Oberammergau, Germany

Charles had a work trip to Oberammergau. For years, whenever he has had a work trip planned he asks if I want to go. In the past, I had work or some other commitments that prevented me from tagging along. But this time nothing held me back! 

He had been to Oberammergau once before, but in the winter, and raved about it. I was excited to visit this time of year. Germany is beautiful in September and October. 

We stayed at Hotel Garni Fux and had a spacious suite. This was our view! Oberammergau is a small town and everything is walkable, so I don't think you can go wrong choosing any hotel in town for the walkable convenience. Hotel Fux was no different, but the place was great! Our stay included breakfast which was the perfect way to start my day. 

Hotel Fux was dog-friendly which suited Suzie perfectly. She spend a lot of time snoozing the day away in comfort.

Everywhere you look in Oberammergau there are beautiful flowers! 

I explored the church and churchyard while in town. 

Oberammergau has a long history of woodworking. The Oberammergau Museum had great displays showcasing the talent. We purchased the combined ticket and visited the Passion Play Theater afterward. Save 1 Euro on the ticket if you're staying in Oberammergau, BTW. 

The Passion Play has been performed every ten years (with some exceptions throughout the long history) in Oberammergau since 1634. It started off as a promise to God during the plague. The most recent play was performed in 2022 (postponed due to COVID) and will be back on schedule again in 2030. 

We ate really well while staying in Oberammergau. On our first night in town we enjoyed dinner at Dumpling and Sushi. The avocado bowl was so delicious! I kind of wish we had gone back and tried other items from their menu. It all sounded so good.

We found this place while walking around town on the first evening and returned later in the week. They specialize in burgers and they were worth the wait! I had the Hipster burger which had a habanero-blueberry sauce. It was very messy, but very tasty! The crispy sweet potato fries were an excellent compliment; one order was enough for the two of us to share.

On a previous trip to Garmisch, we had visited the Ettal Abbey but decided to visit again while in Oberammergau. The inside is very ornate which seems at odds with it being a home to monks. Make sure to pick up some beer or liquor while visiting. 

Lastly, on our way home we stopped to see the Neuschwanstein Castle. It is one of those places you kind of have to see at least once while visiting or living in Germany and this seemed like the best time to cross it off our list. Even though I did a bit of research in advance, I did not realize the uphill hike it would take to get to the bridge for this viewpoint. Well, now that's done!

 

Titisee and Freiberg, Germany

After our night in Konstanz, we hit the road to our next destination--Freiberg! Along the route, we stopped at Lake Titisee. I had heard that it was beautiful, but I did not really know anything about it. Titisee is a pretty small lake in the Black Forest. It was a happenin' spot for the holiday weekend (it was a holiday weekend for Germany, too). We saw a couple bridal parties, lots of dogs and many people enjoying the lake amenities. 

We stopped for some ice cream. Even Suzie enjoyed a cup all to herself. 

After exploring a few shops and enjoying the Titisee lake views, we headed to our evening's destination. After checking into the hotel and leaving Suzie to nap, we headed to the altstadt for an early dinner. Guess what...it was Mexican again! While doing some quick research about Freiberg, I came across a taqueria called Yepa Yepa. The menu looked pretty legit. Walking up the street, I could smell the Mexican flavors and the food did not disappoint. The Al Pastor taco was my favorite!

After being nourished by some Mexican soul food, we continued strolling around Freiberg. I did almost zero research about the town so we did not really have a game plan for our walk. We meandered seemingly aimlessly. We stopped at a Korean bubble tea spot for a refreshment (called Sarang) and stopped at Rewe to pick up some beers, chocolate and other must-haves. 

We stayed at a hotel just outside of town called Mercure Hotel Panorama Freiberg. It gave us a lovely view of the town from our balcony. There were trails located right outside of the hotel (where Suzie was able to collect a bunch of ticks). I wish we could have stayed longer to truly enjoy the peaceful setting. 

Bodensee

For the long Memorial Day weekend, we were originally going to host some friends from the States and stay local. But after a change in plans on their end, we pivoted our weekend plans for a getaway. Our first night was spent in Konstanz, located by Bodensee. It can also be referred to as Lake Constance. 

Reichenau is an island in the Untersee, near Konstanz. Pictured here is the well-known abbey that calls the island home. We enjoyed walking around the abbey and other parts of the island on a beautifully, sunny day. 

Suzie enjoyed a few dips in the lake during our walkabout. 

After checking into the hotel and leaving Suzie to nap away the afternoon, we headed to Mainau Island. This is a popular tourist destination in the area and is well-known for its flowers and other plants. I had heard great things about the place, so I was happy for a chance to finally visit. While on the island, we grabbed beers at the biergarten, visited the butterfly house (not as good at the one Niagara Falls) and enjoyed amazing views of the lake.

On Mainau, we found a ginkgo tree which reminded me of working on the world's largest ginkgo tree farm. 

Down the street from our Konstanz hotel was a placed called Burro Burro. After discovering that all the restaurants on Mainau closed early, we headed to Burro Burro for dinner. Mexican food in Germany is usually disappointing, so we came with realistic expectations. The food ended up being pretty decent, although probably not the most authentically Mexican. But it hit the spot after our fun day!

