Edelweiss

Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. Wade gets a two week break every six weeks. His break started last Wednesday. We decided to go on a mini trip that would lead us to a castle in Germany, and a fortress in Austria!

 

We rented a car because it is cheaper and a little easier than riding the train. Wade had enough courage to drive on the Autobahn! It’s crazy how fast people drive on that thing! Anyway folks, all I can say is, Germany is a beautiful country! There are green hills everywhere and the leaves are changing into rusted reds. Even the cows are cute! We were headed to the German town Füsson which is set in a valley that overlooks a beautiful lake. Nestled in one of the high mountain peaks is the town Schwangau, and in that town is the Neuschwanstein Castle! (The Disney castle--cue excitement!) We had ourselves a good night's sleep in a cute farmhouse hotel and the next morning headed off to the castle!

  

We drove the 15 minutes to Schwangau and parked the car. We bought our tickets for the tour of the castle and wandered around the cute little village. Now the castle is about a 30 minute walk uphill. If you don't like the sound of that, you can either take a shuttle or a horse drawn carriage! Wade and I decided to walk; we didn't want to look like those lazy American tourists who can't walk up a hill for longer than five minutes. We noticed that there were people either walking or riding in the carriages. No one opted for the shuttles. I guess it's not as whimsical to be in a mini bus riding up to a castle. Wade and I were joking that if we had a castle in America, and people had to walk thirty minutes, there would be rioting in the streets. As we were laughing,we overheard an American woman yell to her husband, “I ain't walking up that!” Guys, we were literally five minutes from the top! Her exasperated husband tried his best to reason with her. I guess the shuttles only take you up so far, and you have to walk the five minutes to get to the castle.

Once we were at the top, we were surrounded by beautiful trees, mountains, and--oh yeah--a castle! We waited in excited anticipation for our tour to begin. Our tour guide spoke English, so that was good! The castle was beautiful inside and out. The tour was pretty fast, which was nice! I would definitely recommend going if you get the chance! After the tour, we wandered onto a path that had a very precarious bridge and a great view of the castle from afar! I, of course, hate heights (I didn't used to hate heights; I've become a wuss in my old age!) so Wade had to take all the cool pictures. After the pictures were taken and I was safely far away from the bridge, I decided this was my favorite place we had been so far! The little village was straight out of Beauty and The Beast and so was the castle.

  

The next morning we were off again, but this time to Austria (cue Maria singing about the hills). We wanted to visit Salzburg. We stayed in a little town about thirty minutes outside of Salzburg. We didn't really plan anything to do or see in Salzburg, so it could have been a disaster but it wasn't! We ended up in the historic part of the city. It was pretty cool! We rode a tram to the fortress they have on top of a cliff! We also came on a day when they were doing a trail running race. We got to watch the people do that too! It was odd, though, because they started the race at like three in the afternoon! I digress! After the fortress, we walked around the streets. It was awesome to see all the old history. As we were leaving, we heard a street performer playing “Edelweiss.” It was the perfect way to end our mini trip!

The next day we were on the road again! This time we were sadly headed back to Forbach, a six hour drive. About halfway through the drive, I had to use the restroom! What's good about Germany is that they have rest stops on the road every like 30 miles. So I didn't have to wait long for sweet relief! We saw the sign for the bathroom, exited the freeway and parked. I'm off like a shot! I get to the first door only to find that the toilet is clogged. I run to the second door--same thing. Folks, all five toilets were clogged! We got back in the car and decided to just stop at the next one. So we stopped, I got out and ran like a crazy person. I get to the first door and open it. There was a perfect toilet, but no toilet paper. So I run to the next door--same situation. I checked all five bathrooms.  None of them had toilet paper! I ran out and told Wade ,with panic rising in my voice. I just kept thinking “Of course this is happening!” Wade finds some napkins, and I'm off again!

So some things to take away from the week’s post:  Go to Germany.  It's a beautiful country. If you have a chance to visit a castle, please do so!  Maybe don't complain when you have to walk five minutes to reach your destination. Don't walk across a bridge just for a photo--have your husband take instead. Go to Austria and try not to cry when you hear “Edelweiss” playing in the street! When you see the Alps, remember Maria with her little guitar! Lastly, always bring toilet paper with you, folks! You just never know!

Thanks for reading folks!

One Short Day!

