Our Deutschland "Einfahrt" & "Ausfahrt" Extravaganza!

Germany

My dad served a mission for our church in Southern Germany 50 years ago. We decided it would be a great experience to go back and visit a couple of the places he actually worked and lived. We added a couple other stops on the way because he didn't get to "tour" as a missionary and we thought it would be fun to see some of these historical places. 

**Also, the title of this entry will be explained at the end**

We had to leave our home at 4:00am to get to the Stanstead Airport.

If anyone knows me...I don't like to waste a day traveling if we can help it! (I think I take after my mom.) :) 

This is us waiting for the next bus to come to take us into the main terminal. 

Anne took this picture. It's always so fun to be on top of the clouds

I sat next to Ike and Anne on the plane. Is this sisterly love or what???

(Yep! That is Ike using her as a pillow)

Sweet Joshy stole my phone for a quick pic :)

1st Stop! 

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg is called "The Jewel of the Middle Ages". It is towards the beginning of the "Romantic Road" tour through southern Germany. It is one of the only villages left with a medieval wall surrounding the entire city. It was such an unbelievably charming town. Very colorful and quaint every direction you looked. 

I was SO excited to go to the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Shop. I've always wanted to get a Nutcracker and this was the place to look. It was incredible. 
Below are a few pictures of this amazing store. 

 It was SO magical....

Outside in-front of the hotel we stayed in. It was called "Hotel Rappen" and it was perfect. We had the most delicious traditional German breakfast - muesli, yogurt, delicious breads, hot cocoa, eggs, sausage..the kids loved it and it was wonderful to have good bread again. (Breads are not England's focus...)

The beginning of the walk around the city wall

Our first German wiener schnitzel!  

(Their most famous meat dish and if possible should be made from veal)

Our waitress was so funny and cheery. 

(But which treat is making them smile more?.....(juuuust kidding..!)

Inside the nave of  the magnificent St. Jakob's church built in the 1300's

The representation of the Last Supper is regarded as one of the finest examples of the work of famous woodcarver Tilman Riemenschneider

Just walking through the streets of Rothenburg was delightful

MUNICH

We were so fortunate to meet up with Spencer's good friend Dennis, who is

 from Germany. He used to work for AstraZeneca and lived San Francisco. He gave us the ultimate tour of Munich. It was a fantastic afternoon. 

 We happened to arrive to Munich during "Carnival" or "Fasching" - which precedes Lent. The ENTIRE city's people were dressed up in costumes, dancing and drinking. Josh said, "Hey that's not fair! They get to have two Halloweens in Germany!" :)

 Street dancing and music

 

Heiliggeistkirche Church Clock Tower

A model of the city of Munich

 The New Town Hall in the Marienplatz with the famous Rathaus-Glockenspiel clock

 The Police drive BMW's - (Bavarian Motor Works)

Bavaria is similar to a "state" in the US and Munich is the largest city within Bavaria

 The VERY supported and loved futbol team of Munich

 This street performer gave Ike a surprise. 

Dennis took us through a local beer hall where the music and singing was exactly what you think of when you think of Germany. It was lively and fun. This picture is where the locals store their beer mugs under lock and key for future visits. 

The painted ceilings were extraordinary 

We went downstairs for some hot cocoa

We ended our lovely day at a wonderful restaurant with Dennis and his wife Carolijn. 

The entire day was perfect and we because we had Dennis with us, we felt like we got a real local's view of Munich. What a fabulous city. 

Tengernsee (Teen-gearn-say)

 So just when we thought it couldn't get any better, the next morning we drove about 45 minutes south east into the Bavarian Pre-Alps. Were we ever in for a treat. 

This is our little apartment we stayed in and it was so much fun. Very quaint and cozy. 

We wanted to surprise the kids with a sledding day, so I worked and worked at finding a good sledding run. Ummmm, we found it! Wahlberg Mountain boasts the longest sledding run in Germany. It was 4.8 miles long and took almost 45 minutes to get down once. I was SO worried about my mom and dad enjoying the experience and they blew my expectations away! They LOVED it! We all got to laughing so hard! It was one of those rare days when everything went just right. The weather was perfect, we were dressed warm, and all of us had the best time. In fact, I didn't even see Ike and Anne after the first part of the run! They raced down the hill. By the time we got to the end of the first run, my parents said, "Let's do it again!!" My kids said it was their favorite part of the entire trip. 

