Laura’s First Sleepaway Camp

The dynamic duo finally consented to try a week of sleep away camp this year!  Based on the rave reviews of Meghan’s neighbor, they went to Winshape Camp at Young Harris College, which is nestled in the mountains on the North Carolina border. The girls were dropped off of Sunday afternoon, and picked up again on Friday, and squeezed in a lot of fun and activity in between!

To my surprise, Laura rated the horseback riding among her favorite things of the week, along with Imagination Station (one of the three activities she was able to choose). Her horse’s name was Dan, and apparently liked to flip his head/hair a lot, so we decided that was highly appropriate!

When I picked them up, they were full of chatter about the week, wanted to sing songs for me, and introduced me to new friends. In other words, it was a big success!

Germany, Part 4: The Last Day(s)

After the activity of the previous days, everyone was looking forward to a relaxed, slow morning. Even those of us who aren’t usually big on sleeping in late outdid ourselves - the darkened hotel rooms surely helped. We did manage to rouse ourselves in time to catch the tail end of the excellent hotel breakfast buffet, though, so no worries about our priorities.

From there, we set out to catch some of Munich’s sights that had gone unseen so far. We ambled our way to the exterior of the Residenz and the surrounding gardens, but frankly we all felt that we had seen enough palaces for the week. So, we walked onward toward the English Garden area. We ultimately stumbled upon a group surfing on the River Eisbach, which was SO cool. We were mesmerized! This is a manmade river that features waves that natural flow over rock formations - and the waves stay in place, similar to a simulated wave maker. 

Eventually, we decided we needed some lunch, and made our way to a big biergarten in the English Garden. Feasting on pretzels, chicken, and salad under a giant tree, we formulated a plan for the afternoon. The guys set off to check out the Bayern Munich stadium, and we girls to find the churro shop Laura had requested, and Clare also found a bookstore to visit. We ladies also made another trip to the hotel’s cool pool!

We all met up in time for dinner at a chic steak restaurant, where we once again dined in an outdoor spot set up on the sidewalk - so classically European. We also made our way to a gelato restaurant on our way back to the hotel, and Clare made each one of us order ours in German. What a delightful end to the week…or so we thought!

We woke up early on Thursday and made our way to the airport via the U-Bahn (around a 45-minute trip). We successfully checked in, made our way through security and grabbed some breakfast, then settled in to eat and chill, did some duty-free shopping, etc. Our flight was delayed by a couple of hours, so we were glad to have found some room to hang out. Around 90 minutes prior to the flight, we heard an announcement: our flight was canceled, please go get our bags. Uh, what?? 

The next 30 minutes were chaotic, because Tim got on the phone with Delta who at that point were unaware the flight had been canceled. Eventually everyone was on the same page, the flight was, in fact, canceled, and we needed a plan. The thought trekking back to the city, then doing the same thing all over again even earlier in the morning (by this point we had been booked on an 8:30 a.m. flight the following day) wasn’t overly appealing. We were tired and cranky. So we found an “airport” hotel that in reality was a 15-minute shuttle drive away. But they had rooms! To Freising we went.

Freising turned out to be a quaint little town. After depositing our bags at the hotel, we found some lunch, then made our way back to relax/shower/go for a walk, depending on who you were. We reconvened for dinner at a traditional German restaurant that was actually quite delicious, and so we had yet another farewell meal. All’s well that ends well, especially since the next day our flight really did leave, and we finally made our way home to Atlanta. 

This was a spectacular trip, even if it felt short, and one we will remember for a very long time!

Germany, Part 3: A Tale of Two Cities

Ever since he visited in college, Tim has talked about the beauty of Innsbruck, Austria and dreamed of returning. Turns out it’s just a 2-hour train ride from Munich, so the day after our Bavarian Alps excursion, he, Clare and Danny returned to the hauptbahnhof and caught an early morning train to Innsbruck. Laura, weary of train rides with no phone or wifi to entertain (a luxury the rest of us enjoyed), wasn’t too keen on the idea of this day trip, so I agreed to stay back with her and enjoy more of Munich. While I would some day love to see Innsbruck for myself, I don’t regret our time together - it was delightful!

After a leisurely morning, a welcome break from the previous few mornings, Laura and I grabbed pastries from a couple of the kiosks in the Hauptbahnhof (I told you I like that word) and then figured out how to take a combination of U Bahn and tram to see yet another palace! Given our reliance on Tim for all things navigation and planning, the family expressed some doubts about my ability to get around the city. We showed them! Laura was an excellent partner, and together we flawlessly executed the trip to Schloss Nymphenburg!

We decided that, while similar to Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin, this was more impressive, especially with the water feature in the front. But…it was also quite similar on the inside to what we had seen, so we didn’t spend a ton of time there.

