Family ski trip to Garmisch

This past week I had a break from school, so Big R took leave and we headed to the Alps for a ski adventure.  Garmisch truly is a special place, and this trip was much more of a real vacation for us. For my non-military friends, the U.S. secured prime real estate at the foot of the Alps in Garmisch at the end of World War II.  Sitting on the army post is the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort.  When you stay there, you really feel like you are in a little America.  As much as we love our European adventures, there was a small comfort in staying in a place where we were surrounded by nothing but American families on vacation.  We stayed there together once when we first moved to Germany, and Big R had been back several times for posh military conferences, but I wanted to make sure to ski Garmisch before moving back to the States.

We traded in our usual 1-star B&B experience for a huge 4-star American hotel.  Our trip came with only a handful of goals:  family ski time, massages, good German food, a little swimming, and overall chill time.  This trip wasn't about discovering a new city or exotic food, understanding foreign transit or navigating streets with names we couldn't pronounce. Instead, we needed some time together to slow down for a few days and just enjoy the family.  I'm happy to say that despite the not-so-snowy winter Germany has experienced this year, and having nothing but rainy weather the entire week, we ended up having a great time in Garmisch.

We took our time getting to Garmisch feeling no rush or pressure to arrive at any specific time.  I didn't even pack until we woke up that morning.  We made dinner reservations on our drive down at a restaurant that Big R has coined his favorite - an amazing place called Bei Marcus, where the chef prepares a different menu every night and the food is phenomenal.  Despite the romantic atmosphere, we were comforted by several other families enjoying a meal that night.

The food was delish!

Snuggles at dinner from a tired little bear

The army post has a Child Development Center (or CDC), but I made the mistake of not reserving a spot for baby c far enough in advance.  The weather was also the pits.  The Zugspitze has a glacier, so we knew the skiing would be decent enough, but the mountain was socked in with freezing blizzard conditions.  Not exactly the family ski time we were looking for.  So we spent our first day relaxing at the hotel. A little swimming, a refreshing mountain run, a traditional German meal downtown, a couple of massages, and an early night to prepare for what we hoped would be a full day of skiing the next morning.

I lucked out and secured a half day at the CDC for baby c, so we hit the slopes early.  It was a rainy mess at the base of the mountain, but the rain turned to snow at the top and the conditions were actually pretty fantastic.  We didn't put little r in lessons, and we were blown away at how well he did on his skis.  Except for a few moments of fear on a super steep slope, he conquered it all.

little r skiing with mommy

he especially loved the cat trails down the mountain

After picking up baby c, a warm German lunch downtown, and a little break in our hotel room, and we were ready to head back up the mountain.  Baby c took a nap on Big R while little r and I it the slopes.  We had a blast together.  He mastered the chair lift, and took on the intermediate trails like a pro.  My favorite part was when he wanted to go into the trick park to try some jumps.  I might dream about it, but even I'm too timid of a snowboarder to take on the trick park.  That boy is just awesome.

on the chairlift with mommy!

Hi, Daddy!

When baby c woke up, we swapped places.  I took baby c down the gondola and Big R skied with his little man.  They had so much fun that they skied all the way down the mountain.  Most of the ski resorts in the Alps use a gondola to get you to the top.  Taking the option of skiing down is a super long run that is definitely challenging.  Eh, no problem.  Big R said that little guy hardly flinched and kept up with him the entire way down.  You go, little r!  I personally got a laugh at watching everyone stare at me on my way down.  It had started snowing pretty hard, so we were all covered from head to tow in huge snow flakes, including baby c.  My board had a good 4-5 inches of powder built up, and I had baby c strapped to my chest.  I know at least a few Germans were looking at me like I was crazy because they thought I had been snowboarding with a baby in tow.  It was kind of awesome.  I just smiled at all of them.  I really wish I could have gotten that on film.

little r and daddy skiing to the bottom on slush

look at that form!

That night we had a babysitter lined up.  I know, kind of awesome, right?  So we stopped at the grocery store and ate a light dinner in the hotel room while Big R and I got ready for our fun night out.  If any of our military friends with families every stay at Edelweiss, I'm going to pass along this tip that a good friend gave me.  Take advantage of the babysitting services.  It's worth every penny.  Just go to the front desk and tell them you are looking for a sitter for a particular day or night.  They put your information on a board and any of the workers that babysit will contact you if they are available.  For $15 an hour, we had a wonderful sitter that I seriously wanted to steal and bring back with us.  She was great!

