June 27, 2015 ---- Time flew by so fast, and our visitors were leaving soon. It was our last week together in Germany, so I planned to spend time with them outside of Munich. Oberammergau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen is so easy to get to, and it would be a fun day-trip, plus both Nathan and I hadn't gone there yet, so this was a perfect trip for all of us!
Oberammergau is a small town famous for its production of a Passion Play and woodcarvers. Of course, the next Passion Pay won't be till 2020, but there are many other things to do in town. Strolling past the house murals, window shopping in some of the woodcarving shops, visiting a church and a museum and the Passion Play Theater are all doable in half a day.
How to get there: An hourly train from Munich to Oberammergau takes about 1 hour and 50 minutes and involves one change.
Linderhof Palace is located in the southwest of Bavaria and it's the smallest palace I have seen in Germany. The garden and park area is free in explore, but to see the palace interior, you have to pay the fee and book a tour running frequently both in English and in German.
How to get there: Take bus#9622 from Oberammergau train station to Linderhof. The bus doesn't run frequently, so make sure you have the bus schedule in hand to plan your journey back to town. If you live in Munich, there are many tour companies that offer a day-tour to Neuschwanstein Castle that also includes a visit to the Linderhof palace.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a beautiful city located right at the border between Germany and Austria. Every year a lot of tourists visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen to go up to Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany. No matter what season, you can always find activities to do there. On this visit, we didn't have much time to explore the two cities, but we got to see a bit of one of the cities and had dinner there. If I have a chance to go back there, I would like to do some hiking in the Partnach Gorge.
How to get there: The train from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen runs frequently and takes only 1 hour and 10 minutes. From Oberammergau, you can take a direct bus (Bus#9606) from the train station to Garmisch-Partenkirchen Hbf, which takes only 45 minutes.
Overall, our trip was enjoyable although it rained really hard at one point. It would have been a lot easier and less time-consuming if we had rented a car and driven ourselves to these attractions. I think if you would like to see a unique small town, Oberammergau is a perfect place to go.
Linderhof Palace
Oberammergau
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
