On the 9th Day of Christmas...

Almost every day to this point was spent traveling. This day would be a little bit different. Though we did travel, we went by train instead of car. The train is fun and relaxing, and is an experience in itself. Just a note: I think Julie is REALLY cute in this first picture!
We had a lot of fun on the train. Jer and I pointed out landmarks on the way (such as Hochspeyer--where we lived when we first got here--and Frankenstein castle). We changed trains only once. Our train ride was about 1 1/2 - 2 hours long altogether to Wissembourg, France.
I have never ridden a train in the US. I've ridden on metro, though it is not the same. In Germany, people are often allowed to take their dogs into stores, restaurants and on trains. It's an odd sight at first, but so far I have never seen more well-trained dogs than in Germany. They don't bark or try to jump or sniff at you. They are quiet and mind their masters. It was fun to see Julie's reaction at first to a dog coming on the train. I think she and Emily were also amazed at how well-behaved the dog was.

We arrived in France and walked from the train station through a park, and into the old city. I have been to Wissembourg before and really enjoyed it.
There were still remnants left from their Christmas market. There was one long stretch of booths that made for great cover (since it started raining) for us to stand under and eat our packed lunches. Then we visited the church.
I enjoy the old churches. We walked around the back and discovered old sarcophagi. I really wanted to climb in to get a picture, but there were a few people in the vicinity, and it's really important to not offend the locals. I settled for a body-less picture.
We then went to a wonderful, quaint shop that sells many perfumes and soaps. It's such a fun store. We all ended up with French parfum. Well, Jer didn't.
Then we found Le Charles V, an awesome restaurant (with an awesome plastic chef outside) with about 20 different types of crepes to experience. Emily really wanted to try authentic French crepes. So we went in, sat down, and drooled over the menu. Jer has never liked crepes, so he didn't order any. Emily ordered the peach crepe, Julie ordered banana and Nutella crepe, and I got the rhubarb crepe in honor of Dad, who loves rhubarb. Every crepe was delicious! Jer is now a fan of French crepes!
As we were finishing our food, we noticed the time. The hourly train was going to come in less than 10 minutes, and we were pretty much done exploring the city, so we put on our backpacks and started running. The train station wasn't too far away--maybe about 1 km. The train pulled up just as we were catching our breath. We made it!
The train ride home had a lot more people on it. I guess because it was later in the day. By the time we got back to Kaiserslautern, we were hungry.
There was still one more type of food to make sure Julie and Emily tried before leaving: doner kebap! YUM! I have blogged about this before. It is so yummy!
Our last stop for the evening was to Globus. It is an enormous grocery store--not too common here. Julie and Emily needed to buy some chocolates and goodies to take back with them. There is a travel agency inside, so I told Emily to go stand next to a weird Egyptian statue for a funny picture. It had to be quick so nobody would get angry (I don't think it was wrong, but sometimes you never know). I wish I'd gotten one with Julie too! I also wish I'd gotten a picture of the loot we left the store with!
We had a fabulous day, mouthwatering lunch dessert, and delicious dinner. It was the perfect last full day.

On the 8th Day of Christmas...

