Fresh off the plane and back in Germany - there isn't a better way to kick off Christmas than flying down the autobahn. First stop: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the medieval gem in Bavaria. We met up with our good friends, The Jettners, and proceeded to the Christmas markets, enjoying shopping and mulled wine. We visited the Medieval Torture Museum again and did the night walk of the city.
Our next stop was Nuremberg, home to Germany's largest Christmas market. The people here were plentiful and space was tight, but the vast size is something to marvel at. We ate and drank our way around the stalls, meeting up with a family from Qatar. Jared, Kris and I all watched Michigan State hand out some punishment on the basketball court. After a day of fun, we rolled down to Munich and stayed put for a few days. Munich offers multiple markets and we enjoyed the size and speed of the Marienplatz while also having fun with parades, musics, and drinks of fire at the medieval market.
On Christmas Eve we headed to Hofbrauhaus, the world famous beer hall, for a mid-afternoon dinner. The place was so busy we had to sit at multiple tables as we had nearly 20 people. It was loud and hectic, but the beer flowed like wine and the food and music made up for the discomfort. After we headed to the hotel and did a gift exchange with all the friends who had joined and gotten gifts for each other from the markets. The girls got pajamas and watched a movie.
On Christmas morning we awoke and did presents under the small tree we had purchased in the square. Then we headed down to the Jettners room to do an exchange with them. But after breakfast it was off to our favorite activity to do on Christmas: the water park. Since nothing else is open that day, what better way to spend it than ripping down slides, floating in lazy rivers, and soaking in hot tubs? Our evening finished by reuniting with all of our friends at Augustiner Brauhaus for dinner.
The Walkers and the Jettners said goodbye and flew to Chamonix, France, to spend the week in the mountains. A winter wonderland awaited, with gorgeous views of the mountains all around. Evenings were spent walking the streets and tucking into pubs to keep warm while the day time was filled with activities. Skiing was a hit and we spent several days on the slopes, with Taelyn getting much better by then end. She could even go down the largest and longest of hills and was keen to work on the ski jumps (and crashing). Kaelia was more reserved and opted to sled - Sarah had no objections joining her. Sledding was also fun and we found several great hills to go down around town. We ice skated at the foot of a mountain.
Our biggest disaster was trying to go tubing. On day one, we drove around following Google Maps to the site. It took about an hour and we kept climbing up and up the mountain. It never felt right. When a road terminated on the ski slope and we had 5K left to drive, we knew it was not right. This place was on the mountain top. There were no directions. The next day we went to the hill via bus as the parking was insane. Jammed a million people into a bus, we made about 70 stops from our house to the hill then got in a long line for the cable car to the top. We repeatedly asked about tubing and the operators called the top to be sure it was on; it was. We paid about 70 Euros to get a lift ticket and we were off. When we reached the top, there were no indicators of where to go, no signs. Just a huge, white mountain top. We asked and asked but no one knew or just didn't understand. The rudest French people we ever met were the ski instructors who could not be bothered by us. So we started walking. After tramping through the snow with the kids for a long while, we thought we saw a park for tubing. It was down a long, ungroomed hill. Kris went ahead, ducked into a lodge-like structure and asked. He gave the thumbs up. We battled down the hill in waist-deep snow, soaking ourselves (I only had on shoes - the last time I would make that mistake). When we got there, tubes were piled together and buried in 4 feet of snow. The course to go down was ungroomed, the belt to the top was not visible, and it was clear that there was no tubing happening here. Soaked, cold, and tired, we headed down the mountain. We took the kids inside a care for hot chocolate and we had a beer while Sarah battled with the operator for 30 min to get a refund for our wasted trip. We headed home, gased. The Jettners wanted to ski. Hours later we saw them return, soaked from the rain, not happy. We might have made the better choice that day.
Another highlight was dog sledding. We met the dogs and hooked up the sleds for a 5km ride around the park at the foot of the mountains. It was a wonderful time, cruising along the snow with white mountains above, green trees, blue skies, and the sounds of the dogs barking. It is an expensive activity, but worth it 100%.
Kris and I also took in a hockey game watching the local team battle Grenoble. It was a fun experience and we were definitely one of the few non-locals there. Most of the time this week was spent outside and the kids had snowball fights, built forts, and rolled snowmen. We had a wonderful New Year's Eve. Nicole made a task for the kids for every hour (ex. have a tea party for the stuffed animals, do compliment cards, create a skit, etc.) and we all stayed up together for the New Year. Fireworks went off in the valley. I don't think I have made midnight on New Years in a long time!
The Jettners departed and we had a few more days as a family in Chamonix. It was hard to leave and after a long, wet drive, we arrived in Zurich. Our only purpose in coming here was to fly out, but we had a couple of days to kill. The food and beer places were nice, but the cost of eating out in Zurich is so insane that it was a tough sell. We did an escape room and hit the pool, went for some runs, and took the kids to the playground. To say we did anything in the city would be a massive oversell.
