View from our window: Garmisch, Germany. 8:59am, 12 January 2023.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is at the base of the Zugspitze — the highest point in Germany. There is an old-time cog railway train that will take you up to the summit in about 75 minutes, with lovely views for the first hour and then 15 minutes in a tunnel to make the final ascent. On our first day in Garmisch, we set out for for the summit. Once you arrive at the end of the train line, there is a short cable car that takes you to the very summit. We were lucky with the weather and had clear views out over the
Neuschwanstein Castle was built to look like a fairy tale castle, and I'm pleased to report that it does. We detoured to visit it on our way from Munich up to Garmisch. We decided to follow Google Maps instructions for walking up to the Marienbrücke bridge, which promised to offer the best views of the castle. As it turns out, they had closed the Marienbrücke bridge, so we ended walking our way through the woods to locked gates. Whoops! But we did manage to get some nice views of both Neuschwanstein castle and the neighbouring Hohenschwangau Castle. The tour of
Arriving in Munich after an overnight flight, with two children who spent too much time watching seatback TV and not enough sleeping, and then we find out a bag has been left by the airline in Toronto. So perhaps not the best frame of mind, but it’s amazing how much easier it was all made by being greeted by friendly family at the airport, in the person of Cousin Heike, with a car big enough to carry what was still a stunning volume of luggage. A short drive around Munich took us to Aunt Margret and Uncle Bernd’s lovely home,
View from our window: Gauting, Germany. 4:25pm, 06 January 2023.
An itinerary for eight months away is a tricky thing. You need to create some structure, but not so much that you rob your future selves of all detours and spontaneity. On our last big trip, we booked our flights, but left accommodations, sightseeing, and other bookings pretty open until about a week beforehand. But everything we read about travelling in the covid-19 era suggested that we needed to be a bit more pro-active or be disappointed when things are sold out. We're also travelling in Europe, which means we'll have to carefully manage our days in Schengen countries