Christmas Abroad

Although being away from family and friends is not easy during the holidays, the landscape here in Europe/Germany sure makes up for it.   Germany is a true winter wonderland in all forms.  Christmas markets, festive lights, snowflakes the size of golfballs…it is truly magical.  After spending Ryan’s Birthday weekend in Garmsich-Partenkirchen (Bavaria), we decided that we would return and “skip” Christmas.  The town(s) are simply charming here and it was a TOUGH decision.  NOT!  After arriving this past weekend, we checked-in and relaxed for our first night here to set  up our game plan.

The first true day in Garmisch was a bright and early morning of a true European breakfast spread…sausages, rolls, meats, cheeses, and not to mention the Prosecco to top it off.  Ryan has been on a skiing high…and has somehow managed to get me on board.  We spent Christmas Eve Eve skiing the Garmisch Classic, which is home to the ski competitions of the 1936 Olympics.  It was crowded with other families just like us taking time away during the holidays.    We had a yummy lunch and took pictures of the German Alps.  We did not ski the Zugspitz area, which for the record, is the highest peak in GERMANY. 

After a full day of skiing, we came back to ice and heat our aches and pains and have a glass of German wine.  For dinner that night, we took the advice of our Fraley friends and ate at the Freudenerhofer,  (sp?) which is along the cobblestone and painted buildings of Partenkirchen Village.  It was a nice Bavarian style eatery with mom and pop food.  Servers dressed in traditional garb of dirndls and liederhosen with beer steins lining the walls.   The goulash soup was fantastic…I nearly licked the bowl.  I had rouladen there, which if any of you know my mom’s recipe…would figure that it would be even better here in its’ homeland.  It was OK…but my mom’s is still WAY better.

On Christmas Eve we were even more adventurous.  We got up with the roosters and headed for Solden, Austria.  We technically drove to Hochgurgl and Obergurgl and caught the gondola up the glacier to ski.  The US Olympic Ski Team trains here…so, sure I could ski this just fine.    Let me just say for all of you average ski lovers like me…not wanting to risk your lives with jumps and cliffs…this is a wide-open ski terrain with a view to match.  We had the most fabulous time in this small ski town.  The people were more then friendly, the other vacationers were just as happy with their experience as we were.  We ate lunch at the top at hotel Riml.  Ryan finally had a good burger…something about Germany and burgers just don’t seem to do well.  I ate a lovely bowl of goulash soup to thaw out and a baked potato with garlic crème-Frisch.  YUM YUM YUM.  

We look forward to going back and staying at Hochgurgl (maybe on the mountain) because it was such an awesome experience.  I did earn a ski-snack (term for best wipe-out) when Ryan led me off-pist (off trail) and I found myself in deep snow…I was doing just fine (Ryan says it was ignorance) and then I started to feel the powder pull me down…just when I yelled “Are you crazy!”…bam….I fell face first into the deep powder.  Ryan couldn’t help but laugh…I threw out some of my sign-language and then I rolled around in the snow to make light of the situation.  It was a funny…had to be there type moment.

We had a lovely drive back along the Austrian/German Alps and got ready for dinner.  I stopped and bought more Vanillakipferls for my mom and aunts at Thron Konditorie and the ladies there were most helpful in booking us a reservation (hard to come by on Christmas Eve) at a local Bavarian pub called Braustuberl.  It is an old (still used) Bavarian music house.  Think accordions, knee-slapping dances and liters of beer with pictures of King Ludwig on the wall.

Ryan got the man plate…pork knuckle (don’t freak…it really is delicious over here), roasted pork loin and duck.  We sat at a table with a German family…you share tables at restaurants here to help offset the capacity.  I got pork medallions with mushroom gravy and spaetzle.  To top of the dinner…King Ludwig beer DUNKEL…yes…my maiden name is DUNKEL which stands for dark and HELL stands for light.  Ryan drank hell.  I was trying to save room for dessert which, was Bavarian cream topped with raspberry sauce which they heat up.  Needless to say, I was too full.  It was an awesome meal for the holiday evening.