Our final destination on this day was home, but we had many stops to make and things to see before we got there.
Morning brought with it cold, crisp air. We had so far been very lucky to not be rained or snowed on and appreciated it--especially with all the driving. By day's end, we were snowed and rained on. I prefer snow because the rain was VERY cold and wet. Thankfully, the rain part was at its worst while driving.
We started out with a tour of Munich--Tasha as the tour guide. She was great! I was quite impressed with her knowledge of buildings and history. Soon after we got out of the car to start our foot tour, it started to snow.
We passed the area where Hitler gave one of his speeches. Near that is the statue with the discolored nose. It's supposed to be good luck to rub the nose.
She took us to a square where we found a little cafe to eat breakfast. Yum!
Lots of pictures later, we parted ways: Tasha took the subway home, and the rest of us climbed in the car and headed to Dachau.
Dachau is the site of one of the many concentration camps during WWII. I really went back and forth on whether we should include this on our trip. On the one hand, it (concentration camps in general) is such a HUGE part of Germany's history. On the other hand, I didn't want to damper our spirits with something that was potentially depressing. I spoke to my sisters about it before they came to Germany, and we decided we did want to see it, but not take an entire day to do so.
We arrived at about 10:30am. It is free to tour, but we each rented the headset to get more information at each post. There is so much information there (in English and German), the headset was unnecessary, but still gave good information.
I had studied a bit about WWII before we came. I was still shocked by some things, and seeing things in person made it so much more real.
The third Dachau picture (with the bell) is of the open space where the living quarters for prisoners used to be. The ghost of each building is depicted by a simple outline frame on the ground.
Overall, I'm glad we went. I won't go into more detail about the things I saw and read because I think it is a very personal and reverent experience.
We'd made a goal to only spend a couple of hours in Dachau. After that, we left for one of Germany's oldest, most famous cities: Rothenburg ob der Tauber!
This city is amazing!
We stopped in a couple of little shops first, then made it to the large clock tower square.
Then, we went into the Christmas museum. Quite an awesome place! I think there is no such place as large that is entirely Christmas! Emily had some specific things she was looking for, and we found them here. Never have I seen more beautiful (even hand-made!) ornaments and decorations than in Käthe Wohlfahrt. Unfortunately, no picture-taking allowed inside. We spent so much time there, it started getting dark. We had to hurry to our photo-op before it was too late!
My Sedgwick relatives will remember Grandma's framed puzzle of a famous point in Rothenburg called the Plönlein. Such a charming place with the Spitzhäuschen (1/2-timbered crooked house) just beyond the fork in the road. We were all excited to see the place in person, as we grew up seeing it at Grandma's house every time we went to visit. We were sure to take many pictures of this for Grandma. I think the photos taken at dusk are even more beautiful than the ones during the day. I think because there are no people.
We made one last stop back to Käthe Wohlfahrt (Poor, sad, broken, expensive, glass ornament! We were all sad you didn't have more integrity, but very glad there was but one more just like you!).
Before leaving the city, we braved the city wall. By day, this isn't too treacherous. But at night, in the rain, it was a little scary! The wall was built nearly 800 years ago! They did not have the same construction codes back then as they do now. The steps are very steep, uneven, and different heights. Today there is an added rail to hold onto. Atop the wall, I got out my little book light (it happened to be in my backpack) and so did Julie. It was so dark we couldn't see where we were stepping. It was very cool to see the city from such a height, but also to realize the immensity of the wall!
The drive back home was pretty long--about 2 1/2 hours. It was nice to be home. We had one more full day scheduled with travel and fun, so we found our welcome beds and had a rendezvous with sleep.

On the 7th Day of Christmas...

