January 13, 2009

Germany

I've been away.  A long way away.  Germany to be exact.
Among other places, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

First of all, I want to say that I just spent 2 AMAZING weeks with my mom.  Two weeks is a long time to spend with anyone, but we had a ball.  What a blessing to have such a precious mom and enjoy such a unique relationship with her.  She has done a wonderful job of nurturing me without being pushy.  And that, my friends, has resulted in being able to spend two weeks together without one single spat.  

Okay.  Now for pictures.  Well, first let me say, that I feel kinda funny posting pictures of my vacation.  Seriously.  All of those quips about watching other people's vacation slides is haunting me.  However, I have had several friends ask me to post pictures.  
So go put on a tacky Hawaiian shirt and we will be tourists together.  
Our first stop in Germany was to visit this little cabin-in-the-woods.

This is the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, built by the eccentric King Ludwig of Bavaria.  It is my understanding that Cinderella's castle at Disneyland was designed to look like this place.
I'm all about some history, so here's a little tidbit:  
The crazy king spent all of the government's money creating this little getaway place for himself.  
Lesson:  Selfishness never pays off.  He only lived in the castle for 6 weeks before his untimely death and only 1/3 of the castle was ever completed.

Bear with me.  That's all of the history lesson for today.  I promise.

No, this is not crazy King Ludwig.  This, is the reason for going to Germany in the first place.  To visit my adorable little brother.  He is checking out the view from the castle's courtyard.
Isn't that door so neat-o?
The town of Fussen is just a few minutes away from the castle.  If you ever go to Germany, I highly recommend this quaint little town.  Just look at that street.  Look and my cute mom, too.  She looks kinda cold.  Hmm... maybe because it was 12 degrees.  Good thing I love cold weather!
Here is a pic of the two world travelers.  If you look closely, right above my head, you will see that little cabin I was talking about.
Hotel Muller is the place to stay if you are ever there.  I mean, who gets to eat breakfast and gaze at the mothership castle?  
That's my cute mom and handsome brother again.  For those of you who know us, I knew you would appreciate some pics of him.  Thanks for all of your prayers while he serves our country.  
Next post we will visit Austria.  If you are snoring right now, I understand.  However, if you happen to be a fan of The Sound of Music, then I have a treat for you!

Danke!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you believe in miracles?

Unknown said...

i can't wait to see more!! i may come over for a real slide show presentation when we get back from UT!! can't wait to catch up!
love, e

Sarah said...

Love the pictures and can't wait to see more!

It sounds like you have a wonderfuf family; I'm glad you had a great time!

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a blast! And what a memorable thing for you and your mom to do together. I hope mom and I can do something (maybe on a smaller scale) :) someday soon. God bless!
Sharon :)

Shell in your Pocket said...

OH my..I want to see more...I love the Sound of Music!
-sandy toe

Tracey said...

ooooo...thanks for the pictures! What a beautiful place..my favorite part was reading about the special time spent with your mom. That is truly a blessing!

Kevin said...

Vielen Dank für Ihre Bilder! Ich habe darauf gewartet für Ihre Rückkehr. Ich kann jetzt stellvertretend Reise mit Ihnen. Bringen Sie auf Österreich! :-)

Kellie said...

Well, I'm all about these pictures and have been anxiously awaiting the posting of them. I CANNOT BELIEVE YOUR BROTHER, though... I feel reallllly old because I remember him as, well... the LITTLE BROTHER. What a wonderful and handsome man he has turned into. Wow...

Love all of the pictures AND the history lesson as I am a serious History fan. Can't wait to read more on the next adventure of you and your Mom in Europe. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm reliving it with you, my precious daughter! I'll share with the world (bloggy world, that is), how important your pictures are & why: Ditzy Mom deleted ALL of her pictures from the first 2 days!!! How thankful I am that you love taking pictures too! God certainly provided in every way for us to have a memory of a lifetime & see His creation in ways we never dreamed of. How blessed we are!!!

Jen - Balancing Beauty and Bedlam said...

Your mom (and her comment) is too cute and precious. I know just the blessing of that kind of relationship...we are a rare breed.
Oh, and I can't wait to see your pics. I went on the sound of music tour when I was 16 and it's still one of my favorite memories ever. :)

Kellie said...

I cannot believe my brother wrote to you everything in German. Well... actually, I can. LOL Maybe he'll translate some day. hahahhahaha!!!

Gretchen said...

Thanks, Kevin. I think you just gave me a compliment in German ... or, you could have just told me I'm having a bad hair day. Not sure.

I learned: good morning, hello, thank you, and hot water-please

Other than that, I had my personal translator to assist me.

Sorry to disappoint you.

Amy said...

I've been waiting for travel pictures and stories!! Thanks for sharing!

Ahhh, the hills are alive - just cold. Your mom looks like a snow bunny in her parka and boots - so cute!! Your brother looks so happy. It's nice to see his smiling face.

Anonymous said...

Hi! I’m the Community Manager of Ruba.com. We’re building a website to highlight some of the most interesting places travelers around the world have discovered. We’ve read hundreds of blogs about Germany, and we think that yours is awesome! We’d love to highlight excerpts from blogs like yours (assuming it’s OK with you of course) and to discuss other ways of tapping into your expertise if you are interested. I’m at erin@ruba.com.
Thanks! :)