If what you’re looking for is a launchpad-destination not far from Stuttgart, and close to some amazing weekend adventures, then Garmisch is perfect for you.

Longing to continue the high that ensued after experiencing Oeschinensee Lake in the Alps, I made my way down to Garmisch the very next weekend. I couldn’t get enough of the beautiful scenery, perfect weather, and stopping to rest at the coolest mountain huts in all of Europe…while drinking beer lol.

Into the moutains I go

After loading up the Subi, I drove the 2.5 hours down to the small town of Garmisch in southern Germany, about 30 minutes away from Austria. The drive here alone hit me as an experience of a lifetime. Cruising along the road while it twisted and turned around gorgeous mountain ranges seemed to put my mind in a trance, and I loved every minute of it.

Shortly after arriving in Garmisch, I made my way to the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort where I had a reservation. No, not in some fancy hotel room; I was going to stay in one of their mountain cabins! I mean, I’m in the Alps and all, and if it wasn’t for the rain that was going to pour that night, I would’ve just camped nearby.

After checking in and making my way to the cabin I had reserved, I opened the door, plopped my gear down, and began doing my normal room inspection (for things like bed bugs, dirty linens, etc.).

As I lifted up the mattress, there he was: eight legs of pure terror, ready to swallow me whole. And he wasn’t alone, he must have sensed my fear for his kind before I even turned the lock because he brought backup. In total, I had to fight off about five spiders the size of my camera…I was not impressed lol.

Now paranoid, I did what any sane person would do: I left the cabin and headed into town to run away from my problems lol.

The town of Garmisch is a lot like Vail; quaint restaurants serving over-priced beer, ski shops closed until the ski season begins, and cozy cafes that also sling a mean cup of ice cream. It felt like I was home!

Meandering up and down the main street, I window shopped for real estate, $200 jackets, and of course, a t-shirt with the word “Garmisch” printed on it somewhere. Did I buy any of them? No. Did I decide, instead, to go to the burger joint for a beer? Bet your ass lol.

After finishing my veggie burger, I decided to let the good times roll at the only brewery in town. Once the sun had set, I made my way back to the cabin to hopefully get a peaceful night’s sleep among my eight-legged friends.

Continue to the Höllentalangerhütte…the what?

Day two started of perfectly: fresh coffee in my traveler’s French press, a pre-made breakfast burrito from home, some lofi on my phone, and a map of the surrounding area. The goal was to find an amazing, all-day hike; something at least 10 miles or so, so that I could really exhaust myself.

Upon searching through the various hikes listed on AllTrails, I came across one that, unbeknown to me at the time, was going to be the best hike of my entire life. Yep, I said it lol.

I departed the Edelweiss campground, drove all of five minutes to the trailhead, and parked the car. GoPro in hand, camelback full of water, and camera fully charged, I tightened the laces on my hiking boots and set off for an adventure 😀

Embarking on my journey, I wasted the first 10 minutes of the hike admiring these amazing barns that were scattered across some of the greenest landscape I had ever seen. Thanks to that vicious rainstorm the night prior, the grass was a vibrant shade of green that put even an emerald’s color to the test. Not only that, the foggy, mountainous backdrop provided views that were sublime to say the least.

As I continued on the trail, my AllTrails app told me I was going out about 7km before turning to make the loop back to my car. The signposts I was instructed to look for was anything pointing towards the Höllentalangerhütte….I just hoped that wasn’t something weird lol.

Moving at a rather decent pace thanks to the first few kilometers of the hike being on flat ground, my first real break wasn’t until I reached a crossroads at the 4.3km mark. Going right would take me towards the Höllentalangerhütte and remain on track with the AllTrails route I had chosen. However, the sign pointing left said it would also get me there but, I’d get to take a ‘detour’ through the Höllentalklamm, adding only a few hundred meters to the overall distance. Um, yes please!

Traversing the Höllentalklamm

Quick break to tell you that I began studying German back in Korea so that when I got to Germany, I wouldn’t be completely lost. Well, my investment hadn’t paid off at that point lol. Not seeing the harm in taking a quick detour through this “Höllentalklamm” thing, I decided to go left. What did I have to lose?

I rolled the dice and I. had. won! Turns out, the Höllentalklamm is a gorge complete with waterfalls, bridges, and tunnels that you can hike through on your way to the Höllentalangerhütte. To say that the experience was just a ‘detour’ is like saying finding $100 in the street is no big deal; false!

