Partnach Gorge


During our trip to Garmisch, I really wanted to see the Partnach Gorge.  It's pretty easy to find and navigate.  It's right next to the Olympic Stadium for the 1936 Winter Olympics.  The Gorge is a natural monument separating deep cuts of rock by a stream.  The water is beautiful.  It's open year round with the exception of certain times in Winter when the snow is melting and it becomes unsafe.  You have to pay a few Euros to get in.  You get to veiw the gorge by walking a path that is cut into the rocks and roped off at the sides.  The views are stunning.


The walk through the gorge is not at an incline.  It's an enjoyable stroll through nature, however, once you exit the gorge you can either go back from where you came from or you can go up the steep mountain to the top.  It's a bit of a climb but not very long and worth it because there are some beautiful houses at the top with the mountains for the backdrop.  There is even a restaurant that has some limited items for those that are hungry or want some beers.  I recommend grabbing a drink and trying the homemade cheese cake or apfel cake!

Near this area you can decline to a bridge that overlooks the gorge.  You can actually see this bridge when you are below and it looks terrifying.  Once you are on the bridge at the top of the mountain it's even more frightening.  It reminded me of the Indiana Jones bridge.

When it was time to leave, you could either hike back down the mountain or take a cable car back to the beginning.  The cable car was kind of interesting because I wasn't sure if it was in use or not.  You had to get the attention of the guy that runs it.  He happened to be doing chores around his barn.  He put us in the rickety car and told us to pay at the bottom.  There were no lines for this car and seemingly no one around.  B thought it would be funny to open the door while we were up there and the car stopped as we were about 200 feet in the air. I wasn't impressed to say the least and slowly entering panic mode.  He closed the door and the car began to move again.  The guy that was running the cable car at the bottom reprimanded him, which I encouraged and we were on our way. 

The last image is of the Ski Jump from the Olympic Games.  I can't imagine how you get into a sport like that.  I also enjoyed my time snapping some shots of the scnenery at the top of the mountain.


Definitely worth spending a few hours or half a day at the Gorge if you find yourself in Garmisch!





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The Most Bavarian of Towns (and 10 Things to do there)


The most Bavarian of towns (maybe besides Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber) in my mind is Garmisch-Parkenkirchen.  When B told me he had another hockey tournament but this time in Garmisch, I was excited to accompany him.  I mean, this is a huge destination for skiers and there is so much to do in the area, like visit the famous Neschwanstein Castle (or maybe you prefer an aerial view).  It's pretty much a winter wonderland.  This time, between giving support to B, I had some more destinations that I wanted to visit while in town. 

Our hotel was right downtown.  There are several areas to visit but the neighborhood pictured, really encompassed the town for me.  Imagine high alps all around you with beautiful chuches, elaborately painted homes and businesses (some even jutting out of cliffs), and many opporutinties for outdoor activities.  It's like a fairytale town.  Each building is a work of art.  If you are in the area, here are some things that you can do besides marvel at the beauty:

10 Things to do in Garmisch and the Surrounding Area:
1) Go skiiing or snowboarding on the Zugspitz.
2) Go paragliding off of the Zugspitz. (This looks terrifying but I am considering it).
3) Have a spa day at one of the many hotels (If you are affiliated with the military there is a huge resort there).
4) Take a short trip to see the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles.
5) Visit the Monastary Ettal and see the brewery run by monks.
6) Photograph the entire area, it's beautiful!
7) In the summer go white water rafting.
8) Walk the Partnach Gorge (make sure you hike to the top of the mountain, it's worth it!)
9) Visit the Linderhof Palace in Obberamergau (next best thing to Versailles).
10) Make a day trip to nearby Munich or Dachau Concentration Camp.




This was my second time visiting Garmisch and I already have more things on that list to see.  Stay tuned for my visit to the Partnach Gorge and I scored a really sweet vintage buy that I'm excited to share.

If you came to Garmisch, what would you want to do?



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90's Nostalgia and Mini Cupcakes


Why not...make some mini cupcakes?  Getting nostalgic over my old Easy Bake Oven (does it even make sense that EBO refills are like $15?) I decided that I needed an adult version.  B got me a Bakery Bites mini cupcake, bunt cake, and brownie maker for V Day.  These were made with strawberry cake mix and buttercream frosting.  So yummy! But I quickly realized that I don't need 50 mini cupcakes laying around...I can liken this to my impulse space ice cream and nano pet buys that I "just had to have."  

