International Travel Archives - Page 15 of 19

Jul 22 2014

Is it worth it to buy souvenirs?

I bought a much cheaper version of something like this last time I was in Vienna

Fancy hotels often make you pay for stuff since they think you can afford it. The upshot of that statement is that I’m currently at the Intercontinental Berchtesgaden with a 256 kbps connection; I’d have to pay for more. Since I don’t really have the bandwidth to upload the pictures I’d like to for the trip report, I thought I’d share some thoughts I’m playing around with in my head. I’ve been trying to answer this question for myself: Is it worth it to buy souvenirs?

I started pondering this as we wandered around Salzburg. There are tons of shops that sell souvenirs and take home things – not to mention the museums, street vendors, etc. At the Mozart museum, I was really tempted to buy a 10 Euro music box for M. But that got me to thinking – what is a souvenir worth?

The Christmas & Easter in Salzburg store (closed at the time) is full of....eggs — The Christmas & Easter in Salzburg store (closed at the time) is full of….eggs

If you think of a souvenir as a simple value proposition, it’s really a terrible one. The markup is crazy, but beyond that, most souvenirs don’t have much use. Take the “Christmas and Easter in Salzburg” store we walked by. Look at all those eggs! They are expensive but also essentially useless except for three weeks a year. Which, having typed that out, actually makes them more useful than most souvenirs.

There are plenty of souvenirs for sale at Salzburg's weekend market — There are plenty of souvenirs for sale at Salzburg’s weekend market

As I was pondering all this, with M in tow, I started to think of souvenirs a little bit differently. I’ve said it many times on this blog, we take these international trips to experience and enjoy different cultures. Souvenirs, while generally empirically useless, serve as physical reminders of those trips.

Jess and I bought a ceramic spatula holder from Amalfi on our honeymoon – every time I see that thing I remember our trip. We’ve bought little else on our many trips since. My parents still have a music box I bought them from Vienna over 15 years ago. Maybe that has value for them?

On our way down to Amalfi after hiking from Praiano - 5 (!) years ago — On our way down to Amalfi after hiking from Praiano – 5 (!) years ago

So I guess ultimately the tough thing with souvenirs is determining their sentimental value and then correlating that to their actual monetary value, or at least what I’d be willing to pay. I’d like some way or some thing that I can use to show M this trip we took. Or I’d like to have something that reminds me of what SHE was like when we took this trip. As a parent, every moment is precious, and I don’t want to chance forgetting unique ones. Having some token to remember this trip by might be worth more than the money it’d cost to purchase it.

I’m not sure I’m expressing myself well and if I’m being honest I don’t even know if I’ve fully formed my opinions on the matter. Eventually we’ll be in Vienna and I’ll be surrounded by souvenir buying opportunities – so I’m trying to figure it out for myself before then.

I’d love to hear people’s thoughts and ideas. Are souvenirs a complete waste of money, or do you find value in them? Do you buy them, or do you find other ways to remember your trips (we scrapbooked two or three trips back in the day, now: zero time)? Sound off!

Update: bought this bad boy for 7 Euros today. I’ve got a fever…and the only prescription…is more cowbell!

In case the SNL reference wasn't clear, that is a cowbell — In case the SNL reference wasn’t clear, that is a cowbell

Update 2: Totally forgot about our go to souvenir, wine! Three bottles bought and packed. Huzzah.

Jul 20 2014

Bavarian Summer: Sound of Music Bike Tour in Salzburg

OK, so Salzburg isn’t in Bavaria, but it’s too late to change the title of this series, so apologies. I’m gonna circle back to the end of our time in Garmisch-Partenkirchen later, but I think more people are interested in hearing about the Sound of Music! By more people I mean at least one person. Um, if you’ve never watched the Sound of Music, I apologize for all the references you will miss. Nice pictures, though?

