We had good traffic driving to (and later from) the airport.
We had all the requisite documents (passports, boarding passes, etc.), none of which were stolen, lost or damaged during our holiday.
Our flight left on time and arrived a half hour early (total flight time = 1 hr.)
The four of us got seats together near the front of the plane - miraculous for a cheap, discount European airline.
Memmingen-Allgau airport (located 60 miles west of Munich) is a fabulous little airport - I think it gets 3 flights in and out each day... So it was about a 5 minute queue to get through customs & immigration and our luggage was already out and waiting for us. Nice!
Something unexpected had to happen eventually... and we can thank Hertz Rental Car Company for that part... We had reserved the cheapest thing available and, of course, this being a very small airport, they didn't have the Ford compact car we had booked. Instead, they told us we'd have to take this:
A Mercedes E-class... with more luxuries than we even knew existed. Imagine, we had to drive this thing on the autobahn for a whole week.
A Mercedes E-class... with more luxuries than we even knew existed. Imagine, we had to drive this thing on the autobahn for a whole week. 
Of course Matt was all smiles. After a few days cruising at 125 mph (recorded proof is on our Sat-Nav), I wondered how he'd ever readjust to driving the Zafira on British roads again...
We rented a holiday cottage for the week in lieu of staying in a hotel. Not only was it more affordable and spacious, but we enjoyed shopping at the local bakery and eating breakfasts and some dinners in. Our 'home' was conveniently located near Landsberg am Lech (see photos below) - only 25 miles from the airport and was central to all our planned excursions. The farthest we drove in one day was to Salzburg and back - a total of 200 miles - which takes about 20 minutes when driving a Mercedes E-class on the autobahn. Okay, it actually took a little longer. But we sure enjoyed the ride!
A little tour of our cottage: 
The city of Landsberg (where we stayed):
Landsberg is a walled city and had plenty of beautiful/interesting architecture. Landsberg's claim to fame? Hitler was imprisoned in the Landsberg jail and wrote Mein Kampf here.
So after all this picture-perfect travel, and a couple hours exploring the town, we decided to eat out and enjoyed some authentic German fayre. It too, was perfect.
So after all this picture-perfect travel, and a couple hours exploring the town, we decided to eat out and enjoyed some authentic German fayre. It too, was perfect.
So where's the "too good to be true" part? I kept waiting for something bad to happen! ;-)
ReplyDeleteMild Clarification from Matt- we didn't go 125 the whole time, just sporadically. However, even the more standard 105 was a much better highway cruising speed than 70 (UK) or 75 (US).
ReplyDeleteThe luxurious leather interior and German-engineered engine constantly begged to not be marginalized by performing at sub-100 speeds. All I could do was comply with its wishes.
Looks like a GREAT trip!! And I see a knoedel in that last picture.... yum yum!!!! :o)
ReplyDeleteI am reading to my husband as I read and all I can say is that he is now giggling like a school girl. I think he REALLY wants to go back to Germany (post mission) and drive on the autobahn. And you descriptions are priceless... even the clarification from Matt. It sounds like a great trip and if we make it there in the next few years, we will have to get trips from y'all!
ReplyDeleteOkay...I need to know how you found the cottage because that is so what I'm doing next year when we go back to Germany for the 3rd time!!! Also, I totally understand the Autobahn thing...Kevin was going 90 on average and we are getting blown away by other cars...mostly BMWs and Mercedes!!!
ReplyDeleteWe are so jealous of your vacation! I think if you are in Germany and driving that great of a car you are required to drive at higher speeds.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big car person but even I was just about drooling at that picture of the car. Wow! What a great trip!
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