Road Trip!! Part I:

Eric found out that he was going to be sent to Vicenza Italy for a week for work not long after Isabelle and I arrived in Germany.  He cleared it through the Army for Isabelle and I to go with him, and then he let me in on the plans.  He waited to tell me that we would be going to Italy until it was official because he knew that I would do this: (I'm Cameron Diaz)



I couldn't help myself.....

I WAS GOING TO ITALY!!!  

Vicenza is 530 miles, almost 9 hours, from Kindsbach.  After researching the cost of the different ways we could get there, it was decided that the least expensive way to travel would be to drive there.  ROAD TRIP!!!  Eric planned our route: 1 day & night in Austria, 6 days & 5 nights in Italy, 2 days & nights in Munich, then home.  I planned the sights we'd be seeing and packed our bags.  We were ready. 

I WAS GOING TO ITALY!!!!

  
A 5 hour drive to Austria took us 8 because we spent the majority of the trip on twisty-turny roads.... aannnd because I told Eric to turn when he shouldn't have.  {I thought I was smarter than the GPS- we both have no idea why he listened to me in the first place}

The drive was breathtaking, and even though we had gotten off course it went fast.  We made it safely to Innsbruck Austria and found ourselves surrounded by the Bavarian Alps- I couldn't believe the view!  Our hotel was at the base of Patscherkofel- the venue for the 1964 & 1976 Olympic men's downhill skiing, bobsleigh, and luge.    

Our hotel

The bobsled course.

The hotel was great!  Their pool was... different.  Since I have a thing with germs you wouldn't have caught me anywhere near it, but Isabelle thought it was "awesommmuh!"  I'm not sure if it's an Austrian thing or all of Europe thing but our little American family needs to get used to nudity.  There were women sunbathing topless at the hotel's "pool" and this didn't seem to be an issue to anyone; Not the other kiddos or parents swimming at this hotel.  All part of the experience I told Isabelle, and Eric made it clear that she would NOT be doing the same, not now, not ever!  

I took a few pictures from the balcony of our hotel room (no, not of the boobies).  This is the hotel's pool... the views were incredible!

Since we lost 3 hours driving here, we didn't have as much time to spend sightseeing (another trip I've got in the planning stages),  But we did go up to the top of Patscherkofel on the Patscherkofelbahnen (tram).  I'm not a big fan of heights but I wasn't going to let that stop me from experiencing the sights!  I  couldn't wait to see the view from 2,000ft above sea level!

We hiked on the trails when we got to the top and I took pictures.  I got frustrated trying to take pictures though because I just wasn't able to capture how majestic everything was. 

This is the trail we hiked on.

My kiddo has a tender heart for animals.  She is always thinking about animals and if she sees anything regarding cruelty to them, her sweet spirit can't tolerate it.  Case-in-point:  There are a lot of flies in our apartment (there are no screens on German windows and no air conditioning so our windows are always open).  As we're getting ready to leave for our big trip I was closing the windows, Isabelle asked what would happen to the flies.  I told her that we'd probably come home to a bunch of dead flies and I'll need to vacuum.  Immediately, her lip popped out and she pleaded with me to leave a few windows open so that they could get out of the apartment if they need to.  <--- See what I mean?  How could anyone argue with that. 

So when we got off the tram and Isabelle saw a small farm with cows.... she was tickled!

I thought to myself what an idyllic little life those cows must have... and I took a picture from their perspective...

This was just the beginning of our trip!  We saw so much!  And I took so many pictures!  I'm going to break up our trip into a few different posts.  Stay tuned though....  I WAS GOING TO ITALY!!!