Garmisch-Partenkirchen Travel Forum

Some friends will be travelling to Garmisch with us for the christmas week this year,we'll be 4 adults, a 16mth old, 2 x 3yr olds and a 7 yr old. We're staying at the US eidelwiess resort but all really wanted to spend as much time out of the hotel as possible.... I've been trawling the internet to find travel tips for the area etc, and wondered if anyone here had any 'real' advice and tips on enjoying the area with small children. None of us ski incedently and don't plan to whilst we're there, but we do love the outdoors (as do the children, though we are maybe limited to what we can manage with the littleones, though we have backpack carriers etc, the 7yr old still has to cope!). We're also looking to eat out and about most evenings especially Christmas eve and christmas day...

Also are there any churches (maybe more likely in Munich..) that do lively christmas eve. christmas day services?

Thankyou for taking the time to help

I can't say if there will be snow in the lower areas but you'll be fine getting round the area. There are enough cable cars to get you up the mountains and most places will be open. Forsthaus Graseck is a very good restaurant with access by a small cable car that only holds 4 adults at a time. The Fraundorfer should be open and both these places have websites where it is posible to book and make reservations. Renzo's is a good Italian restaurant by the Rathaus. If you are there before Christmas the cafes and restaurants will confirm if they are open on Christmas Day. All the churches will have services but I don't know what you mean by lively.

Eating out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day:
Expect most if not all restaurants closed on Christmas Eve after 2pm. If you want to eat out on Christmas Day, book far ahead!

Christmas services in Germany are quite solemn and they don,t have the arm waving and Praise the Lord that is seen in some American Churches, the atmosphere is hushed .The Churches are beautifully decorated with candles, and there is usually a choir, I would recomend you go but get there early, the Churches will be full.

You can use the following link: http://edelweislodgeandresort.com/tours.html, to access the list of available tours for lodge guests. You probably should contact them now if there are tours that interest you. I don't know if they have day-care facilities available at the resort or not. If they don't, you might need to take turns staying behind with the kids. The sleigh rides would be fine for everyone. Some of the tours,however, such as Neuschwanstein, require a lot of stair climbing, and walking, even if you take the carriage ride up the mountain. The best thing about the tours is that no one misses out on the scenery while driving, and, more importantly, you won't get lost,lol. They take care of almost all of the details for you so you aren't standing in ticket lines. For the castles, the tour will be the same as the one you would get if you travelled there on your own. If they've had enough snow for skiers to be about, you might want to do most of your meals at the resort itself, as the town will be extremely crowded. A lot of the local restaurants will probably be closed anyway. If you find one that will be open, again, you might want to try to make reservations. The people at the visitor information link might be able to give you suggestions. I do believe that there is a restaurant tour of some sort available through the lodge though. As far as the church service goes, I'm assuming you would be able to enter a post chapel. I'm not sure how many, if any, kasernes we have in that area now. You might try to gather a schedule of services offered there. As has been said, the local church services will tend to be pretty solemn, and not really for small children. If you need anymore help you can e-mail me here on VT, or at : box2433@yhti.net. Gary

What I meant to say is that most local restaurants will close on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and, possibly the day after Christmas. Gary