Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Brandon and I got to spend a weekend in the German Alps in a town called Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  The 1936 Winter Olympic games were held there, and we found out that it is known as the winter sports capital of Germany.  The town is located in a valley by the highest mountain in Germany, Zugspitze.  Our hotel was halfway up a mountain across from Zugspitze, and the hotel's restaurant patio overlooked the town and had a great view of that mountain.  We'd love to go back and see more of Garmisch and the surrounding areas...it is so beautiful there!

We stayed at the Berggasthof Hotel Panorama.  I would highly recommend it to anyone!  The room, while simple, was comfortable and nice.  We loved having an adjoining sitting room, where we watched a German version of American Idol--Kids Edition.  It was interesting to hear German 10 year-olds singing love songs in English.  We pretty much loved everything about this hotel.  The hotel managers would bend over backwards to do anything for you.  They were better than any fancy hotel's concierge!  Also, when we went down for breakfast our last morning there, the woman who was on duty had noticed that we were from Cincinnati, and she asked us if we knew her cousin who lived in Cincinnati.  Sadly we don't, but she figured it was worth asking!

Clockwise from upper left: A view of our hotel from further up the mountain; Restaurant patio...I loved the blue and white fixtures (Bavarian flag is blue and white); our VW rental car...we loved it!; our reserved table at the restaurant; the view from the hotel's patio of Zugspitze; the driveway leading to the hotel...the strips of cloth hanging across the road was to indicate a cattle grate to keep the cattle, horses, and goats who grazed on the mountainside from entering the hotel grounds; a better shot of the restaurant patio.

These are photos of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the livestock by our hotel, and the Wankbahn--the cable car we took to the top of the mountain our hotel was on.  The photos of Brandon and me were taken at the top of that mountain, Wank.  I was a little wary of taking the cable car (you know, because of my dislike for heights), but I'm glad I did...it was a spectacular view!