This was our third time visiting Germany as a family since we moved to Sicily and it will not be our last! We loved our stay in Oberammergau where we visited the famous Disney Castle Neuschwanstein, and then a different visit up in Paderborn for Thanksgiving last year! 

This time, we flew into Munich airport, stayed for a night there to explore the Christmas Markets. We rented a car from Six, which worked out really nice and was our first time using a “discount” car rental company. We’ll totally use them again. It was hundreds of dollars cheaper than other quotes from other companies, and the car was perfect. We stayed at a really cute hotel I found on Booking.com called Cacoon Sendlinger Tor, about .5 mile from the main historic area of Munich. The rooms were a little small, but they had a nice lobby and restaurant area where our two groups could meet for drinks.

The next day, we drove about an hour south to Garmisch-Partenkircen (Garmisch) to our hotel Edelweiss Lodge & Resort. It is a hotel for military families, one of four they have around the world. Our family who has stayed at other military hotels (there is one outside of Disney World, Florida and another in Hawaii) said they were all equally amazing. 

We chose this one so we could be close to the mountains for a winter wonderland. It is also extremely affordable for military families, they tailor to families and kids, and make it extremely easy! 

The hotel had everything from a nice gym facility with workout classes, to coffee shop, to elaborate breakfast buffets, an American style pub restaurant, a pool, gift shop, outdoor hot tub, equipment rentals and day-trip excursions. Not to mention the location at the base of the Bavarian Alps… it’s just breathtaking! 10/10 we would visit again and recommend it to anyone looking!

We took the cable car from the base of the mountain up the side of the mountain to Zugspitze, the Top of Germany! There many people just rode for lunch, beer, or coffee with a gorgeous view. While others like us went up to the top to rent gear. We rented sleds, or “Sledges” as they call them. Because it was so cold, we sledded for a while, went into the lodge for hot cocoa, goulash, pretzels, and a beer while we warmed up and went out for a second time. We had such a blast! 

The next day, Ashley went by herself back up the mountain to rent snowboarding gear. Since it was the very first weekend of the ski season, not all of the slopes were open. Only moderate/advance hills were open, otherwise we would have taken the whole family up for lessons. Snowboarding was so peaceful, relaxing, fun and another once in a lifetime opportunity to go snowboarding down the alps!

We also explored delicious traditional German restaurants in Garmisch, went shopping, and enjoyed walking around the cute town.

Germany never disappoints whenever we visit. We have grown to love the order, the rules, the beer, the food, and the people so much! And no, i don’t *think* we got any traffic tickets this time