So we made an e-mail reservation with Fraulein Maria’s Bicycle Tours. We received no compensation from them, I’m just gonna review them for anyone interested. We did receive a 2 Euro discount (dropping the price to 24pp) for having Rick Steve’s guide, borrowed from our local library.

The tour met and began at Mirabelle Gardens, which is a 5 minute walk from our hotel, the Crowne Plaza Salzburg. The bikes were decent, we got baskets with pictures of the sights where filming was done (or where Hollywood drew inspiration), and we were told we can break out in song whenever we’d like. Oh and the tourguide was playing a Jambox of Sound of Music songs the entire time we were riding. Wonderful!

Our tour guide, Franciska, was very friendly and knowledgeable about the movie and the town of Salzburg. The bike tour is a nice way to tour the town without having to get on a bus (and major non Sound of Music sights are pointed out). Don’t expect a ton of cycling, it’s more like bike five minutes, stop, rinse, repeat. Towards the end you go on some nice 20 minute stretches but those are the exception not the norm. It’s also mostly flat, there’s one large hill but almost everyone walked up that.

So, what sights do you see? You start out at Mirabelle Gardens (Do-re-mi), visit the area they filmed the music festival (Edelweiss), the fountain Julie Andrews splashes around in, and then take a break near the inspiration for the cemetery where the family hid.

Is there a family of nine hiding in there?

After that, you make your way up to the nunnery which offers some great views of Salzburg’s surroundings including the mountain they supposedly escaped over (Climb Every Mountain). After some twirling around in a meadow, you visit the house facade (front and back) used in filming, plus the lake the kids jumped into. The last sight is the gazebo (16 going on 17), which was made in Hollywood but then donated to Salzburg. There are a few other smaller sights and connections to the movie as well.

A break at one of the oldest bakeries in town

We really enjoyed the tour. It was hot, but not overbearing, and I personally appreciated the nice easy ride.

I really like the city of Salzburg as well. Yesterday, coinciding with our arrival, the Salzburg Music Festival began. I don’t know if it’s because of that, but as we were biking around I heard people practicing all sorts of classical music – violin, opera, piano, etc. I’d love to come back when M is old enough to appreciate a concert (and old enough to bike the tour, she stayed with her grandparents this morning and supposedly had a blast at the Toy Museum).

Jess hiding in the convent with the Von Trapps

After the tour and lunch with the family, Jess and I checked out Mozart’s birthplace and museum. Must visit for fans of classical music. No pictures allowed of the antiques, but we did sneak a few of the computer that played his Fantasy and Sonata in C minor while highlighting the music. Oldie but a goodie!

It's like I'm at home! — It’s like I’m at home!

Final Thoughts (with special Sound of Music spoiler section for those who care) Salzburg is beautiful and I wouldn’t have minded staying here for more than a couple of days. It would have been nice to go to a concert but that’s just not feasible with M at this point. Thus far, this area of Europe has moved pretty close to the top of our list of “places to come back when she is old enough.” I’ll catch up on our last days in GaPa, do a food post, and have some other random thoughts as this whirlwind trip continues! Now, I wanted to leave this part to the end – you probably figured, but Hollywood took a lot of liberties with the Sound of Music. Here is a list of what I picked up, I don’t remember anything and can’t vouch 100% for the veracity, but I think most of these are true. SPOILER ALERT. If you don’t want your world SHATTERED, stop reading!

SPOILER ALERT: SOUND OF MUSIC TRUTH BOMBS

– Christopher Plummer hated being in the movie and drank all the time AND was drunk during the ballroom scene

– In real life, Captain Von Trapp was the nicer one, Maria was the one with more of a temper

– Speaking of which, Maria was just convinced by her nun peeps that marrying the Captain was the right thing to do. She didn’t learn to love him until later! What? Is love real?

– All the kids names were wrong. Oh and BY THE WAY I got the ROLF bike. I mean come on, I get the bike of the dumb kid who joins the Nazis? Why is his name even on a bike he’s the worst.

