Off To Italy We Go! (Part One)

I finally have a moment to share with you all our Easter trip to Italy this past April with Toblerone’s family. I was just looking through the pictures again and I am have a serious withdrawl. Looks like we need to plan another trip! (Hear that Toblerone…:-))

We left the house so early it was still dark out. I normally hate mornings that start off like that but we were all just SO excited about this trip that I could have left any time of the day and would have been ok with that! 6 hours of driving on the Autobahn and finally up into the Alps and on very curvy roads. It was a beautiful sunny day for traveling and we arrived in the early afternoon to our hotel, Alpen Tesitin…also known as, Heaven.

 

Since there were six of us (Toblerone and I, his parents, his brother and sister-in-law) we took two cars up. One car (ahem…his parents) took the wrong exit so naturally while we waited I plopped myself down in the lobby and allowed myself to be waited on. A fresh glass of Italian red wine would do the trick!

 

We also checked out our room. I just love the way that they make up the beds. I mean…how cute is this?! With our little spa robes and slippers. Just perfect! For those that don’t know, this is a typical Alpine Hotel and the room decorations show it. Really quaint and adorable. This hotel is quite modern but they definitely tried to keep the appeal of the Alpine style.

 

Every day they place out a “lunch” snack of sorts. They had a large salad bar (much better than in the states), cold salads, hot soups, and of course….CAKES!!!!!

Complete heaven…is it not?!?!

As we got settled in, we got ourselves situated. The Germans in the sun, per usual, and I wandering around checking out the “grounds.”

 

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore so I headed down to the pool and eventually into the spa. Yes, you know the kind of spa I’m talking about. The NAKED SPA!!!! My favorite!

 

This pool connected to the outside pool with a view. I could sit out there forever just staring at the view. WiFi was limited so it really was great to “disconnect” and just be in the moment. I think we definitely needed this to recharge!

More on the trip later!! I’ve got lots more to share with you all! 🙂

Until next time, Readers!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

 

Third Annual Hiking Trip In the Alps

My annual meeting with the Alps happened again. This time we traveled a couple hours away to the Lünersee in Austria. This was actually a tough climb and a lot of steep parts but hey…when in Rome!!

With our group of 25 people we climbed up the first portion to a lodge (6,495 feet above sea level) for lunch and a few drinks. Note to self…don’t drink beer before you hike another 3 hours! Muscle will not function properly! Lucky for us there was a band there playing all the special German songs in their drindls and lederhosen which our group naturally helped out here and there! 🙂

After lunch we headed out to our overnight lodge which was a good 3 hour hike. Straight up. It was pretty rough and quite a few people struggled but the thought that carries you through is the beer you get to have once you get there!

7,824 feet above sea level we arrive at our lodge for the night. Sleeping is literally bunk beds but not the kind you’re thinking of. We are sleeping 5 across…one right after the other. In my room alone we fit about 18 or so. Lucky me…this meant no sleep with all the younger, crazy guys!

In the evening we were served a 3 course meal (not bad for so far up the mountain. Remember…everything needs to be brought up there!). First course was a flädlesuppe, also known as pancake soup. Then on to Deer meat goulash. I opted for noodles of some sort. And dessert was icecream with pineapples. Not a bad set up! After dinner the music started going, people were singing loud, playing cards, and drinking away. A standard night up in a lodge over 7,000 feet high in the middle of the Alps. Right?

The next morning…after ZERO sleep, we headed even farther up the mountains behind us and at this point, I started panicking I’m not sure what it is in my old age but as I get older the more afraid of heights I am. I’m not necessarily afraid of heights, let me rephrase. More like my body just starts to turn to jello and I feel wobbly. Like I will lose my balance at any moment and plummet to my death. But nonetheless, I survived…obviously!

Hiking down is of course a lot less horrible and less work but when you haven’t had a lot of sleep the only thing you think is, GET ME OFF THIS DAMN MOUNTAIN! Or at least…those were my sentiments.

