Monthly Archives: April 2019

• My First German Summit

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on April 29, 2019

  I’ve been posting about my travels outside of Germany lately, but haven’t said much about my time spent IN Germany. It’s so easy for me to loose track of the beauty around me because anytime I have three days off (sometimes even just two) I’m looking at other countries I can travel to. It’s funny how Germany feels like “home” and just like when I’m back in Washington, I want to get away from my home and into the world.

  

  Contrary to popular belief, I DO work here. I work close to full time averaging around 35 hours a week, but I make it a priority to get out and away as much as I can. Something as simple as a walk (or soon a bike ride!) into town is a helpful reprieve and reminds me I am in another country. The hotel I work at is American, and after a few days of not leaving the American military bases I am in dire need of an escape. Hearing people speak German, or exploring the alps is all I need to recharge.

  I’ve managed to get into the surrounding mountains a few times, and as the snow continues to melt I look forward to my summer of hiking in my “hometown” of Garmisch. My first taste of the alps was a short 30ish minute hike to what we call “the swing.” I have been to the swing twice, and the second time I happened to meet a German guy admiring the view. He casually mentioned he built the swing, and has only ever met American’s at the hidden spot.

  

  

  After I visited the swing I explored more of the area nearby. I’m literally surrounded by mountains, but have mostly stuck to a mountain called the Kramer. I plan to summit the Kramer soon, but my first semi climb on the Kramer was to one of the many hütte’s in the alps. One thing I love about the German mountains is that they have hütte’s all over them, which are restaurant cafe’s where people stop for a bite, a beer, or a baked good.

  

  

  I made my way up to Sankt Martinshütte on one of my days off for a view of the city and a cup of tea. It was a moderate climb and felt good to dust off my heart muscle after a sedentary winter. Both the swing and Sankt Martinshütte are accessible by foot from the hotel I live in/work at, and there are so many other trails nearby that will be great for a day off or for an after work decompression.

  

  

  My third mountain adventure, and first official summit since living in Germany was on the Wank. The Wank is a bit further (will be easy to get to when I buy a bike), so I drove with some friends the first time I explored it, and took a bus the second time. The first time I went I didn’t summit, I just went up part way to Tannenhütte for a post work adventure. My friends had a drink, and I soaked up the views.

  

  

  After figuring out how to get to the Wank I felt comfortable going alone the second time so I could summit. I was a bit premature with this decision, because there was still quite a bit of snow at the top. I wore trail running shoes with minimal traction and was a bit scared coming back down, but I was too stubborn to turn back without hitting the top. I was the first of my coworkers (that I know of) to summit the Wank for the season, and three weeks later others started to make the Wank their first summit of the season too.

  Shameless brag. 

  

  

  

  I met two German women at the top that thought I was crazy for not having the right shoes or any trekking poles. The Wank is 5840ft with about 3500ft of elevation gain. I was surprised I hit the summit as easily as I did. It was a push, but I felt stronger than I expected. It was probably the waffles and coffee I splurged on for breakfast. Thanks to Alfred, I felt the push after my hike (and thanks to my breakfast choice) and was out of commission for a day or so, but these things are just a part of life with an autoimmune disease.

  

  

  

  At the top of the Wank there is a hütte called the Wankhaus. It was closed when I went because I went before it was open for the season, so I’ll have to return sometime for a tea. I tried to hike the Wank again a few weeks later, but my body was not having it. I only made it 1/3 of the way up and had to turn back. I had a small pity party and then had to get over it. The hardest part about living with Sjogrens is listening to my body when it tells me “no.”

  

  View from my bedroom, where I spend a good amount of time resting.

  Any movement is better than no movement, and I love how the German culture in Bavaria is very active. I love seeing the locals out walking the trails. Old, young, dogs, pointy ear squirrels – you name it. Regardless of age, people are out walking the flat and manageable trails and sometimes I need those reminders that it’s ok to not always climb UP a mountain, but walking around one is just as beneficial.

  Admittedly it can be hard not to compare my abilities now to my abilities before I was diagnosed with Sjogrens. Mentally I still want to run all the miles, and climb all the mountains, but physically I just don’t always have it in me. I feel lazy when I struggle, but my fatigue can be so bad it’s hard to put one foot in front of the other. When I push too hard my joints hurt, my back aches, my organs feel funny, my lungs struggle to get air in them, my skin breaks out in itchy rashes, and then I take days to recover.

  Alas, I will not quit I just have to moderate. Without the climbs, there are no amazing views. 

  

  View of Munich from St. Peters Church after climbing 300 steps.

