Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria. Nearby is Germany’s highest mountain, Zugspitze, at 2961 m (9714 ft.). The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies is also located in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The Marshall Center is an internationally funded and mostly U.S.-staffed learning and conference center for governments from around the world, but primarily from the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. It was established in June 1993, replacing the U.S. Army Russian Institute. Near the Marshall Center is the American Armed Forces Recreation Centers (Edelweiss Lodge and Resort) in Garmisch that serves U.S. and NATO military and their families. A number of U.S. troops and civilians are stationed in the town to provide logistical support to the Marshall Center and Edelweiss Recreation Center.
In 1936 it was the site of the Winter Olympic Games, the first to feature alpine skiing. A variety of Nordic and alpine World Cup ski races are held here, usually on the Kandahar Track outside town. Traditionally, a ski jumping contest is held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on New Year’s Day, as a part of the Four Hills Tournament (Vierschanzen-Tournee). The World Alpine Ski Championships were held in Garmisch in 1978 and 2011. Garmisch-Partenkirchen is also a favored holiday spot for skiing, snowboarding, and hiking, having some of the best skiing areas (Garmisch Classic and Zugspitze) in Germany.
It was announced on December 7, 2007, that Garmisch-Partenkirchen was part of a Bavarian bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, with partner candidates Munich and Schönau am Königsee (near Berchtesgaden) but it succumbed at the acclamation on July 6, 2011. The Winter Olympics were last held in the German-speaking Alps in 1976 in nearby Innsbruck, Austria.
[caption id="attachment_160810" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Rüdesheim on the Rhine around 1900[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Rüdesheim is a winemaking town in the Rhine Gorge and thereby part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It lies in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district in the region of Darmstadt in Hesse.
It lies at the foot of the Niederwald on the Rhine’s right (east) bank on the southern approach to the Lorelei. The town belongs to the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and is one of Germany’s biggest tourist attra...
