A Trip to the South of Munich

http://www.thelocal.de/sport/20101214-31795.html 

Visited this incredibly beautiful German village last weekend- called Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Didn't realize at the time it was a hotbed of insurrection against the 2011 Olympics. http://www.thelocal.de/sport/20101214-31795.html Mostly it comes across as another amazingly beautiful German village-this one at the edge of the Alps. The road outside the Hotel was first paved by the Romans and the museum next door had the oldest bed in Bavaria-1400's or so-plus lots of other incredibly ancient and interesting stuff-5 floors full in the only building that survived the "great fire" of 1886 that leveled the town. This museum building dated from at least the 1500's and the attic, where a lot of tools are stored, was just amazing-huge post and beam, very few nails, solid as could probably ever be built.

Here's an example of a typical "house" in the village. Old, very well kept.

The train system is very impressive-the ICE (white train)is the higher speed inter city line and the Red DB trains are the slower commuter lines to the outer districts. They make the US system look like a mere replica of true train travel.

 The main station in Munich is called Hauptbahnhof and is a huge indoor shopping and dining area-there are bookstores-many restaurants-even "currywurst" and it is, of course, incredibly clean, orderly and well layed out and unlike many shabby train stations we have experienced in the States. (Have you ever been to the Springfield Mass Amtrak station?) They take train travel very seriously here.