These pictures are on top of the mountain over looking Tengernsee and the Bavarian Alps. Breathtaking!

 We were able to ride a gondola to the top of the mountain, 

so the entire experience was relatively very easy. 

 Papa had a piece of chocolate in his pocket and handed it to Josh. As Josh put it in his mouth, he sort of closed his eyes and said, "I just love Germany!" We died laughing. :)

 This is my favorite picture of the trip. xoxo

 I cannot fully describe how fun it was to watch my parents sled. They were amazing! 

I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time! 

 Joshy was my sledding buddy. The 2nd time down he just sat on the front of my sled with his feet kicked up and his head resting on me. I was working my tail off controlling the sled and he was just chilling and having the time of his life. It was so hilarious!

 I packed hot cocoa and cider, so when we got back to the apartment we 

warmed up and played games around the table. 

 The kids loved playing in the snow

 Love it!

As we left, we stopped and took some extra pictures of the beautiful surroundings.

NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE

This magical castle was built by Bavarian King Ludwig II in the nineteenth century. He lived in it for only short time before his untimely death. It was then opened to the public.

Walt Disney designed the Sleeping Beauty castle after this unprecedented castle. 

 Hohenschwangau Castle, which sits adjacent to Neuschwanstein - where Ludwig grew up

**Quick Story** These are the roads we drove on to get to the castle. It was ICE and SNOW! We were directed through the most remote farmlands in the area. At one point we had to drive backwards to get back to a drier road because our cars couldn't take the terrain. 

 Entrance to the castle

 They won't allow any pictures inside the castle, but it has rich colors and very ornate with very intricate woodwork done and oversized chandeliers with modern conveniences. 

King Ludwig was quite ahead of his time. 

We were laughing though, because our tour guide was the equivalent of dry toast. You couldn't squeeze any emotion or energy out of this woman. It was hilarious, a little annoying, but hilarious.

Stuttgart 

That evening we stopped in Stuttgart. Dad served in Stuttgart on his mission, so it was amazing to see this city for a day. Spencer found the greatest hamburger pub with the best food. The burgers were all freshly made and really great. 

These types of homes were everywhere, painted beautifully and quaint.

Okay, so these two pictures show a little of the "apartment" Spencer found for us 

to stay in one night. Let's just say "it was less than ideal." I made all the kids sleep in their snow hats and in their clothes! The best comment was my dad when he said, "This is great! I feel like I'm back on my mission! You guys know how to give us the full experience!" I cried I was laughing so hard (and maybe a little upset! LOL) 

Ike was "challenged" by a street chess player to a match. I was so proud of Ike for sitting down and playing. They didn't even speak the same language and the two of them laughed and shook hands. Ike got whipped, but he did it and enjoyed it. 

Stuttgart Plaza and walking down the street Königstrasse, Dad contacted on 50 years ago.

From the top of the street dad said, "Right down there by the train station is 

where we used to stand and contact and try to talk to people."

As we got to the train station, there were two young Elders talking to a man about the church. It was incredible. I thought my dad might cry he was so surprised to see these Elders doing exactly what he had done so long ago and in the exact same spot. 

These Elders were FANTASTIC and so fun to talk with. They were incredibly sharp and said they loved being missionaries. It was a great moment and definitely a highlight of the trip.

Heidelberg Castle

We drove onto Heidelberg and enjoyed this historical town for a few hours. The castle was really beautiful and the real bonus was that it was located on the top of the hillside so we could overlook the entire city. 

All of my children finally got a tuque to wear. 

Mom on the beautiful Heidelberg streets. 

So that concludes this trip, but I have to end with the beginning.

 Ty had the best comment..." As we were making our way back to the airport in Frankfurt, driving ridiculously fast mph's on the autobahn (Spencer and Dad said it was "awesome" to drive that fast) we were busy and a little stressed looking for our exit off the main road and where to enter into the airport area. (Okay so, "ausfahrt" [pronounced 'ouce-fart'] means "exit" in German and "einfahrt" [īne-fart] means "enter" haha) and we were looking for where to drop the rental car off. I kept saying, "Wait! Maybe it's there? or may be there?", then Ty leans forward and exclaims, "We're looking for einfahrt people not ausfahrt!" We all died laughing. I didn't even realize he knew what they meant!