Back to Germany! Feels like our second home.

Day One - Travel Day

After years of waiting, we finally set off on the trip we planned in 2019 and had to cancel in 2020. We flew Icelandair out of Seattle to save money and another potential connection gone wrong. We rented a car, left home around 6:30am, and caught our flight without issue. We had a quick pitstop in Iceland before landing in Frankfurt around 1pm.

We finally got our leased car, a French DS7 Crossback, and drove a short distance to our family's home in Dornheim. We have stayed here twice in the past so it truly felt like home. We ate delicious doner kabob, visited for as long as could stay awake, and crashed. Not many pictures from this exhausting day.

Day Two - Mainz

We were joined by our friend "R" for a traditional breakfast with rolls, meats, cheeses, vegetables, and more. So delicious!

We took the train to the nearby town of Mainz to wander around and finally feel like we were back in Germany. People were out at the markets, having ice cream, coffee, beer, and more. I was quickly reminded of how wonderful it felt to be in a town with pedestrian areas that people of all ages enjoy. I was overwhelmed by the people-watching, beautiful architecture, and delicious smelling food around every corner. We had coffee, popped into lots of gorgeous old churches, and finally had that first German beer.

We meandered down toward the Rhine River where an annual beer festival was taking place. We used the cutest little bier stein souvenirs to sample beers from all parts of Germany and Europe. It was so fun to mix with the locals and visit with family. DD#1 was excited to try the small 1 oz samples of beer. Sixteen is the legal beer and wine drinking age in Germany. She wasn't a huge fan of beer. Ha!

We took the train back to Dornheim where we had a delicious BBQ. My step-sister is an amazing cook and we were once again full to the max with yummy meats and salads. It was wonderful to catch up with family and friends who we had not seen in so long. It felt so great to have our first full day in Europe. Vacation mode was truly starting to set in!

Day Three - First luge, Ulm Munster, and Fussen

I started the day with an early run in the countryside. I saw the church spire in the next village and decided to run there. There were cute bunnies and storks in the fields.

We ate cake for breakfast, said our goodbyes, and packed the car. Next stop, was a luge just outside of Stuttgart. For less than 3 Euros, we whipped down a track and had quite a cheap thrill. It definitely woke us up for the day!

We drove a bit further to the town of Ulm known for having the tallest church in the world. No kidding! There was a lot of construction going on the church's facade but the tower was open and ready to climb. 550 steps later, we made it to the top.

We also found tasty Turkish food for lunch. We ordered way too much but luckily could take leftovers for the road.

DD#1 was especially impressed with the piano on the square and a choir practicing their Handel for an upcoming concert.

We found a couple more scenic photo ops around the city of Ulm.

We drove another hour to Fussen in the Bavarian Alps. The mountains and rocky peaks were stunning! We checked into what is likely our nicest place of the trip. The top floor apartment with two bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a balcony with the best view ever would be home for the next three nights. We felt very spoiled and lucky to be here.

We found a restaurant along the Lech River for a simple salad dinner. The water was a striking aqua color that almost seemed fake.

After a quick stop for a few groceries, we enjoyed our balcony and lovely apartment and called it a day.

Day Four - 30,000 steps around Fussen, some castles, and a little Austria

We started the day at a local bakery. The weather has been remarkable. Just around 70 degrees. Perfect! DD#1 has caught a cold and had to spend some time resting. Luckily, our apartment made it pretty comfortable.

We walked around the town's lovely castle and churches before heading to the outskirts to find some nature.

Fussen is a beautiful small town with a colorful pedestrian area.

Lech Falls and a tree top walkway were only about 10-15 minutes from Fussen's old town. A very relaxing and scenic morning walk.

We had one foot in Germany and one foot in Austria!

We came back to the apartment for a quick lunch before heading to the famous nearby castles. We hiked up to Neuschwanstein castle and took a few pictures. There were tons of tourists and we had visited these castles before, so a quick photo op was all we needed.

We drove to a much less-touristy attraction outside of Reutte, Austria. The Highline 179 suspension bridge was incredible! What a feat of engineering! I found it quite terrifying to be so high above the ground. The bridge swayed back and forth and walking on the metal grates gave a very real perspective on the ground far below. Yikes! Well worth the money for this experience. Pictures don't do it justice.

The Ehrenberg Castle ruins were fun to explore and are currently being restored by quite a construction crew. I bet things will be even more impressive in several years.

Max Ditsch was a great choice for dinner. We all enjoyed our meals and spent around 36 Euros. Not bad! It also helps that the Euro is nearly equal to the dollar right now. That is helping our budget quite a lot on this trip.

It was a very full day and I think we finally have the jet lag behind us. More fun to come!

Day Five - Luges and Lifts!

Today was a big day soaking in the Bavarian Alps. The weather was beautiful making the decision easy to head up to the tallest mountain in Germany, Zugspitze.

Poor DD#1 was still feeling under the weather so she stayed in our lovely Fussen apartment while the rest of us adventured. We had bratwurst and coffee at nearly 10,000 feet and explored the many vantage points after our quick 10 minute ascent up the mountain.

We continued our drive to the popular town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen where we found a tasty lunch before finding our first luge ride of the day. This one was short but fast.

We continued on to Oberammergau to luge #2. This one was huge! We took a 20 minute chairlift up a mountain and rode an exhilarating ride down. It was probably the longest luge ride I have ever been on!

We returned to Fussen and went for a scenic 30 minute walk to a brewery with views of the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. We had an interesting buffet-style meal where we helped ourselves to heaps of delicious salads along with meats and warm veggies. DH and I found a nearby pub for a nightcap and called it an evening. Off to Italy tomorrow!