We are all naked underneath our clothes...

We headed to Garmisch this past weekend, and had an absolute blast. We left around midday on Friday, rented a van, and arrived late afternoon. As soon as we arrived, we headed to Zugspitze for sledding. This sledding was one of the most incredible and fun activities I have ever done! I am not a very cautious person by nature. In fact, over one too many beers after sledding I think I used the word "over-cautionize". As in, "I just believe in living my life fully, completely, and somewhat intelligently. I am not going to over-cautionize every area of my life for that 0.0000000000001 chance something might happen." Anyway the point is, despite all of this I made sure I had a helmet on after one run down that 3k slope. It was insane how fast we went on those sleds DOWN A SKI SLOPE ON THE HIGHEST PEAK IN GERMANY! You were supposed to use your heels to steer and stop, but that threw a pound of snow in your face, so I decided on the first five runs that I would use my hands and body weight instead - I ended up with bruises the size of my face all over my body. Finally on the final couple of runs I did it right! So freaking much fun! Let me add that sledding is only offered a few times a month and it happened to be opened for us!

Preparing for sledding in front of Zugspitze...

On the lift (we call this a gondola in the states)...

Mild frustration that I continue to get owned by the sled...


After sledding we hit a Bavarian restaurant for some German meat!

Garmisch...


The next morning we were up early to hit the slopes. We travelled with our usual crew. Jason is an experienced skiier, Billy is just getting comfortable on the snowboard, Phil is a newbie, and Sara and Barbara planned on cross country skiing. Unfortunately I am not the most patient person (surprise, I know), so I am not exactly a good fit for teaching people. Plus, I am sure my skills are nowhere close to technically correct. I just go hard and fast and somewhat in control. I think my confidence, pure love of skiing (water + snow), and 8th grade ski trip with the Harmons are the reasons I can [no-so-prettily] ski anything. I still firmly believe the only way to learn is to follow behind someone going back and forth across a slope (thanks Karen Harmon!). The skiing was amazing though... perfect conditions.



After a long and hard day of skiing we headed into town for some amazing burgers and drinks.

This was the view from our hotel room...

This weekend we are going to Frankfurt. We have a couple of friends from AREVA that have been living there for about a year. They are returning to the states in two weeks, so we are going to see all that Frankfurt has to offer and bid them farewell.

INcluded in our trip for this weekend is our first trip to a Therme on Friday, Schloss Johannisberg vineyard and Fasching/Carnival on Saturday, and church/brunch on Sunday. We are buying a vacuum (YES!!!!!!), iron, and single bedroom set from them too! This means more places for our friends to sleep, so COME VISIT US!!!!!! As we all know, Europeans are not nearly as modest as we are, so the Therme is going to be quite the naked experience. Fasching is similar to Mardi Gras, so we are going to be costumed out and ready to party!!! Super excited.