Alexander Family's Big Adventure: Garmisch-Partenkirken

Ready for the pool! The highlight of their trip.

We love Garmisch. We visited it for the third time as a family (fourth for me and David) over Spring break.

We didn't have the best weather ever, but it was nice enough to enjoy some incredibly beautiful scenery and to visit one of the most famous castles of all time (thanks in part to Walt Disney).

We love Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, too. I admit, it is nice to go there and comfortably speak English. But their customer service is incredible. The kids love the pool. We love the hot tub. And the location. Most of all, the location.

Last night, our last night at Edelweiss, probably ever (wiping away a tear), there was a fire, or threat of a fire, and we were evacuated at around midnight. The staff did an excellent job communicating and trying to make people comfortable while waiting in the drizzle. We waited in the car, and David acquired a comfy blanket for the kids to cuddle up with. David estimates that we were outside for at least an hour and a half. In my opinion, the staff did everything the right way, and so did the fire fighters, and it couldn't have been helped. Even still, Edelweiss offered its guests free breakfast this morning (which we naturally accepted!). That was a nice gesture, but given the obvious fact that it seemed out of their control, I didn't even think it was necessary.

So our first day there, David walked to the China King, and we enjoyed a night in after quite a long drive from Bratislava. The next day, we took it easy, and as promised, took the kids to the pool (for TWO hours!) after a trip to the grocery store (mainly for drinks--we were so dehydrated!). We are in the room again from Zuggy's Base Camp in the lodge--it's average American bowling alley food, but it was actually nice for a change.

Yesterday, we went to Neuschwanstein Castle, and it was lovely. I had reserved the tickets well in advance, and it was no problem whatsoever. I hauled Lilly on my back on the way up. I'm a bit out of shape for that right now, but it was still enjoyable for me (and Lilly, I think, in spite of her initial objections!). We enjoyed our castle tour, and took a horse and buggy ride back down, which the kids really enjoyed. (Except for Lilly. She was completely dead to the world with exhaustion!) After the drive back to Garmisch, we had a nice Italian dinner at a great restaurant named Celenteno. The risotto was wonderful! Then, of course, we took the kids to the pool again (for ALMOST two hours! and no, I don't think we waited an hour after eating!).

It was a great vacation. The kids enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. David enjoyed at least part of it. He also did all of the driving after my initial 8 hour stretch. That was nice!

We're home now. I admit, I'm looking forward to our next trip in two weeks! To the tulips!

A rare photo of all of us. A kind woman offered to take our picture, and then explained, "I had four, too."
Thank you, kind lady!

The castle. Couldn't take pictures inside, but it is worth the trip.

Just outside of Garmisch.

The Bavarian Alps

Last week was quite the week for us!

From Sunday through Wednesday, I went again to Grafenwoehr for work. I got to hang out with my two new girlfriends, again, and it was great to see them. We took a little hike around a lake right at sunset. It was very pretty.

Then on Friday, the family headed to Garmisch-Partenkirken for two nights. We actually were able to get out the door at noon and had a pretty decent drive there. We stopped at McDonald's on the way in and had a quick lunch. We usually don't buy the kids happy meals, but sometimes on vacation we do, and we did this time.

We checked in to Edelweiss Lodge and Resort at about 7:00 p.m., I think. It was just enough time to have dinner and get the kids to sleep for the upcoming big day. Edelweiss was pretty impressive for me, with one exception. We tasted two of the restaurants there, and they were far below my expectations. We stayed in a junior suite, and although it didn't have a bedroom, it was spacious enough for the six of us. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is eligible to use it, especially for big and / or young families. They have a swimming pool and a hot tub. Both are absolutely fantastic.

