Driving Through Austria and a Meal in Mittenwald

After a good night’s sleep and a tasty breakfast at our hotel, we were ready for more driving! In order to get to Germany, our destination, you have to drive through Austria. The second we crossed the boarder into Austria my mom and I started singing “The hills are alive…” and I happily joined along. My dad just looked at us like we were crazy.

I mean, can you blame us? 

Taken while we were driving. Just imagine a 360-degree view of the greenest mountains you ever did see!

Luckily, there were no detours this time since we stayed on the highway, but we did make our own diversion and made a quick stop in Innsbruck to see where the Olympics were held back in 1964 and 1976. I definitely need to go back to Innsbruck, because it was very pretty.

We headed back on road and made our way to our first stop in Germany. I still can’t get over how gorgeous this area is.

My husband and I went to Germany in July and I wanted to show my parents a town we stopped at, because I knew they’d love it! (No, you’re not missing anything…I haven’t blogged about our trip to Germany yet. I will soon, I hope.) The town we stopped at is called Mittenwald, and seriously, with a name of “Mittenwald,” how could this town not be adorable?!

But I digress, because our first order of business in Mittenwald was to eat! We found a place with a nice patio overlooking the town and enjoyed the views while we waited for our meal. 

Fun fact: Europeans don’t use ice. Even in the summer. Even when it’s a billion degrees outside, you will rarely find ice floating in your drink unless you ask. And even if you do ask, they sometimes oblige, but not to our American standards. My dad likes ice—no, he LOVES ice—so he asked for ice with his Diet Coke Coke Light, and this is what he got:  

That’s ONE ice cube floating in his glass and it was definitely worthy of a photo! 

Our meal came and it was literally more than we could chew, but it was really good! My mom randomly ordered the meal of the day, while I ordered a salad and spaetzle (German version of gnocchi, is the best way to describe it). My dad got schnitzel, because that’s what you get when you’re in Germany! It was all very hearty, tasty, and exactly what we needed! 

We decided to walk off lunch and check out a little bit of the town. It’s just so freaking cute and so….German! When I walk around Mittenwald I feel like I’m walking in a fairytale. I really need to write about our first trip here, because I have more photos to share! 

After stuffing ourselves and walking around town a little bit, we continued on our way to Edelweiss, an American-type lodge and resort nestled in the Bavarian Alps. We spent the night there and the next day we headed to Munich to visit a piece of history I wish everybody could see. Stay tuned to find out about what I’m talking about…