Merry Christmas!!!  We woke up early to open our stockings, which made it all the way from Michigan and Colorado.  Ryan decided to go skiing at the Zugspitz while I was lazy and strolled around Garmisch.  My legs, arms, hands were all Jello from two days prior.  I was happy to have a day off.

Tonight we will celebrate Christmas by going to a local wild game restaurant called Wildshultz.  It reminds me of The Briarhurst in Manitou Springs, Co.  More to come on that meal.

We leave tomorrow for home, but continue our winter vacation travels with a trip to Paris, France for NYE and my Birthday.  Ryan is definitely spoiling me with these wonderful experiences, but as we talked on top of a glacier yesterday…we are making memories that will last a lifetime.

Winter Wonderland-Ready to move there

Birthdays are a happy occasion to me.  I am personally VERY happy to age (I may change my mind later in life) but, to celebrate life in my family is enjoyable.  This is a new concept to Ryan.  Last year I "dragged" him to Disney, made him get a Birthday button-pin and every Disney employee said Happy Birthday to him.  I thought it was hilarious, and a chance for us to be and act like kids.  Who wouldn't find that fun.  This year I let him decide want he wanted to do.  It didn't take much thought or talking into.  SKIING!!!!  Ryan had such a blast in Switzerland that he wanted to go again...and soon.  We had heard to much HYPE about Garmisch ski area.  Ryan had gone when he was a little boy and his parents loved the location.  Many friends of ours here and abroad have mentioned how wonderful the area is no matter what season.  After living in Florida for 8 years, I was more then ready to wrap myself in snow and the splendor of it. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

Ryan and I planned to leave on Friday and luckily his work was released early due to road conditions...it was a LONG, WHITE-KNUCKLED drive, but we made it to Garmisch late at night.  Even from driving in along the mountains and the switchbacks, you could see the twinkly lights of the two villages.  Garmisch and Partenkirchen were once two separate villages before WWII.  

Thanks to WIKI:Garmisch and Partenkirchen remained separate until their respective mayors were forced by Adolf Hitler to combine the two market towns in 1935 in anticipation of the 1936 Winter Olympic games. Today, the united town is casually (but incorrectly) referred to as Garmisch, much to the dismay of Partenkirchen's residents. Most visitors will notice the slightly more modern feel of Garmisch while the fresco-filled, cobblestoned streets of Partenkirchen offer a glimpse into times past. Early mornings and late afternoons in pleasant weather often find local traffic stopped while the dairy cows are herded to and from the nearby mountain meadows.

We stayed in Garmisch proper and had a fantastic meal one night in Partenkirchen.  Both villages are unique in their character, but wonderful in their own ways.  

I had no intention of skiing on this trip as I just wanted to relax, walk, and explore the area I had heard so much about.  

Here are a few photos for you to see of the area...

The two pictures above are from our view of the mountain at our apartment...which was down the street from ski lifts and opposite the downtown Garmisch area.  We walked almost everywhere.

Alpspitzstrasse neighborhood...AWESOME!

Walkplatz of Garmisch...they had the coolest Christmas Market with awesome Gluhwein and Yodeling....

I did some window shopping.  This store was VERY expensive traditional bavarian garb.  You could even design and pick out fabric for a one of a kind dirndl

View from downtown

Vanilakipferle cookies my Nana used to make

BIRTHDAY BOY!!!!

Our drive back to reality...BOOOO!

Restaurant we ate at in Partenkirchen.  Traditional Bavarian in every sense of the way.  Reminded me of German Park back home.  Great food...pork knuckle, bavarian filet of pork beef and turkey along with spaetzle and green beans and bacon.  Delic!

Ryan was always fascinated with my maiden name DUNKEL...being German in it's own way, he was curious to know where in Germany my ancestors are from.  He did a little background work and found out that we are from Southern Germany, otherwise known as Bavaria.  I couldn't be more happy about that region.  Unlike our region we live in now, southern Germany if filled with warmth and kindness with their people.  The food, beer and pastries are to die for and the scenery is self-explanatory.  It turns out they have a DoDDS school here, so I am now on a mission to get a job teaching there when Ryan gets out of the AF next year.  

