Alpine Adventure

When we were stationed overseas for the first time, in Okinawa, Nora and I started a new family tradition. We used the money we might otherwise spend on gifts and used it to take the family on a nice vacation trip. The day after the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, we load the family up and head out. While we were in Okinawa we would spend the week in Okuma, using the resort as a home base to explore new parts of the Japanese island.

This past year we decided to go to Edelweiss, an Armed Forces Recreation Center(AFRC) in the Bavarian Alps, just across the border from Austria. Unlike our Okinawa vacations, this one would give us a taste of winter, something I personally have missed out on for much of the past decade of my time abroad. As one of five AFRCs, it is open only to active and retired members of the Department of Defense, and thus like spending our evenings in an American hotel, but in the shadow of the Bavarian Alps.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, first we had to get there.

After Church on 25 December, we grabbed a quick breakfast at home before changing into traveling clothes, loading up the van, and hitting the road. Yes, I said van. Since both Isaac and Joel were visiting from the U.S., we couldn’t use our cars to get us there and had to rent a car. The only way to fit six people and their luggage is to rent a nine-passenger van like this one.

Ironically (I think), this Renault van is called a Trafic. We were literally stuck in Trafic for the almost ten-hour drive from Naples to the Edelweiss resort in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It was a lovely drive, though dark by the time we hit the mountains in Northern Italy, but we crossed some historic rivers (the Tiber and the Po), and it was my first drive across international borders in Europe. This latter turned out to be, thanks to the European Union, much like crossing state borders back home. Rather uneventful. In fact, there aren’t even large welcome signs to let you know you’re crossing a border, just small EU markers on the side of the road that are easy to miss.

The toll on the Autostrada in Italy was more than $70, but at least that was easily paid at a booth. The Autostrada uses a ticket system like the turnpikes in the American Northeast do (or used to, anyway). In Austria you have to pay in advance buying what they call a vignette, plus there are gated tolls you have to pay in addition to that. Of course, all this can be paid online in advance if you know which route you’re taking.

Ultimately, we reached the hotel and were checked into our room by 10pm on Christmas day. Not too bad.

On the first full day of our trip we bundled up and headed to the top of Germany, Zugspitze. We started on the train called the Zugspitzebahn, which climbs with the help of rack and pinion gear up the steep side of the mountain. We’d hoped it would provide a panoramic view during its slow climb, but much of the final stretch is underground.

The view from the top station was amazing, and it wasn’t even the top. We were just excited to get a bit of winter.

This was a ski area with lifts and slopes and sledding areas. It looked like fun, but we’d planned for skiing and sledding on other days. Today was just for the views.

There was a chapel here that was closed, but was built in 1980 and bore a plaque commemorating the victims of a deadly avalanche that occurred on May 15, 1965.

From this point we took a cable car to the summit.

We took some time to look around and take lots of pictures and peruse the museum up there. The border with Austria crosses there too, so we spent a few minutes in the eastern realm of the Habsburgs.

We planned on having dinner at the hotel, they serve a buffet every night and this evening was the southwest buffet, but on the way home we stopped to stroll around Mittenwald, a Bavarian town famous for making violins, violas, and cellos. We did some window shopping, some souvenir shopping, and enjoyed the chill in the evening air while admiring the Bavarian architecture of the village and each others’ company.

The following day was the first big effort day. I took the boys skiing and Nora went on a tour of a local monastery (You’ll have to ask her about that trip). Our ski trip left the lodge early in the morning, and though there was no snow on the resorts own local slopes, they provided tickets for lifts to the mountaintop ski area which had plenty.

Joel, Justyn, and I were on skis and ended up in a different spot than Matthew and Isaac who were on snowboards. We were together for lunch, however, at a restaurant on the mountaintop that served regional foods. We had schnitzel and sausages that we washed down with sparkling water flavored with edelweiss that was refreshing and delicious. There was delicious hot chocolate too, of course.

With the sun dipping behind the crest of the mountain we made our way to the lift and then back to the hotel to get cleaned up and take a short rest. We were going out to dinner to what looked like a really fun place.

