Tuesday, November 29, 2016

What's this?!



Folks, I just want to take a moment and tell you a little story. Wade and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary last Tuesday. It started out like a normal day and then took a turn for the weird. We decided to eat at a local Chinese restaurant. That was mistake number one! It turned out to be a buffet--mistake number two. Then we read a sign wrong.  We thought it said shrimp.  It wasn't. After eating a few bites I said, “This tastes like fishy chicken.” In reality it was frog legs! Let that sink in--frog legs! The worst part was that I actually didn't mind them! Okay, now onto the rest of the blog!

We went adventuring again to places we had already been to and places we had yet to see! The one difference of this little trip was that Wade’s mom, Teri, and sister, Lacee, decided to join us. They took the train from Paris to Forbach, and we picked them up at the Forbach train station. We rented a car which was nice because we didn't have to walk the mile back with some suitcases dragging behind us. The plan was to drive to Füsson, see the Disney castle, drive to Freiburg (the Freiburg Germany that doesn’t have an LDS temple), then on to Strasbourg for some Christmas town fun!


We left Forbach in search of the Alps, a castle and some Christmas. Folks, one thing I should mention at this point is that at 4:30 pm it gets dark. So we entered Füsson in the dark and were pretty bummed because all you could see of the Alps was a dark mass. We grabbed dinner and then headed to the Airbnb. The next morning (Thanksgiving) we were up bright and early. We really wanted to see the castle again! We walked up the “big hill” and once at the top discovered some bad news. The trail to Mary’s bridge (you know the bridge I wouldn't walk across that everyone takes pictures on?) was closed! Closed! Folks, the front entrance of the castle is pretty underwhelming. The best view is from behind on the bridge! We took the news better than expected and continued on to our tour of the castle! At one point we decided to drive out to a road that had a perfect view of the castle. Right as we parked to take some photos, the fog rolled in and covered only the castle! By the time we did everything, darkness was again upon us. We decided we needed a Thanksgiving feast! They, of course, don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Europe, but Germans sure do know how to make a meal that Thanksgiving would be envious of!

                 

The next morning we were off to Freiburg! So let me clarify something. There are two Freiburgs in Germany. There is Freiburg (where we went) and there is Freiberg (where the LDS temple is). For about half our drive we thought we were going to the latter. Some investigation on Lacee’s part made it clear we were headed to the Freiburg that did not include the temple. We picked Freiburg because it was half way between Füsson and Strasbourg. Freiburg was a little underwhelming, but it did have a very big Christmas market! We wandered the city and ended up in a beautiful cathedral. We did go to the Christmas market, and it definitely put me in the Christmas mood!

    

After a night in Freiburg, we were off to magical Strasbourg, France! I say magical because it is literally like we’re Jack Skeleton wandering around asking rhetorical questions like, “What's this!?!” There are Christmas lights everywhere! On every inch of everything! The little Christmas markets have every Christmas thing you could ever think of or want. If you ever end up there, go at night! Everything is so beautiful, and it puts you in the best of moods! Although when we got there, it wasn't dark yet, so we decided to tour the palace, which was very cool. We did a river cruise, which was both a good and a bad idea. The good part was old town Strasbourg. That’s where all the Christmas stuff happens. The bad part was the cruise was about an hour and a half, the boat was cold, and new town Strasbourg isn't nearly as bright and Christmasy as old town! All in all, Strasbourg is a wonderful place to go to fill you with Christmas spirit and warm hot chocolate.

Sadly the next morning we were headed back to Forbach! We got back and hung out for a bit. Then we decided to go to Saint-Avold, which is about fifteen minutes from Forbach. Saint-Avold has the biggest WWII American cemetery in Europe. It was an amazing yet solemn sight to see. It was a beautiful monument for all the young men who sacrificed their own lives in the name of liberty and justice.




After the cemetery, we headed to my favorite city, Metz. Teri and Lacee had to catch the train there to head back to Paris. We had a few hours to kill, so we showed them our favorite places in Metz which included the eclairs we get at the same bakery every time we are there! Folks, these eclairs are still better than having a lifetime supply of peanut M&M! Now that's saying something! Metz also has a Christmas market, so we got to wander around that one too! This week sure put me in the Christmas mood! After a few hours, we helped them to their train and stood on the platform waving goodbye. I was sad to see them go!

Folks, here are some things to take away from all this. The Disney castle is awesome but even better from Mary’s bridge. Fog ruins everything. Germans make a great Thanksgiving meal! There are two Freiburgs in Germany, so don't get confused and disappointed when there isn't a temple! Strasbourg is so magical that even Jack would be overwhelmed by all the Christmas spirit! Saint-Avold has the biggest WWII American cemetery in Europe. Metz is always a good place to end a long journey. And lastly, Europe seems to love Christmas because there are Christmas markets in every city! Dare I say it, even in Forbach!

Thanks for reading folks!

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