The Edelweiss Lodge Experience | Reader Submitted Story
- Nicole K.
- Jul 9
- 5 min read
Please enjoy this reader-submitted story, by Patrick McNamara (Lt. Col USAF Ret.) and Erica Waasdorp of MA, detailing their trip to the Edelweiss Lodge in Germany! This one is on my bucket list, how about you?
A few months ago, I saw an announcement in my Military Living email about the Edelweiss Lodge and their wine tasting event in Italy. When I looked at the location, I couldn’t believe how close it is to Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Liechtenstein.
I looked at the web site and saw there was availability around Memorial Day. I talked to my husband Patrick, and he said, “Let’s do it”, booked 3 nights and we worked the rest of our trip around it.
On the Saturday before Memorial Day, we flew from Boston to Munich. We rented a car and stayed in a lovely very quiet Airbnb with kitchen facilities in the little town of Erding for the first two nights to get used to the time change and allow for some exploring in the area.
Mind you, public transportation is very good, so you don’t absolutely need a car, but we wanted to visit a few different areas.
It’s important to note that virtually nothing is open on Sundays or holidays, except restaurants and some museums.
We were able to get a few basics at the supermarket at the Munich airport as it’s right near the location of the rental car companies.
That Sunday we enjoyed walking around in the little town and had an early wonderful Schnitzel dinner.
On Monday we visited Dachau, which was extremely sobering, but an absolute must-see. Did you know that to this day, every child in 9th or 10th grade MUST visit either Dachau or another concentration camp to remind them ”Never again!”
On Tuesday morning we checked out of our Airbnb and stopped to visit the Schleissheim (the Germany National Air Museum) in a lovely village with an old castle.
We then drove on to the Edelweiss Lodge, just an hour and a half from Munich.
We took the scenic route and drove by the Neuschwanstein castle on the way. As we did not make reservations, we figured a picture of the outside was good enough for now.
Our Airbnb host had told us too that the Linderhof Palace closer to the Lodge is easier to get to and King Ludwig lived there, so we figured we’d stop there later.
When we arrived at the Edelweiss Lodge, we were so impressed. What a place. What a great location!
While there we met several people who had come back several times and we can certainly understand why.
We checked in with a very friendly lady and went to our room. The Lodge is huge, so be prepared to do some walking. Fortunately, it only has three stories, so not quite as overwhelming as the Hale Koa where we’ve stayed in the past.
We had booked a standard room which includes a small refrigerator and a coffee maker.
Each room had a little balcony, and the view was simply stunning.
The Edelweiss Lodge sits in a very quiet location, and yet is very walkable to the little town of Garmisch.
There’s a walk out gate to the back of the property, open between 7 am and 10 pm. The town is lovely and much of the downtown is for pedestrians only.
The BX and Commissary are across the street, just a short walk away, but it’s important to note that as retirees you are NOT able to buy anything!
Fortunately, there are a few grocery stores about 10-to-15-minute walk away and there are several food options at the Lodge, ranging from coffee to full meals.
Also, the pool and huge hot tub are tremendous. We used it every night. You can also rent bikes and play miniature golf which we simply didn’t have time for, but we will definitely check it out next time. For larger families there are a few cottages available.
Finally, the lodge has a great gift shop, open late where you can buy souvenirs, tickets and participate in local tours.
Walking from the main gate there was a wonderful restaurant nearby, the Gasthaus Bräuwastl where we had a great Wiener Schnitzel and met some other Edelweiss Lodge visitors.
That Thursday was a German National Holiday (Ascension Day) and most everything was closed, but the Bräuwastl restaurant was open and had some musicians playing original German music during lunch.
That day we drove about 20 minutes to the Ettal Monastery, very old, beautiful and quiet.
Because of the holiday the cheese and brewery were not open for visits, but the little café and gift store were! Hard to believe this Monastery was founded in 1330.
Another 15-minute drive from the Edelweiss Lodge in the other direction is the “Zugspitze”, the highest mountain in Germany. You can buy tickets at the Edelweiss Lodge gift store and it’s a beautiful drive just to get there. You can even catch the train or bus after a short walk from the back of the Lodge. At the top, you can see Austria, Germany and Italy.
You can take the cogwheel train up and the gondola down or all train or all gondola, same price.
Even at the end of May, there was fresh snow up on the top, and kids were sledding. We were glad we brought our hats and gloves!
After three days at the Edelweiss Lodge, we sadly had to say goodbye. The service at the Edelweiss Lodge, the staff, are all tremendous. As mentioned, if you don’t have a car, you can get around very easily, by walking, biking or catching an Uber or taxi.
We could have easily stayed a bit longer! By the way, murals like this are painted at the Lodge and are very common throughout this area!
We then drove down another two hours to visit Salzburg Austria.
We stayed at a little Airbnb outside of Salzburg in Anif with kitchen facilities, and a wonderful breakfast, which was great.
They offered a free bus ticket for the duration of our stay, and we used it several times. It was the best way to get into town as there are so many one-way streets.
Left, the Kehlsteinhaus entrance through the elevator going up the mountain.
From Anif we visited Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest (the Kehlsteinhaus). What a view!
View from just above the Eagle’s Nest. You can see for miles and miles.
From Salzburg, we took the Sound of Music Tour, which was so much fun.
Make sure you buy your tickets online ahead of time for both!
Sadly, on Monday, it was time to leave. From Salzburg it is only a one-and-a-half-hour drive back to the Munich Airport.
We could have easily stayed in the area for much longer, because there is so much to see, so much history, great food, beautiful views and friendly people.
We hope to come back and explore some more of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and perhaps even drive into Italy and try that wine tasting.
The Edelweiss Lodge is a great place to be!
Thank you, Military Living, for always alerting us to great opportunities to check out.
Thanks to Patrick & Erica for sharing their trip with us. We can't wait to hear about future trips! If you have any military travel stories you'd like to share with us, please send them to editor@militaryliving.com.
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