– And speaking of Rolf, this isn’t a spoiler to anyone who pays attention, but the overall message of 16 going on 17 is pretty messed up and would not stand in this day and age (but it’s so catchy!)

– Gretl didn’t know how to swim and Julie Andrews was worried she almost drowned her

– The mountain they show the family climbing at the end of the movie leads into Germany not Switzerland – oops

– The family didn’t sneak out after a festival, they just took a train

– Oh, and the movie isn’t even shown EVER in Germany or Austria EVER!

Yes, that sentence required two evers. Alright, I think I’ve blown your mind enough. Or bored you to tears. Sound of Music!

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

Final Preparations for the Little One

Lufthansa First Class with a Toddler

Slow Days with a Sick Toddler

Sightseeing in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Observations After a Week in Germany

Climbing to AlpspiX and Neuschwanstein Castle

Zugspitze and Mittenwald

Sound of Music Bike Tour in Salzburg

Lazy Sunday in Salzburg – not

Rainy Days in Berchtesgaden

Visiting Museums and Biking in Vienna

Food in Germany and Austria

Rating the Toddler Friendliness of Our Hotels

Lufthansa First Class Terminal – Good for Toddlers?

Jul 18 2014

Bavarian Summer: Climbing to AlpspiX and Neuschwanstein Castle

We'll miss all this space — We’ll miss all this space

Sadly, our time in Garmisch-Partenkirchen has come to an end. Though today’s post won’t cover our last day here, today will be the last day I’ll be typing here – who knows what internet will be like the rest of the trip. Most of all I think we’re sad to say goodbye to this house – with a toddler, renting a house is the way to go. I’m sure she will adapt to our upcoming hotel stay rooms, but it’s just been so great to have all this space.

Zugspitze under fog — Zugspitze was a no go in the fog

The Zugspitze Alternative: Garmisch-Classic Lift

So on Tuesday the weather was supposed to finally clear up. We made plans to go to Zugspitze, aka the “Top of Germany”. When we got to the parking lot we looked up and the entire mountain was covered in fog. We spent an hour walking around nearby Lake Eibsee hoping the fog would lift, but alas it did not. So instead of going up, we bought a two peak pass that covers both Zugspitze and the nearby Garmisch-Classic lift.

Trying to wait out the fog walking around Eibsee

If you’re into saving money but not into hiking up an entire mountain, this is the way to go. It cost 60 Euros for both lifts, Zugspitze by itself costs 51, and you can go up anytime during the whole summer. So we decided to hit up the Garmisch-Classic instead, hoping the fog wouldn’t be at the lower altitudes and saving Zugspitze for later.

Making our way up to the start of our hike

The Garmisch-Classic actually gives you access to three lifts. One goes to the top, one goes almost to the top, and one connects the two (that’s a super simplified version). Jess and I took the shorter lift and made the 1.5 hour hike to the top, the so called Pleasure Adventure Trail. This was the hiking trail for kids I mentioned in my last post.

The "friendly" mountain giant turned into stone — The “friendly” mountain giant turned into stone

We loved the hike up to the top, it was strenuous but the trail was very well maintained (like every single trail I’ve been on here). There were also signs speaking about a mythical “Mountain Giant” that once lived there. The funny thing is, the trail is designed for kids to walk DOWN, so we were reading the story about the giant backwards.

It was funny because Jess thought the giant was a friendly giant, but in reality the giant is EVIL and hates humans. OK, maybe only I find that amusing. Alrighty then. Anyway, we were treated to some pretty dramatic views.

At the top of the mountain, there is “AlpspiX“, which is a platform extending over the edge of the top just hanging in mid-air. I won’t lie, my heart was palpitating out there – the intense fog didn’t help. I also didn’t get any good pictures because of it, unfortunately.