  All this to say life is Germany is moving along. I’d be lying if I said it were easy, and most days I struggle with my health, but I’m doing the best I can for now. Bavaria is beautiful, and I’d be remiss not to make the most of my time here. One day at a time!

  Q: Do you listen to your body when it tells you it needs to rest?

  

  | 20 Comments Tagged Brittanys Life Abroad, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Hike, Hiking, Solo Hike, Travel Abroad

• Salzburg, Austria – Pt.2

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on April 23, 2019

  Before I went to Salzburg, I knew that the city was famous for some of the Sound of Music filming locations. I did some Google searching to find out my options to visit these locations, and settled on a three hour bike tour. I’m not normally one to take a formal tour, but when there are bikes included I can be convinced. The tour turned out to be one of the best decisions I had made all month. 

  

  

  Most people take a bus tour, but I knew I wanted to ride a bike around Salzburg so this was the perfect activity for me. My group had eleven people consisting of mostly other Americans, some British folks, and a cute Australian guy. The tour took us to multiple filming locations, and through some of the outskirts of Salzburg. Getting out of the city center was so much fun, and the weather was absolute perfection.

  

  Maria’s Abbey

  

  The lake terrace scenes at the von Trapp’s family home were all shot at the baroque Leopoldskron Palace dating back to 1736.

  

  The actual “16 going on 17” gazebo.

  

  View of Untersberg Mountain – referenced in movie.

  While riding through the outskirts of the city, we had a stereo playing songs from the movie. The wind was slightly blowing, the sun was out, and I couldn’t slap the smile off my face if I’d tried. 

  One of my favorite filming locations, which I visited multiple times while in Salzburg, was the Mirabell Palace and Gardens. The gardens at the palace are said to be among some of the most beautiful gardens in the world. I visited the gardens the previous day, as well as later that evening for a concert.

  

  

  

  

  

  My only regret of this tour, was not being able to visit Werfen, aka the picnic meadow where they sang “Do Re Mi.“ This town is about a 40 minute train ride outside of Salzburg, so I plan to return to walk the “Sound of Music Trail” INTO the Austrian alps. Overall this was such a fun way to see the city and to see some of the filming locations. I wish I had watched the movie the night before (my hostel shows the film every night at 8p) but I’m an old lady and need my sleep.

  After the bike tour I lost my morals and grabbed a Salzburg Pretzel, which was basically a pastry in the shape of a pretzel covered in chocolate. The pretzel was the size of my face…twice. It was intense. I chomped on my sins as I walked towards Mozarts Geburtshaus, aka Mozarts birthplace. It only made sense to stand in the room where Mozart was born, before listening to his music at a concert in Mirabell Palace later that evening.

  As regular readers know, I’ve made it a priority to see a classical concert in each new country I visit while living in Europe, and Salzburg was no exception.

   

  

  

  “In this room Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756.”

  

  I stood in the birth room for a full five minutes soaking in the music playing through the speakers. It was a surreal moment to stand in this room. Regardless of whether you’re a fan of his music or not, Mozart was a huge influence on classical music. His talents will live on forever. Sorry, I think the sugar rush from the pretzel was seeping through my fingers as I typed that.

  After I visited Mozarts birthplace, I made sure to walk past the house the Mozart family moved to next. I didn’t feel the need to go inside, and I started to feel the effects of the pretzel and the Mozartkugel I had eaten and needed a small break from wandering. I headed back to my hostel for a bit to shower and change, and then it was time to visit the Mirabell Palace and Gardens again, but this time to go inside. I had booked a ticket for a Mozart concert and I got a front row seat.

  

  The palace was built in 1606, and is used today for concerts and weddings. The room where the concert was held is full of gold and marble, I can see why people want to get married there. The palace staircase felt like a scene from Titanic, and every detail was immaculate. The musicians were amazing, and they all looked so young.

  I’m constantly in awe of those who can play a musical instrument. I played the clarinet for a few years when I was in school, but couldn’t play a song if my life depended on it today (except for hot cross buns, forever for the HCB.) I’d always wanted to learn piano, but never made the time for it. I’m a sucker for piano, and my future husband will not only be able to build me a house in a flannel with a beard, he will also play the piano.

  

  I left the next morning around 10am. I would have stayed a bit longer, but the weather turned crummy and I felt I’d seen all I needed for this trip. Plus the longer I stay places the longer I’m off track with my eating and start to feel like I’ve been hit by a train. I had a great last minute trip to Salzburg, and am happy I live so close to such amazing cities full of history.

  Q: Are you a Sound of Music fan?