Big R found a great little wine bar in downtown Garmisch, Zirbelstube. Unfortunately, it was pouring, so a romantic walk downtown didn't really happen.  Instead we caught the bus to keep dry.  We ordered a bottle of wine, some bruschetta and finished the evening with a fantastic desert.  It was an amazing date.  We grabbed a cab back, and we were back in our hotel room by 10pm.

Our last day wasn't terribly exciting.  The weather hadn't quite cleared up enough to make visiting the Zugspitze worth the cost.  And quite frankly, the kids were toast.  We had a lazy breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and headed home.  Although there was quite a bit more we could have done on this trip, we didn't feel like we missed out on anything.  Guess we'll just have to head out there one more time before we leave Germany this summer.

Christmas with my baby sister: a little Czech, a little Germany, and a lot of fun

I got the best gift I could have ever asked for this Christmas:  my baby sister and her husband came to visit us for the holidays.  They were redirected, delayed by a few hours, and showed up without their luggage, but they made it just in time for Christmas Eve dinner.  Their visit was perfect in every way. My sister really needed some down time to recharge before going back to her students after the holidays, so we did a pretty even mix of travel and local fun.  We even enjoyed an entire day completely at home finishing off with a late night of Monopoly.  When is the last time you played that? Yeah, us either!

After our low key Christmas celebration where little r volunteered to open everyone's presents, and we all ate enough food to feed a small village, I decided they needed a mini-adventure. Unfortunately, all of the Christmas markets in Bavaria were closed on Christmas Eve or earlier, so I hoped that seeing all the European towns in their holiday decor would still feel festive.  For their first adventure, I took them to the Czech Republic to visit the beautiful town of Karlovy Vary.  Barely an hour away by car, and you are surrounded by the charm of Eastern Europe.  It's such a fabulous place, and we had a wonderful afternoon there together.

Welcome to Karlovy Vary!

Such a beautiful place...

Yeah, she's thinking "I could get used to a place like this" :)

So romantic :)

and a great place for sisters to bond...

View of Karlovy Vary near the restaurant where we had lunch

Pose near really bizarre street artwork? Okay!

Karlovy Vary is the largest and most popular spa town in the Czech Republic.  I know, probably like me you had no idea that the Czech Republic had an abundance of these spa towns, right?  This is the 

crème de la crème of where people in this part of the world go to relax and heal.  One of the reasons it is such a popular location is because of its mineral water.  Colonnades expressing these mineral springs can be found throughout the city.  We took a pleasant stroll "in the footsteps of the springs" with our specially designed ceramic mug and drank our way to better health.  Each colonnade had a different temperature and mineral and carbonation content making them all have a unique taste.  Some were truly bizarre, some seriously tasted like blood, and others made your tongue tingle.  We were randomly a fan of most of them, and wondered as we sipped the waters if we were benefiting from the healing properties.  It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Posing in the Castle Colonnade

little r was very helpful filling our mug

Aaaahhhh, feel the healing...

baby c wasn't terribly interested

As we wandered through town we noticed a huge crowd at the end of the square and heard loud overhead announcements.  No clue what was up ahead, we were taken aback when we walked right into a Nordic Skiing competition.  Did I mention it was probably 50 degrees that day?  Our Christmas season was unseasonably warm, and yet several streets in old Karlovy Vary were converted to snow.  It was fantastic to watch!

Snow might have been artificial, but that didn't slow them down

We were standing at the finish line

A view down the street - so cool

little r had the best view!

After our unexpected attendance at the Nordic Skiing competition, we strolled back through Karlovy Vary and took in the town by night.

More romance...

Baby bonding and snuggling time

The markets were gone, but the decorations were still beautiful

After our Czech adventure, we decided to lay low and relax through the weekend.  We enjoyed a few walks through town, lots of incredible food from the local Bakerei and Metzgerei, more beer and wine than we probably care to admit, and dinner out at a couple great restaurants nearby.  We even enjoyed a game night testing our monetary prowess with Monopoly.  We played the game as couples, and it gave the night a fun twist.  We had a ball.  I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

I couldn't keep them cooped up the entire time though.  There's a great ice skating rink in Weiden about 20 minutes away, so we took little r ice skating for the first time.  Uncle Ryan is a hockey player, so he was pretty ecstatic to show little r how it's done.

