Mercure Garmisch Partenkirchen 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 ...

... where the snow had stuck. We then went to the Hofkirche which was the church which has the tomb of Maximilian I (although he’s actually buried in Vienna where he died) and 28 bronze figures that were commissioned by him. They are of people who he saw as being important during his lifetime, including King Arthur of England. The bronze was painted black as some stage although certain parts of the statues have been polished by people&#8217 ...

... 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).

Last night we made it to Innsbruck in the early evening. This allowed for some time to walk find a hotel and walk into the centre of town to find some dinner. We came across a family restaurant, Weinerwald, where we had a family platter with more than enough food and a bottle of beverage, all for a very reasonable price. The food was really good too!<br><br>After dinner my parents ditched us and we walked around a bit more. The town looks really nice at night and we figured it ...

... 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.

... playing a grand piano. Yes, in the middle of the street. The piano, flute, cello, and bass rendered a beautiful performance of Ave Maria that we stopped and enjoyed.<br><br>Now, we are gathered in our hotel garden, sadly wishing it included typical German garden beverages, but alas, it is time to retire. Up early tomorrow for a trip out to Castle Neuchwanstein that, if weather permits, may include a nice hike and/or bicycle ride.<br><br>Auf Wiedersehen!

... 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.

... he rallied in the evening, and we went to the pub for a very packed, but very fun evening. This was the night where we were able to catch up with every single one of our friends here, as the Irish Pub is where everyone goes for the big party. So there was lots of drinks and fun to be had. Saturday turned out sunny and warm, so we wandered through town and spent the latter part of the afternoon in the beer ...

... mirror. "They're gonna howl." I'd pretty much exhausted my options in Partenkirchen by this point, so I headed back toward the hotel and found an internet point to finish off a travelogue. Technical setbacks kept me there way longer than I'd planned, but finally I got everything uploaded. When I went back to the hotel to check-in, I got a nice surprise. The very reasonable rate that I had secured online for this, one of the best hotels in town I later learned, got even better ...

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.