We had such a big day on Saturday! We took the kids on a hike to some castle ruins (Werdenfels Castle). I was happy to be able to use the stroller all the way to the castle, and then let Lilly out to walk around. The kids loved the ruins, although Livvy didn't handle the hike very well. She just isn't a hiker, I think. <Sad face.> Maybe that will change with time. She is the smallest one of all of us and is doing the same amount of walking as the rest of us. After the hike, we walked around Garmisch, which is absolutely adorable, and got the kids some ice cream and then ate dinner (yes, in that order). Our dinner was incredible. They have a drink here called a Radler that David and I think is fantastic. Who knew beer and lemonade would go so well together? Also, I should have taken a picture, but David ordered hot wings, and he got three full-sized drumsticks with wing sauce on them. Okay, so maybe Germany doesn't do hot wings, but the meals were delicious, both for the adults and kids. I would highly recommend Bungalow 7. The service was also great. Sometimes restaurants don't like us and our little kids, but this one knew exactly how to handle...er...treat us.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and took the kids to the pool. I remembered the suitcase, and hence the swimsuits! Oh wait, I forgot my swimsuit this time. So I bought some clothes to wear in the pool. I can wear them again, but how annoying! Patty! The pool was great, with a little kids section that had them fully entertained for the hour we were there. Even Lilly really got into it.

Of course, after all of that, the kids were wiped out! So we took them to bed and fought with Griffin a little bit not to wake people up when he has to get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. He is on this kick that he is too scared to go by himself, so he's always waking Alex or Livvy up to walk with him, even when it's only ten feet away.

We tried to get the room for one more night, but they were actually overbooked, and couldn't accommodate us any more. So yesterday, we checked out. We debated what to do, but I guess when it comes time to leave, I'm more interested in getting on the road and getting that part done than prolonging the departure. So we checked out of the hotel without eating breakfast and took off. Edelweiss was very good to us. I'm already thinking we will go back, but I hesitate because why would we see something we've already seen?! (There was so much more to see. One could easily spend a week there and not get bored.)

The kids asked for McDonald's for lunch, and of course we stopped there again. Happy meals again. And then we headed home again for the long haul. Except that the McDonald's happy meals had 50% off coupons for Legoland, and we were going to be only 12 minutes away from it. Who wouldn't stop under those circumstances?! We stopped. Thank God for those coupons. I don't think I would have even entertained the idea of stopping without them. With them, it cost us 103 Euros to get in. But that's the way it is with a family of six (even though Lilly was free).

At first, Livvy cried her eyes out because she was too short to ride the roller coaster. They all have this penchant for drama where they say things like, "I'm never going to get to ride again ever in my whole life." Are they teenagers already?! But once I convinced them that they could ride rides, they had fun. We also got to watch a 4D Lego movie, and happily Lilly was good and quiet the whole time. It was a fun time. I took Alex on the roller coaster and he LOVED it. He even talked about it this morning. "Remember when we went on the roller coaster together?" Ah, yes. That was yesterday.

The rest of the ride was uneventful. Uhh, should I air our dirty laundry? David and I fought a little bit because at our very late dinner (after Legoland last night), he slammed the door in my face twice while I was carrying Lilly (who is heavy and requires both of my hands). Not according to him, of course. According to him, he neglectfully let the door shut as I was walking through it. Twice. He was getting impatient because the kids were misbehaving. I'm waiting for him to understand how difficult a weekend like the one we just did is for the kids. All in all, they did very well. And David DID have a good time. We did the castle hike by his choice (and a good choice it was). I don't, and I think I can safely say that David doesn't, let that kind of thing ruin the day. Anyhow, right now David is planning to take any kids that want to go to the store with him. There's a good chance that at least two will want to go, so that will be nice for all of us. (But maybe not David, depending on how the kids behave! It's a known risk, right?)

We had a good time and made good memories. I know we'll have to temper our trip to Italy (in May), but I'm already planning it out that way. I think that next month, we are hoping to visit Trier, Germany. I'm excited to see some Roman ruins. It's closer, too, so it should be an easier trip. We are blessed indeed.

I know not everyone is feeling that way right now, and I want you to know that if I know about it, I'm praying for you. If I don't know about it but I know you, I am praying that God is working His will in your life, and I hope that you can find peace in the midst of your storm.