B&E Photography: Germany

Germany! The land of frothy beer mugs, salty pretzels, and blue eyed beer wenches! Starting off in Munich, the heartland of Bavaria, this city gave us an open armed welcome as we got straight to business: spetzle, pork knuckles, weinerschnitzel, and dark "dunkel" beer. Food here instills such soothing and comforting calories that soon you forget how much you've ate!

However, not everything was all smiles. Traveling to the Dachau Concentration Camp ripped open our eyes to possibly the most gut wrenching time in human history. Being the first of these camps to open just prior to the eruption of WWII, Dachau set the standard for how Jews, political prisoners, Gypsies and others were to be treated and ultimately disposed of. Although being one of the lowest killing death camps (Auschwitz-Birkenau claimed 1.1 million) it managed to exterminate over 50,000 individuals. Individuals, each of which had his or her own horrendous, never-to-be-told story. Individuals whose life was snuffed out from modified pesticide named Zyklon B and ultimately cremated in an oven. The cold and heartless employs of the Nazis pushed our brains to near disbelief as we tried to grasp how humans could be so incredibly cruel with such precision and efficiency. It was a somber evening that night as we tried to cheer up our spirits at a local beer hall surrounded by happy faces, where life presses on despite the tragic history memorialized around them.

Leaving the warm, polka music filled beer halls of Munich behind, we traveled by car to the crisp air and jagged peaks of the highest peak in Germany: Zugspitze Mountain. Parking at the base of the mountain, we climbed aboard the Gondola that swiftly took us 1200 feet up to the peak where we would walk to our next hotel, better known as an igloo at 10,000 feet.

As we entered our snow packed house, beautiful laser cut carvings of Africa were carved into the walls of our one of kind living quarters. The 1400 square foot igloo had 4 bedrooms, two bathrooms, one eating area with a 30 foot vaulted ceiling, and an outdoor jacuzzi. In our room was an ice carved panther lazily sleeping in a tree. It goes without say that the bar was a made from nearly transparent ice with alternating LED lights piercing through. After having soothing hot wine, midnight sledding competitions, and a dance party til 2, we climbed into our subzero proof sleeping bags to recharge as we laid across one solid block of ice for undoubtedly the most interesting sleep I've experienced.

Arising to one of the most stunning sunrises of my life (admittedly I don't see many as I LOVE to sleep in), we traveled down the Alps into the canyons below. There we visited the castle of Neuschwanstein, of which Disney's Snow White castle is modeled. It is a beautifully modern castle (only 178 years old) nestled into the mountain above a fresh, snow packed stream which flows into two glassy lakes below. From there we jumped into our Autobahn worthy Ford minivan and flew down the frozen highway to the medieval town of Rothenburg.

As you drive through the original city gate of Rothenburg (wide enough for one car......or carriage), it feels as if you are transported back in time. The crooked and leaning buildings, cobble stones under your feet, and the looming gate and towers overhead are in rare, pristine condition. Having narrowly escaped a botched bombing run due to bad weather and a general who halted an artillery bombardment because of his childhood stories from grandma visiting this little merchant town, WWII finally allowed something to slip through its grasp of desolation. Of my favorite things this 12th century city offered was the Night Watchman Tour. In medieval times there was a night watchman who, while the city was asleep, kept a lookout for thieves, invading armies, and the city's worst fear, fire. As we ate spetzle and roulanden, drink wine and beer, and walked the freshly snow covered streets of this cozy little hollow, we knew this place had found a special place in our hearts.

UP NEXT: Stay tuned as we make our way to Prague, then to Belgium for amazing beer, and finally to the Netherlands.