Garmisch-Partenkirchen orientation

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Today was a day to get ourselves familiar and oriented with the valley so after a bit of house keeping we headed into the town area to explore. There is more to the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area than initially expected and we did need to get ourselves oriented with what was what and where. The maps supplied either didn't show enough or were oblique maps so were confusing in how to find where paths went and the actual direction.

We wandered into the main part of town and found a tranquil town with a pedestrian only street, many buildings painted with historical frescoes, restaurants, cafes, a park with gardens etc like many towns but this time with a special character, surrounded by high, craggy mountains with the highest mountain in Germany, the Zugspitze. No doubt over the past few months the pace has been hectic but it is now much quieter and the temperatures in the low to mid 20s.

With a visit to the Tourist Office we came away armed with information from a whim-wam-here you are- go for it - , woman. Wow, she must have pointed 1000's of people in the right direction and just gave it to you flat out!

Back at the apartment for lunch we figured we'd walk up the valley and get some idea of the lie of the land. The walking trails on the oblique map aren't obvious on the ground so a better normal map is required although we are wiser than we were. Our afternoon was spent going uphill to a little lake where the historic bob sleigh course was from the Olympics. The trail led through forest and along to a couple of Seilbahns (gondolas) which we'll explore later in the week. Lastly, the long walk back in the heat set us up for a well earned, beer, crackers and brie on the deck.

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Photos

A comfy cow in the Park
The cow, that is, not me!

Little sheds everywhere do the paddocks
Beyond the town the paddocks are dotted with many little sheds which look like animal shelters but I'm not sure why there are so many.

Comments

[Robin]

Editing captions
Not wanting to be insulting but how do I read that caption??? :-)

[wanderweg]

Comfy cow
I had to think about that one! Now clarified!