Monday, September 1, 2008

Day 6: Day at the hotel and a Garmisch walk

We all slept in and had a huge buffet breakfast. My parents were fine skipping this most of the time but to us it was such a luxury to have the option of a big breakfast! Going to IHOP on a Sat. morning was a semi-regular tradition for us and they just don't have american breakfasts over here!!

It was a laundry/pool morning. (For anyone planning a trip, they have about 5 washing machines and 8 dryers. They are coin/quarter operated and there is a change machine there also). They have a wonderful kiddie pool that Ellie can actually stand up in. It's indoor, as the temp outside only reaches about 70 in August! It was very warm and the kids just had a blast swimming all morning. They also have a beautiful hot tub outdoors where you can sit and just look at the mountains all around you. Derrick and I did this quite often, gracious that my parents took the girls to let us relax here and there!

After lunch we walked around Garmisch, which is a cute little ski village. I had my first schnitzel (a fried, breaded pork steak) and D got his german beer fix. It was pretty drizzly and we all needed light jackets. While this would get old all the time, it was a nice change from walking around in the 90's in Rome.

The houses in Garmisch are adorable, all very traditional and resembling cuckoo cuckoo clocks. We stopped in a well known little shop of Christmas things and I bought a cuckoo clock ornament. (I buy an ornament on every vacation. My mom started this tradition when I was little and it's always fun to decorate the tree and talk about the places you found your ornaments). My grandma Margaret (mom's mom) had several cuckoo clocks around her home growing up and the ticking sound is so nostalgic to me. Derrick and I looked around at them but didn't decide on anything. We shall see. It was very much a chill day-- and very much needed!

I took a break from my camera that day. I don't think I took one picture. Here are a few from an evening that week just walking around outdoors after dinner. The bench is actually next to the sidewalk in front of the resort. The gigantic knot on Eleanor's forehead was from her tumbling off a chair in our hotel room. I didn't photoshop the pics, but probably will edit the bump out when I send grandparents' pics.




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