We got to do a lot of girly stuff: window (and non-window) shopping, went on walks, sipped coffee in various cafes near Eschenbach, ate way too many pastries, enjoyed crepes in Weiden, scouted for fabric (to no avail), bought and planted flowers and basil, and did lots of cooking (Eric's favorite part).
Eric and I had a blast showing off our home, "our" town, "our" fields, and "our" Germany. It was fun just having an extra person to point things out to, take photos, and share our excitement with. We even had the Miranda's over one night for dinner...and I think they ended up staying til about 11pm. It was a lot of fun sharing our new friends, and my mom just loved them!
(My mom and I each enjoying a Radler at Peppo's Pizza.)
(Above & Below: Exploring the fields behind our house.)
While my mom and I spent the weekdays in nearby towns, we took advantage of Eric's days off to go on bigger trips. We went to Nuremburg on the Saturday before Easter and couldn't believe how many people were out and about. There were dozens upon dozens of little tents set up with vendors selling anything from lace curtains to bratwurst. We each bought a few little things (including this adorable hat Eric got for me, which I've now called my "Easter bonnet". Haha!)
After eating and shopping in the mart, we wandered around the rest of downtown Nuremburg. We took a little tour through the Stadt Museum (city museum) which was actually pretty interesting (see a few photos below?), stopped in a cafe for a snack, strolled through more stores, then headed back to Eschenbach. It was about 5 hours spent on our feet, so I think we were all more than ready to be home.
On Easter Sunday we went to the Flea Market that I posted about earlier then just had a lazy day full of eating and watching movies: great Easter if you ask me. The rest of the week was spent with the usual: shopping, walking, talking. But Eric ended up having a 4-day weekend (Friday and Monday off) so we took advantage of the free time and planned an overnight trip.
We decided on Munich; since it's only about 2-3 hours away, with plenty to do and see, we thought it would be a realistic and fun first trip for us all. We left early Friday morning, stocked up on very necessary sandwiches, pastries and water...and headed for Füssen-a town south of Munich that we new held the tourist information about two of Germany's most famous sites: the castles Neuschwantstein and Hohenschwangau. The drive took a little longer than expected, but the views along the way were worth it. We kept keeping our eyes pealed for castles, and as the rolling hills showed giant snow-filled mountains in the distance, we knew we were getting close.
Füssen was an amazing town: full of restaurants with big patios, little stores, and a giant lake already bustling with people. We definitely want to make a trip to just visit that town again. The Tourism Center gave us a map to an even smaller town a little further south that we had to get to: Hohenschwangau (which made sense since that's the name of the older castle). That 20 minute drive was pretty exciting, weaving through the hills. The second we saw the first castle, Hohenschwangau, we all freaked out. It was GIANT! But a couple turns later Neuschwanstein popped out from the rocky cliffs ahead and I'm pretty sure we all let out dramatic gasps. See for yourself. Really, the pictures can not do it justice.
(Above: Hohenschwangau, the home of King Maximillian II. Below: Neuschwanstein, the home of his son, the future King Ludwig II.)
We parked, bought tickets for the two tours, then wandered in an out of the souvenir shops. There was so much cute stuff to look at and it was all very reasonably priced. Then, we took the 10 minute walk up the hill to Hohenschwangau. Wow was it beautiful, and just so hard to imagine people actually living there what seems like such a short time ago. Sadly, we weren't allowed to take photos in either castle so you'll just have to take my word for it. Our tour guide told the really interesting history of the King and Queen (and amazing tours of their seperate rooms) and also of their two sons (the youngest of which, Ludwig, ended up being King and building Neuschwanstein).
(Some British honeymooners took this photo of the three of us-we didn't have one together yet and once we heard English voices we all took turns photographing eachother.)
After the tour we took a lot more photos around the grounds of the castle: fountains, statues etc. We had about an hour before the next tour started so we walked back down and ate bratwurst, icecream and bought more trinkets.
The tour for Neuschwanstein started with a 10-minute busride up a windy road to the base of the castle. From there it was another 10 minute walk, but full of incredible sights of the mountains and the castle itself. It was so beautiful.
Neuschwanstein was miles ahead of Hohenschwangau in terms of beauty and detail. One room's floor was covered in a 2,000,000-piece mosaic. Literally every inch of each wall and ceiling was painted or intricately carved. King Ludwig's bedroom alone took 10 wood-carvers years to complete. Each wall in almost every room had scenes painted from many of Richard Wagner's operas, almost like a beautiful comic book. In fact, almost every room was either inspired by Wagner, or vice-versa. (We all had a theory that they were lovers, but that's a whole other story.) Everything from the doorknobs to the chandeliers were completely to die for. We will definitely be going back; I don't think we could ever get sick of that place. (As a total side note, I just have to brag that in the MIDDLE of a tour of this CASTLE a woman ran over to me to tell me how beautiful MY ring was--and showed her husband! In the middle of a castle!!!! Eric takes "full credit for that compliment" but I felt pretty special. And still do.)
This bridge, pictured below, was called Marie's Bridge and was a little walk from the castle but offered some incredible photo opportunities. It was a little freaky being on such a little bridge so high up, but again it was worth it.
(Below: The view from the bridge.)
That day was so much fun but very long too. We drove back into Munich, checked into our hotel and realized it was 9pm and we hadn't eaten since noon. After having some drinks at the hotel bar, we found out about the subway and went down to ride it to dinner. It took a minute to figure out how the whole system works, but once we got the basics it seemed pretty self-explanatory. Although there were loads of drunk teens, it was a pretty exciting ride. We got off about 10 stops later, ate dinner in a loud and delicious Brazilian restaurant, then were back home within a couple hours.
Saturday was such a big change after the romantic sights the day before. We went to Dachau, the first concentration camp. Dachau happens to now be in a charming town a little north of Munich, which seemed so strange. I guess we all expected it to be far away from everything. We didn't take a tour because they lasted about 5 hours, but we rented the audio guide and walked around for a good part of the morning. It was really surreal trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we were actually there.
(Above: "Work will set you free" states the iron gate to the camp. Below: Part of a monument on the grounds.)
Easily the creepiest part of the tour was walking through the gas chambers and crematorium. You walk through the way the prisoners would, and it was just so ominous and dark. The day before had been filled with laughs and pictures and talking...Saturday we all barely said anything but instead just wandered around separately.
Below is a prayer sanctuary that has been built on the Memorial grounds. Several Churches/synagogues have also been constructed.
After Dachau we grabbed some lunch, talked about our trip then headed back to Eschenbach. God bless Eric for doing all that driving all weekend-it was a lot. It was really nice being home Saturday evening and knowing he didn't have to work again until Tuesday. That night we just had a mellow night around the house, and Sunday morning we helped my mom pack all of her souvenirs into a giant suitcase reserved SOLELY for them. The Miranda's invited us over for a BBQ Sunday night, which was actually a great way to end our trip: they put us in such high spirits. Sgt. Miranda told my mom that he'd make sure we were always taken care of--which I am sure she appreciated.
So, all in all, it was a great trip. I'm glad my mom got to come for a long enough time to see a lot of sites, but also spend a few days with me doing stuff around town. It feels so quiet around here now.
Thanks mom, we really appreciated the groceries, gas money, and a few free meals! Love you and can't wait for you to come back sometime soon!
Bridget & Eric,
ReplyDeleteMy trip to Germany was truly one of the highlights of my life. Thank you for showing me such a wonderful time. You two are the luckiest two people on earth. I can't wait to come back for another visit!
Love you,
Mom