Off they go! Little r was so excited!

little r wanted to do it all on his own...

until he fell down... i really shouldn't be laughing here - doh!

we didn't let him quit, even though he really wanted to

...lots of moral support

and he was back to skating like a pro!

We also spent a day at the indoor pool in Weiden so that little r could show off his swimming abilities at the indoor pool.  It was a great time for firsts.  Little r jumped off the diving board for the very first time, Big R did his first flip, and Aunt Jessie dove off the high dive for the first time ever in her life.  Me?  I was a supporting spectator.  haha.  Unfortunately, pictures from the pool are hard to come by, so I'll leave it all up to your imagination.  We kind of left the pool abruptly after little r lost his entire bratwurst lunch in the pool when he choked on a mouth full of water.  I'll leave that one up to your imagination, too.  Yikes...

We gave Jess and Ryan enough down time, and they were ready and anxious to take in a little more of Germany before they had to head home.  There is just too much to see around here, so it took awhile to narrow down the best spot to spend their last day.  Jess decided on Nuremberg, and it was an awesome choice. I'm not sure you can pick a better spot in this part of Bavaria to get a hard dose of Germany.  We took the train, such an easy trip, and the weather was absolutely outstanding.  I'm having a tough time deciding which pictures to show you because all of the pictures Big R took were amazing.

Church in Altstadt Nuremberg

Old facade in Nuremberg

Nothing but trouble

I remember little r doing this when he was 2 :)

Love my seester!

Taking in the view

Sun on the Cathedral

After walking through the markets, eating some brats and drinking a little gluhwein, we found ourselves at the castle.  We actually paid for the tour this time and learned about all of the amazing history.  Nuremberg is a pretty fascinating place!  The views from the castle are pretty phenomenal, too.

A view from above...

another stunning view

I can't help myself - here's one more...

Jess and little r were inseparable the entire visit

After the castle we strolled back to the train station, and took in a few more views and a traditional German lunch along the way.  Fantastic afternoon in Nuremberg!

Albrecht Duerer's House

sun setting on the cathedral

waiting for the train back home

Completely inseparable

The train was crowded so we had to snuggle up

Of all things, we had Mediterranean food for dinner at an incredible Greek restaurant in Erbendorf.  It's always nice when our commute is on foot.  It was an awesome dinner, but I was sad knowing this was their last night here.  We had such an incredible time with Jess and Ryan while they visited us for the holidays.  It's so strange to think the next time we see them we'll be living back in the good 'ol U.S. of A.

I hope you had as much fun as we did, Jess and Ryan.  Thanks for spending your Christmas with us this year.  We made memories we will never forget!  

xoxoxoxo

The Hills are Alive...with the Sound of Music! - Berchtesgaden Land and Salzburg

My sister asked me last night if we ever sit still. HA!  Guess the answer to that is, "we don't" but that's also because we don't want to.  Every time we start to feel like the traveling is getting to be too much, we think of all the places we want to see and the excitement wells up inside all over again.  We love it. This past month has been especially adventurous with my mom being here, the arrival of Baby C, and Big R's parents coming for a visit.  For little r, this month has been one long and wild ride.  I mean, when you get to see things like this, how can you stay away?

Our latest adventure took us to Southern Germany into Berchtesgadener Land and over the hill into Austria to see Salzburg.  Except for one day, the weather for this trip was absolutely brilliant!  We stayed in Schönau am Königssee, which is a harbor town on the tip of a beautiful lake.  It's a stone's throw away from Berchtesgaden and Salzburg and everything in between, so I decided it would be a nice place to call home.  Our home was a sweet little hotel called Pension Berganemone, and it was comfortable and super affordable for the area during high tourist season.

We arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon and spent some time exploring the town, enjoying beer and snacks at one of the many friendly biergardens, and scoped out the adventures that lie ahead for our stay.  After a fantastically delicious German meal at the same biergarden and a good night's sleep at our cozy hotel, we woke up to rain and decided to spend the day at the Berchtesgaden salt mine and exploring Salzburg.

