Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Despite the tight schedule at the just-concluded Military and Media Symposium organised by the Department of Public Affairs, United States African Command (USAFRICOM), Senator Iroegbu could not resist the urge to explore the raw beauty of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany

It was not exactly the biblical Garden of Eden but Garmisch reminded me that God did not have the sky-scrapers that define today’s modern cities in mind when he created that garden as an ideal place for mankind.  It gave me an awe-inspiring and nostalgic feeling about what was the then divinely sanctioned ecological excellence, before the fall of man-a feeling that still persists today in major religions as the final and ultimate destination of the saints.
Fortunately, God cannot be wrong especially when you visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen whose human inhabitants have successfully harnessed and preserved its natural endowments to maximum use.

I am not preaching; but the raw and natural ambience of the small German town combined with a classic mix of the ancient and modern, literally brought me closer to life in its purest form. This helped me to gracefully rescind my pre-conceived regret over the twist of fate that brought me to the lush venue.
I was originally scheduled to travel to Stuttgart, Headquarters of the United States African Command (USAFRICOM), for the maiden Military and Media Symposium organised by their Public Affairs Department for select Defence Reporters and Military personnel from Africa.

According to the invitation, we (the selected participants; African journalists, military officers and USAFRICOM staffs) were expected to have the one-week symposium at Fontana Hotel close to the USAFRICOM Base in Stuttgart.

For the few occasions I have been to Germany; it has always been to the lively, multicultural and hyper-metropolitan Capital city of Berlin and its neighbouring, but extremely beautiful and historically royal town of Potsdam.  I was therefore excited about the prospect of exploring another German city especially Stuttgart; the wealthy home of Mercedes Benz and Porsche.

I was however disappointed on learning about the sudden change of venue to an ‘unknown’ Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Nevertheless, I was consoled by the fact that the city was close to Munich-the home of the German Bundesliga behemoths, Bayern Munich and as well as the auto-makers of Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) and Audi. 

The Journey and accompanied mixed feelings
I flew to Germany on Saturday night, August 25 from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on board Lufthansa where I spent the next six hours before we successfully landed at Frankfurt Airport.  Lucky me, the same plane also harboured some of our governors and ministers including the chairman, Nigerian Governors forum and governor of Rivers state, Chibuike Amaechi, the chairman Northern Governors Forum and chief servant of Niger state, Babangida Aliyu and Minister of Information Labaran Maku amongst others for a certain forum in Bonn, the defunct Capital of the Western Germany.

After exchanging pleasantries with the Excellencies and passed through the immigration checks, my thought raced back to the symposium, and what AFRICOM stood to offer Nigeria and Africa. In addition, I was fascinated by the possibility of knowing what made Munich tick; something which has been on my mind since 2010, I came across a magazine that ranked the Bavarian Capital city as the best place to live ahead of popular destinations like Tokyo, Berlin, Paris, New York, and London

Together with my Nigerian colleague and Mohammed Abdulkadir of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), we continued on a 55-minutes journey to the Munich Air Port. We were picked up by AFRICOM Staff alongside other participants from various African countries, to begin our two hours drive to the “so called Germisch-Partenkitchen”.

The journey to the alpine town from Munich was not the most spectacular as we were not active enough to observe and appreciate the verdant Bavarian landscape because of the jetlag- induced exhaustion and chilling weather condition.

Despite our sleepy state, some of us could not resist the urge to take a glimpse of major landmarks that dominate some sections of Munich including the administrative headquarters of BMW and the magnificent Bayern Munich Allianz Arena Stadium.

Particularly striking, were the hut-like wooden houses built on well trimmed grasses called Hay barn. I was fascinated about these uniquely designed small wooden structures that dot the whole length of the Munich–Garmisch-Partenkirchen road, and pleased to observe that the whole region itself is a masterfully preserved forest zone.

Welcome to the American Fortress
There is no doubt most of us were ignorant of our host city, especially its demographic composition as a military base and multinational tourist destination.  However, arrival at our symposium venue provided some of the answers.  Americans never fail to announce themselves and this was apparent when arrived at entrance of the US owned George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies.

Beside the George Marshall Centre were our symposium venue; the classically built American Armed Forces Recreation Centres otherwise called Edelweiss Lodge and Resort that serves US and Organisation (NATO) military and their families.

The base was a little US in Germany as it has all the trappings for entering into a foreign country including security checks, visa and immigration compliance procedures. We were all ordered to disembark from the vehicle with our passports and visas thoroughly checked and scrutinised to ensure it matched the information within their possession.

Similarly, the atmosphere at the lodge was everything American; from the multi-racial composition of the people, to the accents and transactions, which were all dollarised.  I could have lost touch with the fact that I was still in Germany if not for the unique architectural design that summed up everything about Garmisch.