Innsbruck, Austria

The next leg of our December getaway was to Innsbruck, Austria. Each time I visit Austria I fall more in love. 

Innsbruck has a myriad of markets scattered around the town. We visited in the evening and, because it was midweek, it was not super crowded. We enjoyed the sparkling lights and holiday spirit. 

One of the market streets is dedicated to fairy tales which was one of my favorite parts! 

Gluhwein, of course! The vendors had a variety of mugs from different years. I liked this mug, but it was from 2019 so we didn't keep it. 

Innsbruck is home to Swarovski crystal, so a Swarovski crystal tree is the centerpiece of this market. 

I love, love, love folk art so when I saw there was a folk art museum in Innsbruck I added it to our itinerary. I am just so impressed with how people took everyday objects and made them beautiful. 

The folk art museum is connected to the Hofkirche, so we visited that, too. Just a little tip (because we were confused), to visit both you'll need the combo ticket. The regular ticket only allows you into the Hofkirche. You cannot buy a ticket just to the folk art museum. 

The hands down best part of visiting Innsbruck was our hotel! We stayed at DasMEI which was located just outside of Innsbruck in a town called Mutters. This is the view from our room!!! I was ready to move in and never leave. The breakfast buffet was delicious. Parking was free and the tram stop was just up the road for an easy trip into Innsbruck. 

Our room overlooked the nearby town called Natters. This is the church we could see from our balcony.

Strolling around European towns and seeing the variety of churches never gets old. This is the church in Mutters.

Christmas Markets of Northern Italy

After a break from travel due to Charles' work schedule, we resumed our vacation schedule with a trip to Christmas markets in the South Tyrol region. Most people think of Germany for their Christmas market visits, but with Northern Italy's German roots, they have some markets, too! 

We visited mostly to check out Bolzano (Bozen for the German spelling) which is Italy's oldest and largest Christmas market. But we also went to Merano, Brixen and Sterzing. 

I love searching for hotels. For our Northern Italy vacation, I chose Napura Art & Design Hotel. It was situated between Bolzano and Merano and surrounded by apple orchards. The included breakfast, free parking and beautiful rooms were a delight. Plus, they were dog friendly so Suzie was able to tag along! Charles made use of the sauna on one of the nights. I really should have, but spent my downtime working on schoolwork. (I'm so ready to be done with this program because having schoolwork while traveling is a little stressful!)

Before visiting any markets, we drove to Lana to walk along one of their trails. The path has sculptures to admire along the way, but we veered off the sculpture trail a bit so we missed quite a few of the pieces. The area had a dog park that Suzie enjoyed for a little while. The views of the mountains from all around us was fantastic! I kept imagining what it looks like in the spring and fall. I bet it's even more gorgeous!

Now onto the main reason for the visit... Christmas markets! Our first market visit was in Merano. The area lined the river which gave us some amazing picture opportunities! It was a beautiful, sunny day. We enjoyed some gluhwein (also known as vin brule); this was my favorite mug of regular weisse gluhwein. We had a a few snacks, browsed the booths and purchased a couple souvenirs. 

The next day it was time for the main event--Bolzano! Remember, this is Italy's oldest and largest Christmas market so we were expecting something pretty cool. They had some cute photo opportunities around the market including this one. The figures are from a company called Thun. I had never heard of them before, but their figures are proudly displayed and the ornament we chose was a Thun angel. 

Sadly, our expectations of the market were bigger than the market itself. My guess is that pre-COVID it was larger. It had maybe 30-40 booths and felt small. It probably did not help that it was chilly and gloomy. Charles had some gluhwein and I had some hot chocolate. We shared a chocolate covered pretzel. Otherwise, it was disappointing. We went inside the church shown behind me in this picture and we could have visited a number of museums in town, but I just wasn't feeling it. 

After the letdown of the Bolzano market, we stayed close to the hotel for dinner. The German-Italian spot called Restaurant Oberspeiser was down the road and ended up being very quaint and cozy. The food was tasty, too! We chose the knodel platter for two which consisted of 8 different knodel. Yum! 

Our third market in Italy was Brixen. It was a sunny, beautiful day! Knowing this market was going to be smaller than Bolzano, we went into it with lowered expectations. But this market was very cute! They had musicians playing from the stage in the center of the market and the view of the church steeple was charming. We tried Bombardino which is Italian's version of eggnog. It was very sweet, but I would not order it again. 

The market was filled with groups of school kids at the time we visited. They crowded around some of the booths which made it a little difficult to shop. I think they were also playing a scavenger hunt game. A group came up to ask us questions, but after learning we did not speak Italian they scuttled away to the next person. 

I did not see a lot of street art during our visit, but spotted this along our walk from the parking garage to the market. 

Our final Italian Christmas market was in Sterzing. This was a small market where I purchased some Alpaca socks. The booth owner promised me they are warm and they did not disappoint! We also enjoyed a hot apple drink with Amaretto.

Polenta is popular in this part of Italy, so I tried polenta with goulash at Sterzing's market. The meat could have been a bit more tender, but it was warm and filling. 

The area was beautiful and we loved seeing the snow capped mountains from pretty much every vantage point, but I would not necessarily recommend visiting the area JUST for Christmas markets. The markets were charming and had some good eats. They are a lovely bonus, but not a main attraction.