Not far south of Munich lies the town of Garmisch. This is one of Germany's main resort towns in the Alps. It was the site of many of the events of the 1936 Winter Olympics and is the jumping-off point for hundreds of great hikes throughout the Bavarian Alps.
I had yet to go there, even though it's in Munich's backyard... so when the weather was nice last Tuesday (the 19th) I decided it was time.
I took the hour-and-a-half train ride in the morning. The weather was clear and I got excited as the train approached Garmisch and I could see the great Alps...
Garmisch is surrounded by mountains on every side. However the mountains on the south dwarf all the rest. The mighty Zugspitze is Germany's highest mountain. You can see it here with its brothers towering over the town. (The Zugspitze is the one poking through on the far right, with a little bit of snow.)
I arrived in Garmisch and explored a little bit of the Bavarian city.
Here are typical Bavarian houses, a church, and of course, a mountain.
One of my favorite composers of all time is Richard Strauss (1864-1949). You recognize his music from the video clip at the beginning. He wrote way better stuff than that (though not to be confused with Johann Strauss of the Waltz fame.) Anyhow, he was born in Munich and after earning a successful living as a conductor and opera composer, he settled down in his villa in here in Garmisch.
It was a little tricky finding the address for it. It's still a private house and there are no signs or anything. I had done a little digging on the internet and found the address and then once in Garmisch, it wasn't hard to get to his street.
Here is "the house that Salomé built," as Strauss put it, referring to one of his most famous operas...
I wasn't really sure it was his house until I looked at the doorbell sign at the front gate. Sure enough... his grandson and great? grand-daughter still live here.
So I wandered a little up the driveway and snapped a few photos. I was hoping there would be no guard dogs.
When American forces came to Garmisch in 1945 they entered Strauss's house to apprehend the occupant (without knowing who lived there.) As they entered, Strauss came down the staircase and told them, "I am Richard Strauss, the composer of Rosenkavalier and Salomé." One of the soldiers just happened to be a musician and thereafter an "off-limits" sign was placed on Strauss's lawn to protect him.
My favorite piece by Richard Strauss is Eine Alpensinfonie. It is a symphonic poem that takes the listener through different events of a trek in the Alps. There is "The Ascent," "Entering the Woods," "Wandering by the brook," "On the wrong path through the thickets," "The glacier," "The Summit," "Thunderstorm," and so on. The entire thing is masterfully orchestrated and superbly realized; giving the listener a feast of music and an aural adventure of Alpine altitude.
This path next to the Strauss House is practically humming with the "Ascent" theme of the symphonic poem.
All that prowling around the Strauss house made me hungry, so I went and had a typical Bavarian lunch (pork, mashed-potatoes, sauerkraut) at the main square.
Here you can see a typical Bavarian building with different figures placed on the outer façade.
After lunch it was time for some hiking... or, as the Germans say, "Wandern."
So I headed in the direction of the biggest mountains with a vague map in my head of where I was going.
There was a flock of sheep grazing in a field...
They were surrounded by an electric fence. I tried to be quite careful as I took my photos. At one point, however, I got a little careless and I suddenly felt a jolt that I thought had come from somebody kicking me from behind. I realized that I had been shocked!
This next picture was the result...
In the valley around Garmisch are fields and little sheds scattered throughout the fields.
Here was a family harvesting something in the shadow of the Kramerspitze.
I found a trail that headed up, and so I took it. I followed it for awhile and soon it came to a meadow that was also a winter ski slope.
There were a few para-gliders hanging around above the foothills.
I continued my ascent (of course, I'm a geek and so I listened to Eine Alpensinfonie on the way), and passed beneath one of several gondola lifts bringing people to various points in the area around the Zugspitze.
There were beautiful cliffs and jagged rocks surrounded by bright green trees.
My trail was almost constantly steep and it was a hot, sunny day. I found my water supply going faster than I had thought. I knew however, I would soon find one of the many "huts" that dot the area and offer refreshment to hikers.
I found one of these huts but it was closed! I noticed a car parked to the side, however, and so I went to the back door to see if anyone was there. There was a guy there with his dog and so I asked him where I could find something to drink. He said there was another hut some distance away, but when he saw my sweaty red face he took a little pity and went back into the hut. He came out with an ice cold bottle of coke and gave it to me free of charge! Oh boy! That is one of the best Cokes I've ever drunk.
Here is the hut with a magnificent backdrop....
I wandered down to the other hut that the man spoke of. Nobody was here but the staff and so I went inside and asked for a drink of water (Coke tastes great, but sometimes you just need water.) They were kind enough to fill a glass of tap water (which surprised me, because you almost always have to pay for water here), and I sat out on their terrace with nothing but some cold water, some gummi bears, and a tremendous view of the mountains.
Here are some of the views from the terrace (above)...
Here you can see the narrow pass that leads to Austria...
Refreshed and rested, I set off downhill back toward Garmisch.
I had the trail to myself mostly, and it was so peaceful and pleasant in the evening light.
Before long, Garmisch was in view and some evening gray clouds rolled in.
Back on level ground, I headed towards the train station catching a dramatic evening view of the Zugspitze with the rain clouds.
The Waxenstein peak (part of the Zugspitze mountain) is always in view wherever you are in Garmisch...
...even at the train station!
So I boarded my train and went back to Munich tired but feeling that feeling of satisfaction and joy that only being in the mountains can give you.
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