This post has the opposite problem from my last one: I have too many pictures to choose from!
It is hard to pick a favorite day out of such an amazing vacation as we had, but if I had to choose one day, I think it would be this one.
We slept in a little bit, but not too late. We showered, ate, and planned the day with Rob and Tasha, who would be joining us on that day's adventure: Salzburg, Austria!
The drive took less than 2 hours, and was, of course, beautiful. We stopped at a traffic light, and I took the opportunity to snap a picture of the tunnel entrance to Salzburg. So interesting!
Once we found a parking place (which wasn't easy), we spent another 30 minutes trying to figure out where we were in relation to where we wanted to be, and how to get there.
We ended up having to walk up an alley (which was not scary- or dangerous-looking) and back down into a courtyard, where we eventually met up with Rob and Tasha.
The picture to the right is of Schloss Mirabell. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to tour it, but it makes for beautiful pictures. There is a picture of it by night at the end of my post.
We met them at an enormous chess board painted on the ground. There were men playing. It was fun to watch them.
There was a statue that looked like evil, but it was supposed to be the opposite. Hmm. It was called "Coat of Peace" by Anna Chromy.
There was a street mime. He was so still if I hadn't seen him change poses, I would have wondered if he were real.
There is so much to do in Salzburg. I had a lot of possible things on the itinerary, but the one thing that was a must-do on my list was to visit Mozart's birth house. I LOVED it in there! There was so much history, and almost everything written was in both German and English. Some examples of different things to see and read about: letters from Mozart and his wife, Constanze; letters between Mozart and his mom; his clavichord and harpsichord; portraits; traveling items--like his dishes and a medicine box with different tonics and potions in it (the small bottles were still labeled!); his childhood violin. Oh, it was wonderful! There was an acoustic room playing his music. I got lost in there. Emily came looking for me and somehow knew to find me there.
I absolutely loved it there! There was a gift shop with so many things using the Mozart name, but the best was the chocolate. It is famous. Mozart kugeln. YUM!
After Mozarts Geburtshaus, the six of us set out to find a place to eat. The first place was so smokey inside
(I miss the non-smoking laws in the US),
I was getting a headache before we could even order. We got up from our table and decided to find another place.
The second place we tried was more of a cafe with drinks and muffins/pastries. Again, we got up from our tables and started a quest for a non-smokey restaurant. Who knew it would be so hard to find?!
The third place was great! Rob and Tasha had been to Salzburg before, so they steered us to this restaurant where we finally ended up eating. We got a table, ordered food, and really enjoyed visiting with each other.
After dinner, we wandered around the alley (I say alley, but it's not quite an alley. Walkway isn't the right word either. Maybe there isn't an English word for it). Because it was still close to Christmas, there was still a lot of Christmas decorations and items for sale. I love to window shop in Europe. I think it never caught on for me in the States.
We passed a music store. Photo op. I love the instruments, especially the red flute!
Rob and Tasha decided to go back home at this point, but the four of us decided to wander around a bit more. We stopped at a bakery pretzel place for dessert. We got a donut pretzel, a chocolate-covered pretzel, and an apple-filled pretzel. We kept them to eat once we got back to Rob and Tasha's house. We also bought chocolates, of course!
I also need to mention that there was a beautiful horse and buggy. I love the clopping noises of the horses. With all the Christmas lights, yummy food smells, and ornaments, it often felt like a scene from a movie. I only got one picture with the horses that turned out. If you look closely at the horse picture below, you can see Jer and Emily standing at the donut shop!
Our last stop was a church named Dreifaltigkeitskirche, or Trinity Church. It was beautiful by day (see the panoramic picture), but breathtaking at night! I LOVE the moon!
We went inside. While I didn't see any signs prohibiting pictures, it sometimes feels weird to take pictures inside a church. I tried to do it without drawing attention to myself. I love how it is decorated for Christmas. I love the murals and paintings on the ceiling. We walked up one side and back down the other. There is always much to look at in these old churches.
We were almost back to the entrance/exit when the lights shut off! Were we the last ones in there? We couldn't tell, but we could see some light coming from the exit, so we all hurried that way. We found ourselves trapped inside the steel gates. Father, let us out, we pray! There were about 10 people in the same predicament wondering what to do. Soon a priest with a key connected to his robes came and opened the gates to let us out. I can't help but think of Purgatory--trapped between the world and heaven.
We got some cool pictures with a weird man-on-top-of-the-world sculpture/statue before we left. We also had the wonderful opportunity to listen to a man playing classical guitar. There weren't too many people around by this time, so his music filled the dome hall. Beautiful. I'm only sorry the one good picture I got of him makes him look like he's not happy. But he was very nice. Jer and I bought his CD. I always like to buy music from local artists of the places we travel. This guy was really talented and I love classical guitar.
We didn't have any trouble finding the car.
Back at Rob and Tasha's house, we heated up the donuts and played games for the rest of the evening. Such a perfect day: beautiful weather, wonderful company, and the promise of another exciting day in the morning!

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!