First time to Germany and switzerland

There are some great hikes at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The "Klamm" hikes ---Partnachklamm or HöllentallerKlamm---are especially interesting and fun. I much prefer the latter. On a nice day you can continue to hike to the top of the gondola on the Alpspitze and ride back down to the town, ending not too far from Edelweiss.

The Edelweiss will have some excursions you can book through them as well.

I don't know either your situation or if Edelweiss has changed their eligibility criteria yet again, but just in case... as of last year, Edelweiss was only open to people stationed permanently in Europe or conference attendees. If you really want to stay there, make sure you are eligible.

Now, my personal opinion. I've never stayed at Edelweiss, but driven by many times. It sits well outside the town center of Garmisch, barely in walking distance, and although I'm sure it's perfectly nice on the inside... it looks like a Bavarian prison from the outside. Unless you really need to stay there, do yourself a favor and pick any of the fine hotels elsewhere in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It's one of the most beautiful areas of Europe, why limit yourself to staying behind a barbed wire fence if you don't need to?

Tom, you couldn't be more wrong about what the Edelweiss is like to stay in. Not that far from the center of town and a bus stop right at the back gate that gets you downtown within 5 minutes. We often walked it in about 20 minutes.

The description Tom paints seems a little exaggerated to me. Are there stucco walls surrounding the hotel and other buildings? Yes. Is there a German security force manning the gates? Yes Other than that, there is never a sense of barbed wire, etc.

I will say that the food at the hotel is not very good and that one should take advantage of the great restaurants in town.

I went on two of the day trips organized by the hotel, hiked the gorge, rented bikes and used the wonderful network of paths, took the train to the top of Zugspitze and then the cable car down the other side. You will enjoy staying in this lovely area.

Not commenting on what it's like to stay at Edelweiss, because I never have. Just pointing out that it is outside of the town, and there's plenty of excellent hotels of comparable price in and closer to the town center.