Merry Christmas

On Monday I started my preparations for our Abrams "Family" Christmas dinner and made two chocolate marble cheesecake pies. I also found out that we didn't have a ham for the dinner that were were having the next day. So on Tuesday after working 6-230 I went to the commissary and searched for hams. They were all frozen. So I got a 10 pound Hillshire Farms ham and walked it home like I was carrying a baby. Should have taken a cab. Oh well. So fortunately it was a precooked ham so since I had only a few hours before we ate I put it in the oven at a low temp and slowly turned it up as it thawed. At 730 when we were ready to eat the middle was still frozen so I sliced off some of the outside and microwaved it. I also made some honey glazed carrots and creamed corn while the ham was cooking and helped make many of the other dishes. It's a small kitchen and we had lots to get done. We all sat down and ate around 8pm and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. There was probably about 20 of us sitting at the table and another 10 or so that trickled in and stood around or sat on the floor. Lots of laughs and great food. We cleaned up and went to bed, then off to work again at 530.
Christmas eve Justin and I went to St Martin's Church just off the Marienplatz for midnight mass that actually started at 11. The place was packed and we found to seats that I think was really just the railing for the stairs because it had no back and if you leaned too far you'd end up rolling down the stairs. Everything was in German of course but they sang some songs we recognized. It was neat to see but a bit long. We were outside at 12:40 walking back to the Abrams. Christmas morning was the usual chaos at work, then we closed for lunch and helped prepare for the Christmas buffet in the conference rooms. When we got home Justin and I skyped with our families to say Merry Christmas and we had a quiet evening watching Dexter on his computer.
Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for the New Year!

Munich Twice in One Week? Yep!

So this past Sunday Justin had the day off and it was my second day off so we decided to venture up to Munich for the Christmas Markets. It was a picture perfect day with hardly a cloud in the sky. The bad part was that such clear weather means it's COLD. We walked to the train station and got our ticket. We didn't look to see what track we were supposed to be at and we nearly missed the train because we had to go from 1 to 4 which involved going under the tracks in between. Anywho, we made it and it was actually a really nice train going through Munich on to other big cities in Germany so it didn't stop at all the usual little stations on the way. Justin slept for part of the ride both to and from Munich while I watched the scenery fly by the window. Once in Munich we walked to the food stands next to the ice rink where I skated just 6 days before and got some sausage sandwiches for a snack/lunch. We watched the zamboni drive around while we ate and tried to stay warm. The big disadvantage to our trip this time was that being Sunday all the stores were closed so we couldn't go inside to warm up. We walked around the Christmas Market stands for a while and went to St Peters Church, a Roman Catholic Church, and also the oldest in Munich. We looked inside for a few minutes and warmed up a little and I remembered from the Munich City Tour I took through Alpine that you could climb the bell tower for a great view. With the nearly cloudless sky I figured today would be a great day. For the student price of 1 euro Justin and I started the climb up the 299 steps to the top. Now, these steps were very narrow and winding so we not only got a workout, were nice and warm for the windy top, and got to brush shoulders with many others. We made it up and took pics of the 360 view of the city. You could just barely make out the Alps with polarized sunglasses on off in the distance. Sweet! So then back down the stairs and a little more walking around then a hot chocolate at Starbucks to warm up. We wandered some more streets and then went back to the Hofbrauhaus for Justin's first beer in a beer hall in Germany. We shared some sausages and potato dumplings then headed back to the main train station. Once we found a working touch screen we found out the train to Garmisch was leaving at that exact moment. So we had a full hour to wait for the next one. So we walked around all the shops and restaurants in the station and caught the next train. It was very crowded and we had 2 police officers sitting across the isle from us. They looked to be a couple headed home for the holidays but then they took off their winter jackets and reveled their uniforms and guns. Atleast we were safe! So then it was back to Garmisch and back to work.

