December 20th, 21st, & 22nd: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Twenty-four years ago my dad (now a retired Colonel of the US Marine Corps...Oorah!) was stationed in England. We lived there for three years, and during that time my parents seized the opportunity for us to travel Europe (By the way, kudos to them for traveling with a 5 & 8 year old in tow. Sounds a bit horrifying to me). One of the places we visited was the Bavarian mountain town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. My dad had to attend a NATO meeting in Garmisch, and we all tagged along for the ride. We had such a fun time that my mom has always dreamed about returning one day for a repeat family vacation. Well it may have been 24 years in the making, but we finally did it. This time with son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and grand-puppy in tow. Check out our Garmisch Family Vacation 2.0......
Hotel View
First Night Fun
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| We ate a yummy dinner at a great authentic Bavarian restaurant called Werdenfelser Hof. It had fantastic atmosphere. Two kids dressed in lederhosen danced in the traditional Bavarian style accompanied by their Granddad on the accordion. It was fun (albeit touristy, but who cares?, we're tourists). After stuffing our faces, we headed down the street to the pub pictured above. We shared some laughs over some great beers (...and Kevin's red wine) before heading home. Awesome first day! We were off to a great start. |
Oberammergau
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| As a Christmas present my parents purchased a ski lesson for Matt, Susie, & Kevin (I have ultimately succumbed to my fear of heights, thus abandoning all hopes of ever learning to ski). So while Matt and Kevin were comically struggling on the bunny slope (Susie showed them all up), my parents and I headed over to Oberammergau - a small town within the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It's basically Christmas there 24-7, 365 days a year. Every shop sells Christmas paraphernalia. Above we are posing at the start of the shopping stretch. |
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| We took a break from shopping to visit the St. Peter and Paul Church. The ornate interior truly was stunning. |
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| Almost every building in Oberammergau has a mural facade. It was fun to take a walk through town to check them out. |
Après-ski
After a tough day of shopping we joined the ski bunnies for some drinks at the Armed Forces Recreation Center - The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort.
Mittenwald
Having a very high tolerance for Christmas Markets, we just had to see one more before heading home to Zürich. So we took the train over to Mittenwald to check out what Christmassy-ness they had to offer.
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| Mom & Dad welcome you to Mittenwald's Christmas Market! |
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| It's not a purse, it's European! |
December 23rd: Strasbourg, France
From Mittenwald we trained it back home to Zürich, but we didn't stay for long. Not having quite reached our max-capacity for Glühwein consumption and Christmas Market strolls, we decided to take a day trip to Europe's ultimate Christmas town - Strasbourg. Not only is Strasbourg the capital city of the Alsace region of France, but it is also (according to them) the Capitale de Noël (the capital of Christmas) - so you know they mean business when it comes to their markets. I have to say the nickname is well deserved. The city has 11 markets with over 300 stalls (it's huge), and practically every inch of the town is covered in unique and festive decorations. Check it out...
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