moe ghoul Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 After the 3rd attempt in 3 years, I finally managed to make the trip overseas and get some skiing in and spend some quality time with the old man. Dad and I got back from Germany Saturday evening with a direct flight to Philly from Frankfurt. We spent a few days in Bad Homburg, a suburb of Frankfurt with my step brother at my dad's house there, then drove a rental down to Garmisch Partenkirchen where we stayed at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, a US owned facility which caters to military personnel, both active and retired and their families. The place is both huge and beautiful and our room had a nice view of the alps. Road leading into Garmisch View from the room We arrived there on Friday afternoon, checked in and had dinner in the pub. Since it was a holiday weekend, Fasching/Carneval, the local hill was guaranteed to be a mad house, so I made plans to head into Austria Saturday and Sunday. I skied in the Lermoos, Austria area (1/2hour drive from the hotel) that weekend, skiing the Gruebigstein gondy and lifts both days due to the lack of crowds, open terrain and relatively deep and untracked areas to ski right off the lifts and easy traverses. It snowed almost daily while we were there, no heavy dumps, but good enough to find boot to shin deep pow off the trails. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe ghoul Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 I took Monday off and we headed into Munich for lunch and a walkabout thru Marienplatz which was in full swing with food and drink vendors, people in costumes, music, etc. We had lunch and beers at the Hofbrauhaus and then headed back to the hotel. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Garmisch is such a beautiful town. My husband has family in Heidelburg. When we visited them we did a few days in Garmisch, favorite part of the trip for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe ghoul Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Tues/Wednesday I skied at the local Garmisch Classic hill Hausberg and Kreuzeck. Skinned up on Tuesday because it was a beautiful day and they set aside a track for folks that hike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicSkier Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Awesome! We drove through Garmisch (took the A95 from Munich) on our way to Innsbruck...such a beautiful area. I'm contemplating a ski season European delivery for some turns in Garmisch and maybe Kitzbuhel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mixilplix Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Awesome! We drove through Garmisch (took the A95 from Munich) on our way to Innsbruck...such a beautiful area. I'm contemplating a ski season European delivery for some turns in Garmisch and maybe Kitzbuhel. I went to kitzbuhel awhile back and it still rates as one of the best trips ever.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Law Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 FKNA sick dude, super jealous. +1 for the Kinco's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe ghoul Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 We walked into town and had dinner in Garmisch on Tuesday nite, which is the same as Fat Tuesday over here. We ate at a traditional german bavarian restaurant, the Gasthof Zum Rassen. While we were eating dinner, 5 or six costumed locals came in and entertained the diners with their antics. They dressed in farmer's garb, wearing the old harvest baskets on their backs, passing out shots, and handing out homemade slaw they brought in a big wooden bucket. We shared a table with a german family. The woman was lifted off her chair, shoes were removed and her feet were washed. Then they stuck her in the cabbage slaw pail to mash it up with her feet. People still ate the slaw. River running thru Garmisch A little old german church Ludwigs Strasse in Garmisch, older cobblestoned street with bars and restaurants Revelers in tails and tophats singing around a bonfire The cabbage bucket, foot washing, costumed characters and our waitress The restaurant we ate at that nite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe ghoul Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Dad finally got the nerve up on the our last ski day and rented some equipment. We went to Bieberwier in Austria, near Lermoos and Ehrwald. 1/2 hour drive. I chose it because it was beginner friendly and the old man needed all the help he could get. He successfully made one decent run down, claimed victory and returned to the Bierstube where he shared his gnar shredding experience with some belgians that didn't ski, but drank and smoked heavily. I headed up to the top and skied solo, mostly groomers with an occasional short tree run between the switchbacks, but the cover was a little thin. Bieberwier Dad Ski Stoke Dog stoke Brother's Cat stoke Das Ende 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnyv11 Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Looks like it was a great trip. Glad you were able to get it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 I have family that lives in Germany about an hour from the German alps. I really need to visit them more. Great report now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toast21602 Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Awesome man! So glad you finally made it out there after all this anticipation for years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe ghoul Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Thanks, no action ski shots of me to speak of, since I was solo with teh iphone, I'll post up some touristy vimeo vids once they upload. A couple of obervations from the trip. Lift ticket prices: Pretty reasonable and cheaper than the US. No price jacking on weekends or holidays like here that I could see. Prices in general: Similar to the US, except for gas. I managed to save a few beans on the exchange rate because I had Swiss francs I bought a few years back when the USD was stronger, so I brought some of those and cashed them in for Euros. Toilets and toilet paper: Instead of a toilet tank and flusher, its all built into the wall behind the toilet, and the flusher is a big panel on the wall that you push. I developed my own technique which involved throwing an elbow and lifting up the family jewels to avoid getting soaked by the torrent of water that spilled into the bowl. Toilet paper is still uber thick and almost like a 3 ply paper towel. Public restrooms often require a prepay thru a little turnstyle, usally about 1$. Department store restrooms often have an attendant sitting outside with a little plate for required tipping, about 50 cents. Ski racks: Too funny. Last year, I made the arrangements to rent the car which I ended up cancelling since we couldn't go. I opted for a Passat wagon, snow tires, no ski rack since the wagon would hold the skis inside. I got the collision/theft coverage thru AMEX gold card which saved about $300. Dad was added as a second driver and I got it for about $500, unlimited mileage. Dad made the arrangements this time for the car. He opted for a Ford Fiesta with ski rack, ended up paying the collision insurance since he failed to ask me about the CC coverage and he ended up paying about $800 for the deal. The ski rack was some halfassed magnet set up that you stuck on the roof and strapped the skis down with heavy duty rubberbands. I got a good laugh from that and dad ended up paying an extra $60 for it which I didn't use since I didn't trust it. So we ended up driving with my 186's hanging over the shifter, but at least it made a nice armrest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiggio Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Thanks for the report. Some day, some way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe ghoul Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Garmisch is such a beautiful town. My husband has family in Heidelburg. When we visited them we did a few days in Garmisch, favorite part of the trip for me. That it is. I lived in and around Heidelberg as a kid for 6 years, went to school 3rd thru 9th grade there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe ghoul Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 https://vimeo.com/59928418 The famous Glockenspiel in Munich, when the bells chime, figurines come out of the steeple, but we didn't hang around for it. I've seen it before. https://vimeo.com/59928420 The washing of the feet before stomping the kraut/slaw https://vimeo.com/59928419 The stomping of the kraut/slaw https://vimeo.com/59928422 Dad's courageous 2 minutes of ski fame. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schif Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Awesome report. Looks like an epic trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sibhusky Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Nice trip report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFskiDan Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Damn...Germany. Way to make my weekend look awesome. lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnyv11 Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 My wife's sister is in Weisbaden so i'm trying to link a trip up to go to the alps while she visits at some point but looks like you had a good one. Dad looked like he was killing it lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride Delaware ? Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 Awesome trip report!!! I loved Germany when I was there, but is really like to go back and visit some of the smaller towns... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbike-ski Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 looks like a fantatstic trip - glad you were finally able to pull it off. lol about the toilets, during my european travels i thought about putting together a coffe table book of the crazy contraptions those euros think up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toast21602 Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 I'd love to go back to Germany too and ski. I was there a few years back to play soccer so I didn't really have that opportunity. Hopefully sometime... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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