When you first come to Garmisch-Partenkirchen by car, you might get confused by road signs that divide traffic to Garmisch and Partenkirchen. That is because these towns were separated for many centuries and still maintain their own identities. Administrative unification occurred in 1935, just before the Winter Olympic Games of 1936. That was the first Olympics to introduce alpine skiing, and the one that put newly unified towns to everyone's world map. Many decades after, the town remains home to sports venues and many athletes. Walls of old town buildings often look like living frescoes, and it's not unusual to get into the traffic jam caused by cows crossing the roads.

This place is all about Alps - Berchtesgaden is located so much to the South, that you need to drive 30km to the North to reach Austria's Salzburg! Three valleys to the South of the town are encircled by Austrian territory and host the National Park with the same name. Some natural wonders are short drive away: the Watzmann, third-highest peak in Germany, and Königsee, brutally beautiful glacial lake. The salt mine is not functional anymore, but is reopened as a tourist attraction and is completed with sound and light show. The area is favoured by climbers, skiers and snowboarders, and professional sportsmen compete on town's bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track.

The town, named in honour of Saint Maurice, is known from at least 12th century and always had visitors due to its climate (there are 300 sunny days per year on the average). It's hard to believe now, but until 1864 visitors came only in summer. Then, the local hotel pioneers came with revolutionary idea of reimbursing travel costs to first winter visitors if they are not satisfied with their trips. Since then, Saint Moritz transformed itself into real winter destination and is one of three places in the world that hosted not one, but two Winter Olympics (1928 and 1948).