Delicious German meal leaves me with all smiles

The tour of the salt mine was a huge hit.  I've been fortunate enough to have been on a salt mine tour in this region in the past (including the same one!), but I forgot how fun the tour can be.  Before you enter the mine, we had to climb into jumpsuits. Little r was especially adorable in his, and I got a suit big enough so that Baby C could snuggle inside mine.  You take a train that you straddle deep into the mountain. Honestly, it's pretty spooky, particularly if you are a clausterphobe like I am.  They didn't allow cameras inside the mine, so you'll have to trust me on this one. Once you reach the station inside, you reach lower levels of the mine by riding wooden slides.  They are actually pretty steep, so it's a fun ride!  Little r thought he was in heaven and kept asking to go back.  

All suited up for a trip into the Salt mine!

Our train ride into the mountain...

Then it was time to head to Salzburg.  It's a beautiful city with a lot to see, but for some reason my attempts to truly enjoy Salzburg with Big R have been thwarted by one reason or another.  Although it was a Thursday morning, the parking garages close to the Altstadt were full, so we grabbed street parking and found ourselves limited by timed meters.  We finally found ourselves in the heart of the Old Town and made our way up to the fortress.

Picturesque street in Salzburg - we took the same picture in 2007

Water wheel powering the oldest bakery in Salzburg

The view from the top of the fortress

My tour guide

View of the fortress walls from the top

little r admiring the King's eye view from one of the rooms in the fortress

All this sightseeing tired someone out!

little r protecting the fortress by manning the cannon

Fortress view from downtown Salzburg

The day was exhausting where nothing seemed to go as planned and the weather was the pits (but no where near as bad as it was for us in Lisbon!), so we finished off the day exploring the sweet little town of Berchtesgaden after giving up on Salzburg. We found a random gem of a restaurant in town called Kurz a Curry.  Who knew that delicious Thai food could be found in the heart of the Alps?!

The next day was gorgeous and the activities were much more our speed.  The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and we spent the day out on Königssee (or King Lake) enjoying the views and hiking in the hills that inspired The Sound of Music.  Picking the best photographs to share from that day was an impossible task.  But here are some that hopefully capture the essence of the place.  We really could not have asked for more perfect weather.

Boat houses on Lake Königssee 

Ready for a day of exploring!

The water was as still as glass

little r taking it all in

beautiful Lake Königssee 

Keeping entertained on the long boat ride across the lake

more spectacular views

A perfect capture of the reflection in the lake

Stream on our hike up to Obersee

Another artful capture of beauty

Our loyal companions on this Alpine adventure! 

hiking up to Obersee - such a little man

Cooling off in the Obersee with Grandma

A summer trip to the Alps is never complete without some cow bell!

For the afternoon we visited Kehlsteinhaus (or Eagles Nest), which was a structure built for Hilter intended as a 50th birthday gift that he could use as a retreat and to host dignitaries. The road leading up to the Kehlsteinhaus is winding and narrow, and you reach the top of the structure by tunnel into the mountain and then riding up a 131 meter elevator shaft (apparently Hitler was afraid of heights).  The views from the top are magnificent when the weather cooperates.  When Big R and I visited in May of 2007, we could barely see five feet in front of us because the fog was so thick.  It was such a pleasant surprise to take in all the views on a pretty day.  The most amazing part was, there were huge snow banks still standing despite the temperatures being well over 20 degrees Celsius!  Little r thought that was pretty fantastic - playing in the snow when the weather is warm is a pretty awesome deal.

My photographer capturing that perfect shot

The bus ride up to the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagles' Nest) was CRAZY! 

Huge mound of snow still left behind the Kehlsteinhaus
(the bright orange jacket is little r playing kind of the mountain!)

View of the Kehlsteinhaus

We were so happy the weather cooperated and gave us such beautiful views!

Family portrait - we couldn't peel little r away from the snow!

Grandpa Pete is nuts! 

Again... gorgeous!

Enjoying a little apfelkuchen (apple cake) before heading back  down the mountain

The ride home the next day was quite an adventure in itself.  All of the excitement of the past month finally caught up with little r, so he was sick, exhausted, and quite frankly done with all of it.  A feisty little r means an awesome day for those in his company. We took a short detour to see Zell am See and drive the back roads home through Austria. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the greatest of ideas considering the state of our little one.  Luckily the weather was gorgeous again, which made an otherwise miserable drive quite pleasant - haha.

Zell am See

Parasailer's taking advantage of the gorgeous weather

Beautiful views on our drive home