On our way back to the US for the summer, we decided to stop over in Germany for a week. Not only did this split up our awfully long flight, but we got a fantastic vacation out of it. It was actually one of the best vacations we have ever had. Germany was incredibly clean, beautiful, and efficient.
To start the trip, we went to Munich for a couple of days where we visited the Dachau concentration camp - the first concentration camp in Germany during the Holocaust. It is preserved as a memorial and museum and was very sad to see. Prisoners were once kept in the sleeping chambers with three people to a bunk slot, and they were at times fed only potato skins to eat. Many prisoners died of starvation. Now the camp shows room after room of black and white pictures that depict the evils of man in its darkest hours. A large sign reads in multiple languages, "Never Again," a hope we all share.
While in Munich, we also went to the 1972 Olympic Stadium. Being huge fans of Steve Prefontaine, it was significantly important for us to see where he ran as well as the site of the horrific terrorists attacks of Black September. The track was being redone, so we were unable to walk on the track, but we sat in the stands while the kids ran around. Also on the tour was the pool where Mark Spitz set his records. Unfortunately, there was very little on the information side. We left disappointed not seeing more historical items.
With the big cultural sites out of the way, we hit the largest beer hall in Munich, Hofbrauhaus. With four levels, this beer hall rocks any night of the week. We feasted on sausages and dark beer while a band played traditional music. The girls danced in the aisles. Later that evening, Kaelia was riled up from lack of sleep, climbed half way up a bunk bed ladder, and launched herself off. We spent the night in the emergency room and returned again the next day because Kaelia refused to walk and screamed bloody murder at being set down. We carried her for the rest of the trip.
On the way out of town, we rolled the the Theresienwiese, site of Oktoberfest. While nothing was going on, we vowed to return some day when there is. It was a few hour drive down to our next stop: Garmisch, in the mountains on the boarder of Austria. It was our first experience on the autobahn, and we fared well. The road had high speed limits, but it never felt too fast and we were impressed by the order on the road. When we arrived, we rolled up the hill to the base of the Zupsptize, the highest peak in Germany. We went up the cable car at the extravagant price of 50 Euros a person to the top. From the 3000m summit, we could see into four different countries. The girls loved playing in the snow at the top because it was the first snow Kaelia has ever seen and Taelyn wasn't old enough to remember her snow encounters. Taelyn actually took a big chunk of snow back down the mountain and held on to it in a ziplock bag that she slept with during her nap that day. After the Zugspitze, we ended up in a beer house where everyone of the patrons was dressed in traditional Bavarian garb.
For the next few nights, we crashed in Fussen, also in the southern part of the country. In an effort to realize a romantic dream, we stayed in the most castle-looking place we could, Hotel Fantasia. The rooms were very nice, in the center of town, and looked up to an actual castle. The girls loved the trampoline, Sarah the towers and archways, and Just the large breakfasts. From here we enjoyed several great runs along parks and rivers and into mountain lakes. But the main purpose of visiting was to see the famous castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. The Neuschwanstein castle is what Disney's Cinderella's castle was modeled off of, so we told the girls that we were going to see Cinderella's castle. They ran up and down the stairs at this castle, pretending they lost their glass slippers like Cinderella, and Justin and Taelyn danced at the "ball" when we entered the entertainment hall. Then we took a horse-drawn carriage from the castle back to the parking lot.
Our next stop was Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This medieval city has been around since before 1000 and some of it has original structures. We visited the Medieval Crime and Torture Museum and saw many artifacts. Our favorite was the barrel the drunks had ot wear and the masks for women that were gossips. There were executioner swords, axes, thumb screws, and iron maiden, and much more. We went for runs around the walled city, and it felt as if we were in the 1500's. We ate Scneeballe (snowballs) of dough - sugar and chocolate, famous for the area. We also visited the Christmas factory which had four levels of crazy holiday cheer.
Our last stop was the small town of Hirschau where we visited a former UNC athlete. She hosted us in her house and we sampled small-town Germany life, including a few games of shuffleboard. Our friends from South Africa told the girls before we left for Germany that shuffleboard was called "shuflebrau" (apparently that is not the correct word for shuffleboard, though), so the girls had a great time learning what shuflebrau was. It was the perfect ending to an amazing trip.
