Garmisch and the Zugspitz

Since Saudi Arabia isn't very big on celebrating Christmas, our family headed to Germany for the Christmas Markets and the traditional winter wonderland that Germany is known for. We stayed at the Edelweiss Lodge in Garmisch, which is a military resort but Foreign Service members can stay there if they meet certain eligibility criteria.

RRR in Garmisch

We flew through Istanbul and arrived at Munich airport in the middle of the day. It seemed to take forever to get through the immigration line because most of the folks on our flight were Turkish or other non-EU citizens. Only after we got through that wait did we learn that one our bags didn't make the connection out of Istanbul. So we ended up killing around 5 hours at the Munich airport. We went ahead and got the key to the rental car and dropped our stuff in trunk since the car was parked at the terminal. Then we went to a Christmas market that was actually at the airport, spending our time ice skating, eating bratwurst, drinking kinderpunsch, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.

Ice Skating at the Munich Airport Christmas Market

When the delayed bag finally arrived, it was a labyrinthine ordeal to claim it. I ended up going through security three or four times, only to find myself getting routed by different staff in such a way that I wound up outside security without my bag, so I had to go back through the process again until I got it right. We were on the road by about 7 pm. It was raining and dark. Fun.

The Zugspitz
The next morning, we drove through Garmisch on our way to ascend the Zugspitz, the tallest mountain in Germany. Kacey and I had visited the Zugspitz before and we thought it would be a great experience for the girls.