Trip to the Top of Germany

(Looking a little tired after an early start and stressful drive on the Autobahn but what a beautiful view!)

Last weekend we headed to Garmisch, Germany to experience the Alps and some mountain living. Garmisch is about 4 hours from Mackenbach (the village where we live). On our way, we stopped in Obererammergau to see if we could get tickets for the world famous Passion Play this summer...we signed up for 3 dates so hopefully we get to experience this event! We then headed to Garmisch...our first stop was a park located by the 1936 Olympic hockey rink. Here we saw a beautiful view of the Alps and to our dismay, the only clear day of our trip. We then headed to downtown Garmisch where we walked around attempting to find world famous cuisine for lunch. We stopped no further then McDonald's : ) (everywhere else was very expensive). After lunch, we went our hotel, the Treff Alpina where we found very comfortable beds and living conditions for the weekend. One of the best things about the hotel is the traditional German buffet breakfast consisting of breakfast meats and cheeses, sausages, many types of breads, a yogurt bar, and the finest teas and coffees. Definitely a good start to our second day! Day 2 we headed to the Zugspitze which is the highest point in Germany. We had our first snowboarding in the Alps experience...the light was weak which made it difficult to see where you were headed as well as made view not so great. We look forward to heading there this summer because from the top you can see Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy!

Day 2 dinner was a fun experience...we headed to a yummy Thai restaurant (Rambutan) in Garmisch where there were plants and flowers all over the walls and ceiling...it was like eating in a jungle! We also met another American couple who worked at Eidelweiss which is a Dept of Defense "resort" in Garmisch. We actually drove through the "resort" but were happy that we were able to stay in town and experience real German life!

Day 3 we were going to try snowboarding again, this time in Garmisch, but it was very cloudy. Instead, we drove through Austria to Neuschwanstein Castle aka the Disney castle. Because it was so cloudy, we didn't go up to the castle and decided to save that for another trip.

All in all a great first trip of our Germany adventure!