Garmish Trip

21 Dec - We are ready for our trip - Jamie wakes us up with that wonderful sound you only hear at 4 in the morning around the porcelin throne. Yep - she had the flu!!! We started our drive to Garmish - site of the 1936 Winter Olympics. The drive was OK with alot of rain and fog. We had a good meal for supper. On Monday - we toured Schloss Linderhof - one of the 3 castles of King Ludwig II. It is really nice but only the house was open. It was cold and a little rainy but nice and NO crowds. The house is really ornate with alot of gold, paintings, etc. The King lived here with his vase collection, had no visitors and ate alone. http://www.schlosslinderhof.de/englisch/palace/history.htm After that, we went to Oberammergau site of the Passion Play. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/oberammergau/0846010001.html Next, we visited the Ettal Monestary where they make likors and beer. yummmmm http://www.kloster-ettal.de/index-uk.html That night we visited the Garmish Christmas Market (Weihnacht Markt). Cold, gluhwein and food - really nice. We tried a dish with veggies and melted cheese and of course a crepe!!! Then of course we visited a Chocolate store and then a bakery!!!!! Yep, you know us - no food left untouched!! We know a couple members of our extended family will be HAPPY with photos. We had a very nice dinner at a local resturant. Most of the night this strange bag lady followed us around the town. She would come up and try to talk to us and we'd just speed up. We tried to give her money to make her go away but she just kept following us. We could not figure out if she was Heidi Klum in disguise, Kim's Mom or Phyllis Dillar on steroids!!! Be on the look out for this strange woman!! On Tuesday - Jamie attended Ski school for the day. She did really well. I'm sure we will be back. Tue was also Kim's Birthday - yes, she turned 39 (again). We dined at a very good resturant in Partenkirchen. Kim got some nice things and of course in the Bavarian tradition - the owner brought us PEAR SCHNOOPS shots!! Jim had one, Kim and Judy could not even try it so James had theirs and his :))) On Wednesday, Christmas Eve - we left and had about 30 minutes of clear skies for some great panoramic views of the Bavarian Alps. Then we got back to the fog. We tried to go by Neu Schwanstein Castle but it was VERY foggy so we did not walk up. It was a very good trip and we had a great time - family, food, fun - Next up - CHRISTMAS!!