I feel a little ridiculous writing about visiting Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the third time in less than a year, but when you find a good thing and new things to do every time, then it is worth a quick post to write about the amazing things to do in the area. I won’t go into the normal level of detail, but I’m going to jot down a couple of great experiences that we had in the area.

We were lucky to have amazing weather as we were visiting at the end of July. There were beautiful sunny skies and long days to fill with outdoor activities. The day after we arrived we headed up to Eibsee, that we hadn’t been able to see up close in the previous two visits. We parked at the bottom of the hill and hiked up to the top. The hike took about an hour and was more intense than I was expecting, but it made the sight of water all the more refreshing. We rented a paddle boat for an hour and paddle around Lake Eibsee, staring up at the beautiful Waxenstein peaks above.

The next day we drove half an hour to the amazing downhill rollercoaster. It was 2.4km long down a mountain used for skiing in the winter, to get up to the top there was a ski lift.  Just the ride up was beautiful for the views, but the ride down the hill was even better! Speeds only get up to 40km, but it was a fun experience. It was about 10 euro each for the ride up and the rollercoaster.

After the adventure we just had, we headed to the Ettal Monastery. As in Belgium, the monks brew beer and spirits nestled amongst the beautiful Bavarian alps. The paintings inside of the church were absolutely beautiful. We had an amazing lunch across the street that used local products, it’s one of the best German meals I have ever had. I had cheese spaetzl and Nick had a schnitzel. So German!

On the way back to the hotel we decided to hit up the cheese factory. As we were walking up the lane, the farmer was bringing his cows in for milking. We got to watch as they casually walked along, happy cows living in a pretty lush environment. We ended up buying some of their cheese from the factory. As we were in the little shop buying it, there was a monk from the monastery across the road eating the cheese. If it’s good enough for him, it’s good for me too!

I highly recommend the above experiences when visiting Garmisch, especially combined with the Partnach Gorge and a visit to Neuschwanstein (discussed in my earlier posts).