A killer view like this is worth it though. How often do you see a massive lake high up in the middle of the Alps. It’s one of those gifts that the world gives us. And for a very brief moment nothing else seems to matter. The world has a funny way of putting things into perspective for us.

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo

Vacation In The Alps: Day Five – Mellow

Obviously, this didn’t start with day Five so if you haven’t read day one, two, three, or four…you can do so now to find out what there actually is to do while in the Alps 🙂 

Day Five:

It’s the “going home” day but not before we did a few things of course! I was definitely feeling relaxed at this point and think the vacation was altogether quite a success. We made sure every day was packed with something fun but didn’t over-do it (except for the princess day which was NOT fun!)

Again we had champagne breakfast in the room to end the vacation right of course! We sat outside and enjoyed the moment. The early morning with alcohol rushing through your system. AMEN!

Granted we “slept in” until 8:50 which is rare. We don’t ever sleep in too long, especially that long! Before we packed up our stuff to head out for the day I took a little dip in the pool again. I couldn’t get enough of that. I really need to invest in one of those puppies!

We headed back into the town of Oberstdorf to search for hiking boots.  I needed to prepare for a hiking trip in the Alps in Austria at a later date so it was needed to get them now to start wearing them in! I got a great pair for 170 Euro I think it was and a darling pair of red plaid rain boots to frolick around with Harley in! 🙂 The dude at the store threw in a pair of hot pink socks for free…Thank you very much! 🙂

We walked around only a little bit more and found ourselves at the Schnapps museum. So, this is liqueur…German schnapps are seriously high proof and are a type of distilled alcohol with a slight fruit flavor or what not. Schnapps is intense. I tried a few that were Beer flavored (weird), Blueberry (Awesome), Raspberry (awesome), Spices – think Jaegermeister (disgusting), and many others.

After we had a good buzz going, I bought a little a special wine for when my family comes for Christmas and off we went back home! Arriving to my super clean house was amazing. All we did was unpack and recover from recovering. 🙂

Thanks for coming along on our vacation with us! 🙂

Until next time, Readers!! :-))) xoxoxoxoxoxo

Vacation In The Alps: Day Three – Calm Down

Sorry I’ve been MIA for a few days. I’m prepping for my first day of German class. Not looking forward to one year of this nonsense for 5 hours a day, every day. Lame. 

Follow along with our vacation so far by reading day one here and day two here. xoxoxoxo

Day Three

Waking up to a champagne breakfast in bed is exactly how that sounds…PERFECT! You’re out of your minds if you think champagne for breakfast doesn’t give you that kick you need to start your day off right. It’s better than coffee, people. I can only say this because I don’t drink coffee.  Personally, a buzz in the early morning sunshine should be mandatory. Everyone would have a good start to their day! Along with the beverage we had the typical German breakfast complete with different meats, rolls, cheeses, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, eggs, and much more! Total dream! I know…I sense your jealousy. You’ll get over it.

On this day we had planned to take a gondola ride up to the tallest mountain in that area, called Nebelhornbahn (Nay-bell-Horn-Ban). Reaching as tall as 2,224 meters or 7,116 feet. To set the scene: The sun was hot, dehydrated from champagne, and prepped to take a hike UP the mountain. Hmmm.

Upon arrival, parking became a SERIOUS problem. I knew already that I was going to get annoyed. Not a fan of a bunch of people and although I’m the foreigner here, I still feel like they are everywhere. Bad experiences in the US I suppose. Or maybe it’s my “I’m the only one in the world” complex. The line for the gondola looked to be a few hours wait so I planted my feet firmly in place as Toblerone ran in for the tickets. I quickly realized the Gondola is quite big and could hold a bunch of people so the line dwindled down super fast which was pleasantly surprising. My pale Irish skin was thankful. VERY thankful.

