On September 24th, Brandon and I went on a wonderful trip to Germany to visit Roger and Karen on their mission. We were able to spend a full week with them and enjoy the beautiful sites Germany has to offer. We had such a great time. Our pictures don't do Germany justice. It was the perfect fall weather and the German countryside was breathtaking. Roger and Karen were the perfect hosts!! Thanks Roger and Karen for an amazing trip! We loved every minute of it.
Day 1 - Friday
Our first stop right off the plane was to Rudesheim. Brandon and I were a bit jet lagged and tired, but Karen insisted we had to stay up. She planned a fun day in Rudesheim, a darling little town off the Rhine River.
Can't go to Germany without getting a picture with a life size nutcracker!
These are pictures of the amazing vineyards and hillside of Rudesheim. They overlook the Rhine river.
Karen planned a gondola ride up the hillside. Gorgeous! (Do I look tired?????)
The gondola ride took us up to the top of the hillside to this statue, Niederwald Monument. This is an important statue in Germany. It represents the unification of Germany.
We then took a nice hike down the mountain side in these beautiful woods.
In the middle of the woods was this tunnel. We ventured through it. You had to hold both hands out feeling the walls to make it through. It was pitch dark. Fun!
Down the hill we went on this ski lift. Again, breathtaking views below!
We then took a boat cruise down the Rhine River. We saw many beautiful castles along the way.
Thanks for a great day Rudesheim. Off to bed we go!!
Day 2 - Saturday
We started the day with exercising in a beautiful cemetery across from Roger and Karen's apartment.
We drove an hour and a half through the breath taking countryside to this castle, Eltz Castle. We took a tour of the inside. Fun!!
After Eltz Castle, we drove to Mainz. This was one of the beautiful churches in this town.
Day 3 - Sunday
After church on Sunday, and after having a great Sunday meal by Karen, we drove nearby to an amazing park in Frankfurt, Bad Homburg Park. Again, I can't say how beautiful it was. Germans keep their country so clean and well kept. We had a wonderful Sunday evening walking the park grounds. Here are some pictures:
After our stroll in the park, we drove a short distance to this beautiful church and castle.
Cute watch guard!!!
On the stairs of the castle watchtower
Can you see us? We are in the picture.
Day 4 - Monday
On Monday, we packed our bags, made some lunches and took a 6 hour drive down to the south of Germany. Roger and Karen took us on a tour of some great German sites. Our first stop was the Ulm Church. This is the tallest church in the world. It's steeple measures 530 feet tall and has 768 steps to the top. And guess who went up every single step????
Brandon and I took the journey up the 768 steps to the very top of the steeple. It was amazing!! My legs were sore for the next two days! The view was worth every step!
Looking out from the steeple
After Ulm, we kept driving a few more hours to King Ludwig's Castles. This was the pit stop for the night. We stayed in a bed and breakfast right below (literally) the Neuschwanstein Castle on the hill. The countryside was beyond words. SOOOOOO beautiful!! It was too late this day to tour the castles, so we decided go visit a gorge, the Klamm outside of Garmish. Again, another breathtaking event. This gorge was incredible. We hiked up to it and then in it for a while. The water rushing down through the rocks was a moment to remember. Words and pictures don't do justice.
Walking to the gorge
Inside the gorge
Day 5 - Tuesday
After enjoying a wonderful German breakfast at our hotel, we took off to two of King Ludwig's famous castles; Hohenschwangau Castle and Neuschwanstein Castle. Neuschwanstein Castle was Walt Disney's inspiration for his castle in the Sleeping Beauty movie and for the castle in Disneyland. While King Ludwig was building the Neuschwanstein Castle, he stayed in the Hohenschwangau Castle, which was his parent's castle. It is referred to as the "Parent Castle". This castle is just down the hill from Neuschwanstein. You can see Ludwig's castle from the windows of the parent castle. We toured the parent castle first and then Neuschwanstein. They were both magical to see.
