From the beginning, I really wanted my parents and all three of my siblings to visit us in Germany. Well, it finally happened when the final two visited in August. My sister Cassie, her husband Zach and my brother Sam joined us for a 10 day trip through some of our favorite towns in Germany.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Our information got a little crossed and I wasn’t there to pick them up from the airport. Alex and I had even stayed at the Frankfurt airport the night before so we could be at their gate bright and early the next morning. I had just gotten out of the shower when I got a text from my brother saying “landed.” No big deal I thought, they still have to go through customs, I have time. Nope. They were through customs, had already gotten their bags and were standing on the street. I felt horrible for not being there but I quickly ran down and found them. After that, we left and headed to the medieval walled city of Rothenburg. We started the tour with the city walls and ended with an introduction to the deliciousness of flammkuchen. They were pretty tired, so they went to take a nap and Alex and I found a really cute Biergarten to enjoy a beer. After they woke up, we took them over to the Biergarten for a drink. Afterwards, we headed into the center to enjoy the Night Watchman Tour. A medieval tour explaining life back in the Middle Ages, led by a local wearing a cape and holding a lantern. It’s a really fascinating tour.

 

 

Nuremberg: We headed to Nuremberg the next morning. We dropped off Cassie, Zach and Sam at the Nuremberg Trials museum. They learned all about the trials and even got to see the courtroom it took place in. Once done, we picked them up and headed to the Zeppelin fields. We climbed the stairs and stood in the spot where Hitler had given his speeches years ago which is now used as an American football field. We then headed into the center to enjoy more of Nuremberg and after climbing up to the castle, we eventually found ourselves with a drink in hand enjoying the beautiful day.

 

 

Köln: Our next stop was to Köln. We were really excited to show them around the city. We kept really busy for the next 3 days, walking miles and miles each day. We rode a cable car over the Rhine River, did a virtual reality tour of Cologne set in 1919, sampled Kölsch beer, enjoyed wine in the park (twice), stopped at our favorite Biergarten for a drink, had dinner at our favorite restaurant and much much more. It was so fun being able to show them around the place we’ve called home for almost 4 years.

 

 

Munich: For the remainder of the trip, we headed south. Since it was a 5-6 hour drive to Munich depending on traffic, we stopped for the night in Würzburg. Alex and I had never been before, so it was nice checking out a new town. We got in around dinner time and went in search of food. We found a nice spot to grab a drink and a pizza. We then headed back to the hostel for the night. We made our way to Munich the next morning. Our first stop was to (of course) the famous Hofbrauhaus. This is one of our absolute favorite brauhaus’s. We grabbed a seat, listened to the band and sampled a pretzel and a maß. Afterwards, we continued our (beer) tour of Munich stopping in the Englischer Gartens to watch the surfers for a bit then found ourselves at the beautiful park Biergarten. Next, we stopped at one more Biergarten for dinner, I love Munich!

 

 

We were really excited about today! It was Neuschwanstein Castle day! Even though Alex and I have been three times before, we always love going. Once we arrived, we collected the tickets then headed up the steep walk to the castle. For the next few hours, we took pictures on the Marienbrucke, toured the inside of the castle and took the beautiful gorge walk down to the bottom (this is only the 2nd time we got to do this, it’s always been closed due to rock fall). After that wonderful morning, we headed to Innsbruck, Austria but first we had a special stop along the way. We decided to surprise them with a trip down the “worlds longest alpine coaster.” When we arrived, since it was summer and 2:00 in the afternoon, it was about an hour wait to ride. That was fine by us because it gave us time to enjoy the beautiful area. We took the 15 minute ski lift up to the top, grabbed a number and a beer at the Biergarten while enjoying views of the surrounding alps. In no time, it was our turn to go down. Sam first then Alex, me, Zach and then Cassie. We were zooming down the hill, feeling like a total kid again, smiling from ear to ear all the way down. It’s such a fun experience and I was glad we made the stop. After that excitement, we left for Innsbruck. We had never been there before and I was very surprised by how beautiful it was. We explored the town, stopped for dinner then grabbed a final drink at the outdoor festival that was going on.

 

 

The next morning, bright and early, we left for Berchtesgaden. Since Alex and I have done the Eagles Nest tour a few times before, we let C, Z and S go on their own. Alex and I explored the town in the meantime. Once finished, we picked them up and headed back to Munich for their last evening in Europe. We did the usual, Biergarten, Biergarten, Brauhaus, Biergarten. The day before, when crossing a bridge near our hotel, we noticed a ton of people sitting on the structure enjoying the sunset. Some people just had drinks while others had brought an entire picnic. It seemed like the perfect way to end our trip. We bought beers and a small bottle of jaeger (when in Germany…) and climbed up the bridge to enjoy the sunset. About 20 minutes into our bridge sittin’ two police cars drove over the bridge really slowly with a few bikes following, then more bikes and more until all you could see where bikers. We started cheering them on when they passed our section of the bridge. The couple sitting next to Zach asked him “do you know those people?” He laughed and said “no.” I guess Germans aren’t used to the friendliness of the Midwest. For the better part of an hour we clapped, cheered and yelled “put ze pedal to ze metal” (well Alex did) until all the bikers had past. It was fun seeing how excited the bikers got when they reached our section of the bridge. They cheered with us, Prösted us and even took videos. It was a great end to a great trip.

 

 

The next morning we stopped at Dachau Concentration camp on the way to the airport. Although it’s never a fun visit, it’s necessary and very enlightening. We stayed for about two hours, visiting the museum and walking the grounds. We then dropped off C, Z and S at the airport. Cassie, Zach and Sam, we loved having you in Germany and had such a great time showing you some of our favorite places. Thanks for coming and stuff…(don’t say and stuff).