Paradise in the Alps - Benediktenhof

Sometimes, I research and plan and book a trip and things just do not turn out how I imagined. And occasionally I don't put any effort into planning and end up finding the perfect place. This was one of those times.

We needed a place to stay overnight for a wedding that was taking place near Wackersberg, so I searched various hotel and apartment portals and everything seemed to be booked - finally I found a place that had openings, the Benediktenhof, only 3 km away from the wedding - it was a bit more expensive than I had planned on spending but it looked really special, so we went for it.

Special doesn't even begin to describe the Benediktenhof. This place is downright magical.

A rustic alpine style "Landhof" located less than an hour's drive south of Munich, the Benediktenhof is perfect for a weekend away, although I am already contemplating renting the chalet (it has its own fireplace!) for a week next summer.

The rooms hit that magical sweet spot between rustic charming and comfortably modern. The breakfast and cafe area is absolutely oozing with charm and character and little details await you everywhere - pull out coolers with a beautiful selection of chilled self serve drinks, a tea nook with snacks and cake. And the garden. The garden! Sprawling but somehow also cozy.

Chock full of small decorations and beautiful plantings, wooden structures and arches - but somehow, not at all kitchy. Somehow miraculously concealing all the amenities, that pop up like treasures you discovered yourself as you walk through - a heated outdoor whirlpool, a natural swimming pond nestled among reeds and lily pads, a wooden green tunnel leading to a play area with a trampoline, swing, play hut, sandbox and slide, and, because why not, alpacas grazing on the hillsides.

There is even more, like the sauna and the infrared cabin and the exercise room and the gazillion wooden loungers with cushions and the little huts scattered about just inviting you to nestle in with a book and a cool beer and stare at the mountains. And did I mention the outdoor hut (although hut is definitely not the right word - it's called a "saletti") which is half open and has cushy chairs and a fireplace and lanterns everywhere and is the perfect place to wile away the evening?

Also down the road is a charming and cozy Wirtshaus, which, because of course, had a Bavarian band playing and lederhosen festooned children prancing around the playground. Did I also mention that the hotel is right next door to the Arzbach Freibad, a lovingly maintained 1934 era swimming pool with a kids area, sun lounge and little section of the Arzbach creek cordoned off for splashing and wading?

Also can I talk about the breakfast for a minute? I didn't even take any pictures because we were too busy nomming but wow. Everything was amazing. Best quality fresh breads, butter, eggs, local hams and honey from the property, an incredible fresh fruit and vegetable selection, hot drinks all served in silver pots and the finest china. On sunday they had an open bottle of prosecco in the cooler next to the orange juice.

Never have I stayed somewhere that so simultaneously seemed adult and sophisticated, which made me want to immediately stay for weeks and relax and book a massage and other fancy things, but which was also so wonderfully suited for families with kids. All the amenities were there, with none of the ickyness that usually accompanies hotels that cater to kids - no icky sticky plastic high chairs, no ugly broken sand toys. no garish cartoon characters painted on the wall (believe me, I am usually so grateful for any of the above, but it was SO great to see it can be done differently and well). Instead, a high quality amazingly bouncy trampolines. Rabbits to feed grass to. Alpacas to hike with. A fast blue slide with a mountain view and an adorable wooden play hut like a miniature chalet. The magical natural swimming pond.

We will be back, Benediktenhof, yes we will!

Clothespins and Wild Pig Gulasch or: my adventure in cross country skiing in the alps (spitzingsee)

After a long month of studying for finals, it was time for some Erholung in the Alps. I signed up for a cross country skiing course with the Deutsche Alpen Verein and headed off Saturday morning to catch the train with my group. As if to further attest to my American chaotic nature, I managed to miscalculate my ubahn ride and nearly miss the train. Due to my lateness, I couldn't find the group I was supposed to share a ticket with, so I just hopped onto the train and hoped for the best, realizing very quickly that I was in the wrong section and that, since the train splits into three pieces after a short ride, I would have to hope over two sections before that happened if I wanted to get to my destination. I ran like a madwoman to the next section and the first stop, nearly losing my sleeping bag from my hiking pack in the process, praying that the doors wouldn't shut and the train wouldn't drive away before I reached the entrance. After repeating my mad dash at the next stop, I made it into the correct train car – which was oh so apparent due to the many hundreds of skis and snowboards packing the aisles. To make a long story short, I did locate my group (the only ones with the very long cross country skis) and managed to repress my flusteredness all the way to Fischhaus-Neuhasen.

There, we boarded a bus and rode up and up into the mountains until we reached the tiny town of Spitzingkirche. There, I rented my equipment (I was apparently the only non professional who didn't already have grade A equipment with me—something oh-so German) and trekked with the rest of the group 15 minutes down icy roads to the Albert-Link-Hütte, our base for the weekend. What a view.Upon arrival, we changed clothes and met our course leader outside—it was a bit chaotic, given that two other Cross Country Skiing courses, a ski tour course and an Avalanche Survival course were also staying there and getting ready to head out into the snow. Nonetheless, we managed to march down to the practice course together and spent the morning practicing everything from balancing on our skis to correctly shifting our weight. We even played a game where we had to try to pin clothespins on the other members of our group while wearing our skis and tripping over each other and the know.

By lunch, we had all the steps together, and we were finally allowed to try the full thing, and before we knew it we were (inching) down the practice track like (non) professionals. But it sure was fun, and the Alpine scenery was spectacular. Lunch never tasted better, especially because the menu at the Gasthaus is quite extensive and oh-so-delicious. I ate a gigantic baked potato with Kraüterquark and shared a Kaiserschmarrn for desert. Mmmmmmmmmm.The "weather station" at the hut. And carved wooden faces.

We spent the afternoon working on going downhill and stopping, and when the sun started to set we headed into the Hütte for an evening shower and a delicious meal in the Gaststübe of Wild Pig Gulasch and beer. And nothing tastes better than a beer in a warm cozy room after a day in the winter air. Mmmm. The Wild Pig, it turns out, had been shot by the owner's husband—he wanted to take a weekend to go hunting with his pals, and his wife told him "alright, but only if you bring back something that we can use". It turns out he did, two big bristly somethings, which we devoured in delicious gulasch form with Butterspätzle and Blaukraut. shoe dryer in the hut

After a night of intermittent sleep—I kept waking up dangerously close to the edge of my very high up bunk bed—one look out the window revealed a much winterier landscape. It had blizzarded in the night, and everything was white white white. I lifted by head from my hay pillow (that's right. It smelled like a giant Chamomile tea bag and was very crunch) and headed down the ladder. OUCH. My calves were quite sore. Very sore. I limped to breakfast but was immediately revived by fresh coffee, boiled eggs, ham and wurstaufschnitt, cheese, yoghurt and delicious bread made in wooden ovens on the premises. Then, we headed out to face the snow. I learned the hard way that rental skis aren't always well taken care of. Since the snow was so wet, it immediately stuck to my well worn skis, despite spraying them with multiple layers of "deicing" spray. I trudged along, hardly gliding, very frustrated, and by lunch I was so exhausted that I could hardly move. But the group convinced me to go out one more time, and our instructor lent me his fancy schmancy skis, so I was in good shape again to enjoy our last jaunt through the snow covered woods. Amazing and beautiful.

We had to run 15 minutes uphill to catch the bus to the train, and when I finally got home I was completely exhausted but I had enough energy left to unpack my delicious souvenirs: freshly baked wood stove bread, game (hunted) salami and smoked Bergkäse. Dellllliiiiccciiiouuuusss. Anyone interested in joining me for my next cross country ski adventure?