Our first morning in Germany. We started our day by checking out the German gear in the hotel gift shop. This kid is begging for lederhosen. I told him he could buy them himself if he wanted them badly enough (they are expensive!)
We headed across the river to the base commissary — a luxury that we don’t have in Bahrain.
Good grief is food cheap when it’s government subsidized. Carter wanted to smuggle a bunch of these ribs home: $2.98 per rack. All the prices had my mouth agape: $1.89 for a box of Cheez-its (instead of $4). My blue corn tortilla chips were under $2 instead of $3, chocolate for .77 cents instead of $3 . . . we definitely aren’t getting enough COLA (cost of living allowance that varies from country to country). Anyway, we bought a boatload of snacks for cheap and then decided to head into the town of Garmisch.
We are surrounded by mountains on every side
The weather is cool and overcast, but it’s great for walking. We did figure out the bus this time and didn’t miss our stop (so yay for that), but had to wait way too long for a bus to come since it was the weekend. Josh snapped a photo of the bus schedule so we’ll be able to time our travel from here on out.
Gorgeous, quaint and all you’d imagine from German-Bavaria.
Lush garden and adorable cottage right downtown. There was a metal sculpture with a water pump style fountain right next to the garden. This group of Indian/Pakistani guys were filling their water bottles from the fountain. I asked Josh if he thought it was meant to be drinking water and he said no, but same as me, figured that it was much cleaner than what would be considered drinking water back home.
Rain clouds gathering. There was a music festival going on and we could hear the orchestra playing — I hope they were under cover at least.
She wanted to try on the hats like her brothers and then decided it was time to dance.
We wandered around town, popping into every outdoor sports store we saw. Since we are coming back in December, our long term goal is to get everyone some sort of shell/jacket that will be waterproof for skiing.
The skies opened up and it was pouring so we ducked into a cafe for hot chocolate and cappuccinos.
We found perfect jackets for the middle two boys. Good for now and later!
My jacket is a new acquisition from our time in Poland. The shopping was so good there. The prices were equal to or better than what we could get online.
Even McDonald’s looks like a Bavarian cottage
We caught the bus and headed back up to base/our resort. We had made special plans for the evening.
Every year, for the summer solstice, over the border in Austria they have the mountain fires. They’ve been doing this annually for a few hundred years. There are people who make designs on the sides of the mountains and then crews that carry the flame to these spots and light all the different fires that make up the image. As you stand below the mountains it’s like playing a game of connect the dots, guessing which image is being created before your eyes.
The very first signs of fire. One up top and one below.
Eating sausage and drinking beer while we wait
We made our way out to the middle of a grassy field to get a good view of the 4 different mountains where the fires were being lit.
See the fires over Caleb’s shoulder?
I can’t do it justice, but here’s the start of a candle!
Behind them are the beginnings of intertwined hearts, a praying angel and a cross. Most of the designs are religious symbols.
We made a new friend, Crystal, when she was assigned to our van for the drive to Austria (only about 25 minutes away).
The finished hearts! We also saw an amazingly detailed crucifix, an angel/cupid with arrow and heart, a church, a chalice and candle and more. At the beginning the weather cooperated, but then the downpour began.
We took cover in the beer tent. Calvin can drink because he’s 16 (and because we bought him a beer).
She’s a big drinker, but we’ve limited her to non-alcoholic apple juice.
A fun, once in a lifetime experience in the Alps! More info about it here.