Garmisch

 

Our most recent trip was for Charles' birthday week. We hit the road and visited Garmisch in Germany. It is right near the border with Austria and the funny thing is that the route actually took us partially into Austria. We did not stop anywhere in Austria, so that is still unexplored territory for us. 

One of the top attractions in Garmisch is the Gorge. It was a pleasant walk down to the entrance and then once we were inside it was fantastic! It was so cool which was a relief after walking down to it on a warm, sunny day. Although, the hike back out of the gorge had a bit more of an incline that I would prefer. At least by that time some clouds had rolled in. It worked out perfectly because right as we were almost back to the car it started raining. The parking lot was right outside the 1936 winter Olympic stadium so we were able to walk through there at the end, too. It was really cool to be able to see something from that time period. 

For lunch on our second day, we visited a place called Waffelhaus. It was nothing like the American Waffle House, thank goodness. I was so surprised to see chicken & waffles on the menu that I had to give it a try! Charles had the strawberry waffle. Both were equally enjoyable. The restaurant had a lovely outdoor patio seating area. 

Another food item that I really enjoyed was from the bakery we visited on our first morning. They were from Garmisch's oldest bakery; I had the almond croissant. It was so delicious! I'm still craving another one. 

For Charles' birthday, we rode a scary (to me) cable car to the top of the Alpspitze. It is not the highest peak in Germany; that would be Zugspitze, but that was 60 Euros per person for the cable car ride. The cable car up to Alpspitze was only about 30 Euros, so that was a better option for us. We were rewarded with some amazing views! It was the perfect day for it. The weather had been calling for rain all day, but luckily it did not start raining until later in the afternoon. 

We stayed at Edelweiss Lodge which is a military resort in Garmisch. The hotel was not at full capacity so some services were not available, but it was lovely and probably less crowded than in normal times! The front lawn had lounge chairs facing the gorgeous view of the mountain. Like our obligatory "relaxing with our feet up" vacation picture? Staying at the resort felt a bit like being on a cruise because they have their own restaurants, pool, gift shop, etc. Everything we bought could be charged to the room which was very convenient. Plus all the staff we interacted with were so friendly! One day we went down for a late lunch and I inquired about the soup of the day. The employee offered to let me taste it to see if I would like it. I am sure they would do that for anyone, but I was really happy with that extra bit of service. 

The resort had a small mini golf course that we enjoyed on our first night! We did not keep score, but I think Charles won the first round and I may have done marginally better the second round. Plus those views...!

Our room was facing the mountains and had a nice little balcony. It was so peaceful!

The hotel had this mural on the wall that we found entertaining. After driving around Garmisch that week, I saw a lot of murals painted on homes. Is that a Bavarian thing? I never did look it up. 

We had a great time in Garmisch and I could see going back to experience it in another season. I bet it is beautiful in the fall, too! I read a blog where the author thought Garmisch was lacking some personality or history and fell flat to them. Reading that prior to our visit did lower my expectations a bit, but I was happy with our trip. The scenery alone was worth the visit! 

Luxembourg City

While staying in Trier for a weekend, we chose to hop over to Luxembourg for a day trip. It was so easy and affordable using the train. Public transportation throughout Luxembourg is free, so our train ticket from Trier to Luxembourg and back only covered the part through Germany. This was the first time either of us had visited Luxembourg, so it made it the first new country we could cross off our list during our time living in Germany.

Walking around Luxembourg City was easy and full of sites! 

To make sure we saw the major spots, we took a ride on the Petrusse Express. It was a cute little train car ride through the streets of Luxembourg City that gave a bit of history through the recorded audio tour. It was offered in a variety of languages so people from all over can enjoy the information. It was not the best tour I have ever been on, but it was affordable and gave us the highlights.

 

Just before leaving the city to head back to Trier, we stopped for sandwiches and coffee at a café. I swear I pointed to a tomato and mozzarella sandwich, but when we bit into them it was tuna and egg. I am NOT a fan of tuna or hard boiled eggs so this was a major fail for me. The bread was decent, though, and held me over until we returned to Trier and indulged in quiche and wine at a local weinstube. 
 

Trier, Germany

We had a long weekend with Friday being a "Family Day" on base due to the end of school. There are definitely some perks of living overseas! We spent it in Trier, Germany. We had perfect weather all weekend, even if it was a tad warm our first day. One of the top sights in Trier is the Porta Nigra which is a Roman gate right at the entrance to the old town. 

One of the first things we did was grab some food and drinks. The Paulaner biergarten was down the way from our hotel (Holiday Inn Express) and despite having zero tables in the shade, we decided to go ahead and eat there. We were pretty hungry! Even though it was a bit sweltering in the sun, we thoroughly enjoyed our food. Paulaner is a Bavarian brewery, so the food wasn't unique to the area of Germany that Trier is in, but the food was tasty nonetheless. Charles had this dish that was some kind of cheese ball served with a salad, pretzel and bread. It was tasty. I had weisswurst (white sausage) served with a pretzel and sweet mustard. 

Trier has numerous old buildings to explore and one was the Dom and the adjacent church. Like many churches throughout Europe it was filled with amazing pieces of art and craftsmanship. 

A volunteer told Charles (in German) that if you stand on this star in the church that you will be able to see all twelve apostles painted on the columns. He told us a few other details about the church, but sadly I was not able to understand due to my VERY limited knowledge of German. But his passion for the building was very palpable despite the language barrier. I love how some things are just universally understood.

