Edelweiss Ski Trip January 2014

I can't believe I am doing a blog post my family back together again!! We were so blessed to be able to spend the first 2 weeks back together again; and even luckier to be able to take a mini vacation together to a place called Edelweiss in Garmisch, Germany.  Edelweiss is a military lodge and resort that is located within a few hundred meters from the Bavarian Alps!! They cater only to military families and provide a wide variety of services that include daily tours to local areas, massages, and snow skiing rentals and lessons.  We took full advantage of everything they had to offer and enjoyed our stay for 5 days!! We were able to secure child care so Brad and I could hit the slopes.  Brad couldn't wait to try out his new snow board and I wanted to see if I still had my ski skills in me after 8 years!! It was amazing how quickly skiing came back to me; it was like riding a bike!! I had a wonderful time and feel so luck that we were able to have this opportunity to experience skiing in the Bavarian Alps. Our journey is documented below.  The first few photos depict little Preston B roaming the resort and even contemplating putting on his first pair of skis.  The kids on the slopes were adorable and looked like they were having a blast.  Brad and I can't wait for Preston to get big enough to try out snow skiing!!

Sean O'Toole taking a break. 

Brad & Duck showing how it's done!

I'm giving Brad a pep talk here about how not to fall. You can see Sean off to the far left in mid-fall!!

Just beautiful mountains!

Our lodge is right paste the trees on the left. We were so close to the slopes!

After a full day of snow skiing, we cleaned up and decided to take the resort up on their offer and experience the Greisbrau Brewery tour.  It was my 2nd beer tour and one for the books!! Brad, Sabrina, Duck, and myself loaded the bus up from the hotel (we had transportation so didn't have to worry about driving) and  was on our way.  Wolfgang lead the tour and gave us plenty to drink!! I am slowly adjusting to German beer and getting used to the thicker, wheatier taste! I drank plenty during this tour!

We got to pour our own freshly brewed beer, straight from the tap!! Surprisingly, the German beer is growing on me!

Our beer liqour shots!! They were delicious!  Wolfgang took his tour very seriously and gave us a quiz at the end of the tour... Based on the percentage answered correctly, we were given a diploma.  Guess what, Brad and I passed!! Yipee!!

Our next stop was a historical site, Dachau Concentration Camp.  This was one of the longest running Concentration Camp's that was opened in Germany, for approximately 12 years.  It was quite impressive and humbling at the same time.  Our journey was documented below.

Behind me are the barracks where they kept the prisoners, as they called them.  It was saddening to see the way so many men lived for days and years on end.

This was the actual gates and entrance to the prison camps. 

After we finished Dauchau, we reflected on the experience and how devastating this was during the 1930's and 1940's.  We hope to never experience anything remotely close to this time again.  It is also humbling that we live in this country now and get to see these historical sites first hand.

The following day, we lightened the mood and went to the castle that was inspired by the movie, Sleeping Beauty.  This castle was called Neuschwanstein Castle.  It was quite gorgeous but only a small portion was actually complete on the inside.  This was Kind Ludwig II of Bavaria's castle who dedicated it to a famous opera composer, Richard Wagner.  It was quite a beauty.

This was Hohenschwangau castle which was located in the same village as the Neuschwanstein castle.  It was just a gorgeous but we didn't have the opportunity to tour inside.  Little man was wiped after the first castle!

Driving home with the castle in the background.  We continue to love to travel and visit these amazing sites in Germany!! We went back to our lodge and enjoyed some time in the outdoor hot tub then got up the following morning to drive home!! It was a long 7 hours but we loved being back together as a family!