After about 25 people crammed into this Gondola we headed up to the top. Three Gondola rides later filled with sweaty people who ALL seemed to have forgotten their deodorant. I know this is Europe. I’m down with the unshaved armpits however, can they at the VERY least put on a little something to make the world a better place?Asphyxiation is not the way I want to die.  I suppose I shouldn’t complain, afterall…there were no waggling willies this time around!

We reached the top via Gondola. It was my lucky day since Toblerone was still healing from surgery we couldn’t do the whole hiking thing. YEAH! Of course this was pretty high up and falling down was NOT an option. It’s no Everest but I had to keep checking my breathing and oxygen level and checking for symptoms of high altitude sickness. I really need to stop watching the “Climb to Everest” show on Discovery Channel.

All the way up at various stages of the climb were small restaurants and such. At the very top we had a couple super cold beers and took a bunch of pictures – TOURISSSTTTTSS! Here’s what shocked me. We are sitting up on this mountain and people brought their NEW BORN BABIES up. Um, hello. What is appealing to a new born about witnessing this day. Talk about a pain in the ass. You have your stroller, milk, toys, blankets, hats, shoes…omg. I wanted to punch these people. Come back when the kid is at least 5 years old! Anyway, I was kid free and happy about it!

Heading back down the mountain we stopped at a cute little alpine restaurant and had lunch. Nothing better than wurst, senf, and brot. (Weiner, mustard, and bread!)  The sights around us were pretty amazing. Mountain tops as far as the eye can see. Incredible stuff!

Back at the hotel I went for another swim before dinner. Mental note made: next house we are putting in a GIANT indoor pool. That’s all there is to be said about the matter.

On the Menu –

Appetizer: Wasabi dip with chinese crab cracker and vegetables

Soup: Cheese soup

Dinner: Grilled fish in tomato sauce (wildflower garnish on the right) and rice. 

Dessert: Schwarzwalder Kirsh icecream with fruit and strawberry sauce (DELISH!)

We did our usual after dinner. Went out to find a bar and that we did. A glass or two of wine later and we had planned out our winter adventure here. Remind me to find cute wool sweaters and fur boots to wear with warm leggings. Maybe a fur hat too?!

Bed early to rise for “Princess Day”…. 🙂 Day four was my day…didn’t totally turn out to how it should have been but..well…you’ll read about it!

Until next time, Readers!! xoxoxoxo

Vacation In The Alps: Day Two – Relax

For those of you just tuning in – Don’t forget to read Day One of our vacation here. 

Day Two

We woke up refreshed and as usual I sat outside on our balcony waiting for the cows to come outside from their barn. A little farm directly in front of us with 12 cows (yes I counted) and the first cow would always “moo” his way to the grass with the others following, as if to say, “Hey Blanche! The weather is great, come on out of your hole!” I think I want a pet cow. Just a little one. Maybe they have miniature ones? You know, like the miniature giraffe phenomenon.

So we started our day with the typical German breakfast which usually consists of bread/rolls, meats of all kinds, yogurt, oats, soft-boiled eggs, and more kinds of jams than I can comprehend. All homemade of course! After breakfast I was cursing myself for eating so damn much because 10 minutes following food would come our massages. Yes, massages. Just what the doctor ordered! These situations are always funny to me because of the awkward language barrier. I take off my robe and get on a table and the woman was very nice of course but she starts talking all fast and in crazy German and I’m totally lost. She got the hint and said nothing for the rest of the time. Then came out the elbows! She was digging into the millions of knots I have in my back and shoulders with her elbows! Those things are pointy!! Don’t people know that?! Lord, it was good though.

Of course after the massage I felt super calm and wanted to relax a little bit more on our balcony. Which I did completely naked except for my underwear. What? I’m trying to be a “European” these days! No one could see me anyways. We are on the second floor and completely guarded by walls. It was just naked old me, the sun, and the cows. As I’m laying there all the sudden a guy who works at the hotel goes tramping by my balcony. Checking on the water system or some such. What does he say as he sees me in my nakedness? “Good Morning!” HA! I bet it is indeed a good morning for you, buddy! However, my morning just went from totally relaxed to high-strung in a matter of glances! Of course this would happen to me. What are the odds?

