Who we are: Mike, Liz, Lauren (12) and Haley (7)
Day 7
The girls were excited about this day. We were off to the Steiff factory. After a buffet breakfast we were on the road. We had about a 2 hour bus ride this morning. With a little entertainment from our adventure guides the ride seemed to go fast. Once we reached the visitor center at the Steiff factory we were divided into two groups. Our group got to go make our special project. The girls enjoyed this. After this we were given a tour of the visitors center with a little narrative about the Steiff factory. We had about 45 min. for shopping.
Lunch today was in the cafeteria at Steiff. We were given a meal voucher worth 12 Euro to spend on lunch. We were able to buy sodas and snacks as well as a meal with our vouchers.
Back on the bus for our ride to Munich. This was also about a 2 hour ride. The kids were given an activity book to help pass the time. Very fun.
We arrived in Munich and were given the keys to our room. Beautiful rooms at the Kempinski. The girls were thrilled we got to keep the slippers they put out for us at turndown. Wonderful showers!!!
We met our Munich guide Michael and he took us on a walking tour of Munich. Michael was the highlight of our Munich visit. He gave us a very educational and entertaining tour of Munich.
Dinner was on our own. We joined another couple and had dinner at a local restaurant suggested by the guides. We also had a chance to do a little shopping and picked up a Hard Rock T-shirt for our son and some other little trinkets. We discovered Kinder Eggs (chocolate eggs with a toy capsule inside) and the girls really enjoyed them. We found a local grocery store within walking distance and bought some for home.
This was the first night we had rain. We didn't have umbrellas on our walk so we headed back to the hotel.
Day 8
This was the first day we had to get an early start. Breakfast was served buffet style and was probably the nicest breakfast we had. Lots of fresh fruit, yogurts and breads.
We had to be on the bus by 7:30a.m. to depart for Neuschwanstein Castle. The bus ride today was about 1.5 hours. Michael came on this tour with us and gave us a very educational, entertaining history lesson about King Ludwig II. The weather on this day was very rainy and overcast. When we got to the castle we weren't able to see it until we were right next to it. This was a little disappointing as the view is supposed to be gorgeous. The guides did tell us that we were given a more lengthy tour because there weren't as many tourists because of the weather. After the tour instead of walking down in the rain the Adventure Guides arranged a horse drawn wagon (covered) ride for us. That was a nice surprise.
We ate lunch in the King Ludwig II restaurant. Our choices were Smoked Char (char is a white fish we were told), steak of veal, or chicken along with soup, appetizer and bread. Kids menu choices were vienna style pork or spaghetti.
We left the castle about 1:30 and headed back to Munich. This night was our farewell dinner at Hofbrauhaus. The farewell dinner and entertainment were spectacular. Lots of surprises!! After lots of photos and some tears we made our way back to the hotel. We decided to walk around a little to get some photos and last minute treats. Then it was off to the hotel to pack to go home.
Day 9
We didn't have to catch our ride to the airport until 9:00a.m. so we were able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and chat with others in the group. A lot of the people in our group extended their stay for a few extra days. We chose not to. The girls had already missed a week of school so we didn't want them to miss more. Next year we will definitely extend our trip.
The flight home was uneventful. Much faster(it seemed) than our flight there.
Make sure you get emails of the people in your group.We now receive emails daily from those in our group. Everyone is sharing photos. It is such a nice way to keep the trip alive.
Hope you enjoyed our trip report.
Liz
Day 7
The girls were excited about this day. We were off to the Steiff factory. After a buffet breakfast we were on the road. We had about a 2 hour bus ride this morning. With a little entertainment from our adventure guides the ride seemed to go fast. Once we reached the visitor center at the Steiff factory we were divided into two groups. Our group got to go make our special project. The girls enjoyed this. After this we were given a tour of the visitors center with a little narrative about the Steiff factory. We had about 45 min. for shopping.
Lunch today was in the cafeteria at Steiff. We were given a meal voucher worth 12 Euro to spend on lunch. We were able to buy sodas and snacks as well as a meal with our vouchers.
Back on the bus for our ride to Munich. This was also about a 2 hour ride. The kids were given an activity book to help pass the time. Very fun.
We arrived in Munich and were given the keys to our room. Beautiful rooms at the Kempinski. The girls were thrilled we got to keep the slippers they put out for us at turndown. Wonderful showers!!!
We met our Munich guide Michael and he took us on a walking tour of Munich. Michael was the highlight of our Munich visit. He gave us a very educational and entertaining tour of Munich.
Dinner was on our own. We joined another couple and had dinner at a local restaurant suggested by the guides. We also had a chance to do a little shopping and picked up a Hard Rock T-shirt for our son and some other little trinkets. We discovered Kinder Eggs (chocolate eggs with a toy capsule inside) and the girls really enjoyed them. We found a local grocery store within walking distance and bought some for home.
This was the first night we had rain. We didn't have umbrellas on our walk so we headed back to the hotel.
Day 8
This was the first day we had to get an early start. Breakfast was served buffet style and was probably the nicest breakfast we had. Lots of fresh fruit, yogurts and breads.
We had to be on the bus by 7:30a.m. to depart for Neuschwanstein Castle. The bus ride today was about 1.5 hours. Michael came on this tour with us and gave us a very educational, entertaining history lesson about King Ludwig II. The weather on this day was very rainy and overcast. When we got to the castle we weren't able to see it until we were right next to it. This was a little disappointing as the view is supposed to be gorgeous. The guides did tell us that we were given a more lengthy tour because there weren't as many tourists because of the weather. After the tour instead of walking down in the rain the Adventure Guides arranged a horse drawn wagon (covered) ride for us. That was a nice surprise.
We ate lunch in the King Ludwig II restaurant. Our choices were Smoked Char (char is a white fish we were told), steak of veal, or chicken along with soup, appetizer and bread. Kids menu choices were vienna style pork or spaghetti.
We left the castle about 1:30 and headed back to Munich. This night was our farewell dinner at Hofbrauhaus. The farewell dinner and entertainment were spectacular. Lots of surprises!! After lots of photos and some tears we made our way back to the hotel. We decided to walk around a little to get some photos and last minute treats. Then it was off to the hotel to pack to go home.
Day 9
We didn't have to catch our ride to the airport until 9:00a.m. so we were able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and chat with others in the group. A lot of the people in our group extended their stay for a few extra days. We chose not to. The girls had already missed a week of school so we didn't want them to miss more. Next year we will definitely extend our trip.
The flight home was uneventful. Much faster(it seemed) than our flight there.
Make sure you get emails of the people in your group.We now receive emails daily from those in our group. Everyone is sharing photos. It is such a nice way to keep the trip alive.
Hope you enjoyed our trip report.
Liz