  

  | 28 Comments Tagged Austria, Bike, Brittanys Life Abroad, Mozart, Salzburg, Sound of Music, Travel, Travel Abroad

• Salzburg, Austria – Pt. 1

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on April 17, 2019

  Last week I was lucky enough to snag another three day weekend. If it hasn’t become obvious to those of you who regularly read my blog, I have a bit of an addiction to traveling. Sometimes I need to take it down a notch and remember to appreciate the trip I just went on before trying to jump into another one. Living in Europe makes that difficult! I decided to go to Salzburg for a couple days because it’s only about a 3.5hr train ride away.

  

  I actually ended up deciding the day of that I wanted to go, and booked my train and hostel in a matter of minutes. I had looked up options a few days prior, but didn’t pull the trigger until an hour before I was to catch the train. Sometimes last minute decisions are the best. I arrived in Salzburg around 3pm, which gave me enough daylight to get acclimated to the city for a few hours.

  

  I dedicated my first afternoon to wandering the city, and the Hohensalzburg Fortress. The Fortress was built in 1077 and is the largest fully preserved castle in Central Europe. To access the fortress you can walk up a relatively large hill, or you can ride up in a Funicular. I’m always down for a walk, and I’m too cheap to pay for the easy way, so I walked up the hill and earned my view. The museum was closed when I visited, which I was more than ok with, so I only had to pay 4 euro to walk around the grounds.

  

  

  The fortress was huge, and I spent about an hour walking around and appreciating the views. I can’t help but wonder what it was like living in castles like this when they were actively used by European royalty. I also wonder what the view was like back then. The view now is amazing, and provides an arial shot of the Salzburg Cathedral. The view walking up to the fortress was great too, and each twist and turn provided a different angle of the city.

  

  

  

  

  Salzburg Cathedral dome and towers in the middle/right.

  After I pretended I was Salzburg royalty I walked around the city for a while before it got dark. Near the hill up to the fortress is a gate that leads into St. Peters Abbey and Cemetery. Never have I ever seen a more beautiful cemetery in my life. It was small, but the effort the families put into each burial spot was amazing. This cemetery was the inspiration for one of the scenes in the Sound of Music, when the Trapp family fled through the cemetery to hide before fleeing to Switzerland.

  More on the Sound of Music filming locations later. 

  

  Notice the dwelling in the wall of the cliff? Upper left.

  

  

  Salzburg Cathedral dome in the back.

  The dwellings in the cliff wall apparently served as both hermitages and burial sites. I didn’t discover the dwelling was accessible until after I left. There are stairs leading up to the dwelling, and the entrance is found at the foot of Mozarts sisters grave. Yea, the Mozart. Honestly I’m super bummed I didn’t know about the stairs leading up, looks like I’ll have to return!

  From the cemetery I found my way to the Dom zu Salzburg, aka the Salzburg Cathedral. The large onion dome and two smaller towers in front of it are seen in a few of the above photos. The cathedral was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times by fires, but you’d never know by walking through the isles. It was beautiful inside, as are all European cathedrals. There is a lot of history inside the cathedral, but the one that resonated most with me was that Mozart was baptized in this cathedral.

  

  Photo of a photo I was given for making a donation.

  

  

  The rest of my first day in Salzburg was spent preparing for the following morning. Day one was a mere four hours in the city, but it was already off to a great start. I stayed at the YoHo Int. Youth Hostel, and it was very close to both the train station and the city center. I stayed in a four female dorm, and my first night there were three Koreans in the room with me. Thankfully they were very quiet, as I needed a good nights sleep for day two!

  ….to be continued!

  Q: Can you make last minute decisions for an adventure, or do you need everything planned prior?

  

  | 22 Comments Tagged Austria, Brittanys Life Abroad, Europe, Salzburg, Travel, Travel Abroad

• Prague, Czech Republic

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on April 12, 2019

  I’ve been living in Germany for nearly three months now, and I have yet to take a trip where I had to actually request time off (those will come.) The beauty of proximity is that when I have three days off in a row thanks to the luck of the draw, I can go most anywhere within the surrounding countries for a last minute trip. This was the case for a visit to Prague at the beginning of last month, I had three days off and it just so happened my roommate and some friends were going to Prague.

  I booked my bus ticket a few nights before, snagged a spot in the hostel they were staying, and prepped myself for my first overnight bus ride. The best way to maximize travel time for trips like this is to take a night bus. We all worked our last shift before our extended weekends, and took a bus that evening. The bus left around 8pm, and arrived in Prague around 6am the next morning.

