Germany/Austria

This is so incredibly late, but this fall has been absolutely crazy!  Jack is now in British school, and loves it, but life is quite hectic!

Anyway, we took an AMAZING trip to the Bavarian area of Germany, then to Austria and it was the most beautiful place on earth!  Russell's parents had set to visit us, so we planned to take this trip with them.  What a great trip we had!  If you have never been to this area, you must go!  We could live there.  I could go live in Garmisch for the rest of my life.  So…. here's the trip…

Quick note: I realized at this point that I did not have my SD card in my camera.  You would think that I would have even had my backup, but no.  I went on vacation without.  So, the photos up until halfway through Innsbruck are all iPhone (insert sad face).  I FINALLY found a shop that sold SD cards in Innsbruck!

We flew into Memmingen (Munich) airport around lunchtime, got our rental van, and hit the road.  The flight was a quick one from London Stansted, and the Memmingen airport is tiny.  It was easy to get out and on the road!  We had reserved a hotel for the first night in Garmisch, so we headed that way.  It was to be a little bit less than a 2 hour drive.  We stopped for a late lunch in a town near the Neuschwanstein Castle.  The castle is set way up on the hill, and requires the bus to take you to the top.  The line of people waiting to take the bus was extremely long, so we sat and ate lunch in the village of Hohenschwangau and took in the views.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Hohenschwangau Castle

Our lunch spot

We hit the road to get to Garmisch, our spot for the first night.  The views on the drive there were absolutely amazing!

Garmisch is near the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.  It is also a popular skiing destination, as there are several slopes on both sides of the mountain.  Here is the view as you are driving in...

We arrived at our hotel, the Riessersee Hotel.  It was a bit up the hill from the town, and the views were great.

There is also a separate lake house/events center at the hotel.

Near the lakehouse

We did have a few issues, as the booking had been overbooked.  Luckily, they had two rooms for us, but they were smaller than we had booked.  I got the front desk to give us a discount and buy us dinner.

In the hotel restaurant

In the morning, while everyone was asleep, I went driving around the town.  Garmisch is amazing.  There is a small Army base there, and the town itself is straight from a magazine.

The view from the front of the hotel

Garmisch is also home to another mountain, Alpspitze.  There is a cable car that you can take to the top.  Early the next morning, we headed there to get up to the top.

On the way up

At the top is the Alpspix, a viewing platform that extends out over the valley.

Paul and Shelley on the platform

Scout and I skipped the platform

Russell and his parents with Jack

We also stopped at the cafe on top for a beer

Heading back down

Garmisch was the home to the 1936 Winter Olympics.  If you know Russell and I, we LOVE the Winter Olympics.  The stadium was on our list of stops.

Olympic Stadium

In the area of the stadium was a fun toboggan ride that we all rode!  The kids each rode with one of us, and it was a blast!

The grandparents on the toboggan

From Garmisch, we started our way to Innsbruck.  It was a pretty quick drive, and it rained most of the drive.  This was as we were getting in…

We quickly checked into our hotel and went out to adventure.  We went to find something to eat first, and ended up at a little place outdoors that had pizza and kebab food.  It was a Sunday, so lots of places weren't open in the afternoon or at all.

I loved this building near where we ate

We headed back to our hotel to leave the car in the garage and go walk through the Altstadt.  Our hotel, a Best Western, was located right on the river and was so close to everything.  We walked right in to the heart of it all.

We quickly found the Golden Roof

Austria is amazing

As we walked the area, we came across several awesome parks.  We stopped at each one for the kids to play.  They were so nice, and so clean.  Some cities we have visited aren't the cleanest places, and everywhere I have been in Germany and Austria couldn't be cleaner.  We also had some delicious gelato in the center square.

Back to the Golden Roof

Another park

Here is the point where I bought an SD card for my camera….

These are the view from our hotel room.

Our hotel had a great breakfast buffet, one of the better I have had on our travels.  The restaurant in it was quaint, and we filled up before our next leg of the trip.

Our next city was Salzburg, but we had a stop on the way.  Russell had mentioned before this trip that he wanted to see the Kehlsteinhaus; also known as Hitler's Eagle's Nest.  We drove up the mountain to where you park and take the buses to the very top.

On the bus

When you first get off the bus, you go through this eerie long hallway, which leads to one brass elevator that ascends the last 407 feet to get you to the top.

Waiting for the elevator

Kehlsteinhaus is a restaurant, too…

The weather was so cold and foggy that day, we could not see anything.  Normally, you can see incredible views from there.  It was still a great experience, and a great meal!  The schnitzel and spatzle were great!

We drove the last few minutes in to Salzburg and checked into our hotel there.  We had a full day planned the next day, but no agenda for the afternoon.  We decided to head to Hangar 7, a Red Bull aircraft museum, art gallery, and restaurant.  It's a giant glass dome filled with planes, helicopters, cars, etc. all having something to do with Red Bull.

The actual suit that Felix Baumgartner wore on his supersonic free fall

After the hangar, we headed into the center of the city.  We walked a bit, then decided to get on a river boat tour.  The kids always love touring a city by boat, so they were excited.

We walked around a bit more after the boat ride.  There were lots of beautiful buildings, shops, and fountains.

Mozart Square

We stopped for a bite to eat at this adorable corner spot…

Then we called it a night.  The next day was our Sound of Music Bus Tour.  We had heard such amazing reviews about this tour, and Grandma Shelley happens to LOVE the movie.  We got there first thing in the morning, and boarded our bus.

The first stop offered amazing views, and was from some famous scenes from the movie.  (Don't hate me, I have never seen the movie.  After the tour, I promised I would; it hasn't happened yet.)

Scout taking in the sights

You can see the Salzburg Fortress from most points in the city

Another famous movie spot

Shelley and the famous gazebo

The bus served beer and prosecco… win!

After touring the famous locations in the city, we headed out farther to see some other sights.  The Austrian landscape was great!

Breathtaking

I need to live there!

We stopped in a town called Mondsee.  We all got off the bus and were to return in about 2 hours.

Scout and Grandpa ready to explore

Mondsee

Mondsee is where the church is from the movie (the wedding took place there).

We ate here, the apple strudel is famous.  Delish!

The bus tour returned to our final stop, Mirabell Gardens.  We got off the bus to head into the gardens, but first I needed a picture of this bull...

Our next stop was going to be Munich, so once we were done exploring Salzburg, we headed to Munich.  We headed in, got in our hotel, and went straight to Hofbrauhaus to eat and drink!  The place is way more massive than I ever would have imagined.  It was packed, too.

Scout with grandma and grandpa (she got her juice in a wine glass)

The pretzels were beyond delicious

We walked around Munich square and the surrounding areas for the rest of the day.

We finished off the night with some ice cream in the hotel.

The next day, we went to see the Munich Olympic Park.  It was originally built for the 1972 Olympics, and has been modified and added to over the years.  This is the Olympic Tower, which we went to the top of.

These were the views from the top.

You might recognize this Olympic Village

BMW plant

Also, in the tower, is a museum of Rock and Roll.

Elton John's Mirror Piano

It was time to head back to Memmingen and get on a plane back to London.  We had a great 5 days in the area, and I would go back!  I definitely recommend this trip!