Outside of Hohenschwangau Castle
Neuschwanstein Castle. The pictures do not do it justice. It is beyond words and it is sourrounded by incredible picturesque mountains. Breathtaking to say the least!
The front doors to the Neuschwanstein Castle
Waiting in the courtyard for the tour to begin
After our tour of the castles, we drove back north a couple hours to Dachau, one of Hitler's concentration camps. I visited this camp before when I was 12. It was again a solomn experience visiting it again. It was hard to believe what took place in that very spot not so long ago. May it never happen again.
These empty gravel rectangles were where the baraques, like the one shown behind, use to be. This is where the prisioners lived. Each baraque held 200 prisioners at first, which is hard to believe to begin with, but the concentration camp became so full at one point that that they filled them up with 2000 people in them. I can't even imagine! How blessed I feel for my freedoms! Much to be thankful for.
After Dachau, the original plan was to head home back to Frankfurt, but instead Roger and Karen were gracious to change their work schedule so that we could spend one more day in Rothenburg. We drove a couple more hours north to Rothenburg. We got there late, but found a great resturaunt to eat at (wonderful German food!) and a nice bed and breakfast to stay the night in.
Day 6 - Wednesday
After another great German breakfast at our hotel, off we went to sitesee the wonderful town of Rothenburg. What a fun, fun, fun, little town. I loved it. It was well worth staying for. (Thanks Roger and Karen) Rothenburg is an old well preserved medevial town. It is an enclosed walled city. One can walk along the wall of the city. We went up one of the watch towers on the wall. It is such a fun and quaint city.
The Great Wall of Rothenburg
Walking the wall
What a quaint city - fun feeling
One of our last stops in Rothenburg...the bakery...yummy!!!
After Rothenburg, we headed back to Frankfurt. Roger went back to work and Karen took us on a tour of Frankfurt. We took the train to downtown Frankfurt. We saw a beautiful park and buildings, the old opera house, a fun market, department stores, and the beautiful bridge and church below to name a few sites.
Karen treated us to a wonderful "last" meal in Frankfurt for dinner on our last night in Germany. We ate at this yummy fish restauraunt. It was funny though, the waitor didn't speak great English. When Brandon ordered he assumed by what the waitor said that it was a piece of trout. Well, when his dish arrived it was the entire fish, head, eyes and all on his plate. It was a big fish hanging over the sides of the plate. Brandon's moto in the world of food is, "the bigger, the better." He was thrilled. As you can tell, Brandon enjoyed ALL of the fish and didn't let any of it go to waist. Fun experience.
We headed back to the apartment for the night and decided to watch "Return of the Titans" with Roger and Karen on our last night with them. We were all ready to start the movie when I decided to quickly visit the bathroom to wash off my feet before Brandon gave me a foot massage (I know, sounds gross). I locked the door by habbit when low and behold, when I went to get out I realized I couldn't get the door unlocked. I struggled, struggled, and struggled. It was an old lock and had just given up the ghost. For the life of me I couldn't get out. Roger came to try and rescue me, but after a half hour of trying, could not budge the lock either. They were even passing me tools through the kitchen window to the bathroom window in hopes that I could do something from the inside, but no luck. Finally, Roger called the maintenance worker for the church to see if he could help us. He lived 40 minutes away (mind you at this point it was about 9:30 p.m.) Brandon passed me a book to read from the kitchen window in a bag taped to a long stick. I patiently waited. The nice worker finally arrived. He worked for another half an hour and after a lot of sweat and hard work, he broke the lock and I was free!!!! What a feeling.
Although we didn't get a nice relaxing last night in Frankfurt, we sure experienced a memory we will never forget. As the movie says, "Remember the Titans", we will always "Remember Germany!!"
Day 7 - Thursday
The morning we flew out, Brandon and I did a session at the Frankfurt Temple. We just couldn't leave Germany without seeing the temple. It was neat hearing the session in German and being apart of that special experience.
Thanks Roger and Karen for an amazing trip! We will remember it forever.
