Neuschwanstein Castle and Iron Kids Switzerland

Part 2: Salzburg, Austria

I'm not sure which was more enjoyable, touring around Salzburg or the beautiful drive there. Here are some photos I took from the car on the drive over.

Garmish and Nördlingen {and photographs for sale}

My husband's parents came to visit us for several weeks and we hit the road on another trip to one of our favorite places- Garmisch-Partenkirchen. On our way we visited the medieval town of Nördlingen which sits near the impact point of a meteorite that hit the earth 15 million years ago. The boys climbed the treacherously old steps to the top of the cathedral for a bird's eye view of the town.

Food in Germany

I just have to say that after living in Europe, I feel really sorry for Americans (and for the food I will have to go home to). European food is so much tastier and healthier.

Joshua's German School

Joshua heading off to his "private German school"...

German school

I've had several inquiries about my son's German school, so I thought I'd share a bit about it. Many people wonder why we chose to send him to German school, even the principal of the school wanted to know why since apparently not many American's do. My answer? To learn the language. I have studied German on my own and through a couple classes and while I can get by just fine as a tourist, I cannot have an intelligent conversation in German. The best way to learn conversation is through immersion.

Some of the benefits of German school are that it's only 4 hours a day. He is home in time to eat lunch every day of the week. Also, because he is in first grade and was in second grade in homeschool, he is not learning anything new academically, so he can focus solely on learning German.

Skiing in Garmisch

This last weekend we went down to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, one of our favorite places in Germany. This is our third time staying down here at the Edelweiss resort, the last time Ethan was only 11 months old. The boys took ski lessons while Grant, Olivia and I hung out and "rested". 

Idar-Oberstein

My husband is on the high council in our stake and last week he was speaking in the Baumholder branch, so we decided to go with him and make a day of it. We packed a picnic lunch and drove up to the castle in Idar-Oberstein, just a few kilometers away. 

Gutenberg Museum

Last week we took a drive to Mainz to visit the Gutenberg museum. Johannes Gutenberg printing press was one of the most important inventions in the history of the world and was especially important in getting the Bible into the hands of common people. The museum is full of books as old as 500 years. It is amazing how vibrant the colors still are and to learn a bit about how they made books then.

Heidelberg Castle

Just realized I forgot to share pictures of our visit to the Heidelberg Castle, better share it before the trip we took this weekend or I'll forget... I visited this castle 7 years ago with my friends Tracey & Mark and their adorable children (can't believe it's been that long!) It's a beautiful city and only about an hour away from where we live. Love all the castles here in Germany!

Our German house tour + DIY wall art

It has taken me FOREVER to get unpacked! I am sooo tired of moving. At least this time I know we'll stay put for 2-3 years (the longest we've ever stayed in one house!) But getting ready for Christmas and a new baby makes unpacking slow. (Not to mention my little helpers who follow behind me undoing all my work...)

Anyway, a few of you have expressed interest in seeing what our house looks like. So...here are a few pictures of the rooms that are mostly unpacked and semi-clean (sadly, they'll probably never be this clean again).

Living Room

German Christmas Markets!

Trier

Last week we visited the city of Trier, the oldest city in Germany (founded around 16 BC). I had visited there several years ago and it is such a beautiful city full of old Roman structures. It was a rather chilly day but the boys were troopers walking all around. We ate soft warm bretzels and doner's and had some kinderpunsch. They were just getting the Christmas markets set up and it was such a magical atmosphere to see everything all lit up and festive.

New Home

We finally "closed" on our new house! House hunting was quite discouraging because all the ones we were really excited about were already rented by the time we called on them. We found two other houses we loved, one was way out in the country with amazing views, but would require quite a drive to work each day. The other, a tad closer with a fabulous yard, had no practical way to get from the garage to the house. The front of the house was turned into a separate apartment and was not connected to the interior of the house, so to get in the house you have to enter in at the basement and walk up a flight and a half of stairs. Less than ideal.

The house we chose is an older home but very large for a German home (5bd, 4ba) and has an even larger yard (no.1 requirement for a houseful of boys). It doesn't look like much from the front (most German houses are well shrouded by trees and bushes) but the backyard is amazing. It's located in a little village on the border of Kaiserslautern city limits completely surrounded by forest. There are trails everywhere, so although we're only a few minutes out of the city it feels much further. There's a nice forest path that leads from our street to the woods where there is a Spielplatz for the kids to play.

Worms (the city, not the invertebrate)

This weekend we visited a bazaar on post which had vendor products from all over. We settled on some delicious homemade jellies and jams and amazing melt-in-your-mouth truffles.

Then we took a trip to IKEA to purchase some lights and things for our new house (lights and kitchens are often separate in German homes- fortunately we have a kitchen, even if it does have the world's smallest sink, but the lights were insufficient). I don't think I've ever seen IKEA quite this crowded before, it was a madhouse and we waited in line a good half an hour to checkout.

Although we were pretty exhausted by this point, were were so close to Worms, the place where Martin Luther made his famous declarations at the Diet of Worms. So we decided to head up for a visit of the beautiful town. It rained off and on the entire time, but fortunately it wasn't very cold.

Burg Nanstein

This weekend we went to visit another local castle, Burg Nanstein. It started lightly snowing as we began the long walk up to the fortress. Although it was chilly, it was nice because we were the only people on the trail.

Burg Nanstein was built in 1162 and was defeated during the Knight's Revolt in 1523. It is quite an impressive fortress and is built on the highest hill in the valley, it's hard to imagine attacking it and succeeding. There are several underground tunnels and winding staircases and beautiful views of the villages below.

First week in Germany, Burg Hohenecken

We have been in Germany almost a full week, it sure seems like longer. Jetlag sure takes a toll when you're pregnant, the other three time I came here I adjusted within a day or two, yet I'm still waking up in the middle of the night and needing naps in the day. Hoping my body will adjust soon.

Our car finally arrived however we can't pick it up until tomorrow so we rented a sweet Mercedes (has an on/off feature anytime you put on the brakes it shuts off and restarts when you hit the gas) to go house hunting. We've found some absolutely beautiful homes, only problem is they require a commute which we're not too excited about. We have found one house in the city with a massive back yard, and are hoping to get a deposit put down before anyone else snatches it up. All the houses within city limits are taken a day or two after they're listed so it's been a bit discouraging.

The house that we are hoping to rent is just a few miles away from this Burg Hohenecken so of course we had to stop and see it. There are 3 or 4 old castle ruins right around us but I think this is one of the biggest, believed to be built around 1200. There's a beautiful old church near the castle and it's quite the hike to the top. I was not prepared for how steep it was, but the view from the top was spectacular. The leaves are just changing and we've had unseasonably warm weather, it's just been perfect so far, just can't wait to get settled.