It’s been a while since I’ve had a trip away from Nuremberg because work has been very busy!
But this week my uni friends came to visit and I took them camping in Garmisch in the south of Germany for a real Bavarian experience. First task… driving there, my mum drove my car to Nuremberg from England so that I could whizz around myself carefree. Was quite nervous about driving on the right-hand-side but all went smoothly and it took us 3 hours to get to our campsite.
Day 1: We drove 15mins to a lake called Eibsee where you can swim and hire boats/pedalos etc. All good, we set off in our bikinis for a wee dip. As we step out of the car the heavens opened and an almighty storm swept the whole lake. Being hardy english girls we thought we’d tough it out and go for a walk and soon enough we were re-enacting Jurassic Park (where the fat guy is in the rain…)
Night 1: We were four in a three-man tent…. settling in with quite high hopes we were initially giggly about the whole situation of being sardines. But the minutes ticked by and when you can’t physically move it became one of the longest nights of my life (we also didn’t have air mattresses so my back really went through some stuff). When it was claimed to be 2.30am I said ‘right I’m out’ and went and slept in the car as I thought it would be for the good of the group if I got at least 2 hours sleep.
Day 2: As no-one slept we were up at about 7 and ready to start the day. Garmisch is known as a ski resort in the german alps and the Zugspitz is the highest mountain in the country. The second highest mountain is the Alpspitz and we took the cable car up to the top because there is a viewing walkway that runs off the mountain for great views (the return cable car journey costs 26euros and we were initially grumpy about paying this much but in the end its worth it!)
So the Alpspitz was a success-incredible views of the valley and there’s a restaurant up there for your refreshment.
Once back down we decided to give the swim in the Eibsee another go because we were still in sunshine when the forecast said rain. We rented a pedalo and sure enough as soon as we got to the middle of the lake, the rain came down but the swim was still good and very warm compared to english waters so it wasn’t completely crap. After a long swim we attempted to dry off and set off for an hour long drive to see the Neuschwanstein Castle.
The Neuschwanstein castle is the inspiration for the iconic Disney castle and is also seen in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. As it is so famous, it is unfortunately a very touristy area so you do have to fight through crowds a bit but for us it was worth it because the scenery up at the castle is great.
So a long day! We headed back to our campsite hoping that we had exhausted ourselves enough to sleep.
Day 3: We managed to fit in one more visit on our traveling home day. The Partnach Gorge is a 30minute walk from the Olympic Ski Jump in Garmisch and costs only 4euros to enter. Amazing views as you walk through the rock and you will see water that is an incredibly clear blue.
Once through to the other side, if you’re feeling in need of more exercise head up the hill following signs for the restaurant which will give amazing views of the valley you just walked through.
So by the time we got back down the hill we felt we had earned our lunch and went to the restaurant that sits at the bottom of the Olympic Ski jump which was built for the 1936 Winter Olympics- great food and very cheap!
So that’s Garmisch! An incredible area of the alps which was great to get back in touch with nature after a long stint in the city. Would be great to see this place in the winter too!
Ciao for now,
Marlo
Life of Boyd 