Wandering in and out of rock tunnels with 50m+ rock faces towering over you as water rushed through the crevasse below you was probably the coolest thing I had ever stumbled upon during a hike! It reminded me of the time Ciara and I hiked 10 miles to the abandoned Skagway Powerplant in Colorado. It just feels like you’re on a whole other planet, hundreds of years in the past.

Emerging from the gorge, I continued on for just a few short kilometers before finally reaching my turn-around point: the Höllentalangerhütte. Turns out, this was a mountain hut that weary hikers could either rest at, or simply have a coffee or beer before continuing on with their journey. Naturally, I wasted no time kicking my feet up and resting while enjoying a fresh coffee.

As I sat there in awe of the amazing eastern face of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany, I couldn’t stop this massive grin from forming on my face as I realized just how fortunate I was to be in that moment. I was experiencing things that other’s will only ever read about, and I felt blessed.

I paused and bathed in the moment; the cowbells ringing in the distance created by the goats and sheep grazing in the valley, the foreign dialect being passed back and forth between friends enjoying a beer, and the sounds of rocks crunching under the feet of onlookers continuing on up the mountain.

Mulled wine? Yes, please

I think the waiter could tell that I didn’t want to leave because as I began slowly gathering my things, he asked if I had ever had mulled wine. Recalling a trip back to Paris years ago, I asked him if it was essentially just hot wine.

“Yes” he replied. “Would you like some”?

“…eh, I’ve got nothing else to do” I said lol “I’ll take it, ja”!

I pride myself in being a beer connoisseur of sorts; not enough to know what perfection is, but enough to be dangerous at a brewery with 50+ beers on tap. With that said, I don’t know shit about wine lol. I know they come in about two colors and, basically, “the older, the better”.

So, let that curb your expectations when I tell you that this mulled wine was some of the best wine I’ve ever had lol. It was probably crap but, given the ambiance, the flavor was superb.

Just as I thought the hike couldn’t get any better, honestly, I packed up my things, paid my tab, and proceeded to the trail. Within the first five steps, the hike instantly got better as a pack of sheep decided they wanted to go the same direction I was headed lol.

So, for a few hundred meters, I had a group of trail buddies! And, just like the other trail friends I’ve made since being staitoned here, we couldn’t understand each other, and we were ok with that lol. Like a reel out of your favorite Instragram story, I couldn’t believe I was hiking alongside 7 or 8 sheep in the Alps to the tune of cowbells and rocks crunching under our feets; amazing!

For a few kilometers, the trail continued upwards dramatically before leveling out, allowing me to pick up the pace after being slowed down by my 4-legged friends who insisted we kept stopping to graze lol. Essentially, the route I was on was like walking up the inside of a massive bowl in a spiral fashion…if that makes any since.

As I begin inching towards the lip of the bowl, I could see the saddle between two mountains up ahead. I figured that was likely where I would reach the highest point before descending the backside of the ridge and back to my car.

Pressing on through some steep incline, my legs (and lungs) were asking for quite a few breaks as I got higher and higher. I didn’t mind humoring them with short 30-second breaks here and there because every time I turned around, the views just got better and better.

It’s easy to see why so many people make a pilgrimage to Zugspitze, let alone the Alps. The shadows created by each ledge in the mountain’s face and the seemingly sporadic pockets of pine trees give way to this sense of scale that can’t be comprehended. The best way to describe the feeling you get when you reach an altitude such as 7- or 8,000ft and see a mountain still towering over you is simply to say: you feel small.

That feeling of miniscularity is what my soul craved before my mind could even put a word to it as I set out to Garmisch that weekend. It was accomplished at the base of Germany’s tallest mountain, and I couldn’t have been happier.

The Home Stretch

Continuing down the mountain and back to my car, I did an unusual thing; well, for me at least. I began reflecting on the terrain I had covered and the experience I was fortunate enough to have that day. Usually on my hikes, I strive to remain in the moment. But, for whatever reason, I couldn’t help but begin replaying tapes from just a few hours prior.

From the towering waterfalls that surrounded me in the gorge to the delicious, mulled wine I enjoyed as my mind drifted as easily as the clouds off of Zugspitze did, I was overcome with joy. I knew right then that this would go down as my all-time favorite hike. Nothing I’ve done to this point can compete with the beauty and experiences that accompany one’s journey to the Höllentalangerhütte.