After I calmed down slightly we decided it would be best to save face and head to town…fully clothed, mind you! We shopped around and walked the streets.It was sweltering hot so looked for a place to chill out and have some lunch. We ended up finding a nice outside restaurant with shade!

What better to have then a beer and jaegerschnitzel (this is pork in a creamy mushroom sauce)! Which was pretty good but the beer was better.

This town, Oberstdorf, is also a big winter-sports place. Complete with ski-flying jumps, ice-skating rink, and of course a million mountains for skiing/snowboarding. We went to check out the ski-flying jump (If there is a better English word for these, please inform me because I can not for the life of me remember anything!).

(Can you see up at the top? Where the jump starts? That’s where we were headed.)

Now, I was all for seeing this and taking a trip to the very top of it all. From the bottom all was grand, and the steepness of the hill was in perspective however, that’s a totally different perspective when you’re getting dragged up to the very top in a raggedy old ski lift!

As we went up I was wicked jittery and really nervous. This strikes me as odd only because I AM that person that lives for roller coasters and the thrill of it all. When I’m on a roller coaster – I’m bored. I usually laugh my way through it and when we get done, I’m probably the only one saying, “Isn’t there something more scary?” I’m crazy like that.

So we reach the halfway point and on the top of the hill is a little cafe and sitting area. We kept going. We take the Willy Wonka elevator in a diagonal motion which is strange in of itself. I get in the elevator and there is seating on one side and steps down on the other. So imagine this. On the left are two boys sitting down to my left and their fathers are stationed on the steps to my right. I’m standing in the middle on the flat platform. The walls have no windows. All the sudden we start moving and my body is set for going vertical however, this bitch is taking me Northwest! What in god’s name is happening here? Get me off this ride, Dorothy! So, as I get my bearings we reach the top and as soon as I walk out of the elevator, my knees go.

I’m like a big bowl of melting ice cream. I wasn’t going any further. Toblerone was so excited and snapping pictures right and left. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I wouldn’t go to the very very top. Knees buckled beneath me and moving like jello, we walk the stairs up to the tippy top of this monstrous thing and there you have it. I’m holding on to dear life.

Literally as we walk around the small space I won’t move a foot unless my hand is touching something. Like Tarzan swinging from rope to rope however this was me swinging from ledge to flag pole to ledge. I realized at this moment, I have a fear of heights. Scratch off bungee-jumping from my list. NOT going to do that in this lifetime, thanks. The views were incredible though, honestly.

I’m not exactly sure how people decide to make this a sport. I mean, You put yourself on a slippery slope, which cuts off at the end and you just fly. I don’t have the parts to just do that. I’m also not a skier so this could also be my issue. I just don’t get it. MOVING ON. Apparently the record at this particular place was 225m which is 738 feet. Not too shabby I’d say!

                                                    (Check out these wild-flowers….beautiful!)

After this wonderful adventure which tested my fears we decided to go back to the hotel since it was so incredibly hot. I knew that today seemed to be a test of all sorts of things. Why not grasp this moment and experience things from a European’s perspective. This thought brought me directly to the Sauna. I could do this. It wasn’t an overly crowded thing so the odds of being in there with someone other than Toblerone were fairly slim. First stop of course though was the pool. My FAVORITE place to be. Put me in pool water and I won’t get out. I was that annoying kid that you had to tell 800 times to get out of the pool before you had to come and drag me out yourself. Some things never change. After swimming we tried out the infrared sauna which was interesting. I’m not sure what it does exactly but something with lights and if your back is red then it means the blood circulated properly. I don’t know, I just played with the pretty lights.

