The Perfect 7-Day Bavarian Family Adventure

​​This year I decided it was time to go on a mother daughter adventure to Bavaria.
Why Bavaria? The food is amazing and will make every kid happy (our big hits Wienerschnitzel, Kaiserschmarrn and Apfelstrudel). There is a lot of nature to explore, castles to visit and lots of different lakes to jump into. 
We started our trip in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and stayed 3 nights, it was our home base where we set out to explore the surrounding area. 

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Hohenschwangau

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a wonderful place to spend a few days and explore the mountains. The small  Bavarian village has beautiful colorful “Lueftl” paintings on the house facades and a  lovely pedestrian zone.
 
Parent tip, to keep the kids entertained buy a few postcards that depict the house paintings and have the kids find them while strolling through the quaint village.

​Summer sledding is one of my kid’s favorite pastimes and the half mile long sledding track with the fun adventure playground next to it keeps her smiling for hours.
 From Garmisch-Partenkirchen you can also start your next big adventure, a cable car and a cook wheel train will bring you to the highest point in Germany, Mount Zugspitze. There you can enjoy the breathtaking scenery and partake in summer tobogganing fun. No gear with you? No problem the sleds are free to use. 
 
​Tip: Bring your swim stuff and cool off after the visit with a jump into the Eibsee right next to the parking lot of the Zugspitze cable car.

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Toboggan, one of the many fun activities!

For little feet and curious minds, hike the Summit Adventure Trail along the high alpine domain of the Alpspitz. Families walk leisurely around the 0.5 mile long circuit with information about the flora, fauna and geology of the region posted along the hike.  The informative, quiz-like stations arouse the curiosity and “wanderlust” of even the youngest mountain lovers. The highlight of this adventure trail, which is also suitable for push chairs, is the AlpspiX viewing platform, which is sure to make your eyes wide and your knees weak! Hike the Genuss-Erlebnisweg with kids that can hike around 2.5 miles and want to experience the stone- kingdom of the giants with 18 fun stations.
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Tip: Buy a combination ticket of the Zugpitz cable car and the Alpspitz cable car to save $.

We also enjoyed a visit to the Partnachklamm (Partnach Gorge) a deep gorge that has been created by the mountain glacier stream (about 1.8 miles return hike that takes around 90 min.). Once you enter the Gorge you are surrounded by massive rock faces and you can hear the water rushing through the gorge beneath.  You will pass several tunnels and the kids will marvel at the sight of small waterfalls.

What else can you do in Garmisch-Partenkirchen? Donkey tracking, trying out the Flying Fox zipline from the Olympic ski jump, or braving the climbing forest with 13 different challenges and a total of 123 climbing elements are just a few more activities you can find in the area.
 
A bad weather day saver is the Chocolate factory “Amelie”, kids and parents can make their own chocolate bars, “lollies”, and decorate their own chocolate figurine, everybody will learn a lot about chocolate and eat a lot too.
 
A big bucket list item for my daughter was a visit to Neuschwanstein Castle as it was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Cinderella castle creation and she wanted to learn more about King Ludwig II. The best picture spot is from the Marienbruecke where you can see the bridge in the forefront of the picture below. You can visit Hohenschwangau as well, however you must get tickets for this castle visit first and then the kids might already be tired before they even visit Neuschwanstein.
Pro-Tip: Tickets should be reserved way ahead online as they sell out 1-2 months in advance. Up to 6000 visitors see Neuschwanstein every day, my advice get the last guided tour of the day and it will be nice and quiet when you walk back down through the forest to the parking lot.
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Our adventure will continue in Part two of the Perfect 7-day Bavaria Itinerary for Families.

Not beer but Apple-juice Schorle

Neuschwanstein