Garmisch - Winter Wonderland

Even though our trip has been billed as the “Endless Summer Adventure”, I couldn’t help but want to get on the snow while in Germany. The boys have never had the chance to snowboard, and it would be a shame to be here and not give it a go. Arriving in Innsbruck, Austria started our mountain time off right. As soon as we got off the train, it started snowing. The hotel was supposedly only 400 yards from the station, so I decided we could walk instead of getting a cab. Well, the four hundred yards turned into a half mile, and my travel companions were not really happy with my decision. None of us were happy about the walk, but we all were elated over the snow, of which we were totally covered by the time we reached the hotel. After checking in and warming up, we redressed for the weather and headed out to see old Innsbruck. Innsbruck is the ideal version of a “Bavarian” town and you feel like you are in an old movie walking by all the shops with their wooden toys and Leaderhausen. Since our destination was Garmisch, Germany, we only stayed one night but enjoyed our time here.

We caught the 9:30 AM train to Garmisch, and the trip over the mountain pass/border was incredible. The upper mountains had gotten about 1 ½ feet of snow, and it looked like the perfect “Winter Wonderland” complete with alpine chalets and stunning mountain peaks. The sun was shining when we pulled into Garmisch, but it was only about 15 degrees. This time, I didn’t even think of mentioning walking to the hotel; I just hailed the first cab I saw. I try not to make the same mistake twice!!! We had gotten here so early that our apartment wasn’t ready yet, so we decided to head out and see if we could line up some snowboard gear and lessons. We were stoked to find out that we had free bus passes while staying here and thought that getting to the mountain would be simple as “apple strudel”. Have I mentioned that I don’t speak/understand German?? After ten years in Costa Rica, I can usually figure out what I want to say and what someone’s reply is. I can also fake Italian and French pretty good, but no so much with German. The words don’t look at all familiar and when they talk, I couldn’t tell you if they’re welcoming me to their country or telling me to get off the grass. Needless to say I didn’t fully understand what the receptionist what telling me about which bus to take, but we ended up taking ALL the buses because they kept going everywhere except where we needed to go. We actually crisscrossed town twice trying to find the right area to go to, only to find out that it was right in front of the hotel and within walking distance. Oh well, at least I can say that we saw ALL of Garmisch. By this time, the boys and Sally were starting to question my “Tour Guru” status, but I told them not to fear; we would find what we needed and be on the snow TODAY. They put their fears to rest and agreed on one more try. I finally hit paydirt, but it cost me.

We finally found the right spot and walked in, ready to go. We had not packed sufficient winter gear, so we had to buy such basics as long underwear and gloves, but I was hoping we could rent snowboard clothes, as well as, snowboards, boots, and helmets. The clerks must have seen me coming, because as I was frantically looking for the right size, a lovely old lady came up and asked if she could help. Next thing I know (and $600 later), we were strolling out of the shop on our way to a private snowboard lesson, looking “sweet” in our new gear and BMW snowboards. I couldn’t help but think of Jim Carrey and the scene from “Dumb and Dumber” when they pile out of their new car in Aspen with all the best ski clothes on. “Aspen… where the women flock like the salmon to Capestrano!!” We have watched that movie so much on this trip, that not a day goes by that one of us doesn’t recite a line from it. Anyhoo, back to the story.

The snowboard instructor was a nice young German guy who spoke English and was very good with the boys. They had never tried this before, but picked it up really fast due to their time surfing and skateboarding. I hadn’t snowboarded in about fifteen years, when I almost destroyed my ankle in Utah and was not sure if I still had it in me. Luckily, it’s just like riding a bike, and we were all enjoying ourselves by the end of the day. Sally had opted out of trying to learn to snowboard on “Such Short Notice” and graciously offered to head back to the hotel and check us in and unpack everyone. We stayed on the mountain until it closed and then enjoyed a true ‘apres ski’ with hot chocolate and German drafts at the base station bar. We snowboarded the next two days and really had fun. Snowboarding is one of those sports that once you get the basics, you quickly get to a point where you enjoy yourself. Not to say that we didn’t have our falls. After two days, we were all pretty sore but very happy. At night, we would walk around the Town Square, window shop, and try out the local cuisine.

Our next stop would be Munich, Germany for a day and then on to Barcelona, Spain where we planned to visit Sally’s cousins for a few days. To get there would require twenty six hours on seven different trains!!

Our time in Munich was way to short but we tried to see a few different things. Our first day I decided to make our way out to the Dachau Concentration Camp and give the boys a real world history lesson. I had first seen this memorial/museum twenty years ago, and it still haunts me. Dachau was not the worst concentration camp, by far, but it still was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people. We were able to see the twenty minute movie they have on the history of the camp, and it is a very harsh image of the cruelty of man, yet the humanity and hope that persevered during such horrendous times. After about an hour of touring the grounds and seeing the exhibits, we were all very moved and depressed. A parent never wants to depress their children, but life and the history of mankind has not always been pretty, and we should be open and honest about it so that we never diminish the value of humanity.

To shake off our blues, we headed to the center of Munich and in search of the funnest spot in town – The Hofbrauhaus. Beer may have been around before the Germans, but they perfected it. In fact, it was in this area that the first purity laws were written to establish the proper protocol for the brewing of beer. The Hofbrauhaus was one of the first licensed breweries, and it dates back to 1489. Not a bad run for a beer joint. It is pretty touristy but who doesn’t love a good Ompah band and a plate full of sausages!! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and went to bed fat, dumb, and happy. We left early the next morning for Barcelona in a severe snow storm. Even though it was going to be a long day of trains, it’s great to not have to worry about driving or traffic conditions. We were all very excited about getting to Barcelona and seeing Sally’s cousin David Verdura, Blanca, his wife, and two sons, David and Matei.