We were out the door early on day 7 to make the drive to Grainau with a stop in Rothenberg ob der Tauber. The short drive through back roads was foggy and slow going, but our loose itinerary for the day removed any stress. We arrived around 9 and picked a spot outside the walls to park. We walked in and immediately looked for a place to have breakfast. We picked Cafe Walter Friedel, based on the very exacting criteria that it was the first place we came to. They had a nice seating area upstairs. We were the only ones there and the lady serving us was very friendly. She took our drink orders, as we had already picked out our pastries and cakes downstairs. We went with dessert/breakfast since we convinced ourselves we would walk the extra calories off visiting the town. Strudels and cakes arrived and we carbed up for the day.
The town was beautiful to walk through. It is the best preserved medieval city in Germany and attracts lots of tourists. Our early arrival meant the first pass through town was fairly serene. We stopped at a few shops and contributed to the local economy. We made our way from the north of town to the southern gate and Plönlein. The quintessential German panorama. The tour groups started arriving and we decided to take to the walls to escape the growing crowd in the town streets. We climbed up the stone stairs and made our way around a portion of the wall before descending to visit a sports shop to pick up some items that are hard to find in Saudi. Cade really enjoyed seeing more archer windows that he had learned about from previous castle tours. And every occurrence of his favorite German word, Ausfahrt, on signs. The girls had an Instagram battle going on, with 90% of the town being deemed Instaworthy. The kids had spotted a playground through the archer windows and wanted to go visit. I visited the restroom and returned to find Greene watching the local kids march out of school and down the street. She enjoys seeing the daily life of the places we visit.
The kids played themselves out and we headed back towards the town center. We picked Gasthof zum Ochsen for lunch, and were very happy. The place had a few locals sitting around and the family running the place utilized a few generations. The matriarch was our server, and the son pounded out the Schnitzel in the back. While we were eating, a grandson started riding around the restaurant on his trike. The place quickly filled up but never felt crowded, only cozy. The food tasted more homemade and the atmosphere made this one of our favorite experiences.
We left and stopped by a toy shop to pick up some games for our time in Grainau. We then reluctantly headed for the car and our 3 hour drive to Grainau.
We had a 3 hour trip to Grainau, but the Autobahn and the scenery shortened it both literally and figuratively. I tried to keep up with a Ferrari that passed me, and succeeded for 3.2 seconds. We passed through an elevated area that was deep dark evergreens with frosted tips. As we got further south, the Alps again came into view and we started seeing spots with a few inches of snow on the ground. The route took us down through Austria then winding north back into Germany. The Austrian border popped up immediately after leaving a tunnel, and the road went down to 2 lanes. We were stuck behind a truck, but I was thankful for the slowdown so that I could enjoy the view in the windshield. The mountains towered over us and the snow piles on the side of the road continued to grow. We wound around the Ammergau Alps and passed through Ehrwald with our first unobstructed views of Zugspitze. The road to Grainau was a ribbon of blacktop through a fluffy white landscape.
We arrived at Grainau with the dying light and quickly found our check-in location. I went in and received the keys and directions to our Ferienwohnung. We were excited to see the town blanketed in white while the roads were clear. We arrived and the kids immediately made for the snow. We unloaded and settled into our place for the next few days. Greene and I made a run into Garmisch to stock the pantry and figured out how to deposit a 50 cent piece into the carts to unlock. We found most of what we needed for Christmas dinner and some more basics.
The next day was started with a big breakfast and sitting with our cups of coffee staring out the picture window in the den. The two adults would have been content to spend the remaining vacation in the same position. I went out to take some pictures around the house, then we slowly got ourselves together and headed to Garmisch to walk around. We stopped at another friseur and they had some appointments on Christmas Eve morning, so we tentatively booked them and continued on. There was another skating rink in the Christmas Market and plenty more Glühwein. The oldest girls took off to find a nail salon, so the smallest and biggest kid went to the toy store. We found a few card games to add to the stash and then stopped for coffee and hot chocolate. We stood at tables outside by the pedestrian way and watched the old German money stroll around. After the others caught up with us, we passed a gelato shop and if we learned anything in Rome, it’s that you stop when you see gelato. Even in wintertime Germany.