We recently took a day trip to the German town Saarbrüken. At first I wasn't that interested in going because it’s thirty minutes away from Forbach, and we all know how I feel about Forbach. I just thought it would look just like Forbach. I found out that's not really the case.

We took the bus, but we didn't really know which stop to get off, so we picked a random place to get off. It was in the center of the busy city. I thought we were pretty lucky to have chosen correctly! Folks, Wade and I aren't the best at planning when we travel. We usually get lost, so to actually be in the right place was nothing short of a miracle!

We decided to just walk down random streets. (That's usually how we end up getting lost.) We just wanted to explore the city and see the awesome buildings. Every cathedral we walked past was beautiful and, for some reason, included a lot of dragon statues! One of the cathedrals had an awesome hedge maze that we looked at. It was pretty entertaining.

We had been walking around awhile when I started to get hungry. No peanut M&Ms were in sight, so the situation was getting a little desperate. We turned down a street and ended up in a square that had food trucks gathered around a cool fountain! It was like manna from heaven. We picked the food truck that was closest to us and went for it. What we ended up with was two curry bratwurst and two cokes! I know what some of you are thinking--ew! It was actually delicious! Instead of the bratwurst being on a bun, they gave it to us in a dish and gave us a homemade roll we could dip in the curry concoctions. We sat on the fountain steps and ate our eclectic meal. It was very picturesque!

After the food, I was much happier and more willing to randomly walk places. We went to a few museums only to find out they were closed (Question: Who closes a museum on a Saturday?). We did see plaques telling the history of some of the buildings we were walking by and the history of the museums we wanted to go into. When we went to read the signs, we realized that they were all in German. I don't know what we were expecting. I mean, we were in Germany, for crying out loud! Anyway, Wade remembered that he had read an article about Google translate. You basically download the app, point your phone at the text, and it converts it into the language you speak and understand. Folks, it's really helpful if you don't speak the language and you’re wanting to read a sign. So that's your travel tip today! Google Translate is awesome!

Now let me tell you about our interesting bus ride home! We went to the bus stop and literally everyone was smoking. I was pretty sure second hand smoke was going to kill me. I was happy to see the bus come around the corner. We were pleasantly riding the bus and had made it to the outskirts of Forbach when everyone on the bus got off at the stop right before the train station. Wade and I were the only ones on board at this point. All of the sudden, we stopped at the train station and the bus driver stood up, looked at us and said, “I have to use the toilet.” So he turned off his bus, walked off and locked us in! We saw him talking to some random guy on his way to the bathroom. He had asked this random guy to watch his bus! We sat there in stunned silence for about ten minutes. All I could say to Wade was, “Is this actually real life?!” Eventually, the driver came running back, unlocked the door and sat down like he hadn't locked two clueless people in his bus. He did end up giving the random bus watcher guy a free ride, so that was cool of him.

Folks, let's just sum up what we’ve learned today. Saarbrüken is a cool old town with cool buildings. Always try to plan your adventures even if they are mini adventures. It's fun to walk down random streets because they may lead the the best bratwurst you’ve ever had. Google Translate is a great tool if you don't speak the language. Lastly folks, don't worry if your bus driver has to use the restroom. He’ll lock you in and ask a random guy to make sure the bus and you are safe.

Thanks for reading folks!

I Know Things Now!

After telling Wade a corny joke about how I have writer’s blog, instead of writer’s block, I realized that I was going to tell you folks about Paris! The week we spent in Paris was a pretty neat week. We got a Paris pass which got us into the museums and other places without having to wait in a ticket line. It also comes with a five-day subway pass. I would totally recommend getting the pass! It may be expensive, but you definitely get your money's worth, and it's cheaper in the long run. Also, if you're going to be spending an entire week of walking and climbing stairs, bring good shoes! Even with your trusty walking shoes, prepare to have your feet ache at the end of the day!