The area of Germany that Trier is in is known for Riesling wine. Being that it is my favorite type of wine, I was pretty excited to try some while in the area. We chose Weinstube Kasselstatt for a late lunch and wine. We could not beat the view of the Dom and church from our table! Plus the wine and quiche were delicious! One blog I read during my research phase said that if you don't drink Riesling in Trier, did you even visit??? 

Another Roman building found in Trier is the amphitheater. It was neat to walk around and imagine all the people who have walked inside throughout history. When we first arrived there were some gladiator reenactors practicing in the arena. It reminded me, somehow, of watching vintage baseball in Connecticut and Ohio, even though it was a completely different sport and period of history. 

Both days in Trier were eis (ice cream) kind of days! On our first day, we got cones from a walkup gelato stand and on our second day we sat at an outdoor café for sundaes and a view of the Porta Nigra. I had a frozen yogurt sundae which was a bit different from frozen yogurt in America; it was a bit more sour tasting. But it still hit the spot after walking around all day! 

 Charles thought Trier was a bit grungier than he was expecting and we saw a good amount of graffiti around town. I thought this face was fun, though! 

Day trip to Ulm

This weekend's day trip was to Ulm. We intended to go on Saturday, but the weather forecast was calling for scattered thunderstorms with Sunday's weather just a light rain throughout the day. Low and behold, Saturday's weather would have been a bit better for exploring Ulm, but how were we to know? 

We started our trip off with a visit to the Bread museum. This museum combined two things I enjoy--bread and art. What an interesting concept, right? I did not take many pictures inside, but the two pictures above were taken there. One of my favorite sections of the museum was a display with pairings of chairs and types of bread showing how design of chairs and design of bread can vary. 

The museum admission price was inexpensive and it included a self-guided audio tour. We didn't listen to many of the recordings, but it was nice to have them. It was offered in both German and English. Plus there was a parking garage right next to the museum. 

Ulm is known for this church. It was a little rainy when we walked up to it but you can still see that it is massive. 

I love visiting churches throughout Europe. Just look at some of the amazing art and craftsmanship featured! 

After visiting Rothenburg, it's hard to find the same beautiful setting around every corner. But Ulm had some fun buildings and streets. 

Charles enjoyed an espresso (so tiny) and I had an Aperol Spritz! Despite being in Germany, I felt very Italian with our beverages.

Our day trip ended with traditional German lunch and man was it delicious! It didn't hurt that it was a bit past lunchtime and I was hungry! Charles tried a traditional dish from this part of Germany (Swabian) called maultaschen. The story behind the dish is really fun. You can read about it here. I had lentils, spätzle and sausage. It was so filling and there was enough for leftovers. 

Unfortunately on our way home we hit quite a bit of traffic so it took us about twice as long to get home as it took to get to Ulm. All part of the journey, right?

Secret City Trails: Stuttgart

Charles requested that we do established "date nights" now that we're back to being in the same zip code. With his last year spent serving overseas while I remained stateside, date nights just did not happen. 

For our first date night (although technically it was a day date) in Germany I found a website that offered some city tour options that could be done even during COVID restrictions. The website has city tours and activities in places all over the world! Check out Secret City Trails if you are looking for some options near you or for your upcoming vacation. 

Our tour started near the main train station in Stuttgart so it was easy to find our beginning point. The tour was set up like a game where we had to solve riddles to find the various sights around town. The riddles were pretty easy, so it was not hard to figure them out. 

This was a fun pig statue that we were guided to. One day we might be able to check out the pig museum in Stuttgart!

We love snapping photos of churches during our travels! We have some beautiful shots from our honeymoon and have continued this mission since. While this one might not be frame worthy, it was still nice to take a picture of it to document.

 Overall, the tour was a great way to see some of the sights of Stuttgart. It gave some suggestions on restaurants and bars to check out, but unfortunately many were closed due to COVID. But at the end we could download a map with all the suggestions so many one day we will get to return and give some of them a try. 

A farm vending machine?!?!?

My husband loves local honey! (PSA: don't buy the commercial honey sold at the grocery store. If you want to learn more there is a great episode in season one of Rotten on Netflix that will tell you more). We had also read about vending machines at some of the area farms so he did a little search and found one that sold honey. We took a Sunday drive out to check it out. The vending machine also sold eggs and milk. It's such a great idea! Grocery stores in Germany are closed on Sundays, so having a vending machine with eggs stocked might come in handy if I find myself in an egg emergency. 

We also recently found out there is a vending machine about a five minute walk from us! It was stocked with a variety of goat cheeses, goat yogurt and more. Germany is such a fun place to live!

Castle ruins in Nagold

For one of our first weekends out of quarantine, Charles found a hike to some castle ruins in a town called Nagold. He asked me in advance if I wanted something more leisurely or more rustic and I, of course, requested more leisurely. Upon starting the trail, I soon learned that getting to the ruins would require a walk up an incline. Not as leisurely as I would have liked, but once we arrived at the top the views were fantastic! 

As soon as we arrived at the top, Suzie found a nice shady spot in the grass and dandelions to take a breather. 

Historians are not sure if these castle ruins were used for fortifications or for a residence. 

At the bottom of the castle ruin hike there was a great area to walk along the river. There was a big playground for kids and a snack stand with ice cream and beverages. We didn't try anything, but it would make for a nice treat after walking around.