Garmisch, Germany

And it's only 3 1/2 hours away. We took a marriage retreat trip with the chapel here up to Garmisch, Germany. The girls and I took the bus since the hubby had a meeting to attend and he would meet up with us later. On the gorgeous bus ride through the Italian, Austrian and German Alps, it was breathtaking just to sit and watch as the scenery continually changed. Every so often, you'd see castles just crop up, as if to remind you of a time long ago. The walls and turets all still intact. It was as if time had stood still in that little village. You could just imagine the time when princes and princesses, kings and queens ruled the area. Then as we continued the drive, we saw little towns creep up in the valleys and spurs between the mountain ranges. The villages seemed undisturbed and nestled into the countryside. The mountains themselves reached toward the sky like the skyscrapers of large cities. Planes flying low with people skydiving captured the attention of my 9yr old when she told me how she saw a guy jump from a plane and then remember his chute at the right moment. Cable cars going up and down the mountains taking passengers on a journey of exploration and adventure. And the grand finale, a large and breathtaking waterfall streaming down the mountainside. Who caould ask for a better ride? Ah but then we stopped at a McDonald's rest stop in Innsbruck, Austria. First i have never seen a larger McDonald's in my life and second, the view from the observation desk of this place was AMAZING! Mountains as far as the eye could see, valleys, and clouds nestled in between. Not a bad view to have with your hamburger!

After we left Austria, we conitnued into Germany where we had to climb a mountain in this large bus. Thoughts of the children's story, "The little engine that could" came into play as we all said "I think I can, i think I can", to encourage the bus' ascent.I could tell when we made it to Germany because the architecture of the houses changed. In italy, the houses are almost Mediterranean, Spanish tile roofs, stucco, rich colors with contrasting shutters. In germany, the houses were typical Bavarian homes, dark wood for trim with cut outs along the wood frame, frescoes on the walls, and lost of flowers on the balconies. They were beautiful homes. The scenery in the mountains was more breathtaking than before. The mountains seemed endless as they continued to reach into the sky and the valleys were far from where we were. Edelweiss Hotel is located in a typical Bavarian town called Garmisch. I was in love from the moment I saw the town and the lodge.

Hang-gliders lined the sky, gracefully flying like soaring eagles. The picturesque backdrop of the Alps made it all the better and sort of enveloped the lodge like a warm blanket. Cable cars climbed up the largest mountain, the Zugspitz, behind us and the cogwheel train ran along with the cable cars. Inside the lodge, you could tell it resembled a typical ski lodge. The large mantle and fireplace, the dark wood frame, the huge lounge area all welcomed the guests. Unfortunately, the only problem with the hotel, as I found out about 10 min upon entering my room, was it had no A/C in the rooms, just oscillating fans. Imagine my surprise when i called the front desk about my a/c that wasn't working. Not happy, but it was still doable. My husband arrived just in time for dinner thankfully and afterwards we dropped the kids off with the Just for Kids program they have at the lodge. It's basically activity time for the kids and during the day, there are trips and adventures planned for the kids. If you ever have a chance to go to the hotel, take advantage of this program and spend some time alone with your husband or to yourself. It was really nice knowing the kids were being taken care of.

The main reason we were on this trip was for the marriage retreat sponsored by the Army. It's a  program called Strong Bonds. If you have not been on one of the retreats, I recommend you do. Even if you are not too religious, it was still wonderful and not very preachy, preachy at all. We enjoyed a weekend listening to Marc Gungor explain the differences between men and women in his "Laugh Your way to a Better Marriage" video seminar. I thought I was at a comedy club the whole time we watched the videos. And the best part about the retreat, they paid for the rooms and 2 meals a day. how could you not say no? 

On Day two of the retreat, we had the seminar in the morning and by lunchtime, the hubby and I were on our way for a nice German lunch and a little sightseeing, sans children. We enjoyed the time with some terrific friends as we entered the town of Obergau. Nestled in this little town was plenty of shopping, a cheese factory, brewery and a monastery. Lunch was great. We enjoyed some of the local beer and I had some terrific German sausage and sauerkraut. the hubster had goulash and a big potato roll looking thing we later discovered was made from a roll. My girlfriend and I visited the local wine and beer store which featured wine and beer made by the monks. The monk behind the counter directed us towards the monastery and the cheese factory. The monastery was beautiful, ornate and large. We couldn't go in at the time since there was a wedding procession occurring just as we got there. And let me say, she was one lucky girl to have her wedding there. It was the perfect location. We did get to look at the grounds of the monastery and soak up it beauty. We shopped a little at the store attached to the monastery where i picked up a few postcards. Then we took the short walk to the cheese factory. It was not what I was envisioning a cheese factory to be. It looked like a small home with a little storefront. Inside, the windows showed you the preparation room for the cheese and the storage area of the cheeses. We watched a short video on how the cheese was made and how this little place makes about 10-15 different cheeses a day! We saw how the cheese was pressed into the round molds, since it's a square before the pressing, and that it takes about 5 months for the cheese to age properly. During that time, it stays in the aging room, sitting on a shelf with all the other cheese wheels. I must say the cheese aging room was impressive. I enjoyed seeing all the various cheeses there. We were able to enjoy a few samples of the cheese and then purchased some for the ride home. My friend also purchased some of the fresh yogurt they made there and she told me it was really delicious. When we returned to the hotel, we grabbed the children and had some great family time at the indoor pool and jacuzzi.

Later that evening the children decided to go on an adventure of their own. My friend's hubby and mine happened to meet downstairs with the kids. They have two girls as well, ages 8 & 12. My girls adored their kids. When i met my friend later on, I brought our youngest daughter with me. we found the guys and the kids and the kids took off to the playground right around the corner from us. We could hear them as they played on the equipment and did their gymnastics in the grass. After a while, my friend and I parted from our husbands as they continued on their walk and we went to check on the kids. As we rounded the corner to the playground we soon realized the children there were not ours. We continued along the winding path that led back to the front of the hotel since that's where the oldest child left her shoes. My friend and I were really beginning to wonder where the kids when we heard them but couldn't see them. Then we heard shouting and crying, but more of a scared crying than a hurt crying.  Along the path was a wall that surrounded the Army post. On the other side of the wall was of course the town. Our kids happened to find the one revolving walking gate that led to the town. Unfortunately, unless you had a specific pass, you could not reenter the gate. So there they were, a 6, 8, 9, and 12 yr, crying and upset, peering through bars at us, stranded in Garmisch alone. It was a sight to be seen! The problem though was how to retrieve the children. Luckily my friend had her purse with her ID in it. i remembered seeing a guard gate back where we were talking with the guys. so she went outside the wire with the kids and walked all four back towards the other gate where I joined up with them from the inside. I like to think the kids learned a lesson or at least had an experience that stuck with them, but I'm not sure. I was happy they were safe again though. We ended the night with kids watching a movie and a few of the adults from our retreat enjoying some of the many beverages the hotel had to offer in the lounge.