We meandered our way back to the hotel area, and opted to lunch in a place across the street. She was craving bratwurst, so we shared a traditional German lunch, including a beer for me. Quite tasty!

After lunch, we had decided to check out the pool in the hotel’s spa. It was SO COOL! The spiral design made it seem deceptively large, and the portion under the skylight had a window that showed the reception desk - but when you were in the reception area and looked at the window, you would never know it was the pool. We passed and extremely relaxing 45 minutes or so here, and primarily had the pool to ourselves. 

We returned to our respective rooms to take our time getting cleaned up, and then headed back to the Marienplatz area to grab a beverage, shop, and catch the Glockenspiel’s performance before dinner. Candidly, the Glockenspiel was a bit underwhelming, but I suppose hundreds of years ago that was more entertaining? However, Laura delighted in our trip to Zara, where I realized she is quickly becoming a teenager. Heaven help me. It took us several tries, but we finally found a restaurant where we could sit outside (my requirement) and eat schnitzel (Laura’s requirement). Frankly, I wasn’t sure what she would think of schnitzel, but turns out she fell head-over-heels in love! (Admittedly, she doused it in ketchup.) To this day, that is Laura’s answer to the lamb Danny ate in Montreal a few years back!

Speaking of Danny: While we girls were hanging out in Munich, the other three had a grand time in Innsbruck, and I’m pleased to report that it was every bit as magical as Tim recalled.

They took the cable car from city center up to the peak, where they had magnificent mountain vistas (and Danny stayed securely in the center for the most part). Clare and Tim hiked up to a higher point - where is was around 50 degrees, by the way. Worth every step, they report. Tim said the best part is that there was significant cloud cover on their way up, obscuring the view, but the clouds literally parted as they finished their lunch and were ready to explore.

They also enjoyed the downtown area of Innsbruck, and at one point Tim texted a photo of them enjoying Kaffee und Kuchen, which set Laura on a quest to find cake for our dessert. (We eventually settled for a flourless chocolate cake at our hotel.) Around this time, Danny also learned that he earned a 5 on his AP World History exam, so that added to the enjoyment!

Danny and Clare absolutely loved Innsbruck, and were definitely pleased with their decision to get up early and ride the railways. 

Germany, Part 2: Day 1 in Munich & A Day in the Bavarian Alps

On Sunday, we made our way to Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof (my favorite German word) and hopped on a train to Munich, a 4.5 hour journey. When we arrived to the Munich Hauptbahnhof, we discovered the our hotel was literally next door, which was fantastic! We deposited our bags and then set out to walk to the historic Marienplatz area, about 15 minutes from our hotel.

We passed through the Karsplatz area on our way, and walked by the huge, iconic Frauenkirche just as the church bells were chiming. It reminded me of the wedding scene from “The Sound of Music!” All throughout the square were shops and restaurants with biergartens. Eventually we got to Marienplatz, where the New Town Hall and its Glockenspiel reside. We didn’t catch the Glockenspiel in action that evening, but Clare definitely reminisced about seeing it during her Bearing Witness trip in 2019, and her classmate’s amusing report on it. We wandered around some more, walking through the famous Hofbrauhaus, which is massive and also gave me Disney vibes. 

After making our way back to the hotel to change clothes, we headed to dinner, a walk in a slightly different direction but equally scenic. Tim had honed in on Burger & Lobster Bar for our crowd, and it was a winner. We had a table in their outdoor patio at the back of the restaurant, which was charming - as was our waiter, who would respond, “You’re welcome” to our requests, well before we had said, “thank you!” He also won over Laura by crafting her “the best drink she’s ever tasted” in response to her request for “still lemonade” (she’s not a fan of carbonation). 

The next day we woke up early, and Tim braved the car rental place so that we could drive up in the mountains and see some castles and hike. The morning was cool and drizzly, in other words perfect for being outdoors as far as I was concerned! Our first stop: Schloss Linderhof, one of several castles that Ludwig II built. He was a very strange individual, but he sure did make some beautiful homes! This castle wasn’t particularly big, but it was very ornate and heavily influenced by Versailles, as Ludwig hero-worshipped Louis XIV. The grounds were also stunning.

On our way to our next stop, the famed Neuschwanstein Castle, we pulled over to just enjoy the breathtaking misty mountain views - which of course are next to impossible to photograph, but we always try!

Tickets were sold out for touring the inside of Neuschwanstein Castle, but given that it wasn’t finished and there’s not a lot inside, I don’t consider that a huge loss. We did make the VERY uphill trek to see the exterior, which also afforded some glorious views of the surrounding area and nearby Hohenschwangau Castle (I still have no idea how to pronounce it). We were all a bit hangry by now, so opted to go get lunch before our next tour and hike. 

