By Pat Turner Kavanaugh
Snow Chronicles Correspondent

GARMISCH, Germany. March 15 -- Your friends want to try a European ski adventure. You and your spouse decide it would be educational for the kids to spend their vacation skiing abroad.

But you're not eager to spend six days on skis -- even if you're contemplating skiing the Alps.

I checked out skiing here in Garmisch. From experience, seems there are plenty of other things for you to enjoy.

First, some history.

In preparation for the 1936 Olympic Winter Games, Adolf Hitler combined two small Bavarian villages, Garmisch and Partenkirchen, to form one municipality.

To this day, the combined area offers somewhat different characteristics.

For instance, Garmisch has one sort of architecture -- elaborate murals on the building walls. In Partenkirchen, on the other hand, you'll see homes similar to those found in northern Italy.

Perhaps more important to the visitor, you'd look to Partenkirchen. for craft studios and other "old-fashioned" shops, while Garmisch boasts the more "contemporary," often international brands stores, such as Tommy Hilfiger and Benetton.

The American military has maintained a presence in Garmisch (let's say "Garmisch" for convenience) for many years. You'll find tons of U.S. G.I.s who leaned to ski at Garmisch, as it's a major recreation center. Today the Army also operates the George Marshall Center there, where soldiers from many countries learn languages.

You'll find that younger Germans particularly speak good, often impeccable, English. Because so many Americans stay in Garmisch, English facility is even more widespread. Puts us to shame. But makes life a lot easier for the sometimes confused traveler.

Menus often provide an English translation. That, however, can cause the occasional anomaly. We had lunch, for instance, in a nice restaurant which in the English portion of the menu offered "snake." We asked the very helpful, very fluent waitress Bianca what this could possibly mean. She looked. She laughed. Her boss's English was less certain, she admitted. He meant "snack."

As is usually the case overseas, the average visitor has two primary sources of information -- the local tourist office, identified by the universal "I", and the main desk at the hotel.

(Before you go, of course, you should have done your research. If you're not computer-conversant, ask the kids to help you -- it will give them a prior stake in the trip. But if you intend to travel much - or do pretty much anything in contemporary American society, you'd better learn.)

(Get some ideas. Make some notes. This may be the time to invest in a small bound notebook, not loose leaf. Begin to write down suggestions, recommendations from friends, thoughts from the web, questions. Get used to carrying this. In addition to serving as a journal during your trip, it'll be an invaluable resource when you travel.)

(Also, before you go, you may want to consider a tour operator, especially one with experience in your destination.

We used Ski Europe, based in Houston, which was early into the Internet, but also has mostly Europeans at the other end of a toll-free 800 number.)

The hotel front desk is your first line of assistance. The location of the hotel, too, can make a big difference as that at least partially determines how easy it is to get places.

Ask at the front desk for a visitor's card, which provides free use of the municipal bus system, free participation in guided walking tours organized by the tourist office, one free swim at the pool, a total of 13 free things, plus another 14 at reduced rates.

In Garmisch, we stayed at Clausing's Posthotel, which is centrally situated, right at a ski bus stop, across from a taxi rank, truly a 10-minutes walk from the tourist office, near the Catholic church where the bells ring regularly, and, good or bad, depending on your point of view, across the street from a Pizza Hut and one of Garmisch’s two McDonald restaurants.

If you're outdoors-minded but not enthusiastic about downhill skiing - or maybe you and others in your group want to try something else, Garmisch offers much.

For instance, cross-country rentals and lessons are available at the same ski schools, according to Birgit Bliesener of the Garmisch tourist information office.

You can rent snowshoes downtown, or bring your own. With sufficient snow you can use your snowshoes anywhere, or hire a guide who can show you the best places.

On nights of the full moon you can join a group for a snowshoe walk out under the stars.

Bliesener said tobogganing is "very popular here," with prepared runs including one from the cable car station at the Classic ski area down into the valley. "It's not difficult but you'd better know what you're doing,"
she added.

"Also popular is winter walking," Bliesener said.

There are 100 km of prepared trails, most of which start in the valley. Walks can take half an hour to five hours. "You can even hike up the mountain on a groomed trail if you're up for it," the tourism representative said.

For the truly adventurous downhill skier, Garmisch can serve as the base for ski touring. Every ski school has teachers and guides, Bliesener said.

And if you don't want to strap on the boards at all, you can purchase a ticket for the cable car up to the Classic ski area and walk across the snow to the restaurant. Bliesener said people even ride up for a coffee and the view.

There is also a free Garmisch ski bus to take you to and from the slopes.

The swimming pool is handy for a rainy day or any day you're in the mood. It's adjacent to the Austrian Olympic team's training center for curling.

At the swimming facility are pools for children, diving, lap swimming and one with jets for adults. The outdoor hot tub costs extra.

Speaking of curling, there are public sessions during which you can try your hand at this arcane sport. Probably better just to watch. We saw parts of a tournament leading up to the German women's championship and shared the spectator area with the German women's Olympic team one evening.

Also here are indoor and outdoor skating rinks, where you can rent skates. At times you can also watch ice hockey. "Most people come here to do winter sports," Bliesener said.

Garmisch offers cultural attractions, as well as skiing.

There's a pleasant local history museum, Werdenfelser Heimatmuseum, which costs a mere 1.5 euros. Those who appreciate crèches will get their fill here. During winter, there are also manger scenes on the streets.

In Garmisch, the Strauss Institute was home to Richard Strauss. There are concerts at least once a month and a library with all his compositions. A film in German and English will serve as your introduction to this composer.

Ask someone to point you to the Old Church, part of which is Gothic style. There are beautiful murals on the ceiling. Sometimes older people wear traditional garb to Sunday morning Mass.

Not far from Garmisch are several castles including the one on which the Disney castle is based, Neuschwstein. It’s a one-hour drive, Bliesener said, or two hours by public bus.

Closer is Linderhof, built for King Ludwig.

Food is an important component of the experience of traveling abroad.

Garmisch boats pastry shops on almost every block. "Bavarians love their sweets," Bliesener said.

One of our group quickly grew to like the pretzels sometimes served with wurst. In less than four days she had identified a shop which she said sold the best pretzels.

Bliesener said, "Most people stop skiing at lunch," which is often large and accompanied by beer or wine.

"This (custom) has gotten expensive," she admitted, "so some places are offering lodges for bag lunches.

For a fun Bavarian evening of music and dancing, try Gasthof Fraundorfer.

Of You Go:

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Tourism Office is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday. The website is www.garmisch-partenkirchen.de. The e-mail address is tourist-info@gapa.de. Ski Europe: toll-free number 800-333-5533.

Pat Turner Kavanaugh is a news reporter for the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. She has reported on news of skiing for three decades.