AS we waited in the business lounge at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh for our Lufthansa flight, the thought of Germany excited us. “You guys will have a quality time,” Sam Hasner who was accompanying us from Bridge Media, said, pretty sure of himself. Well, let's see. We, a group of journalists invited by the German National Tourist Board, spent a week in Germany last December, trying to cram as much as possible into the shortest amount of time. And it was spectacular. As soon as we landed in Frankfurt on our way to Garmisch in Bavaria in southern Germany, everything appeared special – neat, serene, picturesque and jaw-dropping. Our drive from the new Munich airport to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the little Olympic twin city with a historic market, took an hour-and-a-half, and every icy cold minute of it was exhilarating. We were in the thick of winter. Everything on the ground was white and everything up there a bright blue, like in the Bavarian flag and the logo of the BMW that's manufactured in the region. In the last three years of traveling around the world, I have not been to a more exciting and friendly place than southern Germany. It is a photographer's playground. From elegant historic towns like Garmisch-Partenkirchen which jointly hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 to fairytale castles perched impossibly on fir-lined peaks, like Neuschwanstein which was built on the majestic Alps by the legendary King Ludwing II, there were treats everywhere for the lens-eye. The splendor of Bavarian architecture and furnishings stand as a prime example of the romantic historicism of the 19th century. Garmisch where winter games plannedIt was at our first stop in southern Germany where we hooked up with Antje Roeding of the German National Tourist Office, on a ski slope in Garmisch. With her in the picture, our dreamy winter visit to southern Germany took a hot turn. Ice began turning into nice as we headed higher up the mountain to reach our hotel, Schloss Elmau, looming with the promise of a higher level of living. Garmisch's narrow cobble-stoned streets and painted houses send one back to the drawings in history books of the Renaissance period in Europe. It is a cozy little town rooted in old Europe. A short walk around revealed modern buildings crafted in the historic style, Alpine chalets and upscale shopping streets, all cast into a timeless moment to remember forever. Solid. Touching the sky at the ZugspitzeIn winter, Garmisch is best appreciated for Zugspitze, its iconic Alpine peak bordering Austria, Germany's highest mountain (almost 3000 meters) and most famous winter sports resort. It was freezing – minus 10°C – when we approached the peak by cable car. Altitude is the name of the game here. To blend in, you are expected to gracefully glide down the pale blue glaciers and fresh powder snow, and receive with glee the frosty wind piercing the nostrils and blasting the lungs with the freshness of pristine mountain air. These are Germany's only glacial ski slopes, which can be accessed up to just 350 meters below the summit by the Bavarian Zugspitze railway, offering a spectacular route of panoramic views. For a person from Saudi Arabia, the contrast was vivid: White versus brown, sand dunes versus snow dunes. Our ski trip – or more accurately snow-gliding – to the Zugspitzbahn was no less than amazing, loaded with fun and, of course, snow-ball fighting. When we eventually settled down and gathered around the table for an early dinner, we were surprised. Contrary to the popular belief that German food revolves around thick sausages, potatoes and cheese, the food at the Glacier-garden restaurant – a glass-tower with a panoramic view and open-display kitchen – was tinged with a Middle Eastern flavor: Lamb, Basmati rice and cucumber salad freshly prepared by Zugspitze-chef Akram at about three kilometers above sea level. Having our last supper in Garmisch and already heady by them from the day's experiences on the slopes, it all seemed heavenly and far removed from earth. The Neuschwanstein, inspiration of Walt Disney The trip from Garmisch to the land of wonders that had cast its spell on the design of the fairytale castle in Walt Disney's Cinderella, took about two hours through a ruggedly beautiful route in white. The Neuschwanstein Castle stands proud on the Allg?u region countryside in southwestern Bavaria, surrounded by the majestic Alps, forests, meadows, and spectacular lakes. The towering castle is a prime example of the 19th century architecture of King Ludwig II, locally referred to as the crazy king who exhausted the state's budget by building castles, leading to his mysterious drowning-death in a nearby lake a few months after he finished Neuschwanstein. There are signs of his eccentricity in the design of the castle, which his family could not maintain after his death and had to hand over to the state. King Ludwig II never enjoyed it or wanted others to share it with him. Yet, today, it has become one of the top tourist destinations in Europe. A walk around the castle sends you back in time to revel in the real dream of its designer, that handsome King of Bavaria. If you are interested in ancient cities, visit 2,000-year-old Kempten that was founded by the Romans and still has a Mediterranean feel about it, especially in summer they say. And if you are a cheese lover, the region is the home of Allg?u mountain cheese. Due to its long winters, short vegetation periods and lack of arable land, the Alpine region only allows for grassland farming, mainly cattle and dairy farming. Oberstaufen where beginners glide gladly On our way to Lake Constance, we spent one night in a hotel in Oberstaufen, nestled in the rolling hills of the Allg?u and set against the magnificent backdrop of the Nagelfluhkette. As a holiday region, Oberstaufen offers a wide variety of sporting and leisure activities. The snow-covered highlands offer commanding views at night. For dinner, we took the cable car up a mountain to have the specialty of the region, noodle cheese. It was such a heavy-fat treat that we dared want to glide it off afterwards. The mountains in the region offer good skiing, particularly for beginner- or been-there-but-not-quite-done-it-all snow gliders like most in our group. Beginners should take a deep breath and be determined to hang on come what may as they glide, because it will turn out to be the most fun ever. For hikers, there are more than 60 kilometers of footpaths cleared of snow in winter for visitors to take relaxing walks and enjoy the sun at the altitude. Lake Constance where beauty takes its nameSouthern Germany never ceased to amaze me as we drove through the scenic region to Lake Constance, about one and a half hours from Oberstaufen. With the snow-capped Alps in the distance on the border of Germany and Switzerland, Lake Constance is one of the world's most beautiful land-locked seas. It is home to three internationally acclaimed islands along 273-km-long shores, with the Monastic Island of Reichenau registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site. At the city of Constance, a walk in the downtown reveals its Roman identity. With its quiet and clean stone-cobbled streets and beautifully painted buildings standing witness to the 13th and 16th centuries, Constance offers an enchanting Christmas Market, especially at night with a myriad of twinkling fairy lights stretching from the old quarter to the harbor. Setting to sea in a howling morning blizzard may not have the same romantic resonance as sailing off into the sunset, but it does have a certain elegance all its own. I was in a perfectly balanced state between alarm and excitement traveling by motorboat on Lake Constance to the flying glory at the Zeppelin Museum to see a giant airship. Climbing the retracting gangway into the belly of the gigantic silver beast, flying glory of the first navigable airship built in 1900, would make you think it is just too huge to actually fly. Now about 20,000 passengers enjoy the view of Lake Constance on the low-flying Zeppelin NT airship. Meersburg Castle, living in history without time machineAround the lake, we visited the Castle Meersburg, the Old Castle, in the charming medieval town of Meersburg built in 628. It is the oldest inhabited castle in Germany and has been owned by several different lords throughout centuries. If you are interested in literature, you will get to see the room of German poetess Annette von Droste-Hülshoffs. If you are into water sports, you are a winner at Lake Constance. In summer, the lake offers a number of beautiful harbors with fashionable yachting, regattas, swimming and sunbathing, creating an almost Mediterranean treat. There is hardly any place in southern Germany that isn't interesting. It is also home to friendly people where a total stranger like me can find himself dining with a German family. The people are beautiful, the landscapes are dreamy, the food is tasty, and the flight is only five hours from Saudi Arabia.
