Day 10 of European Vacation: Brozeit Tour

Wed 13 August 2008 - Day 10 of our Vacation continued- currently in Edelweiss/Garmisch-Germany



Journal:
Today we went to see a cheese making factory as well as a monestary! I'm not sure if I recommend this tour or not with the Edelweiss hotel.

Again we were slow moving come morning because the girls are taking short stroller/bus naps and staying up late! It's hard to turn off the tv when you're watching the US Olympians go for the gold! Usually we sit in the rocking chairs by the hotel fireplace or take the girls swimming after dinner, then watch a bit of tv while they settle down.


Anyhow it was packed on the bus but both girls fell asleep on the short ride over to the monestary. It was a pretty warm day and we heard some funny tidbits about the Garmisch cows while on the bus ride over. The town has a sort of co-op with the cows. They all go to a large field during the day and at about 5pm walk right through town, stopping traffic (just like in Sicily!) but get this- they stay in their owners backyards! Now I'm talking about subdivision/townhouse size yards here! funny stuff.

We arrived to the very small cheese factory our in the country. It was very small but charming. One little boy from our tour bus ran back out as I walked in. He apparently walked in, took one wiff of the stinky cheese, which is comparable to a dirty gym sock, and threw up! His mother looked mortified. It was pretty comical. We were hurdled to a table to sit and hear a short speech and video about the factory and then tasted some cheese, cold meats, and bread. Val did get to try to squirt milk out of a fake cow udder. You could see the machines from a window but there wasn't any production going on. I was sort of thinking, "that's it?" I suppose if you are a cheese fanatic you'd like to be able to purchase products but it wasn't very exciting for the girls.



The Ettal Monestary is practically next door and so we chose to walk. The building is really beautiful. They produce everything they need here including of course beer and liquor as it is in itself it's own little community within this small group of buildings. It is said to be that monks make the best beer and it is not usually locally sold so it is special to be able to taste it at these monestaries. You'll have to ask D or my parents about that. I had ice cream out of a vending machine with the girls.


You can walk to the church in the monestary and that is about it. It again seemed sort of like, "that's it?" We had over an hour of sitting on the curb waiting for the bus to show up or people to shop in the tiny store. The girls were pretty well behaved given the circumstances. The food and cheese were both very good and the trip was relaxing but I felt as though we could have done this trip on our own (with a car) and then had the other half of the day to go hiking or something.






It did start pouring rain on the way home so we relaxed and napped at the hotel. Derrick and I went to dinner alone while my parents took the girls out in town. We ate at the Pullman Place in the hotel which is a fairly upscale dining area with very good food and service. We had steaks, a cocktail, and a fantastic raspberry cheesecake. Definitely go there while you stay! Bonus points if you get to enjoy it without entertaining your kiddos.


Afterwards we went for a swim and also sat in the hot tub for awhile. It is so nice to sit outside and look at the stars and mountains while soaking! It's hard to believe we only have a day left here. It flew by!