Long Weekend in Austria

       
The amazing thing about Europe is its maneuverability. From where we live in southwestern Germany, I can be to Luxembourg, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria or the Czech Republic in five hours by driving. 


While Mr. E was in Bavaria working one week, my sister and I caught a train and stayed in Rothenberg ob der Tauber one night (post to come) and then met him at a train station in Bavaria to make the drive down to Austria. Austria is a beautiful place with extremely friendly people. We really enjoyed our time there, and can't wait to make it back for ski season later this year. 

The main reason for crossing the border to Austria is to save tons of money in comparison to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Garmisch is well-known as a holiday resort town, and is just 40 minutes across the border in Germany. We stayed at a lovely AirBnB with two bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom (with washer and dryer) and living space (pictured below). The kicker is that it was only 50 euros/night and includes a Seefeld tourist pass for discounts in the surrounding area, including free passes to the Alpenbad. The homeowner of the apartment is a British woman, so there was no language barrier. 
Living Room ~ Happy Mountains Alpine Apartments 
View from our Holiday Apartment
Though rain was on the forecast, we rented bikes from Sport Günter in the small town of Leutasch, instead of going in to the larger town of Seefeld. Seefeld is more of a resort town, and the increase in prices reflected that. However, it is a nice place with good bars and restaurants, and there is a bus available from Leutasch to Seefeld and back. Our apartment in Leutasch was just a 400-meter walk to a grocery store, and there was bread service available. 

 In Leutasch, there are nordic walking, hiking and biking trails everywhere. We had a long bike ride and went to the Alpenbad for a swim. There was a large outdoor pool, and two large indoor pools including a slide. It was a relaxing experience, until our first textile-free sauna experience. Let me explain. In Germany (and Austria), it is very common to use the sauna to relax. Mainly, this includes walking around completely naked and getting into different saunas and pools. Here, nobody cares at ALL what your body looks like. However, we were unaware that the sauna was completely nude until my husband, myself, AND my 22-year-old sister walked into the room in our bathing suits and came face-to-face with a fully nude man. We quickly vacated the area and tried to scrub the image from our minds. As Americans, we act like we are so open and free, but public nudity is just something we aren't exposed to (pardon the pun). 

The next day, we went on a hike. From the trailhead, you could technically climb all the way to the summit of Zugspitze (the tallest mountain in Germany). We had modest aims, so went for a 6-miler, with plans to stop at an Alm at the 3-mile mark and turn around. In Austria, there are different restaurants along the hiking trails called Alms. Sometimes they are also small inns. I loved the idea of this, and there were many hikers enjoying beers and cakes while they took a break. We all ordered Jagerschnitzel and had some beers and some schnapps before the return journey.

From the parking lot before our ascent
The friend we made from the Hofbrau Haus a couple weekends before decided to join us for a night!
Look at the bell!
Jagerschnitzel with a side of Beer ~ Each piece was roughly the size of my face
View from the Alm




No friends' weekend is complete without a game of Cards Against Humanity. The game became even more fun (albeit tedious) when we had to explain many of the terms to our German friend. The previous night, we had a heated game of Yahtzee. I love bringing board games on vacations. 


I wanted to see what we were missing in Garmisch, so on our way back home we decided to stop in Garmisch for breakfast. We ate at the Konditorei & Kaffeehaus Kronner. It was a great meal, and a beautiful place. I especially enjoyed the bakery off to the side. Even being so full, I still got a coffee to-go and a piece of cake for the road.





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