I met an American woman from Colorado who married a German man and has a "german" son who lives in Garmisch.  She has been here 17 years and doesn't consider anywhere else home and I can't say that I blame her.  Maybe I have biased eyes now for the Bavarian area, but each time we have traveled to S. Germany, we love it.  Maybe it is our calling, our future...who knows.

What I do know, is that we will be back to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  I will ski the Zugspitz, ice skate at the Olympic stadium (1936 winter games), eat black forest cake and learn how to do bavarian dancing in my custom dirndl get-up.  For those of you reading this and planning your European vacation...this area is a MUST!  Central to Austria and Switzerland...even Lichtenstein...you can have it all!

Bavaria...I will see you soon!

THANKS to be GIVING

As posted a few blogs back, I had mentioned that Ryan and I were going to skip the traditional Thanksgiving deal and head to Zermatt, Switzerland with the Tannenbaum Ski Club.  Now, when I originally posted this I thought it would be a whirlwind trip with ZERO focus on the ingredients of family, food, festiveness or tradition.  Not true.

Zermatt was a pleasant surprise.  I knew this trip would be fun no matter what.  Heck, we were going to Switzerland which; is our favorite country in Europe.  It was a heinous bus ride down; switchbacks in a chartered bus and a bunch of complainers saying the bus driver was out of control.  He got us there and back, doing just fine and I truly would not want to trade him.  Regardless we go to our lovely hotel that lined the face of the Swiss and Italian Alps.  Rough life.

The Matterhorn with minimal visibility

Our hotel

View from the patio of our hotel...Matterhorn in the distance...village of Zermatt

Thanksgiving day we were up and at em’ for our first day of skiing.  This was a huge moment in my marriage to Ryan and this is something I have always wanted to do with him; ski in Switzerland.  EPIC!!!!  We suited up, gathered our gear and took the bus to the gondola station.  I was nervous as could be as it had been a few years since I skied, but the view was unreal.

We took the gondola all the way up to glacier paradise, which is at about 10,000 feet.  You could see the Matterhorn at almost eye level.  More on that later.  One thing I love about Ryan is his kindness in teaching.  He has been great with stick driving and golf.  His sense of patience during skiing is one more thing to add to that list.  WE started slow and took our time down the runs.  This was nothing like Colorado skiing.  There was not much powder and things got a little icy (they now have nine feet on the mountain…total BS) but Ryan stopped and wait for me, or encourage me to go ahead so he could track me down the hill.  All was fine and dandy til we got to the tow-bar lift.  I HATE TOW BAR LIFTS!!!!  I came in too fast and skied past the point where you catch the bar.  While trying to get back (in skies) I tried dodging an incoming tow bar and SMACK in nailed me right in the head.  Here I am frustrated/crying, and my loving husband is busting out laughing.  I was pissed but could understand where he was coming from.  I was a pathetic sight to see.  I am laughing hysterically about it now.  Moving on, after a morning of skiing, we found ourselves at the ice bar mid-mountain and had ourselves a hot chocolate and gluhwein.  YUM!  I encouraged Ryan to go on his own and not wait all day for me.  I dinked around the smaller slopes and had some Italian pizza on the Italian side of the alps.  AWESOMENESS!!!!

Ice Bar

Italian Pizza

glacier paradise...matterhorn

That evening was the Tannenbaum Thanksgiving Feast.  They actually brought turkeys under the bus and gave the chefs recipes for stuffing, gravy, mac n’ cheese and good ole’ green beans with bacon.  They even had the jiggle cranberry sauce in a can.  They brought the turkeys out with sparklers lit and presented them to the room.  It was a sight to be seen.  Reminding us that we were not alone on a family holiday, everyone toasted to how lucky we are.

