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Protest against the G7 summit - in front of the Alps and far away from the G7: »The hike is symbolic.
Nobody here hears our demands«
Photo: WOLFGANG RATTAY / REUTERS
The sun beats down on the hiking group.
It's 11 a.m. and the sweat is pouring down.
Carla, Lynne and Hendrik think about how they can convert the Italian partisan song "Bella ciao" to the G7 summit.
A person turns around in front of them and sinks »G7 ciao, ciao, ciao«, but the group isn't really happy with that.
They briefly try out »Weapons ciao«, then Hendrik says: »Elmau ciao – that’s good!«
The three start.
"We are fighting - for climate justice," they sing to the melody of the often adapted song.
"Oh Elmau ciao, Elmau ciao, Elmau ciao ciao ciao."
Indeed, without the dozens of police officers running in front, alongside, and behind the group, it could be mistaken for an oversized hiking community.
But the nearly fifty people belong to one of the four star marches demonstrating against the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau.
The goal of the hiking demonstration: the Wamberg.
They may see the castle, but no one will hear or see them there.
They are not allowed to get any closer.
At some point there would be a big fence anyway.
"It's outrageous that there's no way we can make ourselves heard," says Carla.
Klaus Mähler from the Munich Peace Alliance is the event manager.
The 69-year-old was also there in 2015 when the G7 summit met in Elmau for the first time, he says.
"You've been brave," says a colleague.
He is also not so happy with the great distance to the castle.
But he wanted to enjoy the view of Elmau.
"Enjoy - in quotation marks."
"Moderate hike.
Good basic condition required«
Behind the protests is "Stop G7 Elmau", an association of various groups.
In an appeal, they call for, among other things, doing justice to the climate crisis, the end of armament and solidarity with refugees.
According to the website, Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion have signed.
Lynne is 21 and wants to show presence.
"Seven people from the Global North meet to decide about people from the Global South," she says.
"Peace policy shouldn't be discussed by seven," says Carla.
She is involved in the youth organization of Attac, a left-wing NGO.
She has been in Garmisch-Partenkirchen since Friday and is sleeping in the camp.
The camp is a tent camp on a meadow north of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Dozens of tents have been set up there, some large, some small.
"Against the city of the rich," says one poster.
»Put a stop to war profiteers«, on another.
The residents have erected provisional water levels, and blue dixiclos adorn the site.
"It's nice that everything is self-organized," says Carla.
It goes past the Olympiaschanze, which you know from TV, up, past bright green meadows, small huts, through the forest.
"Moderate hike.
A good level of fitness is required,” the organizers said.
From barefoot shoes to Birkenstocks to hiking boots, everything is included.
Likewise: the police.
They march with us in their dark blue uniforms.
Later someone will yell: We're going to have a little race now: the blue block against the black block.' The demonstrators laugh.
A white and blue off-road vehicle becomes visible at the next dome, a tent has been set up.
The mountain rescue service waits for the activists with water every one to two hours.
125 liters are available at each station.
And they are gratefully accepted.
Faces reddened rest in the shadows.
A man with dreadlocks plays his guitar.
"I'm scared of the fucking police"
"Actually, the idea was that there should be a demo here," says one of the participants.
»But this is not a demonstration route.« The demonstrators lack the breath for their slogans on the steep ascent.
And if the roaring comes up, it's over quickly.
A policeman is standing in the dense forest next to the path.
He ducks, stands up again.
You can hardly see it, the demonstrators walk past it.
A little later, a demonstrator runs down the path howling and screaming loudly.
"A policeman watched me pissing!" She panics, screams.
He said he couldn't go.
"Then send a female colleague, dammit!" She sits on the floor, the other activists take care of her.
"I'm scared of the fucking police," she yells.
And in the direction of the nearby police officers, she yells: "You scare me."
"Tell me why she's crying over the radio," provokes one activist.
A man holds his colleague back, same with the police.
It's the first time at this walking protest that the mood is tense.
"We understood what you want to tell us and we're going to continue now," says a policewoman.
"But please not like that," replies one demonstrator.
Finally, the mountain rescue service brings the victim down into the valley.
The police do not want to comment on the spot.
A short-term inquiry by SPIEGEL has so far gone unanswered.
Four hours after the start in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the demonstrators arrive at Wamberg, Elmau Castle can be seen, as can the helipad concreted for the summit.
It doesn't feel like a destination, the path meanders on.
But the demonstrators are not allowed to go any further.
You are now 1.7 kilometers away from Elmau Castle.
1.7 kilometers separate them and the politicians they rail against.
"Symbolic of the G7's lock-in-the-lock policy"
The demonstrators unfurl two banners.
“Solidarity with Rojava” is written on one.
»Disarmament is climate protection«, on the other.
To this they sing: »High international solidarity«.
They don't do all this in the direction of the castle, but position themselves in front of the cameramen.
There wouldn't be anyone else either.
The audience is missing - and the politicians at Schloss Elmau only see small dots on the mountain crest.
"The hike is symbolic," says Carla.
"No one here hears our demands." She imagined the castle to be more picturesque.
"I thought I saw that between clouds in the hills," she says.
"It's hard to imagine that there are very powerful people sitting together to talk about the fate of the world." That is surreal, but also symbolic of the G7's policy of crawling into the castle and not letting anyone get close.
Then it's back down into the valley.
On the way down, two helicopters thunder close over the treetops under which the activists are running.
"Can we get a hiking badge now?" a man asks the police officers.
They laugh.