Well, we hope everyone has had fantastic holidays! I know we have....lots has been going on...Christmas, New Years, Aggie's birthday....oh, and yes the Helmers came to visit!!
As I mentioned in our previous blog, we had Aggie's sister, Ann, and her husband, Kurt, here for a visit. We went to Munich, Germany (they flew into Munich from Cincy); Salzburg, Austria; St. Anton, Austria and finally Zurich. Then, Ann and Kurt went on to Rome by themselves.
So, Saturday morning finally arrived (the 20th of Dec) and Aggie and I headed up to Munich. The directions said that it would only take 3.5 hours to get to the airport, but I had driven to Munich a few times before and managed to turn the trip into a 5 hour ordeal. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous about getting there on time!
Well, we ended up getting stuck in some traffic for about an hour which delayed us greatly and put us at the Munich Airport right around 3pm. (Their flight landed at 2:25pm.) To our surprise (and relief) we found parking very easily and ran up to the gate. They had literally just walked out of the security check area and were just starting to look for us....the timing was perfect!
We got to the car and the first challenge was to figure out how we were going to fit everything into the trunk. I was nervous, but we eventually got most things to fit. Unfortunately, Ann and Aggie had a few bags in between them in the back seat. Needless to say, we were all quite snug.
The hotel was in a great location as it was just outside the ritzy area of town and a close walk to the city center. After we checked in, we went right for the Hofbrauhaus, ordered a few beers, then cheered to the Hamiltonians' successful arrival in Europe! Then we went and walked around at the Christmas markets. Afterwards we went to another beer hall where we grabbed a very traditional German meal and headed back to the hotel.
Since Ag retired to the back seat, Kurt was my navigator. He gave perfect directions from the airport to the hotel. For someone who had never been to Europe and who had never been faced with trying to pronounce German words correctly, this was a very impressive feat!
The hotel was in a great location as it was just outside the ritzy area of town and a close walk to the city center. After we checked in, we went right for the Hofbrauhaus, ordered a few beers, then cheered to the Hamiltonians' successful arrival in Europe! Then we went and walked around at the Christmas markets. Afterwards we went to another beer hall where we grabbed a very traditional German meal and headed back to the hotel.
We said good night to our weary travelers, and Ag gave her cell to her sister, just in case they would get up earlier than us, go for a walk, etc. Well, around 3am my phone starts ringing and it says that "Agnes is calling" on the front screen. Of course, I was half awake and roll over, asking Agnes "Why are you calling me?" She sat right up and grabbed the phone from me, knowing something was up with her sister.
Well, long story short, Ann left her purse at the last beer hall we were in...she had only a few things in the purse, but a few very important items: a credit card, a new (expensive) camera and more importantly, their passports. We immediately called the credit card company and no purchases had been placed on the card, which was a great sign! Then, we called the US Embassy in Munich to see what we would have to do about a lost passport. (Kurt had copies of their original passports which was so smart...). The man on the phone said that due to the time (3:30am), I would have to call back in the morning. That sounded reasonable.
So we all tried to go back to bed and sleep for a few more hours. We knew the beer hall opened at 8am so we had planned to wake up and walk there straight away...which we did. When we arrived, we ask the servers if anyone had turned in a black purse from last night. The lady said that the managers were not in yet, and that we would have to come back at 9am to look into the safe. As we turned to walk out the door, very disappointed we would have to wait longer to see if our belongings were there, a lady in the back yelled at us to wait. Out she whipped the purse!! It had everything in it too! What a relief....there are still good, honest people in this world that is all I got to say! Ann was quite relieved as well.....
Excited we didn't have to contact the US Embassy again, we all went back to the hotel and went to bed for a few hours. We finally got up around 10:30am, checked out and headed back to the markets for lunch. There we grabbed a few brats and mets and Kurt's favorite, a soft pretzel.
After lunch we headed out and our next stop was Dachau. Dachau was a Nazi German concentration camp and was the first concentration camp that opened in Germany (in 1933). There was a museum set up in the main kitchen hall that you could walk though. Then, you could go into one of the few remaining bunkers where medical experiments were preformed on prisoners. Of course, this was a very moving and depressing place to see. (This was a view to the outside from the kitchen hall.)
After the tour of the concentration camp, we headed on to Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg is about 1.5 hours away from Munich, and the drive was easy enough. Once we arrived in Salzburg, we found our hotel pretty easily (we got lost for 5 minutes, but only because one of the roads was closed). Again, the hotel was in an awesome location, right in the city center area.