After that we walked up to the treehouse which held the saunas in it. We tried the steam room which wasn’t so bad. Then we tried the regular coal sauna. This particular sauna is never my thing. It’s much too hot and I think I can’t breathe so I normally don’t last longer than 5 minutes, if that. I tried my hand at the naked part (towel was still wrapped around me) but Toblerone let it all hang out. Here’s the fun part. This sauna is quite beautiful it’s very large and looks like a log cabin complete with a loft. There was a naked man up there at one point and he got too hot so he came down the stairs. Guess where I was sitting? Directly under the stairs. I got the show of a lifetime, people. Let me tell you! I won’t get into details but I’m sure you can imagine what I saw. End of story and end of my time in that sauna. I went by myself to the Steam Sauna where no one came in, not once and it was the best topless 10 minutes of my life. exhilarating and naughty all at the same time.

This is not my picture – from the hotel website but this is what the steam room looked like. Smelled like hay in there. 

Afterwards I went back to the pool and told Toblerone I would meet him for dinner. Tonight was typical Bavarian dinner. Bavarian = Oktoberfest. This region is known for some interesting foods so I wasn’t super excited. Kept thinking about how I hope they had some kind of normal food I could eat. Serenaded by two large men in their tiny lederhosen with traditional Bavarian music got me excited to put on my Dirndl and dance on tables with a glass of beer ten times the size of my head. The dinner was a buffet style so we were able to choose from all sorts of things. I’ll be honest, most of the things I got I didn’t eat but I tried all of them! That counts right? If you can figure out what these things are in the picture, all the more power to you!

Soup – Tomato cream soup (Originally menu called for liver soup but I asked for something else): 

Appetizer (lots of cheeses): 

Main Course:

Dessert – Apple filled fried donut with cream and berry sauce (SO good):

I was filled to the brim and seriously needed to get out. There was a soccer game on so we headed to town to watch the game in a quaint little bar. We had enough of the bar and felt so tired from the day and headed back to the hotel where they were showing the game on a giant projection screen. I knew this meant two things. 1. I wasn’t going to bed anytime soon and 2. Toblerone would wake up the whole hotel if a goal was scored. Both of those things happened.

It was a great day/night and I was feeling more relaxed every minute!!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo

Vacation In The Alps: Day One – De-Stress

I can’t even tell you how excited I am about sharing our vacation with you people! I’m so ridiculous, I even made notes everyday of everything we did so I wouldn’t forget and you wouldn’t miss out on ANY detail! So let me get right down to it! I’ve decided I will spread it out over a few blogs that way I can post more pictures without boring you to pieces!

DAY ONE

We left the house around 11am and I felt pretty good that I had packed everything into the smallest suitcase ever made. Of course Toblerone would find the reasonable sized suitcase and pack all his crap in there before I could get started. So, after all that was finished, I decided to clean the house so it would be perfect and spotless to come home to. Which included vacuuming and mopping the floors, 3 loads of laundry, dusting, dishes, changing sheets, and cleaning the toilets (FUN!). As we left though I felt a bit of a clam rush over me. After the months of stress during his surgery and illness and finally being able to get away from the house and just de-stress, it was more than welcomed!

Equipped with road beers, wine, and my iBooks on my phone I was ready to start the 2.5 hour drive to the Alps. A beautiful drive at that! Completely through the country-side, avoiding the Autobahn. (THANK YOU BABY JESUS!!!!) The weather was a kicker too. Prior to this, it was primarily cold and rainy – The entire summer thus far. All the sudden as we start out on our trip the sun comes out! Couldn’t have been better timing. I was whiter than necessary and starting to scare the children in our neighborhood. Anywho, as I said, the drive was great and I couldn’t tell if it was the wine that was making me so excited or not but that’s neither here nor there!

We arrive to our hotel which is surrounded by the breath-taking views of the Alps. For those of you who have been living under a rock, the Alps are incredible. Mountains upon mountains but more so I’ve learned it’s not the mountains that are so amazing, but the little villages that are in between all of them.

