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!