Pictures!! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2085540&id=44801562&l=c4c96c249d
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084653&id=44801562&l=6f56143c2d

View from my window

So the clouds finally lifted and the snow stopped for long enough to get some pics of the beautiful mountains outside my window. And yes literally out my window. I've added them to an existing album.
Enjoy... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084653&id=44801562&l=6f56143c2d

Munich Christmas Market and ice skating

So this past Monday I had the day off and took my first train trip here in Europe. I went to Munich with Haley(Market Station), Morgan(Pullman Place), and Mike(Bell Stand) for the day. The train ride was nice and full of lots of beautiful scenery passing by the window. It took an hour and a half from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the main station in Munchen. We got the Bayern Pass which allows up to 5 people to travel together on the same ticket for a day within the Bayern region for 28 euros. Not a bad deal. We went to Starbucks because of the need for coffee(as usual I had hot chocolate) and then paid 80 euro cents for the bathroom and we were on our way. We walked around for a while window shopping and drinking some gleuwein while watching the skaters before we found a place for some lunch just off the marienplatz. I had a Jagerschnitzel and a Helles. Yum! Our timing on the ice skating always seemed to end up with us arriving a few minutes before they closed down for the zamboni. So we did some shopping and more drinking. Apple strudel and beers at the Hofbrau Haus(Mike's first time). I got two hand panted glass ornaments(Check! for my to do list). One for myself and one for Justin's grandmother. Both have "Munchen 2009" painted on it. Then a little durndel for Morgan's Niece. So cute! Nice memories. We finally paid our 10 euros for skates and entry to the outdoor rink and got our skate on! The music was an interesting selection. From Sexual Healing to Bringing Sexy Back it seemed not so family appropriate but it's Europe. I was issued ice hockey skates not figure skating skates so I wasn't as confident in my abilities so I made friends with a bear(see the pictures to understand). We had a great time. After we got some spiced nuts and crepes and made our way back to the train for the ride home. A great day and missions accomplished for all of us.

Pictures... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084998&id=44801562&l=031d59af6c

Dachau Concentration Camp Tour

Last Sunday Justin and I went on the Dachau Concentration Camp Tour that the Alpine Adventures Office offers through the resort. We arrived at the resort after a brisk morning walk just after 8 am and boarded the bus for our 830 departure. We rode on the tour bus up through Munich to the camp which is northwest of the city. We arrived just after 10 and did a walking tour with our gude and saw the 30 min video summary of the history. It was very moving and interesting. Took lots of pictures. It was kind of a grey day which matched the mood. A very interesting view of history.
View my pictures here...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084657&id=44801562&l=d2ee7a5748

Christmas Preparations and more snow!

So in the last few weeks we've gotten a little more snow then it melted and snowed again. We had the December Staff Salute where Justin and other new arrivals were recognized. The resort has been decorated and is in full holiday spirit. Work has been good. Getting paid and trying to save my money for future trips. I got approval for time off for part of when Ben and Martha come to visit and when Dad and Terry are in Madrid. I'll be booking flights for Madrid soon.
Check out some more pictures...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084654&id=44801562&l=1e5d9746dd

Thanksgiving, Justin arrives and SNOW!

So I haven't posted in a while because I haven't really gone anywhere. I've been working hard and trying to save some money. The resort put on an Employee Thanksgiving dinner on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving with a coach bus to transport us to and from. I went with a few girls from work and we had a blast. We laughed and laughed and enjoyed some great food.

I then worked Thanksgiving Dinner for the guests. We served approx 1500 people from 2-8pm. I worked with Jackie, a server who normally works at the Pullman restaurant. We worked hard and had fun.
We've also gotten two snow falls in the last week. Yesterdays had stuck and the snow is still on the ground. The first melted within about a day. The resort has also started a shuttle from the Abrams to the resort at 5:30am for those of us that work the early shifts.
Justin arrived on Monday with about 15 other new employees, mostly ski and snowboard instructors. He went out with me and my girl friends for half price pizza at Peaches Monday night. Thursday night we went out with 45+ people that work at the Hausberg Lodge to a bar that's owned by the same woman that owns the restaurant and bar at the Hausberg. We had a great time. The shots weren't exactly great but they were plentiful.
Check out some of the pictures...
The Alps... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084653&id=44801562&l=6f56143c2d