Marie Antoinette's Symbol in La Conciergerie

The first full day we spent there was pretty great and full of jet lag which may have involved me actually falling asleep on the subway a lot! (I'm telling you, every time I sat down I was asleep within seconds.) Our first stop was La Conciergerie. It was a jail that at one point housed Marie Antoinette. Her jail cell was later turned into a little chapel. Our next stop was Notre Dame Cathedral. The stained glass windows are as amazing as everyone claims they are. After you walk around on the inside, you hop in a very long line outside so you can climb all 387 steps to the top, all the while talking about how the Disney movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame was a lot happier than the book. I, for one, have never read the book, and now I don't think I want to. Once you are at the top of the building, you have a wonderful view of Paris! You get to see the very big bells too. It takes time to get up there, but it is well worth all those winding, stone steps! We then walked to the Panthéon. The Panthéon has a very large crypt full of famous French citizens. We saw Victor Hugo’s crypt, along with countless others. After all the walking, we went back to the hotel to take a little break. After sleeping for awhile, it was time to get back out there! We ended the evening by taking a little river cruise past the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.

  

On the second day, we spent the whole day at Versailles. If you want to go Versailles, get there right when it opens. Avoid the huge line!  That's exactly what we did. Wade has been to France twice before this, so he knew that the line was going to be long and that it would take forever to get in. So, in this case, the early bird wins. I say “in this case” because in most cases waking up early on vacation is never anything anyone should do. Anyway, we toured the palace, and it was amazing--so much gold trim everywhere. We then went to the gardens, I remembered that my sister Char had told us to rent bikes because it's such a big place. We got there too early, so the bike place wasn't open, and when it did open, we were too far away.  By then, it made more sense to just walk around. However, I soon started to regret not following my sister’s advice! That place is so big, folks! There is so much to see and do.  It would have been easier with a bike. So take Char Garn’s advice and rent bikes! We went to Marie Antoinette's “play village”. It was a legit village that she would go to when she wanted to get away. She liked to pretend she was a peasant. We then got lost in some gardens, and it took us about an hour to find our way out! It was a beautiful place, and I totally want to go back. Historically speaking, at first I was sad that they cut Marie’s head off, but after seeing Versailles, my opinion changed. She was so out of touch with what was going on around her. As the French Citizens were starving, she was “playing peasant”. Not cool, Marie. So after Versailles, we, you guessed it, took a very long break! For dinner we found a Malagasy place that Wade was so excited about. Let's just say that the Malagasy lady charged us for, in Wade’s words, “the worst dish they serve in Madagascar.” Wade walked out of there a little sad. Poor Wade. After that, we went to the Arc de Triomphe. I would definitely suggest going at night. It was so cool!

Our third day was exciting because we finally got to climb all 674 steps of the Eiffel Tower. Once you get the the second level, you ride an elevator all the way to the top. It was so awesome! It was a great view and all the steps were worth it in the end! Folks, if you don't want to climb that many stairs, I don't blame you.  You can always ride an elevator to the top! The line is shorter for the stairs, though. Now I know why.  After all the climbing, we went to Napoleon's tomb.  I've never seen anything like the tombs they have there! Napoleon’s tomb is the biggest thing I've ever seen. I just kept thinking, “Did they build that thing in here or did they have to carry that sucker?!”  After the tomb, we went to the Opera house. Guys, don't go on a tour.  Just walk around by yourself. The tour takes a long time. and it's--dare I say it--boring. It was cool to see Box Number Five though! (Shout out to all my musical theater nerds who understand the significance of Box Number Five!) After that, we went to the Louvre. We wanted to go at night because we figured it wouldn't be as busy. We were right. So do that. Anyway, I have always thought the Louvre was just a bunch of paintings. Nope, it has so much more--so many artifacts and sculptures. Honestly, I was overwhelmed with it all, and my feet hurt. When we finally got to the Mona Lisa, I was confused as to why it was so popular. There are just so many other paintings that I would rather look at. Guys, please don't think of me as an uncultured swine, but it's a very small painting, and again, my feet really hurt!

The fourth day, my feet almost refused to get in my shoes. They figured I was trying to kill them or something. I finally did put my shoes on, and we were off again! By this time it was Saturday, and we had been to all the popular places. We decided to go to this cool castle. When we got there, we found out that we couldn't go inside because it was under construction. Big bummer. We ended up going to the Latin Quarter. We found out there was a Middle Ages museum there, so we went to that. It was cool. Not as cool as a castle would have been but still pretty cool. We walked around for awhile and folks, that was all we did.

