The Bavarian Alps - Land of Fairytales
- kaleighmckenzie
- Aug 23, 2019
- 4 min read
I’m a small town girl. I don’t mean that in the casual, “yeah my town only has one mall” kind of small town. I mean that we didn’t even have a red light. We had two stop signs. My graduating class had 26 people in it. Growing up, the thought of traveling north of the Mason Dixon line or west of Texas was as foreign as traveling to space. It was a pipe dream. Places like New York City were as far away as Narnia or the Shire in my mind. Europe was a place I assumed I would only ever visit in books.
Fast forward to today – I just got back to my apartment from the Bavarian Alps. I cannot believe this is my life. Garmisch-Partenkirchen is one of the most astoundingly beautiful places that I have ever been in my life. It rained on and off our entire trip, but it could not have been more perfect. I actually learned that traveling during rain showers is my favorite. I don’t know if ya’ll have noticed, but I’m pale. Like, I’m really pale. I wore jeans with holes on the way down to Edelweiss (the one very sunny day) and I legitimately burned where my skin was showing. In the car. It’s ridiculous. Wear sunscreen, people. Always!
Anyway, we drove down to Edelweiss on Sunday. Edelweiss is a military resort in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. You need to be affiliated with the military to stay at this resort. You can visit their website to see if you are eligible to visit! If you aren’t, there are TONS of incredibly quaint hotels in the area that you would not regret booking. On the drive down, we decided to break up our trip by stopping at Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle that inspired Walt Disney to create Cinderella’s Castle. We did not get to visit inside as the tickets were sold out for the time that we wanted to spend there. It’s recommended on their website that you pre-reserve tickets two days in advance. The castle from the distance is breathtaking. It’s one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. It sits up on a hill, lording itself above all. We hiked up to the top and let me tell you, that was an adventure. I am not the hiking type. I am not “in shape.” It was great, though. The castle is currently under renovation, so it wasn’t very beautiful up close, but I’m still glad that we went! We definitely want to go back and visit when we can visit the inside of the castle.
We arrived at Edelweiss just at three pm- our check-in time. Score! We were pleasantly surprised with a room upgrade! We got a deluxe junior suite, which is two separate rooms with a door separating them. This was a God-send, because it was so much easier to put Jackson to bed in the bedroom and still relax with Jake and B in the living room and on the balcony. Yes – you read that right. Every single room has a patio or balcony. Our view was INCREDIBLE. We had unobstructed views of the mountains. It made our entire trip spectacular. Also – if you have a child small enough for a crib, Edelweiss has AMAZING ones. Most hotels that we have stayed in have small, metal cribs. Not Edelweiss. No, their cribs are large and wooden. They are perfect. Jack has never slept so great in a hotel! They also had a small table fan. For someone that NEEDS a fan to sleep, I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. They won me over with that and the crib alone! Everything was clean (this is a big deal for me) and in perfect condition. Also, I’ve never sat on a more comfortable hotel couch. Edelweiss also offers a small DVD library and board games that you can borrow!
The indoor pool is one of the best we have been to. There is a small section for little ones. Jackson could stand in one section and it came to his ankles. The other small section came to his chest. Both of these sections had fountains and fun things for the kids. Jackson almost hopped out of my arms and ran every time we walked into the pool room.
There are restaurants on site at the hotel. Here is where I was least impressed. The food was standard resort fare. I wasn’t unimpressed. However the coffee, ya’ll. It was awful. Seriously. The Pullman Café had “Starbucks coffee.” Everything I got from there (chai tea latte, earl grey latte, cappuccino) was awful. They did have a spritzer that was AMAZING, though. I think I had two every day. Ha!
We visited Eibsee Lake and Linderhof Palace while we were in Garmisch. I 1000%%% recommend both locations. We took it slow, because with baby J we didn’t want him throwing a tantrum from being overwhelmed. We had the BEST time. I have an issue with wanting to go, go, go while on vacation. I want to get there and do lots of things! With B, that was easy when she was little. She was very easy going and go-with-the-flow. With baby J, it’s another story. He likes his naps. He likes his schedule. He loathes being in the car seat. So here, I have to learn to take a step back and slow down. Let me tell you, it was incredible. It was the most wonderful and relaxing vacation.
If you have the chance, I absolutely recommend visiting the area. It’s stunning. I was pretty sure small fairies and hobbits were going to come crawling out of the forests at any moment – it was that beautiful. If you have little ones, take snacks, breaks, and take it slow. In America, we are such a ready, set, race type of people. I’m really going to enjoy learning to take it as a slower pace here in Europe. Next stop - Paris!!
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