Beautiful views towards the top of the mountain

This picture of AlpspiX doesn't really convey the freakiness — This picture of AlpspiX doesn’t really convey the freakiness, though it does convey the fog

Disney World Special: Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles

The next day, we made our way to two of Mad King Ludwig’s famous castles – Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. I cannot stress this enough – unless you are on an extreme budget, buy your tickets online first. It costs 3.80 Euro per person. You are given two times for your two tours, and you must arrive one hour before your first tour to pick up your tickets (or else you might forfeit it, although we were 15 minutes late and okay). Here is the line I waited in with an online reservation.

Here is one third of the line for people without reservations.

Although Neuschwanstein was Walt Disney’s inspiration for Disney World’s Cinderella Castle, I gotta say these castles are tough for toddlers. A) A ton of walking – a TON. B) They can’t touch anything. C) You can’t really let them run around because of “B”. D) TON OF WALKING.

Of course you're smiling, you're not doing any of the work! — Of course you’re smiling, you’re not doing any of the work!

It was a fifty minute walk from Hohenschwangau (which you visit first) to Neuschwanstein. All uphill. We’ve done a fair amount of hiking since we got to Bavaria, but I think that was the worst (due to the stroller).

Neuschwanstein is about an hour walk from this point at Hohenschwengau

Inside the castles, we put M in our Beco carrier. The insides of the castles are okay – I mostly feel like seen one castle seen them all. You have to go on a guided tour (around half an hour), so you have no real control of the pace, which is pretty important for parents with young children. I kept looking for emergency escape routes in case of meltdown but it would have been tough, I would have had to run through other tours to escape.

Neuschwanstein Castle — Possibly my favorite shot of the entire trip thus far (of course Jess took it)

At Hohenschwangau, M got pretty fussy at times, luckily we brought stickers to distract her, but that only worked so long. Stickers, incidentally, that she tried to stick onto 200 year old walls…yikes. She also tried to close every single door after she saw the tour guide doing it – that tour was rough. I heard and learned absolutely nothing. She finally, finally passed out before our tour of Neuschwanstein, and she slept soundly in the Beco throughout.

So are these castles worth a visit even with a toddler? I think so. There’s a beautiful lake, Alpsee, nearby. You can take horse drawn carriages to avoid the walking (or a bus, though probably not that with a toddler because people are packed like sardines on a windy road).

And the views really speak for themselves – I can’t imagine someone used to LIVE in these places. Some rich guy for sure, but still. Amazing. Oh, and bring a picnic lunch to save a bunch of money – the grounds are a beautiful place to eat but everything is overpriced and not worth it. One exception, they have straciatella soft serve – that’s whassup.

Straciatella soft serve on the left, Movenpick on the right, cool nerd glasses glare in the middle

Final Thoughts

The castle tours were probably the toughest it’s been having a toddler in Bavaria thus far. They were worth it but if you’re going with a child that age, be prepared. The views we got on those two days, first on the mountain, then at the castles, were to die for. I love Bavaria a little more and more each day. We’re on our way to Salzburg tomorrow – Sound of Music time. The hills will be ALIVE.

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

Final Preparations for the Little One

Lufthansa First Class with a Toddler

Slow Days with a Sick Toddler

Sightseeing in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Observations After a Week in Germany

Climbing to AlpspiX and Neuschwanstein Castle

Zugspitze and Mittenwald

Sound of Music Bike Tour in Salzburg

Lazy Sunday in Salzburg – not

Rainy Days in Berchtesgaden

Visiting Museums and Biking in Vienna

Food in Germany and Austria

Rating the Toddler Friendliness of Our Hotels

Lufthansa First Class Terminal – Good for Toddlers?

Jul 17 2014

Bavarian Summer: Observations After a Week in Germany

Trip reports can get long, and while I’m enjoying “live reporting” this trip, I recognize not everyone is interested. It also is a bit tiring to type for an hour every night Doogie Howser style. But what I’m sure everyone is interested in is my thoughts and observations about this wonderful country, Germany, after a week here! /sarcasm.

