One of the perks of Daddy's job is that he occasionally gets to take cool trips, and he spent 7 days in Germany last week. The Bitburger bus was their transportation for the week, and it was outfitted for comfort while travelling all over Germany.
After landing in Munich, they spent the evening in Garmish near the Austrian border. Dinner was at Zirbelstube in the Dorint Sporthotel. The room had an amazing view of the Munich Olympic ski mountains. Of course the meal was traditional German . . . schnitzel, white asparagus and potatoes.
On day 2, the group visited the Benediktener brewery in Ettal. They have been brewing beer there for centuries. Everyone enjoyed lunch at the Klosterhotel.
The monastery is part of the brewery as is most of the town. (This picture is not rotating well!!)
After lunch, the guys took a lift up to the top of the Zugspitze mountain. It is the highest mountain in Germany and near the Austrian border. Someone doesn't like heights so much but managed a picture near the rail after quite a bit of encouraging!!
While descending on the tram, the guide pointed out that the lake below the mountain was crystal clear and made of water from the melting of the mountain glacier. So pretty!
Day 3 was an in-country travel day. After 4 hours on the bus, they stopped at the medieval town of Rothenburg. The town is over 1,000 years old and boasts 42 towers, cobblestone streets and many historic sites.
Lunch was a giant (but skinny) German sausage as the guys tried out the local specialty. This was got rave reviews!
The next 4 hour drive put them in Trier for their home for the next couple of nights. On a rainy afternoon, the street vendors were waiting on shoppers. Notice the McDonald's in the background. They have Bitburger beer on draft with Big Macs!!
Because we love food pictures, dinner was Guinea fowl with risotto and vegetables at Brasserie at the Park Plaza Hotel. Looks yummy!
Day 4 began with a drive to Bitburg to visit the Bitburger brewery. It has evolved to a modern structure due to the demand of the beer. They pioneer traditional German brewing with state of the art equipment.
Another dinner pic . . . filet mignon at the Hotel Eurener Hof in Trier.
Day 5 started with a tour of the wine country town of Bernkastel/Mosel. The small town had a beautiful square with traditional architecture. The rain was still lingering.
Frankfurt was the next stop on the agenda, and everyone boarded the ferry to cross the Rhine River.
On day 6, the group drove to Lich to visit the Licher Brewery and meet Dr. Peters. He walked everyone through the entire brewing process and ended the tour with a beer on top of the brewery in the beer garden over-looking the entire town of Lich.
After the Lich tour, the guys had free time to explore Frankfurt. Kevin and his travel buddy (from California) McCay ventured out to see the sights. Frankfurt was the most modern city they visited on this trip. It was full of high rise offices and buildings and had the most normal-like scene.
The group met for one last dinner at the super fancy Neuer Haferkasten (Italian restaurant). After a few raw courses and a plate of osso bucco, Daddy was ready to be done with international food! Where's the pizza and lasagna???
One long 9 hour flight and 2 hour customs line later, Daddy was back home to normal life! The boys were so excited to have him back . . . we sat on the sidewalk eating popcorn and waiting for his car. Daddy brought fun German gifts for the boys, and they love them. Beau got a wooden animal book, and Lincoln got a ghost tower game. We have played it a million times already with lots of happy squeals!
We are all glad to be back to normal. Daddy experienced all of his normal Texan-American life right away . . . we had Mi Cocina for dinner just after he landed, we watched a Rangers baseball game on Sunday night, and he had a Jersey Mike's sub for lunch on Monday. I'm pretty sure he's glad to be back home, and I'm pretty sure we are glad to have him back home.
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