About us: an American family in Kiefersfelden, Bavaria
Germany travel tips from our home on the Bavarian–Austrian border, written by Brian (with a little help from Shauna) for families like ours.
Servus, we’re the Mahanys! 👋
I’m Brian. My wife Shauna, our sons Noah and Elijah, our two pups Scout & Moose and I are an American family living in Kiefersfelden, a small village in the Inn river valley, right where Bavaria meets Austria. Kufstein and its fortress are just across the border, and Munich is a little over an hour away by train.
It’s only a 5-minute walk from our house to the train station, the grocery store and the hiking trails, just one reason we’re loving our little village life in Deutschland. ❤️ And it’s pretty obvious Scout & Moose love it too!
We’re all still learning German (Shauna’s favorite kind of Sunday is cappuccino mit Deutsch homework ☕), so I’ll always explain the German words as we go. Auf Deutsch: Wir lieben unser Dorf. We love our village!
From suitcases to Servus!
Juni 2024
Hallo, Deutschland! 🇩🇪
We flew Lufthansa to Munich and settled into a long(ish)-term Airbnb while we went Wohnung (apartment) hunting. That first week felt surreal, almost like a vacation: daily walks, a tiny fridge we restocked every other day, church bells ringing through the day, delicious Italian Eis (Germany’s name for gelato) and erdbeeren (strawberry) jam from an adorable, human-sized strawberry stand. 🍓
29. Juni 2024
Shauna’s first birthday in Deutschland
The boys got up early on a Saturday to walk to das Blumengeschäft (the flower shop) and surprise their mom with the most beautiful bouquet. Sehr schön! Then we went to the Bäckerei (bakery) with the pups, swam in the nearby See (lake) and had a late lunch at the local Gästehaus (guesthouse). 💗
Dezember 2024
Our first Christkindlmarkt
Rosenheim’s Christmas market: twinkly lights, a nativity hut, Kinderpunsch for Elijah and a ride on the Ferris wheel. We’ve been hooked on Advent here ever since. It’s such a special, faith-filled season.
2025
Bike dates and time slips
Shauna and I biked 23 miles (37 km) from home to Mariastein in Austria and climbed the 250 winding stairs of its castle, built in 1361, with two little chapels tucked in at the top. And in Munich, an old U-Bahn train with wood paneling felt like a time slip back to the 1970s, like a living museum underground! 😄
And we’ll always give you the honest version. On a family trip to Holland, Shauna pictured toes in the sand and salty sea air. The reality? July in the Netherlands can be frigid! Pants, layers, jackets. 😂 So you’ll get real-life tips here, rain jackets included.
Shauna truly believes we were made for beauty, and we love finding it in the grand, obvious places and in the small, unexpected moments too: a cellist playing outside a museum, a candlelit nativity hut, an evening walk by the river. That’s what we hope this site helps you find in Germany. 🥰
Pfiat di, Brian
How we put each guide together
- Every date, price and opening time is checked against the official source, and updated every season.
- Plans are train-first. The regional trains here are easy, and you don’t need a car for most trips.
- Kid-friendly notes on every guide: Kinderpunsch, playgrounds, where to warm up and how long things take with little legs.
- If something isn’t confirmed yet, we say so and tell you when to check, instead of guessing.
- Some links are affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend.
Questions or a tip for us? Say hello at VacationInGermany@gmail.com or on Instagram @vacationingermany.
A few words you’ll hear around here
Servus!
Hi! (and bye). The everyday Bavarian greeting with friends.
Grüß Gott
The polite Bavarian hello, literally “may God greet you”.
Pfiat di!
Bavarian for “take care”, what you say when you leave.
Auf geht’s!
Let’s go! You’ll hear it before every hike and every trip.
Gemütlichkeit
That warm, cozy, take-your-time feeling. Christmas markets are full of it.
Perfect kleine Pause
Shauna’s own English-German mix for “a perfect little break” ☕
Follow along @vacationingermany
