Garmisch

When we go to Garmisch we like to take a drive into the neighboring towns in Germany and in Austria.  Lermoos is a super cute little town in Austria about 15 min. away.  Ettal has a great monastery and a delish restaurant right across the street..get the Käsespätzle..it's amazing!  Mittenwald is a beautiful town, probably my favorite, and has a really good bierhaus.  SO YUMMY!  Walk around the center of town and admire the homes, with their beautifully painted scenes.

I've ridden the gondola up the Zugspitz twice now.  So worth the $$!  And don't take the train, the gondola is much more fun although it is a bit scary.  But I made it, so that's saying a lot.  Once on top, there is of course, a beer garden!  Enjoy a beer and some apple cake and take in the scenery.  You can even cross over to the top of the Austrian side in Tyrol.

The gorge is a must do as well and you're not far at all from Linderhof.  It's about a 90 min. ride to Neuschwanstein Castle.

Dachau is not a far drive from Garmisch.  I'd recommend a visit if you're interested in that.  Very sobering and makes for an emotionally draining day.

Black Forest

2008-  Wanting to see the foliage, we thought this lovely Saturday was a great day to take a drive to the Black Forest and enjoy the fall colors.







2009- We decided to take the motorcycle for a ride through the Black Forest to a castle for cake and coffee.  (Clearly the only reason I went along!)

The view from our table. 

Colmar

We stayed at the Ibis and it was a great location.  In Colmar, they make this dish called a Rosti.  It is delish and made with potato and Munster cheese.  Schwendi Bier Winstub is the place where we go when we are in Colmar for this special dish.  Also, a visit to the area known as Petite Venice is also worth a walk to.  Just don't pay for the "gondola ride" unless you never plan on visiting the real Venice!



Colmar



Me enjoying the Rosti!

London

2008- Our first trip to London was for Brian's work.  He did a week long training while I visited every single stop in Rick Steves Guidebook (which I would highly recommend for anyone visiting).  Stay at a place close to a metro stop and you'll be fine.  The Hop On/Off bus is a good thing to do here as there are so many things to do/see in London.  We did the London Eye, but I'm not sure it would make my personal to do list.  The Tower of London would as well as most museums and almost everything on Rick Steves to do list.  Get some Lebanese food at a place right across from Harrod's and the sushi is pretty good at either Harrod's (although quite pricey) and at Paddington Station.


2010-  Our trip to London in July was for Brian's work.  We just extended it a little and made it into a mini vacation.  I spent a day in Cambridge, while Brian was working.  Cambridge in the UK is very similar to Cambridge, MA.  Beautiful landscaping and lovely Universities.  Unfortunately, I did not have our camera, so there are no pictures to share.  The next day, when Brian's meetings were over, we took the train into London.

Having already been to London and done all the touristy things..I asked a friend who had lived there for years to recommend some more local type stuff to do.  We explored Primrose Hill, which is a lovely area where some famous people, Kate Moss, Jude Law, to name a few, live.  There's a nice park with a great view of the city.  We enjoyed the nice summer weather.  We also went over to the ultra trendy Soho Hotel for High Tea.  SO MUCH FUN!  I love tea and everything little that goes along with it.  We also stopped by Portabello Road, which is one of my must do's every time I'm there.  We actually stayed in Notting Hill this trip, which is a great area of London.

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is one of my favorite cities to take visitors to.  One being that it is so close to where we live.  Two, is that the best biscuits in the world are here!  La Cure Gourmande Alpes makes the best biscuits ever!  Their shop is right near the Cathedral.  We have climbed to the top of the Cathedral, which is a really nice climb with lovely views.  Also, I would recommend doing the riverboat cruise.  It departs frequently and has English automated tour as you ride.  

Santorini, Mykonos, and Corfu

Santorini is my favorite Greek Isle thus far.  It is picture perfect and has lots of fun shopping.  We took a bus up the cliff (donkey is the other choice) and headed for the town of Oia.  There is the most amazing Greek Orthodox Church here.  So beautiful inside!  Walking around the streets of Oia was like being inside a postcard.  Breathtaking!

Santorini

Mykonos was not all I expected it to be.  We chose to walk around the town instead of heading to the party area.  It is pretty, but if I could only choose one place to visit in Greece, it would not be this island.  The windmills are pretty here and there are restaurants all along the water's edge.  Be careful walking though as you may get splashed!!

Mykonos

Corfu was lovely.  Very green.  We walked along the old city and got a "Frappe" which is the most amazing iced coffee I've ever had in my life!  We also hiked up the Old Fortress, a must do if you go.  The view from the top is amazing and you can even see Albania.


Corfu

Athens

Athens is not a city I would visit again, though having said that, I'm glad I had the opportunity to visit it once.  We went to The National Archaeological Museum.  WOW!  What a fantastic collection they have.  We of course went to see the Parthenon and the Acropolis.  Overall though, Athens felt like a normal, big, dirty city.  Great for the historic sites, but otherwise, I'd skip it.

Dubrovnik

Croatia has waters a color I've never seen before.  Dubrovnik is a super cool city.  We only had a day here and we chose to spend it walking along the city walls.  There's a lot of stepping up/down steps and we had to take a break as it was a lot on my knees.  But the views were spectacular.

Trieste and Ancona

As I am writing this post two years after I visited these places, my memory is a bit fuzzy.  We drove to Trieste, Italy.  A very cute little town on the water.  

Trieste, Italy                                                                                              

We boarded a cruise ship here and sailed to Ancona, Italy.  Ancona has one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen.  All white marble atop a cliff with views down to the sea.  It was quite a hike up there, but worth it!

Ancona, Italy

Salzburg

Salzburg, the home of the Sound of Music and Mozart..such a lovely town.  It's great for walking around, but more than a weekend there and I wouldn't know what to do with myself.  It's lovely and the ride from Germany there is lovely too.  Driving through the Alps, you enter this sleepy little town with a river running through.  You can see Mozart's birth home and eat some yummy Austrian food.


I visited this city again three years later with my mom and step father.  We took the fanicula up to the Castle and did the tour.  We spent a day at the Salt mines outside of Salzburg.  Brian and I have done the mines in Krakow, and we both thought those ones were more beautiful.  However, we did learn more about salt mining in the Austrian tour as well as enjoying a slide ride twice in the mines.  We also took the ride to Eagle's Nest.  We had lunch right at the restaurant in the parking lot (where you catch the bus up the mountain) and had some delish goulash.