After we checked in, we walked around the city and grabbed dinner. Aggie and I had been to Salzburg for a quick day trip with my parents a few summers ago. We were excited to see the city again, especially in the winter time as they had many Christmas shops! It's such a beautiful city and here's a little trivia for you: It's the birthplace of Mozart and the setting for parts of the movie, "The Sound of Music".
Anyway, after dinner, we went to the Christmas markets. While we were at the markets some carolers started singing Christmas songs. The group was awesome! Ironically enough, it was a group of singers from Seattle, Washington who were preforming in a show later that week.
We headed back toward our hotel and found a warm, cozy looking bar. Of course, we decided to go in and ended up having a fantastic time just talking and enjoying each others' company. Finally, we went to bed, tired and happy.
The next day we had a huge buffet breakfast. Then we walked around the town a bit more before finally heading out for St. Anton, a well-known ski town in Austria. We stayed there for a couple of days to ski and have some fun, then came back to Zurich. We celebrated Christmas here, and then they left to conquer Rome on their own.
Well, long story short, Ann left her purse at the last beer hall we were in...she had only a few things in the purse, but a few very important items: a credit card, a new (expensive) camera and more importantly, their passports. We immediately called the credit card company and no purchases had been placed on the card, which was a great sign! Then, we called the US Embassy in Munich to see what we would have to do about a lost passport. (Kurt had copies of their original passports which was so smart...). The man on the phone said that due to the time (3:30am), I would have to call back in the morning. That sounded reasonable.
So we all tried to go back to bed and sleep for a few more hours. We knew the beer hall opened at 8am so we had planned to wake up and walk there straight away...which we did. When we arrived, we ask the servers if anyone had turned in a black purse from last night. The lady said that the managers were not in yet, and that we would have to come back at 9am to look into the safe. As we turned to walk out the door, very disappointed we would have to wait longer to see if our belongings were there, a lady in the back yelled at us to wait. Out she whipped the purse!! It had everything in it too! What a relief....there are still good, honest people in this world that is all I got to say! Ann was quite relieved as well.....
Excited we didn't have to contact the US Embassy again, we all went back to the hotel and went to bed for a few hours. We finally got up around 10:30am, checked out and headed back to the markets for lunch. There we grabbed a few brats and mets and Kurt's favorite, a soft pretzel.
After lunch we headed out and our next stop was Dachau. Dachau was a Nazi German concentration camp and was the first concentration camp that opened in Germany (in 1933). There was a museum set up in the main kitchen hall that you could walk though. Then, you could go into one of the few remaining bunkers where medical experiments were preformed on prisoners. Of course, this was a very moving and depressing place to see. (This was a view to the outside from the kitchen hall.)
After the tour of the concentration camp, we headed on to Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg is about 1.5 hours away from Munich, and the drive was easy enough. Once we arrived in Salzburg, we found our hotel pretty easily (we got lost for 5 minutes, but only because one of the roads was closed). Again, the hotel was in an awesome location, right in the city center area.
After we checked in, we walked around the city and grabbed dinner. Aggie and I had been to Salzburg for a quick day trip with my parents a few summers ago. We were excited to see the city again, especially in the winter time as they had many Christmas shops! It's such a beautiful city and here's a little trivia for you: It's the birthplace of Mozart and the setting for parts of the movie, "The Sound of Music".Anyway, after dinner, we went to the Christmas markets. While we were at the markets some carolers started singing Christmas songs. The group was awesome! Ironically enough, it was a group of singers from Seattle, Washington who were preforming in a show later that week.
We headed back toward our hotel and found a warm, cozy looking bar. Of course, we decided to go in and ended up having a fantastic time just talking and enjoying each others' company. Finally, we went to bed, tired and happy.
The next day we had a huge buffet breakfast. Then we walked around the town a bit more before finally heading out for St. Anton, a well-known ski town in Austria. We stayed there for a couple of days to ski and have some fun, then came back to Zurich. We celebrated Christmas here, and then they left to conquer Rome on their own. 
In part II of "The Helmer's take on Europe", we will be writing about our adventures in St. Anton and here in Zurich. Stay tuned!!Oh, and one other exciting thing to announce, for those of you who do not know, Aggie and I are an Aunt and Uncle! Ag's oldest sis, Angela, had a baby just a few weeks ago. They had a boy, Grant William. Here is a cute picture of him! Also, we included a picture of Ann and Kurt's dog, Dixie, just for fun.
Enjoy!
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