Daytrip to Trier

Today we decided to drive to the oldest town in Germany, Trier.

However, after driving on the autobahn for about 2 hours and just outside the town, John's car started acting strange. It was lurching and we knew something was seriously wrong. We quickly pulled off at the first ausfahrt (German for exit on highway) and luckily we spotted a hotel. The hotel clerk helped us read the car manual, which said to service the engine immediately.

I think things went pretty well. We have never really been in this type of situation in the states, let alone in Germany. Luckily the person at the auto service helpline could speak fairly good English and they could help him.

We were able to eat a long lunch in the hotel restaurant while we waited for the tow truck. Then, John went with the tow driver to Trier and dropped his car at the dealer and then was able to get a rental car and get back to us at the hotel in about an hour. (He found out the car had a broken cylinder.)

By then it was late so we headed back home. Since we were along the Mosel River, we decided to stop in a small town named Cochem.

Mike- You'll be excited to know we made it up to the castle in time for the last tour!! This castle dates from the 11th century and is currently viewed as it was in the 19th century after many battles and rebuilding.



The tour was in German but we were able to read an English help guide. The rooms were pretty nice not super huge or fancy and John could take pictures inside. Here are a few.
The Dining Hall

We have seen a chandelier like this before. This time we found out the mermaid with antlers floating above the room protects the inhabitants of the castle from evil. You could also make a wish and rub the red spot on her belly and your wish would come true...

I thought this candelabra was neat.

The Knights Hall

The last owner of the castle was a hunter. He had a Hunters Room where the walls were lined with heads and antlers. This room, the Knights Hall, had several entire furs, including this poor polar bear.


The Weapons Room

The wardrobe is the most valuable piece of furniture in the castle.

Nice family picture on the balcony. The view from the castle is great. The castle sits 100 meters above the river.

View of the Mosel River and the town of Cochem. This is wine country.

I think Lia is plotting revenge!

Neuschwantstein Castle and Bavarian Alps

This was a fun little weekend trip to the southern edge of Germany into the Bavarian Alps and to visit the fairy tale castle, Neuschwanstein. Picture from the internet. You can only get this view from climbing the mountains across from the castle.

Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, lit. New Swan Stone palace) is a 19th-century Bavarian palace on a rugged hill near Hohenschwangau and Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat. Ludwig is sometimes referred to as Mad King Ludwig. It is quite extravagant.

Although public photography of the interior is not permitted, it is the most photographed building in Germany and is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. The palace has appeared in several movies, The Great Escape, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Space Balls and The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, and was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty Castle at both Disneyland Park and Hong Kong Disneyland.
This is an interior picture that I found on the internet.

We stayed in a cute mountain spa chalet in the town of Hopfen am See, near Fuessen. It was a small apartment so we were all together. There was also an indoor pool that the girls enjoyed.

The alps were just beautiful. I wanted to go at this time of year so I could see them covered in snow. When we arrived you could see it was snowing way up in the highest areas. When we awoke Sat. morning the fresh snow on the mountains was so beautiful.
It was super cold though. I don't like the cold but we all bundled up and had many layers on!

The bad part about fresh snow is that the shuttle buses would not be running up to the castle. We were looking forward to riding a horse carriage up to the castle, but if that is the only transport up, the lines would probably be really long.

There are actually 2 castles in this area. The first castle we toured was Hohenschwangau. This is the boyhood home of King Ludwig. It was built by his father King Maximus. This was a pretty castle.
The walk up to this castle was short and easy. We toured the castle in English with a bunch of touring Americans. It was weird to be around so many Americans. We are so used to only hearing German, that when I hear English, I tend to turn my head and stare.


After this castle we had some time to spare, so we had some hot chocolate and lunch. The carriage line was indeed super long so we decided to walk up. If you miss your tour time you are out of luck. The map said the walk up was steep and 40 minutes long. Well, It was up hill but it was OK. It did take 40 minutes, but we took our time and stopped several times for pictures.


The tour of the castle was pretty good. The king had an fancy throne room along with many other fancy rooms.

The rest of the weekend we toured around the town of Fuessen. Lily wanted a traditional Bavarian dress. It is cute. Lia said she didn't want one. I thought that was funny. They are so different. The town was cute with the pedestrian area full of shops and there was a large fortress castle on the edge of town which we did not go up to visit.
We ate dinner in this town both nights. This is one of the restaurants.


We also visited a very pretty church, the Wieskirche. The book said that it is Germany's greatest Rococo-style church. It was full of decorations and curly curlicues.




We also stopped in the little alpine town of Oberammergau. It is full of half-timbered housed that are frescoed with biblical scenes and famous fairy-tale characters. It is also known for it Passion Play that the town performs every 10 years. It is said that the townspeople made a deal with God when they were spared devastation by the Black Death several centuries ago, so they perform the all-day play for 100 days in the summer every decade. The next year is 2010, that it will happen. The tow is also know for it's woodcarving. The shops are full of all kinds of carved items, but they were super expensive!


The girls found this impressive art sculpture.


We also stopped to see the Lech Waterfall outside of Fuessen. It was pretty and the mountains behind it were so beautiful. The gorge on the other side was so pretty with the blue water.

Day trip to Cologne, Germany

Today was an unexpected, fun day! Cologne was great. I have been a bit leary of coming here since it is such a large city. But everything we wanted to do was clustered in one area and there were plenty of park houses. We even parked right below the cathedral.

Cologne is Germany's 4th largest city. It is situated along the Rhine river. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany, having been founded by the Romans in the year 38BC. Cologne was granted the status of a Roman "city" in the year 50 AD. It took a big hit in WWII and 95% of the city was destroyed.

The Cathedral in the city is amazing. It is one of the best churches I have seen (and we have seen tons in Europe) I read it is one of the top 10 sights to see in Germany and is a World Heritage Sight. The cathedral is HUGE and really awesome inside. We did get kicked out of the altar area because a mass was starting in 20 minutes. I could have stayed inside studying everything for hours. The stained glass was so neat. The outside of the church is very Gothic. Our pictures don't give it justice.









We ate lunch at KFC.



We walked around the pedestrian shopping district.


Then we headed to the Schokolade Museum. We learned about the cocoa bean and then how it is made into the yummy chocolate bars that we eat. It was a Lindt chocolate factory. It was a good museum to visit and everything was also in English.
Chocolate art!!
Lia liked this piece of "art".
Lily said this was the biggest chocolate fountain she had ever seen. They were giving samples with wafer cookies too. yummy!
Little chocolates in the molding trays going down the line.

On our way home we stopped in Remagen. This is the city along the Rhine River where an American brigade found the last bridge over the river during WW2. The remains of the bridge serve as a monument. There is an American flag on top of one of the bridge towers. Remember you can click on the pictures for a larger view. Lily and Lia were able to touch the Rhine river.







Driving along the Rhine river never gets old. The towns are so interesting and the castles are a treat!