. In my mind, I keep it simple and say the river Partnach is the divider.

The Winter Games of '36 were host to the first Olympic downhill and slalom races and Hitler was present for the event. After WWII, the town grew in popularity thanks to the Rest & Relaxation program of the United States Armed Forces. To this day, Americans soldiers and their families still come to the Armed Forces Recreation Center in Garmisch. AFRC is opening a new resort, the Edelweiss, in September and closing the long-standing Patton Hotel--where I used to work as a waitress!

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is very proud of its Bavarian heritage. You can witness this in the beautiful painting, or luftlmalerei, on the facades of traditional wooden homes and also in the people and their love of tradition. It is a beautiful place to visit and a beautiful place to have lived in!