We continued up Am Kurpark and spent some type shopping. The late, big breakfast and the snacks while we walked around meant that no one had a big appetite. The kids started begging for McDonalds while I adamantly rejected the ludicrous possibility of reducing our gastronomic satisfaction to the scourge of the earth while Bavarian delicacies abounded…wait, they have the McRib? Okay kiddos, this one time dad will acquiesce.
We made the drive out to Elbsee to take in the Alpine lake view. We parked at the station for the cog-wheel train up to Zugspitze and watched the cable car disappear from view after leaving the Seilbahn below us. We made the drive back to Grainau and through the town center. We turned off, passed a friseur and decided to give it a shot. Greene went in and they said they could get all three of them. Cade and I walked the short distance back to town and visited the shops to kill time. Greene and Drew just got the tidied up cuts, but Macy decided to go with bangs. We then headed back to the house and spent the night playing our new card games and listening to Christmas music.
The next day was much anticipated – the castle day. We left out of Garmisch and made my most favorite drive yet, through Oberau then up the switchbacks through Ettal to Oberammergau (home of the Passion Play) and on to Hohenschwangau. After passing the frozen Bannwaldsee, we turned off towards Neuschwanstein. The castle came into view and we pulled over to capture the entire setting. We then made our way into town, parked and went to the ticket center. A line had formed outside but wasn’t very long. The website had indicated an opening time of 8, but the ticket office didn’t open until 9 so we had to wait about 15 minutes for the doors to open. We got a 10 o’clock entry ticket and walked a short distance to the horse carriages. There was no line, so we hopped on the next carriage and rode up the steep hill to the castle base. There was another short climb up to the entry gate. Some of us visited the restroom while the others took in the castle up close. The entrance was controlled by turnstiles with scanners for tickets that only allowed you to enter at your assigned time. We met a lady and her daughter from Michigan and talked with them for awhile until our time flashed on the screen and we entered for our guided tour. We visited several rooms full of ornate decorations and potential, since the castle wasn’t finished when Mad King Ludwig died at the age of 40.
We finished the inside tour and stopped to watch a short movie about the building of the castle and the sections of the castle that were never completed. We exited and started the walk hike Everestesque climb over to Marienbrücke. This provided the classic view of the castle and heart stopping moments of fear. Some of the boards of the bridge were bowed upwards, which meant when you stepped on them you got the sensation they were sagging until they hit the support frame. We got Drew out for one quick picture, then she hugged the rail back to solid ground. We watched low clouds blow in and obscure the mountain tops before walking back down to the carriage stand. We stopped for some fried dough balls that had a taste in between a doughnut and funnel cake.
We got to the bottom and the line at the ticket center had grown considerably. We stopped at the Alpenstuben for lunch and got the typical assembly-line tourist spot German food. But it was still a fun place to eat and the service was decent. We walked across the street and picked up some souvenirs before heading back to the car. We made the drive back the same way we came, with the intention of two more stops. The first was Wieskirche, a pilgrimage church built around 1750 to house a statue that cried and was claimed to have healing powers. It was a beautiful site and worth the small detour. The next stop was to be Linderhof Castle, but my lack of planning resulted in arriving at closing time. It wasn’t a wasted trip, however, as the drive back to the castle was through meadows surrounded by rocky peaks and thick evergreen forests.
We made a stop at the grocery store in Oberau to finish our Christmas breakfast and dinner list. We drove back through Garmisch, which was now lit up with Christmas lights. We finished up back at the house and watched most of Elf before everyone fell asleep sitting up.
From Tennessee To Texas to Saudi Arabia 