Haus Anton Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Again it was snowing when we woke up but again it wasn't sticking although it was still on the trees at the Alpine Zoo which we went to in the morning. This was Tara’s choice as usual. Greg's favourite was the brown bear which was lying with its head on its paws on a log, probably contemplating whether it was time to hibernate. My favourite was the lynx which was high up in a tree. By the ...

... It was Emperor Maximilian I who added the "logia" over an oriel window and covered it with 2657 fine gilt copper tiles. It was when you went into the museum that you got more of an idea of what you were seeing on the outside. There was an English audio guide which gave lots of information (too much for the kids) on what was the late middle ages and also Maximilian and I found it quite interesting. For example, under the judicial system of that ...

... a large room and then walked into the old town to have dinner at a restaurant that had Austrian food. The prices seem quite reasonable after Switzerland, but that might be because they are in Euros. I had a goulash which was quite nice but salty. Again German is the language used but most people speak English so we haven't had any problems. It was very cold as we walked home and Tara kept saying, I hope it snows tomorrow (it certainly felt cold enough).

... been cleared and there was a wrapped set of cutlery that they left behind when clearing the table, and he got stuck with this one. The waitress refused to give him a new set. It was a bit strange as it would cost her nothing but 5 seconds to get him a new one and make him so much more comfortable eating his meal. He took the risk and hoped that the cutlery hadn't been played with by the previous occupants of our table.<br><br>It was time to move on so we piled into the car and ...

... purchases.<br><br>The museum was pretty cool and certainly a unique experience. The weather was really nice today too so once we completed the museum and the shopping, we went to the park behind the giant's head. Here they have a hedge maze shaped like the giant's hand which looked pretty cool but we didn't venture in. Instead we soaked up a little sun before moving on to the next destination.

... spend the rest of the day with me. That's true love.<br><br>Today, Justin went on a tour to Hilter's Eagle's Nest, and I went to the concentration camps in Dachau. Justin has already seen Dachau, but I still wanted to because I feel like the concentration camps are something that even though you may not want to go, it's still something everyone should see if you have the chance. I had the same tour guide as we had the day before, but I don't think it ...

... too.<br>The rest of the tour took us to Linderhof castle and Neuschwanstein castle. What magical looking places they were. Neuschwanstein is the castle Walt Disney uses the sillohette of at the start of his movies. Anyway, after the trip it was back to Munich for a day or so and then on the plane home.

... free we said yes, but of course I wanted to lie and say no because I was tired and grumpy and didn't want to be annoyed by people. The French Canadian came back with his mom and aunt and they took up all the luggage racks (he explained the ladies had done some serious shopping) and sat down. It turns out they are the three nicest people. The guy had traveled everywhere, and wants to go everywhere else. As he was talking I said to Teri-Lynn that he sounded a lot like me and she was ...

... come day. I kicked around in Garmisch a little longer admiring the half timber architecture and beautiful mountains framing the background until it was time to collect my gear from the hotel and make for the train to Munich. What had started as a washout visit had turned into one of the most beautiful serene and reflective days of the entire trip. Which just goes to show you, the storms in our lives always pass and the sun shines that much more brightly afterwards because of them.

Another work conference for my parents brought us to Oberammergau for a week. We stayed in the cutest little wooden cottage - like the whole thing ceiling to floor and including flowering window boxes was made out of wood! Totally picturesque like you've read about in Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Aromatic town bakery. Absolutely enchanting.