  

Our final and last day in Paris, we went to the catacombs. Guys, the line was so long, and they only took about 200 people every 45 minutes. We were in line for an hour and a half. We didn't wake up early, but I suggest you folks do. Learn from our mistakes. It kind of reminded me of a line at Disneyland! When you got to the entrance, they had a counter that would track the number of people in the catacombs. Now, I know I went to all these different cool places but I must say that the catacombs were my favorite thing we did.  Definitely go do that if you get a chance to go to Paris. We ended the night by going back to the Eiffel Tower where we said goodbye to our awesome Paris adventure

Folks, here are a few things to take away from all of this. Wake up early so you don't have to stand in ridiculously long lines. Bring your best walking shoes, and just be prepared to have your feet hurt no matter what. Don't eat at Malagasy places because they will rip you off. Don't feel bad if you don’t think the Mona Lisa is that amazing. And finally, go to all these awesome places and try not to feel sorry for Marie Antoinette!

Thanks for reading folks!

"One Short Day in the Emerald City", or Better Yet One Long Weekend in Metz!

When you decide to move to Europe, you may imagine that the town you are moving to is going will resemble Belle’s village or even Oz--pure magic.  At least that’s what I thought. I thought we were getting a home with quaint cobblestone streets and beautiful old buildings. What I got was Forbach. Don't get me wrong--Forbach has its charms. It's small and there are ruins from an actual castle.  The tower is the only thing still standing. Other than that, it's the armpit of France. I may sound like I’m whining, but there IS a bright side.  Living in the armpit of France gives us more motivation to get out of here and see other cool places!

That's exactly what we did a few weekends ago. We went to Metz, which is just a 45 minute train ride. It was exactly how I pictured a magical little European town. When we walked out of the train station in Metz, we both realized, almost simultaneously, that we had been sent there instead of Forbach. It had the narrow cobblestone streets and old buildings that I imagined! We walked the fifteen minutes to our Airbnb flat. (Side note Airbnb is extremely useful if you don't want to stay in an actual hotel.)  The longer we walked, the better Metz got.  After dropping off our bags, we went exploring.  We walked by little shops and bakeries, and visited the beautiful cathedral. We walked by the river and then stopped in at Subway to eat. I think that's when some of the magic started wear off. As we were getting ready for bed that night, we realized we were in close proximity to a club of some sorts. Let's just say that the music didn't die down until around four in the morning. But the next day our explorations led to a patisserie where the magic came back after I ate a real French eclair! It wasn't that frozen, soggy kind we Americans  serve at wedding receptions. It was authentic, and it was so good! We did start to slowly realize a weekend in Metz is a good idea, but so is a day in Metz. We kind of went to all the touristy places you can go to and then ran out of places to go. I should mention that this was a Saturday and we were staying until Monday morning.

I still think it would have been better to be sent to Metz not only because it’s picturesque and they have the best eclairs. but also because it has the closest LDS branch other than the one in Germany. Neither of us speak German, but Wade does speak French, so in Metz only one of us would be lost during the meeting instead of both of us. So come Sunday, I was pretty happy to get up at 8:00 am and walk thirty minutes to the church building. By this point we hadn't been to church for about two weeks, and I really wanted to go. You may be thinking, “But you just said that you don’t speak French.  Why would you be happy to go to church?”  I know, I know.  I knew I wouldn’t understand the language, but I really missed seeing the smiling happy faces of people who shared my beliefs. I missed the spirit that you feel during sacrament. Although I didn't understand the talks, I was happy to just be there. There were probably only about forty people there including, Wade and me. It was wonderful to meet such dedicated members. A few spoke English, so that was pretty nice too! I’ve just never realized how lucky I am to have grown up in Utah. I've lived within a short walking distance from a church my entire life. Growing up, I lived within a ten minute drive to the Bountiful temple. The closest temple to us now is in Frankfurt, and apparently it's closed for two years for renovations.   

This weekend we stayed in Forbach so we could watch General Conference, and it was awesome! It was kind of hard to get used to watching it at 6pm instead of 10am. It was good though because for once in my life, I didn't fall asleep while watching/playing sudoku! I was pretty proud of myself. Anyway, the talks were just what I needed, and I'm grateful for that.

So a few things to take away from this:  if you're going to France, go ahead and skip Forbach. Nothing exciting here but the Wilkeys!  Definitely go to Metz because it's beautiful! They have yummy eclairs and also church. Airbnbs are awesome, way better than staying in  hotels! The final thing to take away is that I’m finally admitting to loving Utah! Next week I'll tell you folks all about our time in Paris. I realized just now that I skipped over it!

Thanks for reading folks!