Our hotel was set back behind a small cow farm and behind a little creek. There were people walking everywhere and the sun was shining down hard on us to welcome us with GIANT open arms to a world of relaxation! Hotel Sonnenbichl was the name – which means Sun something or another. There isn’t really a translation for the second word there. We were greeted by a girl in the typical Dirndl and she was nice as pie, showing us to our room. As we arrived in our room I was surprised to see our bed made up like the honeymoon suite!  Rose petals everywhere and the blankets in the shape of a heart. Adorable! Could it get better? Oh hell yeah it could!

The bed would recline to my fancy! Toblerone could sleep flat as a board and I could have my feet and head lifted slightly. Perfect. Let’s also not leave out that they had many different other types of pillows that we could choose from if we didn’t like the standard one in the room. HELLOOOOO service!

I turned my head and there was our balcony, past our “living room” area and it was incredible. The Alps staring at me right in the face as if to sing, “YODEL-WELCOME-HOO!” I had to stop and take a moment. Sometimes I forget that outside of my little world is a much larger world. A beautiful one and I need to slow down and cherish it. In that moment I reminded myself that while I was homesick and sad most of the time, I’m so incredibly lucky that I get to see all of this. Some day that sadness will get easier, I hope, or manageable at best but I will have captured all these other beautiful memories. I wouldn’t replace it for all the money in the world!

I quickly got over the mushy moment when my stomach started to yell at me. LUNCH TIME, Bitches!!  The Hotel Sonnenbichl is completely stocked with a 5 star restaurant which I was very excited to try out. (No worries, I took a picture of our 4 course meals to share each night!!) Our breakfast and dinners were included in the overall price anyways so I course I would be taking advantage of that! We decided to sit out in the sun and enjoy the sunshine for a bit since it had been missing out of our lives for much too long!

Of course we ordered beer and, my favorite, käsespätzle (cheese noodles!) This particular kind however was different than how I make and love it. It was made with mountain cheese called, “Berg käse” which is seriously stinky stuff. Kind of smells like feet and puke together. Delish. Somehow though, it’s actually really tasty with a good red wine. Melted and mixed with noodles, I found, was NOT my favorite thing. It was mushy and just didn’t sit right with me. So, needless to say I stayed FAR away from that nonsense for the rest of the vacay!

After eating we decided to take a tour of the place. This particular hotel is also known for it’s rehabilitation services as well. They offer services for people that were just in the hospital or need rehab for injuries. They have a whole spa place with all sorts of crazy things I had never heard of! We wanted to go look at the spa area so as we walk up and around to the back of the building, there in all it’s glory was a naked man. Just chillin. He was laying out in the sun with absolutely NOTHING on his body. Mr. Willy was hanging out tanning as well. WHAT ON EARTH?! Let’s note that directly across from this area was the children’s play area. HA! Oh strange folk here. I swear!

The sauna looks like a tree house which was pretty cool. There was a typical sauna – two floors! – and a steam room with hay all over the floor. Special place where you could take a hay bath. Strange! Oh and the story gets better. As we are checking these places out a man walks out of the steam room…Mr. Willy wagging around as he hops in the shower. He greats us with the typical greeting,”Grüß Gott.” Literally means, Greetings from God. How on earth do you send greetings from God when you’re naked and your manhood is staring me in the face. Like waving at me and mocking my prude nature. GAH!

Moving along, QUICKLY, I decided I needed a nap to recover from the naked sightings and Toblerone decided he wanted to join the mass in their naked ways at the sauna. By all means…go right ahead!!

Dinner time came along and I was excited to check out what they had. Germans know how to cook and it’s fun for me to try out the new stuff, no matter how much I miss Kraft macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, or pumpkin pie.