Something else interesting about Zermatt is that it is a car free town.  They want to preserve the beauty of the Matterhorn view, so they have electric taxis, buses and service vehicles get to and fro when needed.  Otherwise, you get everywhere on foot.  One place I found while exploring was the Zermatt cemetery.  Some may think this creepy, but my father always said that cemeteries tell a story of history.  This couldn’t be more true.  They take pride there in burying their loved ones with heather and pine.  But what really caught my eye was the special attention to those climbers who died while ascending or descending the Matterhorn.  There were two memorials with people’s name, dates and hometowns that died while journeying the mountain.  There was even a section of the cemetery strictly devoted to those climbers.  See pictures below with captions.  It was sad to see so many young people and friends who died together do something they so obviously loved.

rive through Zermatt...it was glacier runoff so it was the most beautiful blue water

heather and pine decorated graves

memorial to the climbers

american climber

a very unique grave...1938

climber from Denver, Colorado

three friends from Cambridge went climbing and never came back...during the rescue they found an unknown climber who had died.  They buried him with the three friends.  SAD

First to successfully reach the summit of the Matterhorn

The last memorable thing to our Swiss trip was the fondue day.  Nothing says Switzerland like fondue swiss cheese.  A few of us went out to get an appetizer fondue.  A simple pot and basket of bread with fondue cheese drizzled with truffle oil.  Melt in your mouth deliciousness.  But no, we couldn’t stop there and met up with more friends and this turned into three more pots of cheese.  Gorgonzola, Brie and mushroom.  It will be a long time before I eat that much cheese again.  We had fun sampling it and tell good tales of things we saw and did while in the charming village nestled in the valley of the alps. 

truffle oil fondue...my favorite

brie, gorgonzola and mushroom

meat platter also wonderful

Ryan and I out and about in Zermatt

Ryan and I are already looking forward to coming back this spring/summer to another swiss town.  We love the clean air, friendly people and the indescribable beauty.

People complain that it is expensive here, but I assure you, it is worth every penny no matter what time of the year you come.

In the Buff

So, I haven’t blogged in forever!  There have been trips, travels and lazy days where there is no desire to write.  I feel that I do owe some sort of tale on the few adventures we have had.  So I will get a start on them as you read. 

First things first: German wellness and baths

Ryan and I have been enjoying our weekends in town at Cubo in Landstuhl.  Cubo is half-funded by the government in the area of preventative health care.  They supply the locals with steam rooms with healing qualities, saunas (regular and Fin-ish), thermal baths and massage.  We had gone to a bath down in Baden-Baden that was a clothes ON place.  However…this establishment not so much.  Total in the buff immerse yourself into German culture Nek-ed-ness.  When Ryan told me about this I was a little gun-shy.  I am not the most out-there kind of girl…I try to fly under the radar.  But since I was going with Ryan, and there was minimal chance of knowing anyone here...I decided to embrace it and go with it. 

The locker room is a maze as is.  You need to pre-pay for your hours there.  Get a chip that you insert into your bracelet for electronic purchases (total shit-show) and then scan what you want to do (food, drink, massage or the special sauna in the day.)  After this, you drop trough (clothes) and robe up.  Most of the local Germans just walk around bare-naked in the indoor/outdoor areas.  We are not to that point yet.  The funny thing is…the people there do not gawk or look at us weird.  It is Ryan and I who make the effort to keep our eyes up and not be “those people” who stare.  After trip three to Cubo, we are finally getting used to it.

Our favorite thing to do there is get the thai-yoga reflexology massages…although we got pretty beat up last time after our bodies were all contorted from skiing.  There are two Thai women who usually massage us are 5 foot nothing and look like teenagers, but they can dig their elbow into your scapula like their life depends on it.  I think I actually shed a tear last time. 

We usually end the time there with a good healthy meal and some de-toxing of the week.  Not a bad way to spend a Saturday or Sunday in my opinion.  Truth be told, I wish us as an American culture could get over some of our hang-ups and not make such a big deal out of certain things.  I feel that sometimes our uptightness is what causes so much trouble in the first place. 

If you ever find yourself in Europe at a spa or bath center…just remember to go with it.  Hold your head high “literally” and do as the locals do.  I promise, it is only weird for 5 seconds.