Ski trip in the Austrian Alps

We took our first ever road trip outside of Denmark for Raegan's spring/Easter break off school - we drove through Denmark, all the way south through Germany (via the Autobahn!) just across the border to Zell am see/Kaprun in the Austrian alps.

Since we have now lived in Denmark over 2 years, and not had a car the entire time, the kids have come up with this new affliction where they say they are car sick (or bus sick - whatever we seem to be riding in that is not a bike or train). I have no idea why this is happening but I was a little worried about the 12+hr each way drive would go with potentially "sick" kids the whole time. Turns out DVD players and a little Dramamine cure the symptoms and they did great on the car trip!

We had a very quick stopover in Munich on the way to Austria

Marienplatz

The Hofbräuhaus

The kids at the Hofbräuhaus - they did not enjoy the oompah bands, dancing and entertainment nearly as much as I had hoped. They are definitely acclimated to a cooler climate - they kept telling us how hot they were - actually the non-American phrases were that they were "boiling" and "steaming" - ha. Ron and I enjoyed our beer and the entertainment despite them!

 We were a little nervous that ski conditions would be slushy/icy given it is a bit later in the ski season than we were used to - but that turned out to not be an issue! Plenty of fresh snow while we were there!

Here is what our village of Kaprun looked like when we arrived vs when we left - this is the view looking out from our chalet.

Day of arrival - it was nearly 60 degrees

save view, 5 snowy days later

This was our huge chalet - we were quite comfortable there! I love the Austrian/Alps architecture

Ski school fun

This was the kids first time skiing ever and they did fantastic at ski school. Raegan really took to it and was skiing down a mountain on an easy run with Ron by day 3. Wyatt had mastered his "pizza" move and was able to do turns by the end of the week. Considering they had what I would consider to be the most difficult of ski conditions - wind/snow/low visibility - they did so great and had tons of fun!!

Wyatt and I relaxing after ski school, waiting for Raegan to finish

Photos from the clear days we had - so beautiful in the Alps!

 And one from the last day - hard to believe this is where you exit the first cable car up - there is the kids ski school area and restaurant very close which you can barely see anymore in all the snow.

The Tavern Spa - what an added bonus! At the end of every ski day we all went swimming in perfectly warm indoor and outdoor pools. They had water slides, a lazy river, kids area,etc - all with huge glass walls allowing you to enjoy the views of the Alps while relaxing in the pools. Definitely looked forward to that every day.

Ron and the kids had an ongoing foosball tournament in the evenings in our game room as well

Time to head out - we took a detour on the way home to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle and spend a night nearby in Bavaria

Some photos of the beautiful drive - new snow everywhere

Neuschwanstein Castle - the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle - was a retreat for King Ludwig II

the village of Hohenschwangau where the Neuschwanstein Castle sits is very picturesque and actually has 2 other castles

Last night of our road trip - staying in our little Bavarian village for the night before setting off on our 12 hr drive home. 

Our apartment house

Bonus - a playground!

Traditional dinner at a restaurant dating back to 1495

 I should mention that driving on the German Autobahn was interesting! No speed limits except in construction zones (which there were a lot of). The etiquette is to drive in the right lane and only go into the left when passing - and it's in your best interest to do so because you will get people in sports cars flying by you at 120 mph - they come up in your rear view mirror quickly! It really isn't as unsafe as it sounds though - the lanes are wide with good visibility and people follow etiquette for the most part. We found our - and most people's- comfort zone was 85-90mph - so you just get in a pack and go. But the speeds helped us make our 800+ mile home journey in less than 12 hours with stops.