5 frames with Nikon FM2 and Kodak Gold 200

What could be better than taking a light, mechanically precise and legendary camera on a beautiful autumn hike in the Bavarian mountains? Driving in a cabriolet in the sunshine from Bad Tölz along the Kochelsee and Walchensee lakes to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The journey takes us along the serpentines of the Kesselberg with the Karwendel mountain panorama in view. We approach from the south and drive past the ski jump to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany, borders Austria. Nearby is Germany’s highest mountain, Zugspitze, at 2,962 metres (9,718 ft) above sea level. The town is known as the site of the 1936 Winter Olympic Games, the first to include alpine skiing, and hosts a variety of winter sports competitions.
Garmisch (in the west) and Partenkirchen (in the east) were separate towns for many centuries, and still maintain quite separate identities.

Partenkirchen originated as the Roman town of Partanum on the trade route from Venice to Augsburg and is first mentioned in the year A.D. 15. Its main street, Ludwigsstrasse, follows the original Roman road. while the fresco-filled, cobblestoned streets of Partenkirchen have a generally more historic appearance. Early mornings and late afternoons in pleasant weather often find local traffic stopped while the dairy cows are herded to and from the nearby mountain meadows.

Away from Ludwigstraße, there are small alleyways with alpine houses, often with firewood stacked in front of the house and deer antlers on the front.
We went for a walk on a hiking trail above Partenkirchen to enjoy the wonderful Alpine panorama in the autumn light.

I chose my Nikon FM2 with a Nikon Series E 50mm 1:1.8 lens as my camera and Kodak Gold 200 film, which offers warm, saturated colours, fine-grained image quality and high sharpness. Ideal for an autumnal mood in the mountains. The lightweight camera can be held in the hand for long periods of time without any problems, I love the feel of the material and its haptics. For me, it is one of the best mechanical cameras ever. The Kodak Gold 35mm film offers a vintage colour mood that I really love. Until about 3 years ago you could buy a pack of three films in most German drugstores for €7.95. For some reason, I felt the need to buy about 25 packs of three films and store them in my freezer. Shortly afterwards (I hope it wasn’t because of me) the films disappeared from the drugstore shelves and now a single film costs more than €7.95!

The warm autumn air offers a fantastic panorama with a clear view into the distance and the Zugspitze massif. There are few hikers on the trail, and we greet each other in a friendly manner when we meet. We enjoy the peace and quiet on a wooden bench before heading back downhill towards Partenkirchen and ordering a tasty “Helles”, the most popular type of Bavarian beer, in an old inn and savouring it in the sun. On the way back, we choose the route via a private road of the “Bavarian State Forests” along the Isar. We pay the toll at a small hut and the road attendant greets me in a friendly manner – we have known each other for almost 20 years. Our route home then takes us via the Sylvenstein reservoir with its striking bridge (which can be seen in many car adverts) via Lenggries back to Bad Tölz.

This half-day excursion relaxes the soul and feels like a week’s holiday. I’m already looking forward to the next trip.

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