Couldn’t help it, sorry

Still, this family travels because it wants to experience different cultures, and blogging about it helps me process what I see, so please bear with me. Or, you know, ignore this post. Also, apologies for two list-type posts in a row – I should be better than that. But I’ve also been drinking a lot of Weissbier and Riesling, so…

1. Unsurprisingly, Germans speak English pretty well

It never ceases to impress me how well Europeans speak other languages, and Germans are no exception. In Brazil, it was pretty difficult getting around not knowing any Portugese (in fact I felt more helpless there than in any other country I’ve visited besides Japan). But here in Germany, even the people who say they only speak “a little” English speak more than enough to get their point across.

Finally got to try that monk brewed beer - not bad! — Finally got to try that monk brewed beer – not bad!

Example, bought a Riesling, was told “Drink cold.” This Riesling is cold and it is good. I can neither say the word “drink” or “cold” in German. Anyway, it’s a shame how on average Americans are not as adept with foreign languages as our European counterparts. I don’t remember anything I learned language wise in high school (OK, I took Latin, yes I’m a loser, but Gallia est omnia divisa in partes tres okay?). The only languages I know are from family use – Mandarin and Cantonese. Ooh I did learn one new German phrase. Everytime Germans see M passed out they smile and say “kaput”. Heh.

2. Germans take their hiking seriously

Somehow, I did not know this before I got here. I blame this on the toddler. The Bavarian Alps are all about hiking and everyone here is serious about it. I’ve seen people from the age of 6 to 60+ hiking these trails, and I’m talking the ones at the top not the easy trails at the bottom. One hike we took the other day even had stops for kids where they could read about a “mountain giant” – almost like an intro to hiking type thing.

Hiking up to AlspiX — Hiking through the fog feels like I’m in Lord of the Rings. Though to be fair, any excuse I get to reference LOTR…

There are also walking sticks to “borrow” at the top of most of the funiculars (gondolas) – I love the friendly hiking culture here.

Proof my wife takes better pictures than me

Every single trail here is also very well marked. I’m more of a “hike on vacation” kind of guy, so I’ve never appreciated how most of the hikes I’ve done in the States are like, “hey, follow the white crosses on the trees even though there is no arrow!”. What can I say, I’m a n00b. Every single fork in the road I’ve seen here has explicit, clear signage and often has hike times as well. No ribbons stapled to trees. I am a fan.

3. Bavaria is a great place for families

Jess and I were remarking today that we could spend our full two and a half weeks here in Garmish-Partenkirchen and not run out of things to do. Aside from all the hiking that’s possible, there is so much to do within a one hour radius of almost anywhere you stay. You can visit Munich, you can visit a million little towns (each with something unique to offer), you can take walks around lakes, you can go boating on said lakes, etc. etc.

Alpsee (lake) near Neuschwanstein Castle — Eibsee near Zugspitze

I wish M were older so I could force her to hike – I see so many families hiking with their six, ten, and sixteen year olds. Or you could come here in the winter, see the Christmas markets, and ski in amazing surrounds. The pace is nice and easy, perfect for families, and there are little to no mosquitos. If there were wineries close by, this place would be…one step greater than what I just described. But I’ll just settle for Weissbier.

M is starting to get the hang of this walking business

4. Everything shuts down early here

One thing that differentiates this area from much of the rest of Europe (that we’ve visited) is all the stores close by 6 PM. If you walk down one of the main streets in Garmisch-Partenkirchen after 6 PM nothing is open except for the restaurants.

This includes tourist attractions; everything shuts down before 6. Kind of weird that everything is closed but the sun doesn’t set until after 9 PM. It’s a bit unfortunate that the funiculars shut down at around 530 PM because it’d be nice to experience dusk up on the summits – but I think the reason things shut down so early is…

5. Germans know how to relax

Somehow I had the impression that Germans, due to their extreme efficiency, probably weren’t good at relaxing. Obviously that was stupid since Germans take their beers so seriously but I’ve never claimed to be full of common sense. The reality is, after 5 PM or so, everyone is chillin’ around here.