The Ettal Abbey and Partnach Gorge

I arose on Sunday, my final day in Garmisch, with a rather sad feeling because I had to leave at some point. I told myself, rather, my legs told me, that hiking was out of the question today lol. So, I decided to take it easy (physically) and see what other attractions existed in the area.

With fresh coffee brewing in my French press, I pulled out my google maps and started to search the surrounding area within a thirty-minutes’ drive. There were two attractions that stood out among the rest: a historic church in the neighboring town, and another gorge. I packed up my gear, loaded up the Subi, checked out of the cabin, and made my way northwest to the town of Ettal.

Founded in the 14th century by “Ludwig the Bavarian”, the Ettal Abbey is a Benedictine monastery. It’s also quite the impressive sight for where it sits. The low-hanging clouds provided an incredible blue-grey backdrop while the white cathedral, complete with gold and yellow trim, contrasted and sparkled in a magnificent way.

The best part was that since I had arrived on a Sunday, mass was still in session. So, being a religious man myself, I opted to join! As the service concluded, I remained in my seat, letting the heavenly chorus provided by the organ enter my soul as the organistdelivered an incredible performance for patrons to exit to.

It reminded me of the time I reached the Donghwasa Temple on a beautiful Sunday in Korea. On that excursion, I was fortunate enough to bask in the heavenly chants from hundreds of Buddhists as they worshipped in the mountains of Korea.

Departing from the small town of Ettal, I headed back towards Garmisch to take on yet another gorge: The Partnachklamm, or The Partnach Gorge for us westerners lol. Even with weary legs, I honestly couldn’t get enough of that experience in the Höllentalklamm the day prior!

As fate would have it, I once again failed to align my activities with the weather, and it began to downpour. If I was a thinking man, I would have visited the gorge in the morning prior to the rainfall, and then I would’ve weathered the storm from within the Abbey. But who has time to check the weather?? lol

I figured, “hey, I’ve got extra socks in my backpack, a raincoat, and a ‘can-do’ attitude, I’ll be fine”. Best choice I could’ve made! The views from within the Partnach Gorge surpassed the Höllentalklamm by a mile.

It’s hard to really justify the greatness of something that’s been in development since the Triassic era (i.e., several millions of years ago). Words just don’t do something like this justice. I could try to tell you that there was a “best part” but, I’d be lying. Everything about the Partnach Gorge gives your neck whiplash because of how quickly you turn your head to catch another amazing view from within the tight corridor.

Believe it or not, locals used to use this terrifying pass as a means of transporting timber and firewood in the 18th century. These (sometimes) death-defying individuals would ride timber rafts from one side of the gorge to the other to get materials where they needed to go without having to go all the way around the mountain.

I can honestly say that after being in the belly of the gorge and being surrounded by cliff faces that tower over 80 meters above you in parts: you couldn’t pay me to raft through this damn thing lol. There were some parts where you could almost reach out and touch the other side it was that narrow!

Nonetheless, the scenery within this geological masterpiece is unparalleled to anything I have ever experienced. Trees seemingly grew right out of the rock face, water took on the most beautiful shade of ice blue, and the roaring white noise sent adrenaline through your body as thousands of gallons of water rushed right past you every minute.

Sufficiently soaked, I finally made my way out of the gorge and emerged on the other side. I had two choices to get back to my car: back through the soaking-wet gorge, or up and over. For the sake of my feet in a pair of water-logged shoes, I opted for the second choice lol.

Climbing up the side of the gorge was a rather easy task. And, the best part is that once you’re at the top, a beautiful little hut greets you with the promise of cold beer on tap; score!

I took off my shoes and shocks, pulled out a cigar, fired it up, and drank a tall pint of hefeweizen while the clouds danced on and off the mountain range in the distance. With an extreme sense of peace, I found myself nodding off to the tune of more cowbells in the distance. So, I decided to close my eyes for a little bit and let the world just pass on by.

With my batteries recharged, I paid my tab and headed back to the car. I gave one final look to the town of Garmisch and promised it that I would be back before it knew it. It was almost as though the mountains had heard my farewell because they graced me with one final picturesque view to remember them by: a sunset over the mountains.

A perfect end to a perfect weekend.