To start the trip, we went to Munich for a couple of days where we visited the Dachau concentration camp - the first concentration camp in Germany during the Holocaust. It is preserved as a memorial and museum and was very sad to see. Prisoners were once kept in the sleeping chambers with three people to a bunk slot, and they were at times fed only potato skins to eat. Many prisoners died of starvation. Now the camp shows room after room of black and white pictures that depict the evils of man in its darkest hours. A large sign reads in multiple languages, "Never Again," a hope we all share.
While in Munich, we also went to the 1972 Olympic Stadium. Being huge fans of Steve Prefontaine, it was significantly important for us to see where he ran as well as the site of the horrific terrorists attacks of Black September. The track was being redone, so we were unable to walk on the track, but we sat in the stands while the kids ran around. Also on the tour was the pool where Mark Spitz set his records. Unfortunately, there was very little on the information side. We left disappointed not seeing more historical items.
With the big cultural sites out of the way, we hit the largest beer hall in Munich, Hofbrauhaus. With four levels, this beer hall rocks any night of the week. We feasted on sausages and dark beer while a band played traditional music. The girls danced in the aisles. Later that evening, Kaelia was riled up from lack of sleep, climbed half way up a bunk bed ladder, and launched herself off. We spent the night in the emergency room and returned again the next day because Kaelia refused to walk and screamed bloody murder at being set down. We carried her for the rest of the trip.
On the way out of town, we rolled the the Theresienwiese, site of Oktoberfest. While nothing was going on, we vowed to return some day when there is. It was a few hour drive down to our next stop: Garmisch, in the mountains on the boarder of Austria. It was our first experience on the autobahn, and we fared well. The road had high speed limits, but it never felt too fast and we were impressed by the order on the road. When we arrived, we rolled up the hill to the base of the Zupsptize, the highest peak in Germany. We went up the cable car at the extravagant price of 50 Euros a person to the top. From the 3000m summit, we could see into four different countries. The girls loved playing in the snow at the top because it was the first snow Kaelia has ever seen and Taelyn wasn't old enough to remember her snow encounters. Taelyn actually took a big chunk of snow back down the mountain and held on to it in a ziplock bag that she slept with during her nap that day. After the Zugspitze, we ended up in a beer house where everyone of the patrons was dressed in traditional Bavarian garb.
For the next few nights, we crashed in Fussen, also in the southern part of the country. In an effort to realize a romantic dream, we stayed in the most castle-looking place we could, Hotel Fantasia. The rooms were very nice, in the center of town, and looked up to an actual castle. The girls loved the trampoline, Sarah the towers and archways, and Just the large breakfasts. From here we enjoyed several great runs along parks and rivers and into mountain lakes. But the main purpose of visiting was to see the famous castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. The Neuschwanstein castle is what Disney's Cinderella's castle was modeled off of, so we told the girls that we were going to see Cinderella's castle. They ran up and down the stairs at this castle, pretending they lost their glass slippers like Cinderella, and Justin and Taelyn danced at the "ball" when we entered the entertainment hall. Then we took a horse-drawn carriage from the castle back to the parking lot.
Our next stop was Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This medieval city has been around since before 1000 and some of it has original structures. We visited the Medieval Crime and Torture Museum and saw many artifacts. Our favorite was the barrel the drunks had ot wear and the masks for women that were gossips. There were executioner swords, axes, thumb screws, and iron maiden, and much more. We went for runs around the walled city, and it felt as if we were in the 1500's. We ate Scneeballe (snowballs) of dough - sugar and chocolate, famous for the area. We also visited the Christmas factory which had four levels of crazy holiday cheer.
Our last stop was the small town of Hirschau where we visited a former UNC athlete. She hosted us in her house and we sampled small-town Germany life, including a few games of shuffleboard. Our friends from South Africa told the girls before we left for Germany that shuffleboard was called "shuflebrau" (apparently that is not the correct word for shuffleboard, though), so the girls had a great time learning what shuflebrau was. It was the perfect ending to an amazing trip.
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