The Fascinating Wooden Garmisch
Two days was enough for my body system to adjust to the cold weather conditions and non-stop drizzling rain before I decided to take a walk around town.  Accompanied by three other friends; we took a brisk stroll along the streets orchestrated by the fast paced Ugandan Defence Force Spokesman, Col. Felix Kuligya, and Mr. Ebenezer Anum-Etetteh of the Koffi Anan International Peacekeeping Centre, Ghana.

While my new found “African brothers from another mother” were in a hurry to get to the city in order to purchase one or two things, I could not resist the urge to slowly digest the geological wonder that was Garmisch.
I could not help but call their attention to the neatly paved streets, which give both visitors and residents access to their exquisitely crafted homes encircled by imposing tree bearing alpines.   I was fascinated more by materials used in constructing all their houses including balconies, windows, doors and fences. It was impressive how their best natural resources; woods and forest trees were successfully harnessed for their own socio-economic advantage. Just like the architectural design that typified Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, most of the houses were a combination of the ancient and modern with touches of wood from chairs to tables, and roofs to beams.

“Do you know that these people are what you can call ordinary loggers, farmers and carpenters? I asked the other two, who answered in affirmation.  “But they have successfully turned these despised economic activities, sustained their natural environment into a living Eden and are wealthier for it today”, we concluded.

The Taxi Tale to Munich
Towards the end of the symposium, there was a consensus amongst the participants to take a quick trip to Munich. We had planned to take train but our chief planner, Mr. Hakeem Buuza from Uganda made alternative arrangement to use a hired bus. Sitting very close to the driver, Mr. Eberhard, I unleashed series of questions about the town; the use of hay barns, and woods for all the architectural designs.

He explained that the wood is popular because they have lots of trees, which were naturally replaced and that they were also needed since they have prolonged winter period.   The driver also told me that the hay barns serves three primary purposes, which includes a storage houses for cow feed, woods used for heating houses during winter and as well for keeping farming implements.

Listening with rapt attention, I asked him about the demographic history of the town. He explained that Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which today has a population of 26,000 people more than who are tourists’ mostly American military officers and family members.
He told me that the US troops and civilians are stationed in the town to provide logistical support to the Marshall Centre and Edelweiss Recreation Centre. Also, the German Centre for Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology, the largest specialised centre for the treatment of children and adolescents with rheumatic diseases in Europe, has also been located in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for over 50 years.
“Other tourists are the Chinese and Japanese who are always in a hurry to take pictures here and there because they want to cover all the whole Europe in five days”, he told me.

The Tourist’s Alpine Skiing Delight
The driver said that Garmisch and Partenkirchen were historically, separate towns until they were joined together by Adolf Hitler to successfully host 1936 Winter Olympic Games, the first to feature alpine skiing. I researched further on this fascinating town, and found out that it rests close to the tallest and fourth highest mountain in Germany, which straddles its border with Austria. Apart from its soothing ambience and friendly weather, which is helped by the fact that it rains all year through, Garmisch-Patenkirchen is also the favourite holiday spot for skiing, snowboarding, and hiking.
It also holds variety of Nordic and alpine World Cup ski races including the World Alpine Ski Championships in 1979 and 2011. Unfortunately, I was not able to either hike or ski in the lovely city of Garmisch.

It was not exactly the biblical Garden of Eden but Garmisch reminded me that God did not have the sky-scrapers that define today’s modern cities in mind when he created that garden as an ideal place for mankind.  It gave me an awe-inspiring and nostalgic feeling about what was the then divinely sanctioned ecological excellence, before the fall of man-a feeling that still persists today in major religions as the final and ultimate destination of the saints.
Fortunately, God cannot be wrong especially when you visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen whose human inhabitants have successfully harnessed and preserved its natural endowments to maximum use.

I am not preaching; but the raw and natural ambience of the small German town combined with a classic mix of the ancient and modern, literally brought me closer to life in its purest form. This helped me to gracefully rescind my pre-conceived regret over the twist of fate that brought me to the lush venue.

I was originally scheduled to travel to Stuttgart, Headquarters of the United States African Command (USAFRICOM), for the maiden Military and Media Symposium organised by their Public Affairs Department for select Defence Reporters and Military personnel from Africa.

According to the invitation, we (the selected participants; African journalists, military officers and USAFRICOM staffs) were expected to have the one-week symposium at Fontana Hotel close to the USAFRICOM Base in Stuttgart.

For the few occasions I have been to Germany; it has always been to the lively, multicultural and hyper-metropolitan Capital city of Berlin and its neighbouring, but extremely beautiful and historically royal town of Potsdam.  I was therefore excited about the prospect of exploring another German city especially Stuttgart; the wealthy home of Mercedes Benz and Porsche.

I was however disappointed on learning about the sudden change of venue to an ‘unknown’ Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Nevertheless, I was consoled by the fact that the city was close to Munich-the home of the German Bundesliga behemoths, Bayern Munich and as well as the auto-makers of Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) and Audi.