Has 90's nostalgia ever driven you to buy weird and unnecessary items?



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Mudrooms with a Clean Design

Looking for inspiration for my own mudroom, I decided to write an article on how to spruce up your mudroom or entryway.  In my article for Furniture Fashion I focus on 7 different looks for your burgeoning entryway including designer, organized, small, simple, kid friendly, DIY, and industrial.  Check out the link below:




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Link Goodies # 2




1) So recently I was sifting through my email and I noticed I got an email from one of the producers of the show House Hunters International.  They asked me if I would like to be a part of the show!  Unfortunately, this isn't the best timing for me but who knows in the future.  Have you seen the show?

2) So excited that the 4th season of Portlandia is premiering on February 27th!  Here's a sneak peak.

3) I really loved Katie from Hope Engaged's four part series on "How to Pay for Travel."  Here's part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.  She has some great tips!

4) I thought this might be a really cool opportunity for a student that wants to intern for ASOS.  You get to travel around the world. You'd get to travel to London, Shanghai, Sydney, New York City, Berlin, and Lillie, France.  You have till March 3 to submit entries.  Enter here.

5) Like competitions? Here's another one through TrekAmerica.  The winner will get to spend two weeks traveling the best spots in America and write about them on their blog. Entries end March 9.

6) I was informed about this search for people who want to be on ITV's show, Secret Dealers through a post on my google + community.  If you have a ton of antiques in your home and you think it would be cool for the Secret Dealers to come to your home and make some offers on your stuff while on TV then maybe this would be a cool opportunity for you.

7) Here are 40 Must See Photos from the Past. The baby cage freaked me out, as did the first plastic surgery, the suntan machine, and the crazy hotel owner.

8) As a Liberal Arts major (English) in undergrad, I thought this video parody of students being scared straight out of choosing Liberal Arts majors was very funny. I agree and disagree.  Sure, some of those majors aren't going to make you any money as an adult like say a doctor would, but then again Liberal Arts majors probably aren't going to school to pursue one certain career path.  I admit it can be hard finding a job, but you just have to be more creative in what you are looking for.  From experience, English can be a very marketable major.  And it's great for grad school.  But, you were also warned.

9) Here are 45 beautiful churches from around the world.  The fact that I've only seen two of them makes me seriously need to rework my travel bucket list.  Even if you're not religious, the churches in each of these cities are a huge indicator of the town's history and architectural style.

10) And I'll close out with the thing that would make my life complete.  Enjoy!




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Make it Metallic with Moz Designs + a Winner!

My next post for Furniture Fashion is about brightening up your home or business with the shimmery goodness of Moz Designs.  You can use their metallic fixtures to decorate your modern home.  The wall art is particularly illuminating.  Check out the full article with more images at the link below:

And the Winner is...

The winner of my giveaway for a $25 credit to the paper goods site Minted.com is:

Elizabeth Georgian @ Wanderlust

Congrats Elizabeth and thanks to everyone who entered!



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Monthly Inspiration: Adirondack Style

February is the perfect month to be inspired by Adirondack style.  Cottages and cabins in the Lake Placid area of the Adirondack mountains especially.  I used to live about 3 hours away!  When I visited possibly 3 or 4 summers ago, I thought the area was beautiful.  A great place to do water sports, snow sports, and hiking.  Plus the towns have cutest shops.  The decor inside our furnished cottage is what I'm inspired by this month.  Adirondack style is a mixture of greens, browns, reds, and any tones from nature.  It's arts and crafts furniture, moose and deer decor, and leather couches.  Plus who would've guessed that homegirl Lana Del Rey was from Lake Placid, NY?

I found all of these images at Adirondackstore.com.  You can buy a ton of cool accessories if you are trying to emulate the style.  If you're not so good at putting looks together yourself, I found that the site also offers interior design consulting.


Love these map coaster. Don't want to ruin the wooden tables.

Not for hiking, but looking fashionable when walking around the forest.

Hot chocolate or mulled wine by the fire?  Yes, please.

These are awesome for fitting everything you need for a hike or pic nic in the woods.

The quintessential Adirondack style outdoor chair.

Cosy up with this lovely plaid throw.

Because they are cute and warm.

