Christmas Exodus

Our view from our vacation apartment.

Guten Morgen from beautiful Garmisch, Germany!  Since Wednesday,  a mass exodus began in Abu Dhabi.  I'm calling it the Christmas Exodus, and we joined it yesterday.  You see most schools let out last Thursday for a 3 week Winter Break, and that means every expat that can has jetted out of town.  We are in Garmisch, Germany for the week, and we'll be heading to Salzburg, Austria next.

As we were preparing to leave Abu Dhabi, I realized what a wonderful support system we have developed over the past year.  If there's one thing we've got, it's "peeps", everything from chauffeurs to nannies for our pets.  Our great friends, L&P, arrived at our house early yesterday morning to take us to the airport and even serenaded us with Christmas music as they helped us carry our luggage into the airport.  Don't laugh, but they are also babysitting my husband's Ducati 1198s.  L&P  will also be checking in on our black labrador retriever, Shadow, while we're away.  Shadow and our cat, Angel, also have a nanny staying with them 24-7 during our Christmas holiday.  Our pet nanny actually loves Shadow so much she says he is like her son, so it's nice to not have to worry about the pets while were away.  Our landlord has his gardener tending to our yard and our newly planted mango and fruit trees, and I'm told he will be planting more trees for us while we are away.  He's also watching over our house and car along with our other friends.  I haven't a worry at all about anything back in Abu Dhabi, which makes vacation even more enjoyable.

Now, it's time to hit the slopes!

The Haus Windrose at the Rheinischer Hof

What a view!

Church of Saint Martin in Garmisch.

The streets of Garmisch seem like something out of a Christmas storybook.

More Garmisch

Lift going up to the Garmisch Classic Ski area.

View of Garmisch-Partenkirchen from the lift.

Restaurant Flosserstuben- Excellent German food.

Another view of the Church of Saint Martin.