Outside Garmisch's biergarten — Outside Garmisch’s biergarten

I walked into a store thinking it was open, they were just smoking cigars, drinking beer, and eating some grub. Meanwhile Germans and tourists were sitting on picnic benches outside a restaurant drinking, eating, and listening to an accordion player. Cool vibe. So the stores and tourist attractions might close early, but the beer gardens and restaurants are still there for your enjoyment.

6. (Bonus) Austria is serious about their traffic violations

Couple things about driving in Austria.

1) You can’t drive on Austria motorways without buying a vignette sticker. Don’t get caught without one it’s like a 100 Euro fine.

2) They take their speed limits seriously. I’ve only seen one police car in seven days in Germany – I saw three in one hour driving through Austria. There was a literal speed trap where the speed limit dropped from 100 to 70 to 30 in what felt like 100 meters, with a cop on the end. Careful!

Final Thoughts

We’ve been having a great time in Germany thus far. I’m starting to really get a feel for the culture around here, at least I think I am! I’m almost disappointed we need to leave Garmisch-Partenkirchen soon, but I’m sure there are many more adventures ahead! Tomorrow I hope to write about what we’ve been doing the past few days – we’ve seen some pretty amazing sights!

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

Final Preparations for the Little One

Lufthansa First Class with a Toddler

Slow Days with a Sick Toddler

Sightseeing in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Observations After a Week in Germany

Climbing to AlpspiX and Neuschwanstein Castle

Zugspitze and Mittenwald

Sound of Music Bike Tour in Salzburg

Lazy Sunday in Salzburg – not

Rainy Days in Berchtesgaden

Visiting Museums and Biking in Vienna

Food in Germany and Austria

Rating the Toddler Friendliness of Our Hotels

Lufthansa First Class Terminal – Good for Toddlers?

Jul 14 2014

Bavarian Summer: Sightseeing in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

I think we’ve gotten into our vacation groove at this point. We’ve hit up a bunch of smaller sights in the past two days (aka barely mentioned in Rick Steve’s), dodging um…dodgy weather, as we wait for the good weather later this week to hit some of the biggies. Here’s what we’ve been up to.

We ate this pork knuckle at some point. Salty.

To start, a little health update. M is pretty much fully recovered from her variety of maladies and I think she’s all adjusted jetlag wise. Her current schedule is sleep from 10-8ish, nap once in the morning and then again in the afternoon. She’s done that three days running – I’ll take it. I don’t think we’re gonna shift her up closer to her “regular” bedtime (8 PM) because if she sticks to 10 PM life might be a little easier with jetlag on the return. Anyway I think we’ve gotten off pretty easy on this front. Jess has been one day behind illness wise so I think she’s about done with it too.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Bavaria is a great place to bring kids of all ages. It’s mostly hiking and beautiful scenery – everything is framed by the stunning mountain ranges. The crazy weather actually has made things look more dramatic so it hasn’t been all bad. I think I’ve thought this before about towns in the mountains – the weather forecast is NEVER right. They said it was supposed to rain every day we have been here and they have been right – except it predicts rain every single hour as opposed to the actual two hours of the day it rains. It makes it really difficult to plan.

Partnach Gorge entrance — The entrance to Partnach Gorge

To get around this, we’ve been planning shorter excursions which of course gel well with a toddler’s schedule. Yesterday we drove down to the Olympic Stadium to take a short twenty minute walk to the Partnach Gorge. Having spent a lot of time in Ithaca, we figured the gorge would be like Watkins Glen, a place we love. It was Watkins Glen and then some.