We arrived at our reserved table and there I sat staring at 800 forks! I ordered my usual – Amaretto with Apple Juice and headed to the Salad bar. I think I’ve explained this before but the salad bars here are not what we’re all used to in the states. Here, it’s many different types of salads. Most with a vinegar base. At first I didn’t think I could handle eating carrots in vinegar or cucumbers in vinegar. Now, I don’t think I would like the basic salads back home. Let’s EAT!

The Salad Bar:  

And My Selection: 

Noodles with balsamic sauce, ham, deviled egg, and rosemary bread: 

Sauerkraut Soup with Bacon. (AHHH!! BACON!!!): 

Chicken Cordon Bleu filled with gorgonzola cheese, ham, and eggplant: 

Mango Ice-cream with watermelon-mint salad and dipping sauces- strawberry and apricot:

Brilliant stuff! The dessert was my favorite part. A burst of flavor that kicked me straight to heaven! Jealous yet? Piano music played overhead which made me miss my family the most. “Dream a Little Dream” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” pulled at my heartstrings and with an overfilled belly, I was ready to go for a little walk!

We wanted to take a drive and see what we could see. We stopped at a church that had an outside concert of the areas big band. Picture the oompa-oompa music! And then of course we see signs like this – graphic much? I think we get the point, no? It looked like Harley – I couldn’t resist!

We headed into the town called Oberstdorf and upon arrival it felt like magic was in the air. I sound so cheesy but seriously, this town was incredible. Shopping, restaurants, lights, street vendors, everything. There in the background was the haunting silhouette of the Alps.

Like a carnival town with out all the freaks. Wait, I lied. There was a guy walking his black cat around on a leash. Strange happenings. We grabbed a few drinks and sat outside. Day 1 was a success and I was excited to see how Day 2 would turn out!

Mission De-Stress: Accomplished!

Stay tuned for the next few days of the trip! Lots to show you, lots to tell! I’m still dreaming of this place and can’t wait to take my family and friends who arrive. THIS is the place to go! So much to do and see whether it be winter or summer! 

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxo

Somewhere in the Mountains

THHHHEEEEEE HILLLS ARE ALIIIIVVVEEEE, With the Souuund of muuuuusssiicccc….(Seriously, I want to twirl in the hills and sing and shout….ok ok, maybe not but it makes you want to be like that here!)

Ok so here I am, writing from my hotel room up in the mountains of Oberstaufen, Germany. I wish there was a picture to show you but it’s foggy. Very foggy. However, I did steal borrow this pic from the internet to give you some idea of where I am.

So here will eventually be the view or something similar to this. It’s big skiing mountains, which I am not partaking in only because I can not for the life of me find all of my snowboarding stuff (I mean, HELLO! I just arrived here 2 days ago).  And here is a view of where we are staying.

It’s cute, It’s quaint…Itttttttt’s Berghof am Paradies!!!! Our balcony is on the top left. Fantastic.

This place is equipped with a workout room, a spa, and breakfast and dinner are included all for 180Euro per person. Hello, thats a STEAL! The people that work here are incredible. It’s a family owned place and they are wonderful! The Father manages it all, the mother is a waitress (wearing her sweet little drindl dress!), The Son is the chef and makes cakes with 12-14 layers. Absolutely, INSANE! But it’s been some of the best German food I’ve ever had and Tobi can attest to that. He’s obsessed! The daughter is also a waitress by day and the entertainment by night! lol. More on that later…I’ve yet to see her perform!

I for the most part have been relaxing. I took Harley out for a long walk/run and he’s now passed out on the floor. I wore him out! GO ME! All while getting my butt in shape. I started on this site http://www.loseit.com and it’s great. It’s keeping me going and within my limits of calorie intake and excerise. I’m starting to feel better little by little! I will reach my goal!!! Now that the meds are almost out of my system, I can start getting my body back! Thank god!!

So far, no jet lag and no homesickness but I’m sure that will come later. Everyone…COME VISIT!!!

Ta-Ta for now!

xoxoxoxoxo