Tim, ever the amazing trip planner, had scouted out a nearby, new restaurant that overlooked the mountains and castles and also had some great grounds itself. I enjoyed my first bratwurst of the trip for lunch! 

Now we were ready to tour Hohenschwangau Castle, which was where Ludwig II grew up and began his plans for the other castles. I couldn’t help marveling at how all of these castles were erected in the midst of very steep mountains! 

After this tour, we walked down to The Alpsee, the lake nested below the two castles and just breathtakingly beautiful. We walked the entire circumference, and it was gorgeous. The water was the most gorgeous shade of teal!

We drove home eating chocolate and vibing to music - okay, some of us snoozing - and, after quick showers and changes of clothes, walked through the rain to an Italian restaurant that was absolutely delicious. By the end of the day, we clocked 12 miles!

Germany, Part 1: Berlin

We have Laura to thank for this year’s incredible family trip to Germany, at least partially. When she learned that Clare would be studying in Berlin for 6 weeks, she immediately announced, “I want to go to Germany!” Given that a year ago, she was hesitant to go just about anywhere, we seized on this enthusiasm and made it happen.

Berlin doesn’t get as much promotion as a can’t-miss European destination as Munich, etc., so we figured a couple of days there would be plenty. Upon review, I think we would all agree that it’s a highly underrated city, and we enjoyed it much more than we expected.

Thanks to flight issues, we wound up taking a train from Amsterdam to Berlin, arriving in the evening. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we found a nearby Italian restaurant with a lovely outdoor patio, and thus promptly settled into vacation life.

The next day we got up, enjoyed the hotel breakfast buffet at an alfresco table, and headed out to explore some Berlin highlights. We started with Brandenburg Gate, which was walking distance from our hotel. From there we made the short walk to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which was somehow both simple and complex, and definitely powerful. 

Right across the street from the memorial was the Tiergarten, where Clare had mentioned that she and her roommate rode bikes, etc. It was lovely, though we didn’t spend a ton of time there. We had hopes of checking out the nearby Reichstag Building, but tickets were sold out for the day. So, after hydrating we hopped on the U-Bahn and headed to the East Side Gallery, which is the longest continuous section of the Berlin Wall still in existence. It was pretty fascinating to tour a piece of history that Tim and I remembered actively from our youth. 

We made our way to Alexanderplatz for lunch, and a close-up look at the Berliner Fernsehturm, a.k.a. the Berlin TV Tower. By now it was definitely time for a rest (or a 2-hour nap that we would come to regret that night, but oh well). Ever the top-notch travel planner, Tim had made dinner reservations at a place that essentially served German tapas. It was located in an interesting part of town, and was a fun, unique way to try some quintessential German fare with an amusing waiter. We gave their dessert offerings a thumbs down, however, so opted to set out for a better option - AND to stalk Clare. As it was her last night with her program friends, we had largely left her alone, knowing we would link up the next day for the duration of the trip. But thanks to the wonders of Life 360, we found her on Alexanderplatz and made a quick visit before setting off in search of suitable sweets.

Saturday, after quickly receiving a sleep-deprived Clare and her roommate Elena (whose flight home was canceled), we once again opted for the hotel breakfast before making our way to Charlottenburg Palace. The ornate interior and extensive gardens made for an impressive tour, although we all left wondering why the royals needed quite so many antechambers…

We found a cute Italian cafe not far from the palace and enjoyed some pizzas on their front garden patio. We soon found ourselves chatting with the man at the next table, who recognized our American accents. He’s a NY native who’s been living in Berlin for 30 years as a professor. While he visits NY every year, he really loves living in Berlin, and it’s not hard to see why.

We vowed to not make the napping mistake of the previous day, so regrouped at the hotel and then set out to explore a bit more. While Clare did laundry, we visited Museum Island and soon found ourselves climbing to the top of the Berlin Cathedral. The panoramic views were pretty cool, although Danny opted to head back down almost immediately. It was fairly warm that day, but we did find a refreshing locale in the shade along the river where we people watched for a while, before going on a quest for gelato. We managed to find some that was served by a rather rude clerk, but it sure tasted good!

For our final night in Berlin, and knowing that Clare would be joining us (with the bonus addition of her roommate Elena, who couldn’t fly out until the next day), Tim had found a really nice Indian restaurant. But first we walked around the corner from our hotel to a biergarten in the nearby Gendarmenmarkt, where we enjoyed an alfresco beverage (and we were amused to watch Clare and Elena drink beers). Dinner at India Club was delicious, and the location allowed us to make an evening visit to Brandenburg Gate and a stroll along Under den Linden. It was a gorgeous evening that afforded a fond farewell to Berlin for all of us, especially Clare and Elena.