Ski Time

Last week we headed out for our first European family vacation! We went to Garmisch in southern Germany... the Alps! We had all been looking forward to our vacation for weeks and were thrilled when the day finally came.

We had a good four and a half hour drive to the US Armed Forces resort in Garmisch called Eidelweiss. It is a newer resort and is a very American style hotel nestled in the foot of the Alps. Shortly after we checked in we headed back out to get Benjamin and I equipped for skiing and sign up for ski lessons for the following day. Benjamin was a little hesitant at first about the prospect of skiing but as soon as he saw all the other kids on the little slope (which they call the "backyard") he was excited. In fact, as soon as we were fitted for all our gear he wanted to get out there and try skiing!

On Tuesday morning, Don dropped Benjamin and I off at the ski school and we got started! I hadn't been skiing in over a year so it took me a little while to get my confidence back up so I was glad I started my ski lessons in the backyard of the Alps! Plus, I was able to keep an eye on Benjamin and see how he was progressing as well. The young kids' ski school day was broken up with some time indoors... playing and watching movies and eating (too bad I was a little old to join him in that class!)

By lunchtime, Benjamin seemed a little discouraged and I was just hoping he would make it through the day. I hoped he would keep his skis on and maybe even figure out how to side step.

After lunch, I was headed up the mountain to do some real skiing! woo hoo. I was excited and felt ready to tackle the slopes after spending the morning in the backyard. As we rode up and up... and up... and... up in the gondolas I was getting a little intimidated. But I kept telling myself that the instructor must know what he was doing taking us up the hill. By the time we got to the top I was okay and ready to take on whatever came my way. The view was breathtaking and I was bummed the only camera I had with me was my phone. I had an awesome time skiing all afternoon.

And, apparently, Benjamin had a fun afternoon too! He begged us to let him return to ski school the following day.

So, we signed him up and then got Don fitted for skis for Wednesday. This was a good day for me to take it easy with Samuel and Grace back at the hotel. Don and Samuel had spent the previous day doing some sledding and enjoying every minute of that adventure. While Grace had spent the day in child care at the military base. Samuel was fighting a cold and a bad cough and some down time was just what we needed.

So, after a morning of rest, we caught up with Benjamin and got to see him ski! Woo hoo! Day 2 of ski school and he was up on skis, going up the tow rope and skiing down a small portion of the backyard. I was so proud of him and I could tell he was having a great time.

Of course, he would have loved to ski another day but we decided to do some other activities during the rest of our stay in Garmisch. So, he reluctantly turned in his ski equipment and is already anxiously talking about his week at ski school next year!