On the 6th Day of Christmas...

So, it's March and I'm still trying to finish my Christmas blogging. I had a hard February. I got a crazy infection that threw my whole body for a loop and spent a week in the hospital. I'm doing much better now, and feeling more energetic, so on with the blogging!
I sadly didn't take a lot of pictures from this day. Most of the beauty was captured in my memory and by my sisters' cameras while driving.
We arrived in Switzerland a little before midnight. I'd printed up a list of different hotel addresses to stay at, so we went to the first one on the list. It was closed for the holidays. I was a little baffled by that. Things in Europe are just so different.
The second one we went to was also closed, and I was starting to get a little concerned.
We headed for another near the train station, hoping that would surely be open.
Hallelujah!
We got there just before the man was going to close up the front desk. I had no idea hotels close completely for holidays, or close for the night. It's just so different.
We got a 2-room room. One room had bunkbeds, and the other room had 2 twins put together to make a queen, but with separate bedding. The 2 twin bed thing instead of a real queen is common in hotels in Europe. I think it's weird.
Trains in Germany are quiet. We were right across from the train station, but didn't hear any noises.
We woke up in time to get dressed and make our complimentary breakfast. When I say breakfast, I don't mean breakfast like they do in hotels the States--bagels and coffee--I mean a breakfast with a plethora of foods to choose from!
As soon as we walked in, the hostess asked if we wanted coffee or tea. I asked if she had hot chocolate. We all wanted hot chocolate. She said yes and that she would bring it to our table. We helped ourselves to croissants, many different types of bread rolls, cheeses, meats, hard eggs, cereal, yogurt, fruit, juice, many jams and jellies and Nutella. What am I missing?
When we sat down, the hostess brought out the pitcher of hot chocolate. They actually steamed milk, made hot chocoate, and brought it out in a pitcher! Oh, it was so delicious! Just so perfect. Swiss hot cocoa. Wonderful invention!
It just so happens that this morning was a Sunday morning. Not too much is open on Sundays in Europe, but I'd planned ahead!
We stayed in the little town of Kreuzlingen, Switzerland because there is a small branch (congregation) of the LDS church there. I knew it would be fun for us all to experience a service in the local dialect. In this north area of Switzerland, they speak German, but it is a different dialect than here and harder to understand. But just like most churches, they were welcoming to visitors and we had a nice time. We sang hymns in German, which was honestly kind of fun. They also had a special musical number with 3 adults playing the recorders. All of us talked about it later: when we first saw them go up there, we were scared for them. The only time I ever hear recorders, they are played by little kids. They are not pretty. But we were amazed! They played a 3-part harmony in tune and beautifully! We were all quite surprised and enjoyed it very much.
After church, we changed clothes and went for a beautiful drive around the Bodensee (Lake Constance). It is a very big lake and took a long time to drive around, but it was very pretty, and it was fun to see the towns and churches along the way.
We had the most beautiful drive through the Swiss Alps! The ground was completely covered in snow, but the roads were just clear enough (tire tracks!) that it didn't make driving hazardous or too slow. I've never seen such beautiful villages on the sides of the mountains! Everything was so rural because of the route we were on--back highways. Oh, I wish I had more pictures, but I was driving!
We made it to our next destination in good timing. We were there to visit the fairy tale castles: Neuschwanstein (white castle) and Hohenschwangau (yellow/orange castle).
Such beauty! Jer and I had been there before, but it was during spring. It is different in winter. I think in some ways, it's more beautiful. We toured Hohenschwangau first, then walked up the road (took about 25 minutes) to Neuschwanstein. By the time we got out of there, it wasn't very late, but it was completely dark. I think it was between 5-5:30pm.
They offer horse and buggy rides up to Neuschwanstein, but the line was so long (and the prices were quite steep!) we decided to walk. I was afraid we would miss our tour time. We would have if we'd waited for the carriage ride up.
We walked down in the dark, using glare from the moon to avoid horse doody. None of us accidentally discovered any, thank goodness!
I got a picture of Hohenschwangau from the walk down. Stunningly beautiful!
We went back to the car and headed to Munich. Emily has friends that moved there a couple of months before Jer and I moved here. Their names are Rob and Tasha. They just happened to be flying back from the States (spent Christmas there) that same day, and were scheduled to arrive a few hours before we would.
We got to Munich and stopped at a Chinese restaurant near Rob and Tasha's house. Their flight had been slightly delayed, but we weren't in a hurry. We were hungry!
Our experience with Chinese food in Germany has so far been that it is much more expensive than in the States, and it's prepared a little differently. Jer and I generally like it a little better in the States, but this restaurant was good.
It's common in restaurants in Germany (I'm not sure about the rest of Europe) for the owner to give, free of charge, a shot of Schnapps at the end of the meal with the check (which you must ask for). It is a way to thank the customer for coming, invite them to return, and I think also to get a bigger tip. Tips are always included in the price of meals, no matter how many people are in the party, or how much the meal costs. But it is also customary to round up to the next Euro as an additional tip. Americans are not used to not tipping, and generally tip more. I generally only round up since I've learned this nice information. It is not rude, but normal. In my experience, they usually ask if we want a shot. This man just brought them to us. We were a little hesitant because none of us wanted to be rude and decline it, since he served it so quickly--it was on the table before we realized what was happening! So, I grabbed Julie's and, uh, got rid of it then got rid of my own. I left the other 2 for Emily and Jer to decide what to do. :)
After the restaurant, we went to Rob and Tasha's house. I'd met Rob before--he stayed with us for a week when he had a class at the base here. I hadn't met Tasha before. What wonderful people they are!
We toured their beautiful apartment, and had a wonderful evening together before heading to bed. They are such wonderful people to open their home to us! We needed the sleep because the next day was going to be FILLED!