Munich, Salzburg, Ulm, and Garmisch

I think these places will all be rolled into one posting as we went to Salzburg; then on to Munich for a couple days. We then took a train from Munich up to Ulm, where we stayed with Drew and his girlfriend, Sabrina. We then went back to Munich, took a day trip to Garmisch. Confusing, I know, which is why I am throwing them all together. This will be a short post because the letters on the keyboards in Paris are in different places and it is infuriatingly slow to type. It requires typing one letter at a time...

Salzburg was a gorgeous city in the midst of mountains and, of course, there was a fortress in the middle. The first night we arrived at our hostel, after walking 2 miles in slushy snow, we barely caught the nightly viewing of the Sound of Music. Just so everyone knows, it was Mike who suggested we watch it. It was kind of fun to watch the movie and then see the places the next day. This is also the hostel where we came upon the bed stealing couple who took my things and tossed them onto another bed after I had claimed it. This was a major offense of which they said nothing when they came into the room that night. I was not brave enough to reclaim the bed but I did get up the guts to question them about it the next morning. Turns out it was a misunderstanding, they thought the beds were assigned...oops. Other than this, we wandered round the city, hiked up quite a few stairs for a view, and ate some good food. By the time it was dark, Mike was sniffeling and feeling terrible so we had an early night.

Munich was great with Christmas markets and lights all over but it was very cold. We had lunch at a decent restaurant where the waiter thought he was pretty sneaky and tried to overcharge us because the menu was in German. He was not happy when 15 mins later his manager made him give us back our money after I complained. That night we checked out the Hoffbrau haus, a famous and touristy beer hall. We were planning on having some good German beer and some brats. The place was packed with a traditional German band in the middle and more twists and turns than a maze. We ended up sharing a table with a couple from Australia. We got to talking, ordered more beer, and ended up getting kicked out around 1 in the morning, walking back to the hostel with our new found Australian friends, who happened to be staying at the same place.
Somehow, Munich was warmer at 1 am, who knew?

Ulm was nice; we had hot wine and dinner with Drew Joechl (graduated with Mike) and Sabrina and the stayed at their house in a little suberb outside of the city. We watched a movie, with popcorn and couches and it was heavenly to just sit and relax. The next night we went with Drew and Sabrina to her Great Uncles 87th birthday party. It was great fun to meet Sabrinas family, talk with them through the family members who knew English, and enjoy German cake, wine, and schnapps. Thanks to Drew, Sabrina, and her family for welcoming us into their homes. Next day, we were able to take a tour of Pisten Bully, where both Drew and Sabrina work. For those who dont know, this is the company that makes snowcats to groom ski slopes. They hold about 60 percent of the world market. It was really neat to see how they were produced. We didnt get a ride in one but we did get to sit in one and pretend.

We took the train back to Munich and had more delicious Bavarian food; lots and lots of saurkraut. Next morning, it was off to beautiful Garmisch for the day. It it set in a little valley with amazing snow and evergreen covered jagged peaks all the way round. Breathtaking and very, very cold. Back at the hostel that evening, we were trying to convince ourselves to go out in the cold when the waitress from the hostel bar asked if we wanted to order takeout. We were all for the idea and ended up spending the rest of the night hanging out at the hostel and talking to our room mate about where to go in Italy as he had lived there for two years. The next morning we wandered around the expansive Englishcher Gardens, where in the summer, Germans are known to sunbathe nude and drink beer at the many beer gardens along the water.

Damn winter.