Munich & Garmisch, Germany for Christmas

Because we had such a great time in Garmisch for Christmas last year, we decided to go there again this year!  However, this time we flew into Munich to overnight and drove a rental to Garmisch after visiting a few sights in downtown Munich.  Overall it was a good time -- Not as much snow as we were wanting for but we did have a white Christmas! Munich was nice. We spent most of our time at the various themed Christmas markets scattered throughout the city. In Garmisch, we were once again able to enjoy all the outdoor winter activities. We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Here are a few pics to share:

LC had her Christmas performance at school mid-Dec. It was put on by all the Italian immersion classes so it was all in Italian. They invited an Italian school to sing Christmas songs (in English for them), and they sang "Last Christmas.." Interesting choice, but they did great. This was the joint song where both schools sang an Italian song at the very end. 

We arrived in Munich and went straight to a Christmas market. This one was one of the more popular ones; Marienplatz, which was in the St. Mary's Square.  We were a little taken back from the cold temps, especially leaving Italy and its 60 degrees temperatures.  

A few of the first couple stops were to buy bratwursts and Gluewein. Neither disappointed! 

The Marienplatz Square was all decorated for Christmas and it was bustling with activities. There was groups singing, and other playing instruments.  St Mary's Cathedral is in the back ground. 

We were all pretty cold so we called it a night and retreated to our warm hotel room.  The next morning we ate a hearty breakfast and headed out to go see some more of the sights. This is the Max-Joseph Platz on our way to a Mid Evil Christmas market in the Wittelsbacherplatz.  The National Theater is on the right (yellow building) and a museum (that took quite a beating in WWII). 

I believe this was the Mid-evil themed Christmas market. A normal stop at a market consisted of buying a cup of Gluewein and a bag of candied nuts. Both equally delicious. 

Then it was on to Garmisch. We got there a little before check-in time, so we went straight to the skating rink to get in some laps. This was a highlight of last years trip and they seemed to have enjoyed it again this year.  Zugspitze mountain is in the back ground. This Mtn is the highest mtn in Germany. 

We had a day overlap with some of our friends from Naples (and fellow Hokies) so we went to dinner at a Indian restaurant and let the kids play in the snow burms as the adults drank gluewein.  The kids could have stayed there for hours, but we decided to call it a night.... eventually.

We found the sledding hills again and they too were also a hit. 

We heard about "the Gorge" last year but didn't go. This year we decided to give it a shot. It was about a 30 min hike beside the stream that offered impressive views and a lot of frozen waterfalls and icicles. 

I asked them to act cold for the pic, although it really wasn't that chilly. 

At the end turnaround point we built a few snowman for fun. They got a kick out of that as well as throwing snowballs at the parents. 

We also visited another one of King Ludwig's castles. We visited Neuschwanstein Castle (another Ludwig castle - the Disney Cinderella castle). last year during Christmas.  This one was named Linderhof Palace. It wasn't as big, but was well preserved and beautiful. 

We only had one dusting for snow, so the streets pretty much dried up by the time we left. We also had a good amount of rain that would ice-up overnight and make for interesting sledding in the morning. We are still nursing a few injuries. 

Even though we were in Germany, Santa still stopped by out apt. Here are the kids inventorying their loot. 

We ate Christmas dinner at the American DoD Hotel; Edelweiss. It was a delicious spread and pleeeeeeenty to eat. This was taken from the hotel grounds. Another thing that we did twice was their indoor waterpark.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We all tried to stay up till midnight this year but we all fizzled out at 11 pm.... I guess we are getting too old for overnighters... 

Thanksgiving on the Canals

Its been a minute since we've posted something on here -- hopefully you are not getting bored with us. Like always, we have been busy bees with school, activities and a bit of travel. We flew up to Venice this Thanksgiving for a few days. We heard that going to Venezia during the summer months was a bad idea due to the crowds and the nasty humidity. It was definitely a unique place and I (Ryan) actually liked it more than the rest of the crew. It had a different vibe to it and I liked meandering though the tiny alleys and streets while weaving in and around the canals and bridges.  We relied on boat transportation to get us around and that turned out to be pretty convenient. For Thanksgiving dinner, we ate a nice Italian dish with pasta and seafood. It was quite tasty. Here are a few pics from Venice and from the past few weeks (months):

E's school decorated pumpkins and had a pumpkin patch party on halloween. 

These are E's American friends at school; Nate and Adalynn. They have been in the same class together for two straight years

Lc's school put on a Veteran's Day performance with songs. All the kids wore their parents' uniforms.. 

Trick or treating on base. 

This was LC's birthday party. It was a dress-up party after school. 

Pocahontas even came to the party! 

Cant believe it -- 7 years old! 

A quick flight to Venice! 

We got off the plane, took a bus over to Venice, and hopped on a boat to get to where our hotel was.  The city had a great vibe to it. 

I thought it was a great place for kids since there are no cars and streets. We were pretty mesmerized with all the canals and buildings floating on water. Gondolas were everywhere too. 

Thanksgiving dinner..... seafood pasta, bolognese  and wine! 

St Marks square/cathedral. 

On the Grand Canal

E checking out St Marks Square and the Doge palace 

St Mark's symbol is the winged lion.

a 40 min gondola ride was 80 Euro(~$90). But we had to do it! ]

The Bridge of Sighs.

Our driver didn't sing -- you have to pay extra for that. 

Rialta Bridge

A pretty awesome view. 

We took a ferry ride out to the islands of Murano and Burano. Murano is known for their glass and Burano is know for their lace. 

And both islands had really colorful houses. 

Burano had a "leaning tower" that leans just as much as the one in Pisa. 

Colorful houses! 

This was the view from our hotel room. We had the penthouse that had access to the roof. The view was amazing.  We watched a cruise ship pull in as well.