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| Rothenburg at night |
Our next stop was Nuremberg, home to Germany's largest Christmas market. The people here were plentiful and space was tight, but the vast size is something to marvel at. We ate and drank our way around the stalls, meeting up with a family from Qatar. Jared, Kris and I all watched Michigan State hand out some punishment on the basketball court. After a day of fun, we rolled down to Munich and stayed put for a few days. Munich offers multiple markets and we enjoyed the size and speed of the Marienplatz while also having fun with parades, musics, and drinks of fire at the medieval market.
On Christmas Eve we headed to Hofbrauhaus, the world famous beer hall, for a mid-afternoon dinner. The place was so busy we had to sit at multiple tables as we had nearly 20 people. It was loud and hectic, but the beer flowed like wine and the food and music made up for the discomfort. After we headed to the hotel and did a gift exchange with all the friends who had joined and gotten gifts for each other from the markets. The girls got pajamas and watched a movie.
On Christmas morning we awoke and did presents under the small tree we had purchased in the square. Then we headed down to the Jettners room to do an exchange with them. But after breakfast it was off to our favorite activity to do on Christmas: the water park. Since nothing else is open that day, what better way to spend it than ripping down slides, floating in lazy rivers, and soaking in hot tubs? Our evening finished by reuniting with all of our friends at Augustiner Brauhaus for dinner.
The Walkers and the Jettners said goodbye and flew to Chamonix, France, to spend the week in the mountains. A winter wonderland awaited, with gorgeous views of the mountains all around. Evenings were spent walking the streets and tucking into pubs to keep warm while the day time was filled with activities. Skiing was a hit and we spent several days on the slopes, with Taelyn getting much better by then end. She could even go down the largest and longest of hills and was keen to work on the ski jumps (and crashing). Kaelia was more reserved and opted to sled - Sarah had no objections joining her. Sledding was also fun and we found several great hills to go down around town. We ice skated at the foot of a mountain.
Our biggest disaster was trying to go tubing. On day one, we drove around following Google Maps to the site. It took about an hour and we kept climbing up and up the mountain. It never felt right. When a road terminated on the ski slope and we had 5K left to drive, we knew it was not right. This place was on the mountain top. There were no directions. The next day we went to the hill via bus as the parking was insane. Jammed a million people into a bus, we made about 70 stops from our house to the hill then got in a long line for the cable car to the top. We repeatedly asked about tubing and the operators called the top to be sure it was on; it was. We paid about 70 Euros to get a lift ticket and we were off. When we reached the top, there were no indicators of where to go, no signs. Just a huge, white mountain top. We asked and asked but no one knew or just didn't understand. The rudest French people we ever met were the ski instructors who could not be bothered by us. So we started walking. After tramping through the snow with the kids for a long while, we thought we saw a park for tubing. It was down a long, ungroomed hill. Kris went ahead, ducked into a lodge-like structure and asked. He gave the thumbs up. We battled down the hill in waist-deep snow, soaking ourselves (I only had on shoes - the last time I would make that mistake). When we got there, tubes were piled together and buried in 4 feet of snow. The course to go down was ungroomed, the belt to the top was not visible, and it was clear that there was no tubing happening here. Soaked, cold, and tired, we headed down the mountain. We took the kids inside a care for hot chocolate and we had a beer while Sarah battled with the operator for 30 min to get a refund for our wasted trip. We headed home, gased. The Jettners wanted to ski. Hours later we saw them return, soaked from the rain, not happy. We might have made the better choice that day.
Another highlight was dog sledding. We met the dogs and hooked up the sleds for a 5km ride around the park at the foot of the mountains. It was a wonderful time, cruising along the snow with white mountains above, green trees, blue skies, and the sounds of the dogs barking. It is an expensive activity, but worth it 100%.
Kris and I also took in a hockey game watching the local team battle Grenoble. It was a fun experience and we were definitely one of the few non-locals there. Most of the time this week was spent outside and the kids had snowball fights, built forts, and rolled snowmen. We had a wonderful New Year's Eve. Nicole made a task for the kids for every hour (ex. have a tea party for the stuffed animals, do compliment cards, create a skit, etc.) and we all stayed up together for the New Year. Fireworks went off in the valley. I don't think I have made midnight on New Years in a long time!
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| Chamonix in Winter |
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| The view from our living room |
The Jettners departed and we had a few more days as a family in Chamonix. It was hard to leave and after a long, wet drive, we arrived in Zurich. Our only purpose in coming here was to fly out, but we had a couple of days to kill. The food and beer places were nice, but the cost of eating out in Zurich is so insane that it was a tough sell. We did an escape room and hit the pool, went for some runs, and took the kids to the playground. To say we did anything in the city would be a massive oversell.
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