Day 5

And we come to Sunday- possibly the most mind blowing of all days. We did a lot of train travel on this trip, but I must say that as long as I was facing in the direction of travel, it was pretty pleasant! Well, it also helps to have two guides saying, get off here, it'll be 15 mins, get on here, would you like some of my mom's homemade bread?
The castles. How to describe the castles.
Picture: watery sunlight, fresh but not cold, the alps- tree covered mountains just that much closer to heaven, two pristine mountain lakes-cobalt blue, and perching in two lordly poses above you, two castles. One a buttery yellow, one a swan like white.
Howenschwangau (I'm sure I am spelling these wrong) Beautiful murals, furniture that people actually lived with, ruled in, had their babies in, faced life in. I love castles that help you to imagine what life was like in that time, and this was perfect for that. Lots of small rooms with windows that looked out on breath taking views of mountains, lakes, forests etc. We had a great guide with a perfect dry sense of humor. I liked this castle better than Newschwanstein. It was more real, less of a wild fancy and more of a real home. Well, as real home as living in a castle can get.

And then there was this beauty. Unfortunatly all I caught was this least impressive side. It got too dark too fast for me to catch the other sides. This was a mad king's flight of fancy and it was truly incredible. Part of me wishes that we could have taken pictures inside, adn part of me realizes that there is just no way to capture the feeling of it without being there in real life. Anyways, google it because its beyond my description. All I can think of is a truly lame WOW!

The gardens at Hohenschwangau. Don't we all wish we were as fashionable as this girl?

Oh wait! Some of us are! This is my incredible mom, posing with some German royalty. It's amazing who you run into in out of the way places!

Days 2-4

After our Christmas shopping extravaganza, we jumped on the train for a trip to visit Marissa's family. The more I travel, the more I appreciate hospitality in all it's forms. Marissa's family was so hospitable to us! They fed us incredible meals, took us on walks, let their children smash us in games like memory, and showed us different aspects of their lives. It was a lot of fun and helped me not to miss my own family as much over the biggest holiday of the year. We were treated to different German traditions, including a candle lit Christmas tree and a flaming, rum soaked sugar cube that melted into a pot of hot spiced wine. Glorious, but I had to be careful with that one! We also took in a candle lit Christmas Eve Service and probably the highlight of my trip, the village of Bad Wimpfen. Bad Wimpfen is medieval, Bavarian, castle architecture at it's best. People are still living in this village from the 1300's, which is so cool, but I think I got the best feel for life in the dark ages from this place. I love medieval warfare, and I felt like I could understand it best here.
If only all American kids could take a field trip here during their Dark Ages lectures. I think it
would last in their brains forever!

It doesn't rain but it pours!

WOW! This last week has just about blown me away! First my incredible trip to Germany, then a day of shopping in Billings, then home for a New Years party at some awesome friends, then home to a kennel full of surprise puppies! It's enough to make a girl's head spin.
First off, Germany.

This my friends, was the trip of a lifetime. I'm not even exaggerating. it was awesome! Everything that I had wanted to do in Germany we did and then some. I'm going to have to go day by day or it will take until next Christmas to upload them all.

So I had two day of travelling to get there, and as soon as I left the US it got nightmarish! Because of a mistake I had made on the tickets, I was stuck in Amsterdam feverishly running around trying to get on a flight to Munich. By the grace of God I was able to fly standby on a flight or I might still be waiting there today.

As soon as I stepped foot in Munich however, the fun began. Mom and Matthew were there to greet me and we hopped on a train to Matthew and Marissa's trendy apt. in down town Munich. I got my second wind after we arrived and I unpacked and kissed my Dad so we headed down to a pub for a beer. The pubs in Germany are everything you want them to be: stepping from cold damp air into a warm friendly atmosphere, sitting down to a table flanked by tall thousand paned windows amidst a wood panelled room. The feeling is cozy, and talkative, and there are an embarrassment of good things to eat on the menu!

All I wanted on this trip was to eat soft pretzels, sausage and sour kraut and I did myself proud!

The next day we hit the outdoor Christmas markets. Munich is such a beautiful city with stone buildings built with grace and cobblestone roads that are narrow and winding. Tucked into various courtyards throughout the city are these markets. If it's Christmas, it's sold at the Christmas market!


Mom and I stocked up on ornaments and we were sure to stop at the outdoor sausage stand for some bratwurst and sour kraut.
Then we toured Matthew and Marissa's schools. We walked around town some more, Mom and Dad shared a coffee while Matthew and
I toured the medieval Christmas market. And that was the first day!