The second snow

Our last week in Oberweissenbrunn was insanely short due to the amount of travelling we did.  We felt we merely came home to sleep and wash clothes, all to turn around and pack again.

We did, however, experience the region's second snowfall this season, in all its beauty.  We found as we were taking the bus towards the train that would eventually lead us to a plane back home that we would greatly miss the beauty of the place.  Yes, it was really far from the train, and there was no grocery store within our town's limits, and we spent so many days under a foggy cloud cover, but it was a lovely place.

A train ride through the Alps

Ok, I know, it's been forever, but I'm not sorry.

Our last week of European travel was just that: travel.  We went to Leipzig and back, Munich to Graz and back, to Amsterdam and back, and then we flew home, which was journey enough in it's own right.  To get from Oberweissenbrunn to Columbia, SC, we had to take a bus, two trains, three planes, and a taxi to our apartment well after midnight.  All in all, about 20 hours of travelling in one day.  Needless to say, we have spent a week straight lounging around the house, leaving only for food gathering and light Christmas shopping.

After many loads of laundry, and tending to the kitty who needs to show how much she missed us at every moment she can, I have finally gotten around to emptying my memory card.  Good thing I took two 16GB cards . . .

So back to the topic at hand: The Alps!  As a native Floridian, mountains aren't really something I grew up with.  At all.  Even the rolling hills of the Midlands here get me excited, so imagine my being glued to the window of the train as we rode through some of the most majestic mountains I have ever seen.  And then it started snowing.

We watched the mountains at a distance at first, fast approaching.  Then we were alongside next to them.  Then we plunged into yet another tunnel, only this time when we came out, we were in the mountains!  I will never forget the feeling of being so small amongst them.  John and I agreed, Strauss's Alpine Symphony made a lot more sense now.  He hummed along as we snaked our way through.

Listen to this as you view the rest: Alpine Symphony- At the Summit. I promise it's worth it.

We ate our train picnic (beer and a Bavarian sandwich) with this magnificent backdrop.  Unreal.

Oh look, there's a castle on that mountain top.  How could they possibly have built that there?!

In all seriousness, I would fly back over there just to do this train ride again.

Doors of Brugge

Such a great town!

More from Brugge to come, but for now, we are still travelling!

Hiking through Freezing Fog

We have been experiencing quite a bit of frost this past week.  Not only are we already up in the clouds at this elevation, but the colder temperatures have pushed the moisture down towards the earth.  The result has been freezing fog, which leaves a beautiful icy layer over everything.  Oh, and it's very cold.

John and I have enjoyed hiking around in this countryside.  We hike to sight-see, exercise, and often, to gather our groceries.  You've never felt so connected to your food as when you hike a mile and a half to get it and then carry it all back.  It leads you to buy little and often.  Food is also a lot less expensive here than in the states.  It has been a great way of life thus far and keeps us from over buying, which we often do in the states.  I'm currently imagining our pantry full of food back home, completely untouched for two months.

This particular hike took us to Gersfeld, about 7 km away from our town of Oberweissenbrunn.  It was a new hike for us and proved to be quite beautiful.  However, it was pretty far and quite cold, so we ended up taking the bus back rather than hiking another 7 km through the freezing fog.  It just didn't sound like fun once we got a beer in us.  Sometime soon, once my arthritis calms down in my right foot, we will plan to hike there and back, all 14 km in total.

Is it not so beautiful, still, and lovely?

Rothenburg ob die Tauber

We had John's mother and sister with us for a week and a half over here in Germany.  It was a good excuse to do all of the tourist-y things that John and I might not otherwise have gotten to do.  Armed with a black Opel car with suicide doors, we braved the autobahn for a trip down "Castle Road" to the Medieval city of Rothenburg.

It was much more tourist laden than I would have thought.  Tourism here increases your chances of English speaking, so we found communication a little easier than in our tiny mountain village.

Their regional specialty pastry is called the Schneeball, or snowball.  It consists of pastry strips rolled up into the shape of a ball around a chocolate mousse, then covered in a flavored frosting.  We found it hard, and therefore, not that great.  But whatever floats their boat.

We stumbles upon a fabulous Christmas Shoppe full of so many wonders.  It was so big it even had it's own museum (which we did not warrant paying admission for more shopping).  I'm talking about a multi-layered, jaw-dropping, maze-like display of the finest craftsmanship of the area.  It was really quite mesmerizing, making you feel like a kid all over again.

As beautiful as it was, Rothenburg is definitely just a day trip.  So we got our Schneeballs and drove on back to the Rhön.

Fall in Thüringen, Germany

Taken in Meiningen, Thüringen, Deutschland.

Deutschland

Ich bin im Deutschland!

After a very trying travel (think 2 planes, 2 trains, and 2 buses), John and I are in our rented flat in Germany. It is quite chilly here, as expected, but gorgeous.  The country is in the heart of Fall, or herbst, and the colors are gorgeous!  We are located in the Rhön region of Germany, which is nestled in a valley among the mountains, in the small town of Oberweissbrun.

We took a walking path to the nearby town of Bischofsheim, which is where we get our groceries.  This seems an older town, as the architecture is distinctly German, and old.  I'm a sucker for traditional architecture.

More soon!

Europe Revisited: Munich

Just a day trip!

The Englischer Garden has beautiful mixes of modern, baroque garden, and cultural areas.  A river that runs through it swirls in such a way that surfers can ride the swells.