Hodson Invasion: Ettal and the Zugspitze

I wanted to take my family to a little town called Ettal, on the way up to the castle.  I had only been to the small wood shops there in the city, but had never been to the Basilica.  We decided to stop there and see what it was all about.  It was worth the stop.  

Inside the Basilica.

This building had the most ornate confessionals that I have seen so far in Europe.

It also had the most detailed pews that I have seen yet.

And of course, awesome doors.
Europeans know how to build cool doors.

We also were able to take a trip to the Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany.  Again, we had never been here, so the kids were totally excited for this trip.  We were hoping to get to ride on a cable car all the way up, but those were being repaired, so we took the cogwheel train up instead.  

At the base of the Zugspitze.

We spent some time at the Eibsee, the lake at the base of the Zugspitze.

I asked a random man (who had a nice camera, so I assumed he knew how to take a picture) to take a group photo of us.  He stood so far away from us that we were barely seen in the picture.  This is the best cropping I could do.

The kids had been throwing rocks into the lake, and Noah was throwing them from underneath his legs, so Cooper tried it too.  Although the rocks only went about a foot ahead of him, it was hilarious to watch.

His mouth opened like that every time.

Just some cool stairs.

What a view.

Waiting to get on the cogwheel train.

We made it to the top (although with all the clouds, you'd have no idea).

Look how much snow there is.  Remember this is May. We were so high up.

2600 m = 8530 feet.

Hello big cup of hot chocolate!

This is where the cable car takes off.  It looks like it leads nowhere.

One last shot of the lake as we head down the mountain.