Hi again,

I'm not totally sure. Are you buying from amazon.de, or will you try to have amazon.com deliver to Germany?

I order from amazon.de frequently, but then they just deliver to my home. Occasionally they'll deliver to the parcel box if I wasn't home, so I can pick up the box anytime.

I've never seen a place with boxes for visitors.

Why don't you ask your hosts if you can have a box mailed to their offices?

Hope you get it worked out.

s

ps I'm on vcation in Switzerland working on my tablet, so typing is a pain --

Hi Swandav, Enjoying the rain? :-(
What part of Switzerland are you visiting this time?

Hi Weisser Tee,

I'm in Montreux, as usual! Loving it, even in the rain. Had an incredible Rösti Vaudois today. Yuum

s

S,
The hosts said we could ship packages to their office! Good call. I will attempt to order on Amazon..de.
I hope Switzerland was lovely, it's 3°C here today. Still no snow either.
-E

Swandav2000,

I have yet another question for you! Sorry to pepper you so relentlessly!
Should I buy a rail pass to cover trips to and from Munich? I'm guessing those trips wouldn't fall under the Bayern Pass. Also, will certainly visit Innsbruck so wondering if that too is included or would there be a suplimental?
Best regards,
E

Hi again,

I've never found rail passes to be value for the money; it's usually too much money for not enough rail.

I'm not at home right now so can't search as I normally would -- but you can google a map for the Baaria Ticket. Bavaria is very large, and the Bavaria Ticket is good for all of it. I used it going from Garmisch to Lindau a week ago.

No, though, it's not good for travel to Innsbruck. You can get the price of the ticket from Garmisch to Innsbruck and compare the cost of a Bavaria Ticket from Garmisch to Mittenwald then a regular ticket from Mittenwald to Innsbruck.

Rail prices are much lower if you buy your tickets 90 days in advance if you aren't going to use the Bavaria Ticket. The biggest problem is that you are then locked into that train at that time and can't change it. The discounted fares sell out quickly, though, so you should begin looking now to see if any discounted fares are left.

Have fun!

s

Good day,

Can anyone recommend a Chinese or Japanese restaurant in GaPa? I think it would be fun to go that route for Christmas dinner if possible. As travelers, coming up with a special meal is tricky. :-)
Thanks!

Hi again,

The biggest one is Asia World:

http://www.asia-world-garmisch.de/index.asp

They offer Mongolian, Chinese, sushi, etc. They say they are open every day, so it may be a good bet. Remember though that every hotel restaurant will be open -- you'll just have to make reservations ahead of time. You can choose a nice 4-star in Partenkirchen and enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner.

http://www.atlas-grandhotel.com/inde...grandhotel&L=1

Or a friendly Bavarian hotel & restaurant:

http://www.gasthof-fraundorfer.de/en...restaurant.php

Just email them for costs & reservations for Christmas Eve & day.

s

Hello,
We have booked New Year's dinner at the Fraundorfer and are awaiting the menu from the Atlas Hotel.

Is there any way we could take a cog railway up to some snow fields so our kids can do some sledding? I ordered sleds for Christmas so it would be a shame to not use them!

E

Sure, why not? I don't understand what you think may not be able to do this?

There is a ski run open on the Zugspitze, and the sled run is open there. They are working hard to open more lifts by Christmas, and they are trying to get them open by Christmas.

Here is the page to see which lifts and pistes are open:

http://zugspitze.de/en/winter/skiare...c/lifte-pisten

s

Hallo!

We have been loving Garmisch so far, we made it to Innsbruck yesterday for the Christmas Markets. What a gorgeous experience! The lack of snow is a bit sad but the train ride to Innsbruck from Mittenwald is one of the most spectacular rides I've ever been on.

My family has found walking to the city center to be doable, the train station is a healthy walk before sitting on the train. :-)

I hate to bother you yet again but is there any chance you know of a childcare service here in GaPa?
Merry Christmas!

Hi again,

Glad you're having fun!!

Yes, the lack of snow is really depressing, though the Zugspitze has opened 7 ski runs starting today. There is one run open on the Hausberg.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any babysitters or childcare service for travellers. I can tell you that, when my sister and I were toddlers, my parents asked the hotels to recommend babysitters, and we used those. However, that wasn't for all day but only for a few hours at night so they could have dinner, etc. But if you have no other options, you could ask your apartment hosts.