You aren't really camping unless you've used one of these nostalgic wonders.
For the fashionistas, I found this runway version of Adirondack Style.

     Source
There are only 2 more days to enter my GIVEAWAY for $25 to Minted.com.
Enter here.

*This is not a sponsored post, just something I was inspired to write about for my Monthly Inspiration for February.



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The Abandoned Town of Centralia + Fresh Face Friday

Urban exploration can be fun.  Visiting abandoned buildings and areas sounds eerie.  But what happens when an entire town is abandoned?  How does something like this happen?  When I was younger and living in PA, my family went to pick up a car in (ironically named) Ashland, PA.  They had heard about the burning ghost town Centralia, PA that was only a town over.  What better way to take a joy ride in your new car than by strolling through an abandoned town with your kids right?  Well I thought it was cool and I thought about that town years after I'd initially visited.



The History

I didn't remember much about trip so I wanted to go back.  A couple of years ago when I was back in my hometown, B and I decided to make the trip to Centralia.  I had told him all about it and he was excited.  The story behind this town is that in the 1960's a fire had started in the coal mines of this city and it quickly became uncontrollable.  There are many theories as to how the fire started though no one knows for sure.  Firefighters tried to stop the fire but after nearly two decades of trying, it became clear that it was unable to be stopped.  This was unsafe for the town as it created dangerous sink holes and toxic carbon monoxide levels.  I've heard stories in my childhood that if you drive through the town and mostly the now closed road of Route 61, you can see large cracks in the road with smoke coming out.  That image alone was the reason I wanted to visit and see if I could see it for myself.  Route 61 is now completely closed off to the public due to the cracks in the road and not even indicated on some newer maps. Creepy.

Eventually in the 1980's the town was evacuated and the residents were relocated.  But, long time residents can be stubborn and there were a lot of people who did not want to leave the town.  So they stayed.  As the years crept by, it became a ghost town in that no one was there and almost everything in the town was demolished except for a few buildings, homes, and the cemeteries.  Keep in mind that back in the day this used to be a thriving town. I'm talking about in the late1800's.  It has a fascinating history.
So what did I find when I went to Centralia?

 Odd Fellows Cemetery



Municipal Building


When B and I visited a couple of summers ago we walked all around the abandoned town.  There were almost no buildings except the municipal building and a few houses (I'm talking like 2 or 3) that oddly enough looked lived in (apparently there are a handful of people still refusing to leave).  It's very strange to see sidewalks that lead to nothing, some rickety streets signs and that's it.  We followed some of the streets to some dead ends and climbed some of the piles of ash and coal.  We did not unfortunately find the cracks with smoke coming out of the ground, but I know that we were in the wrong area.  Each turn that looked like it used to be a residential area was now a pile of ash.  Every now and then you'd see a large pipe coming out of the ground to funnel out some of the smoke.  The fire isn't predicted to halt anytime soon.  It is predicted to burn for possibly the next thousand years.  And this may affect the surrounding areas that are also coal regions.

The most interesting thing we saw was the Odd Fellows Cemetery.  I found it odd indeed that this seemed to be somewhat maintained!  The deceased residents in this town outnumbered the living as I think at this point there were maybe a few residents that were allowed to finish out their lives there, and possibly some squatters and other urban explorers.

Unfortunately at this time in my life I wasn't all about taking pictures so I only have these few that I had captured on my iPhone.  But I know that when I return stateside, I'll explore Centralia again and bring a nice camera with me.  After walking around for a few hours we decided we were starting to get creeped out and decided it was time to go.  We wouldn't have wanted to get caught there after sundown.  It might have turned into the movie SILENT HILL.  I say that jokingly and not jokingly because the movie and video game, Silent Hill was actually inspired by the town of Centralia.  (Did you know that?) And so were quite a  few other things like novels, movies, and documentaries.

Because my pictures are lacking and I want you to get a better feel for the town.  I included this video I found on Youtube made by someone who explored the area.  Take a look!

My work is not yet done here in Centralia.  And I am interested in doing more urban exploring in the future.

Would you visit this town?  Have you ever visited an abandoned building or town?  Let us know in the comments! 

 Now that you're sufficiently creeped out I'd like to remind you to enter my
GIVEAWAY for $25 to Minted.com and to link up below for Fresh Face Friday with We Took the Road Less Traveled!





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