Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Spring

Our second time around! We wanted to experience this part of Germany without the snow. OF course, there was still snow on the ground and it was pretty cold but it was beautiful!! We also did not get to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle on our first trip so we wanted to visit. This castle is famous for being the inspiration behind Walt Disney's castle portrayed in all his films.

It is a huge, breathtaking castle and the history behind it all. It is the former castle of King Ludwig II. After his death in 1886, it became open to the public for viewing and to this day is one of the most famous castles in Germany. It is definitely a sight to see, so if you are visiting Garmisch add it to your list! There are several options to get to the castle and unfortunately, we attended on a very busy weekend so we decided to hike our way up to the castle. The website says it takes 30-40 minutes to walk from the ticket center to the castle (around 1.5 km on a steep uphill road). This is truly accurate! The hike was a bit grueling and luckily we all had our walking sneakers on or else it would have been disastrous. But when we reached the top it was the greatest feeling. of accomplishment! We had hiked up as a family and experienced the journey together.

The Linderhof Palace is another one of King Ludwig II, masterpieces. It is a smaller one of his castles but has very intricate details. We were unable to take many photos of the inside areas as it was forbidden.

Top Sites Visited:

~Neuschwanstein Castle

~ Zugspitze (the highest peak in Germany)

German Food!!!

Germany is widely known for their meat dishes and hearty, home cooked meals. They often serve their food with potatoes, egg noodle pasta, fries or some other version of potatoes. Beef, Pork, Horse, Rabbit, and Chicken are among the most popular meals.

We have indulged in a lot of different varieties. Me not being a particular meat fan, my husband has tried the pork knuckle and the beef stews. I absolutely love the Spatzle dish which is egg noodles with cheese, similar to a mac and cheese dish but German style. The one pictured is topped with freshly fried onion. Yum!! Our son doesn't venture out much and stuck with what he knows, Spaghetti Bolognese. LOL

Of course, the Onion Soup is a favorite! A good onion soup will have a huge fresh onion on top and topped with loads of cheese, such as this one did! It was full of flavor, hot, and delicious. I could eat this as my main meal if I had to! The Schnitzel or Weiner Schnitzel which is basically a breaded cutlet of meat, usually chicken or pork is also pictured here. It usually served with a side dish of your choice.

Other traditional German and Austrian (on the border) favorites include:

Currywurst (Sausage with Curry Sauce)

Bratwurst  (Grilled Sausage)

Hasenpfeffer (Rabbit Stew)

Knockwurst (Boiled Sausage)

Brezeln (Pretzel)

Sauerkraut (Fermented Cabbage)

Kartoffelkloesse (Potato Dumplings)

Kartoffelpuffer (Potato Pancake)

Overall it was a fun trip! We were glad to be able to get our redemption trip from the first visit in December! This trip we ended up taking a charter bus with other folks that were also military. It was definitely a long day and night of travel and probably would not do that part again.

But we experienced a different viewpoint of this part of Germany and the weather was a bit warmer and less snow.