Since I last wrote, we have had several adventures and have been able to cross a few things off our list. My brother, his wife, and their 11 month old son, did come to visit us. It was a wonderful visit, and I am SOO glad they were able to come. And seeing that cute chunk of a baby of theirs was icing on the cake for me. He is really the cutest, most laid-back baby I have ever seen. And I do mean laid-back. My daring brother and sister-in-law wanted to see as much as possible while they were hear, so even on the day they landed, mildly jetlagged and all, we were off to see the castles. I have to admit, I didn't take any pictures here, because we have been to these castles before. But if you'd like to see a little of what they saw, you can go to their website for their pictures of their trip: http://www.hamiltonhighlights.blogspot.com/ You can also go back to my original posting for additional pictures in the winter season from our visit with my friend Steve: http://spitzersinbavaria.blogspot.com/2009/03/rolling-down-river.html.
On day two, we took them to Meersburg to see the old castle (again, you can see our original pictures from the old castle from the fall blog: http://spitzersinbavaria.blogspot.com/2008/09/meersburg-castle.html). Then, we took a ferry over to Mainau, the Island of Flowers. It was really lovely there. Below are some pictures of this beautiful and unusual island in the Bodensee (Lake Constance).
View looking back on Meersburg from the ferry.
The lake was just beautiful!!
This was really impressive - look at the light pole for perspective on just how big this display was!!
Stopping to smell the roses - bush after bush of them!!
This is the centerpiece of the island and was impressive from both below and above!!
A miniature version of the lake done in flowers with the lakefront towns displayed.
They actually have giant sequoia trees here as well as many other very unusual varieties of plants and trees. For the climate, I am not sure how some of the tropical specimens survive!
Day three was a circuitous journey to the Berchtesgaden region of Germany (think of the Alps in Sound of Music) that is very near Saltzburg. The site we were after here was the Kehlsteinhaus, better known to Americans as Eagle's Nest. I say circuitous, though, because just like our part of Germany, it seems all of Germany is under construction during the short summer. Every road we tried to take to get to this place was under construction, so all our careful planning concerning how to get there was shot. To add to that, we had forgotten our map book, so we went from one place to the next trying to find it. After nearly giving up, we did stumble upon it, and boy was it worth it. The house itself was a bit of a disappointment - it is now only a restaurant and most of the history of the place has been removed, but the view on top of the Kehlstein mountain was just incredible!!!
Day four was a hike in the local mountains south of town. I think this was one of my favorite days with them. As you know, we have been hiking around trying to find the best hike for their visit, and this one had surprises for the kids too - all the things they asked for on a perfect hike plus some trail activities set up as learning stations. Since they had not had a chance to go with us when we originally took this hike, it was new to them as well. Although my sister-in-law and nephew decided to have a day of rest on this day, the hike still proved to be everything we had hoped it would be for everyone. I am sure we will do this again and again before we leave.
Is that my brother yodelling in the Alps???
Our oldest hanging loose. :-)
The glacier lake near the midway point. My brother stuck his head in it just to see how cold it was.
View of Oberstdorf from the trail.
At the end of the day, the guys took a little ride down the mountain on the local tourist attraction - the rodelbahn. It is similar to a roller coaster, but it uses the slope of the mountain to go, and you have control over your speed with a braking system. Needless to say, my boys (all three) try to go the entire way without braking. Ugg!!
Day five was a trip to Munich by train. I forgot my camera, but there are some pictures on Rachael's site. We saw the Residence - incredible treasures, jewels, and opulence of the monarchy of Bavaria, the Glockenspiel during one of its three times to play, and the sites of the Marienplatz.
Day six was one of my husband's places to see - the oldest still-operational brewery in the world: Weihenstephan Brewery in Freising, just north of Munich. The kids will not want to go back there for sure - it smelled like a brewery! :-)
Boy was my husband in heaven surrounded by this!! :-) Even I tried the beer, just to say I had. Alas, I still don't like it.
Day seven was a day in Kempten. We saw the local sites, the local mall, and had one of those fantastic Italian ice creams. We took them to a wonderful restaurant in a nearby town that has parts of it that are over 600 years old.
The last day was a trip to the highest point in Germany - the Zugspitze. Although the weather looked like it would be horrible, it really turned out not so bad. It was snowing when we arrived but then cleared enough by the end of our time there to take a picture from the lower station looking back at the top, where we started out in the snow.
The cute little restaurant at the lower station.
Kids playing in the cold and snow.
Needless to say, it was a bit windy up there too.
The little chapel at the top of Germany. Very small, but it does hold events like weddings.
Looking back at the top once the clouds cleared.
We really had a wonderful time, although I know they must have been exhausted by the time they got back and very, very glad to be able to get back into a routine again.
Life settled back in for us by the end of the weekend when all the laundry was caught up. Since then, not much has been going on. Our next big adventure should be a trip to the Italian car factories around the 4th. I'll update with more after that trip.
Love to you all!
Amie