Wirtshaus Wolpertinger caught Nora’s attention because it is named for the mythical creature called a wolpertinger that is essentially a jackelope with wings and fangs. (It’s Bavarian, of course there are fangs.) It was busy, so we had to wait for seats, but it was totally worth the wait. The food was rich, delicious, and plentiful, all for a reasonable price.

Thursday was a recovery day, so we slept in and had a late start. Our first stop was a Greek restaurant, Taverna Hellas, in Partenkirchen, after which we would do more window and tchotchke shopping. It was a lovely part of town with more of the building designs typical of the region.

Friday was a really big day. We had reservations on two tours, the first was a Neuschwanstein Castle tour with stops along the way, the other was a night sledding excursion in Ehrwald, Austria.

The way to the castle was fun because this time someone else was driving and I could look around. Also, there was a tour guide pointing out things along the way. Our first stop was a woodcarver’s shop.

That region of Germany is noted for its woodcarving (woodworking in general, really), and though we didn’t get to see anyone working, as I’d hoped, there were plenty of completed crafts to admire and consider purchasing. While we were there, we heard a local polka band playing across the street participating in a local Christmas tradition of travelling the neighborhoods and wishing everyone a blessed feast and profitable new year, through polka music. What a treat.

Next stop was the Wieskirche. There are more details in the link, but this is an enormous church in the middle of the countryside. It seems out of place, but it is a pilgrimage site that draws many adorers to its wood-carved figure of the Scourged Savior. The Mass was being celebrated while we were there, so we didn’t get to see much, but we did get to light a candle and add our prayers for a moment while adoring the beautiful rococo interior, decorated for Christmas.

The final stop, and the main reason for our trip, was the Neuschwanstein Castle, probably the most famous in the world, made so because the castles of Disney theme parks were made to look like it. The bus parks at the bottom of the mountain, and from there you can either hike up to the castle or take a bus most of the way. We did both. I took Isaac, Joel, and Matthew with me on what turned out to be a steep and vigorous hike, while Justyn escorted Nora via the bus to where the trail met the road nearer to the entrance of the castle.

The views inside and out were amazing, it was remarkably beautiful. The tour guide warned us when she gave us our tickets, that if we missed our entry time by as much as a minute or two we would be denied access. So we were very prompt. The tour guide was brisk, efficient, and yet informative. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the interior, but photo books were available for purchase in the gift shop. It is difficult to image that the fictional castles have a more imaginative and elaborate interior than the actual castle. There was even a room made to look like a stone grotto.

Before meeting the bus back to the hotel, we snacked on pretzels and wurst from some street vendors.

There was only a little time to rest before we headed out on our evening tour to Austria for alpine sledding. This was AMAZING! About three hours of lift time to go up to the top of a ski slope with sleds, and slide down the mountain at excessive, sometimes scary, speeds. Each ride down was about 10 minutes long. Yours truly was the quickest. (And, I insist, it was due to my technique, not any advantage in weight.) It was the best wintertime fun we’ve had in a very long time and everyone’s favorite thing we did this trip.

At the appointed time, wet and weary, we headed to the bus for our ride back to the hotel for our final night. We all slept very well.

The next morning, we checked out and loaded into our Trafic for the ride home. We had hoped to have breakfast at a waffelhaus, but the one we’d picked had nothing available for people without reservations. (Reservations for breakfast!) So, we found a local bakery that served a traditional breakfast of meats, cheeses, fresh rolls, jams, and fruit. We bought some mustard to bring home with us (along with several snacks).

The bakery’s proprietor was very friendly and helpful, chit-chatting with me about his travels to America. I have yet to find, as often as I talk with Europeans, any who speak of the U.S. in other than glowing terms. Particularly in Germany and Italy, I would think that the locals might be reserved or cold in their feeling toward America (and in some Italian tours they will point out that the U.S. bombed Italy a great deal in WWII.), but such is not the case. Most Europeans seem to love America, what she stands for and what she did for Europe in WWII and the Cold War. It is quite refreshing, and it was a delightful way to end our time in Germany.

The drive home was long, but daylight this time as we drove through the Alps so we could see the beautiful scenery we were passing. I don’t know if we’ll make it back to Eidelweiss, but we will visit Germany again.