The walk up to the gorge consisted of some pretty scenery that I will never get sick of but am already sick of writing about. The gorge itself, which cost 3 Euros to enter, was kind of spectacular. It was like walking into the middle of a sharp canyon in a mountain, watching a river rush through it while runoff from various parts of the mountain just kind of cascade down into the river and onto you.

Partnach Gorge — It can get pretty dark in spots – no strollers inside either

It was kind of jarring because walking up to the entrance it’s very quiet and serene. You then walk through this cavelike entrance and then all of a sudden all you hear is roaring water all around you for the next twenty minutes as you work your way through the gorge. It was quite a force of nature.

It's like the water only carved up this 800m section — It’s like the water only carved up this 800m section of the mountain

Towards the end of the gorge my parents turned back while Jess, M, and I trudged on. Oh, M absolutely loved the gorge by the way. She was squealing in delight the entire time – she LOVES running water. It’s kind of weird. She kept asking for a hat when the water dripped on her and we kept having to stop so she could just stare at the river. She’s weird in a super cute way. Or maybe all kids like watching water roar? I dunno, I only have the one.

After we got through the gorge, we made one of those not so brilliant decisions parents tend to make. By we I mean mostly me. There was a way to “walk around” the gorge to get back to where our car was. Long story short, that way involved a 45 minute hike including a steep ascent and descent. Pretty simple stuff, except for the fact that I had M strapped to my chest and Jess was lugging the stroller. Geniuses.

"I hate you and your stupid ideas." — “I hate you and your stupid ideas.”

"Wheeeee more selfies!" — “Wheeeee more selfies!”

Eventually we made it to the top where there were a few houses, restaurants, and cows. We were rewarded with (more) beautiful views and a sense of accomplishment, but also a sense of our own stupidity. Live and learn. After running around at the top for a bit, our daughter passed out (after I switched her onto my back) and we descended to finally meet up with my parents.

Near the Olympic Stadium there is this cool thing where you can ride a luge down (for only 2.50 Euro!), but I decided with the number of young children riding I was too embarrassed to partake. Regrets…

Yogurt for breakfast at the cheese shop in Ettal

Today was our most ambitious day, we were out from 10-430 and hit three sights. We first stopped by Ettal, a monastery famous for brewing beer. It was cool I guess but I haven’t tried the beer yet so the jury’s out. Next we hit up Linderhof Castle, one of “Mad King Ludwig’s” castles (two more are on our itinerary later in the week). Ludwig was a weird guy – he was like, obsessed with the French and Versailles.

Linderhof Castle Gardens — Family portrait in front of the fountain at Linderhof Castle

Linderhof is kind of like a German version of Versailles with some weird things like portraits of Louis XV. Um…was he really good at basketball or something? Kinda odd. The castle grounds were beautiful – especially the gardens and fountains. Well maintained (like Versailles) but with a more dramatic backdrop. Pretty cool. Oh, and I ate like my 12th pretzel of the trip.

Ritter Sport — 59 cents for each Ritter. WAH!

We ended with a stop in the town of Oberammergau, notable for the passion play they put on once a decade and their wood carving skills. But I was just there for the gelato.

This gelato from an Italian cafe was preeeeetty darn good

Oh right, Germany won the World Cup last night! Except…I couldn’t even tell. Seriously – didn’t hear any noise, people didn’t seem any happier (or less happy) today than before, nothing. It’s probably because we live on the very edge of town, but since I was greeted with this in Brazil any time they scored, I expected more. Still, I’m happy for Germany – would have been a shame for that team to end its run for the past eight years without a trophy.

View from St. Anton's church — View from our after dinner walk tonight

Final Thoughts

A few reflections on our trip thus far. Starting in a small town with a house has been great – in fact I’m a little concerned what will happen once we move M to the city. We have our own space, can set our own schedule, and aren’t worried about bumping into people in the street all the time. I highly recommend Garmisch-Partenkirchen for kids of all ages – especially if you want to force your kids to hike and enjoy nature. You will experience nature and YOU WILL LIKE IT!