  

  

  Arriving at 6am allowed for two full days in the city, which was a great amount of time to explore the highlights. We dropped off our bags at our hostel (we stayed at the Czech Inn) and ventured towards the city center. Our first stop was somewhat unexpected, but we walked passed a shop selling a treat that Prague is famous for (although these treats are not only in Prague.) I try my damndest to avoid all things gluten, grain, sugar, carb heavy and dairy, but I wanted to partake.

  I definitely payed for it later, but when in Prague! #effyouAlfred

  The treat is called a trdelník, which is basically a sugared ball of dough that is cooked by rolling it over a flame, and then can be stuffed with a myriad of things. I chose ice cream, because I’m a sucker for pain. It was an amazing 5 minutes of my life consuming this treat with a shot of espresso. These trdelník treats were everywhere, some stuffed with savory things like mac and cheese and roasted duck.

  

  

  

  After a successful sugar rush, we walked around a farmers market of sorts on our way to the Astronomical Clock. This clock is the oldest working astronomical clock in Europe, and has been working for over 600 years. This was by far the coolest clock I’ve ever seen. So much detail went into the making of this medieval piece of history. Next to the clock is a beautiful cathedral called Church of Our Lady before Tyn. The church was built in the 14th century, and has two noticeably pointy towers.

  

  

  

  

  After watching the clock go off, we headed towards the Charles Bridge. The bridge is just around the river bend from the Old Town Square where the clock is located. Prague is a very walker friendly city, and I felt like a local after the first day. It is said that egg yolks were mixed into the mortar to strengthen the construction of the bridge, what an interesting choice. The bridge began construction in 1357, and was finished in the 15th century.

  On the bridge there are many religious and historical statues and plaques, some of which have significance if you touch them. Apparently the hand rubbed plaques bring good luck, and will ensure your return to Prague. I touched multiple plaques just because…when in Prague. The views from the bridge are beautiful, and there were performers along the way that warmed my soul. I love me a good street performance.

  The photos below are from the bridge on two different days, one with overcast and one with sun.

  

  

  

  

  

  Across the bridge leads to the Prague Castle, as well as our next destination. A trip to Prague would not be complete without a visit to the John Lennon Wall, a rainbow attraction of love and peace. After his murder on 8 December 1980, John Lennon became a pacifist hero for many young Czechs. 40 years after his death his memory continues to shine at this unique wall. I added my own contribution to the wall (which is apparently what people do) and wrote “love all beings” in an outline of a dog.

  My legacy of animal love will forever be in Prague. Unless someone paints over it. 

  

  

  The Fab Four.

  

  After getting our fix of love, we headed towards the castle. It turned out the castle was closed to the public this day, for a reason we never discovered. Thankfully we came back the next morning and were able to tour around the grounds. The castle itself, though HUGE, was underwhelming. What stole the show was surely St. Vitus Cathedral. Have I mentioned I LOVE the cathedrals in Europe!? The walk to the castle was lovely, and we stopped for a cuppa Joe, and a petta the puppa.

  

  

  

  We ended our first day in Prague with a Thai foot massage…aka tiny fish eating away at all the dead skin on our calves and feet. I’ll spare you the photos, but rest assured this was a bizarre and amazing experience. I don’t think I’ll ever need to do it again, but…when in Prague! Day two consisted of visiting the castle, wandering more around the city, and capping off our trip with a Vivaldi concert.

  I am loving my tradition of finding a classical concert to attend each new country I visit.

  

  

  

  This quick trip to Prague was a great way to see the city. Our bus back to Germany left around 11am the third morning, and we made it back home about 10 hours later. The bus rides aren’t quick, but they’re cheap. Usually the bus ride isn’t terrible, because there is so much to see along the way to or from. My only regret is not getting a second trdelník (I was in my head too much on this trip, something I’m always trying to learn from.)

  I withdrew around 1000 Czech Koruna, which was around 40 euro. Spending 100 koruna at a time was misleading, I often had to check my currency converter to see how much I was really spending. As with all my travels, I don’t seek out souvenirs unless they speak to me, and when wandering the farmers market area on day one I found my must have souvenir. The cost was 50 koruna, which was a little over $2. I’m really into art work from different countries, so this steam punk looking cat with the old town view in the background was everything I could have wanted out of a souvenir.

  

  And just like that, I’d marked my eighth European country off my list.

  Q: What’s a must for you when you visit a new country?

  

  | 18 Comments Tagged Charles Bridge, Czech Republic, Europe, Prague, Travel, Travel Abroad

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• BRITTANY- Self proclaimed minimalistic nomad striving to maintain a balanced, healthy life with good food, long hikes, deep connections, exploration, and lots of potatoes.

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• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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