I've heard of this Facegroup page: Garmisch Germany Babysitters:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/412169945530456/

It's a closed group, so it may take a few days to get admitted to the group to ask. Or you could just pm the group moderator and ask.

Good luck!

s

Thanks for yet more info!
Today was an adventure in bus travel in GaPa. I have walked so much that I can now indulge in extra chocolate!!! I made several new friends including a kind bus driver who shared his Christmas cookies with me, a young man from Senegal who took pity on my pack-mule appearance and a solo lady traveller who helped me navigate the dead-ending of the bus we were on. It is a slightly odd system to work out from this end of the town, I had some serious blunders today with it.
I was wondering if many shops will be open Christmas Eve down in the Marianplatz? My husband still needs to duck out for a few more things...wrapping paper being top on the list! ;-)
Thank you again S for being such a resource!!!
-E

Hi again,

Yes, I love walking through neighborhoods in town; if you can try to avoid the main roads and detour through some interesting streets. . . I do realize that you've walked tons, and detouring would add even more miles . . . but so worth it. Gives you a completely different knowledge of the town!

Yes, I've also found that doing the busses and walking exposes you to many more locals -- love it! I can't tell you the number of times someone has opened a conversation with me at the bus stop.

Anyway, most shops will close around 12.00 or 14.00. So your husband needs to get out early!

Oh, every bus stop has a map of the routes through town -- have you studied it? I always use google maps to help me get oriented, both in my hotel/apartment and also while I'm out & about. Do you have a smart phone?

Here's a link to the bus map so you can plan in advance:

http://www.gemeindewerke-garmisch-pa...d=34&Itemid=40

s

Hallo!

Would it be possible on a Sunday to take the lift at the Olympic Stadium (Eckbauerbahn) with rented X-country skis, get off, ski to Warberg and then ski back down to Partenkirchen.?
I had an accident so cannot do alpine skiing sadly. Sending my husband off to ski with another visitor.
I badly want to get up to some altitude but need something more moderate.

Best,
E

Hi again,

I don't think there is enough snow to cross-country ski in this area. Do you mean Wamberg? I don't even know if there is a cross-county trail there -- it's not listed on the GaPa tourist website, and none of my friends have talked to me about it (they talk about going cross-country in Mittenwald and in Austria).

Skiing from Wamberg to Partenkirchen will be Alpine, but I don't think there is a ski trail for this.

Can you sled? There is a sled run open on the Zugspitze. Or just go up the Hausberg and sit at one of my favorite spots, the Drehmöser.

Can you go snowshoeing? You could do that.

s

I know the Edelweiss lodge offered night tubing but could not find anything on the Gap site. I always wanted to do that.


Tobogganing on the 5 km trail at Mount Hausberg is fun for the whole family. The track is prepared, and nets make the dangerous passages safe in order to guarantee all toboggan fans easy going enjoyment. After all, it is all about fun. Tobogganing at night is a great experience. The toboggan run is lit on Wednesdays and Fridays from 6 pm to 8 pm (please observe the updated notices).

The trail from St.-Martins-Hütte at Mount Grasberg is an insider tip for the fearless. You have to walk uphill to speed down the 1.6 km trail. Afterwards, it is a fast run back into the valley

Well, again, there has to be enough snow for the sled run from St. Martinshütte. We've only had one good day of snow and one day of light snow, and I'm not sure it's enough for that run.

Here's some more information on it:

http://www.outdooractive.com/en/sled...ramer/1398506/

Here is the website for St Martinshütte:

http://www.martinshuette-grasberg.de/

The website says that sledding is limited at the moment. The telephone number for the hütte is on the website, so you could call them and get up to date information on the run.

For flpab -- just a quick note. You don't need to add "Mount" to "Hausberg" and "Grasberg." The "berg" at the end of the word indicates it is a mountain; you are essentially saying, Mount House Mountain, Mount Grass Mountain, etc.

s

Bummer about the snow. It is mother nature we are dealing with. I got the info off a Gap site. I think you could get a job writing their translation swandav!

Oh gosh, that's so funny, flpab! I have heard that it's best to get a native speaker (but fluent in the foreign language) to translate information from the foreign. I've seen other strange constructions from Germans who are fluent in English . . . but not native.

Oh yes, mother nature, plus some interference from Global Climate Change. The Zugspitze glacier is melting at a very advanced speed, and the ski seasons are getting shorter.

However, we did get another nice dump of snow yesterday, so the sled run from St Martinshütte may be fully open by now -- and hopefully we'll have a good ski season!!!

s