The Traveling White Picket Fence: Germany!!

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? We certainly don’t, but had a great trip to Germany in spite of that fact! The flight we booked was inexpensive, but they charged $100 for a 40lb checked bag. That left the challenge of packing a family of 4 in three backpacks and 1 checked suitcase. This was truly a challenge for me. I am not known for packing light and tend to pack for every possible situation that might arise. It’s totally reasonable to pack rain boots, coats, shorts, pants, both long and short sleeve shirts, and of course shoes for every occasion, right? Well, I can very proudly say that we packed light, no, very light, and made out just fine. We managed 1 backpack for toys, 1 for a diaper bag, 1 for random last minute stuff, and a carry on (thank goodness for vacuum bags!).

Loaded up and ready, we headed up to Trapani to spend the night so we could catch an early flight. Our hotel was tucked in a tiny street and was lovely! Dinner was amazing- pasta of course! We were at the airport for our 6:30am flight and before we knew it, we were in Germany! We got our car and immediately headed to the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s retreat, given to him by the Nazi Party. Note to self: don’t travel in Europe during August because everyone in Europe goes on vacation in August. Traffic was CRAZY. The great part about travelling were the seemingly millions of rest areas. You must pay to use the bathroom (even in McDonalds) so bring your change!

We had to travel through Austria for a short distance then reenter Germany to arrive at our destination. We got stopped at the exit in Austria and they slapped us with a $170 fine for not purchasing a toll ticket. Apparently you must pay to use the roads in Austria. Fine. How, you ask, do you purchase said toll ticket? The first guess might be you pay the person at the toll booth. Nope. Perhaps, you pick up a ticket when you enter and then pay at a booth when you exit. Wrong again. You must stop at a gas station to pay the toll fee. Who knew?! That seems very tricky to me and I don’t like it.

The Eagles Nest was nestled very high in the mountains and had spectacular views. The house has been made into a restaurant, but we hiked a path up the mountain. Brady was giving me heartburn by continually wandering off the path. We were too high up for him to be doing his own thing. The amazing thing about the scenery was how God’s majesty was evident at every turn.

We ventured back into Austria because our ticket allowed us a 2 day pass into the country. We went to Salzburg, walked along the river, and found a great little restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was in a building that was 1300 years old. Mozart’s sister had lived there!

After a very busy day, we made it to our cabin around 10pm. The cabin was small with a bedroom, living area, and a loft. Brady was able to sleep on the top bunk and he was very excited about it! He remembered camping with his Aunt Laurel at Disney where he had the top bunk. He also remembered camping with his Aunt Juju in a cabin. He was a very happy little boy and we were very happy to have a bed!