We're back

It's sad, but true, we are back in the states. We got back last Thursday, but have been battling jet lag ever since. But to give a brief re-cap, we battled some raging rain and lightning storms in Salzburg and took quite a few scenic trips around Salzburg trying to get to our hotel and other stops until I had enough of driving in the city. The Sound of Music tour was not very impressive, but still nice to get out to some sights that we might not have known to go to without the tour. The rain held off for a bit for us. We finally ran into some good beer at the Steigl brewery and other restaurants that didn't break the bank (Switzerland is $$). We went to the largest ice cave just outside of Salzburg and enjoyed a steep climb up above to clouds to the entrance. It was an eerie, but peaceful view overlooking the mountains.

Next we went to Munich where we fell in love with the beer gardens here. It was a lively and relaxed gathering spot for all types of people - there was a big toy for the kids to play on, a lot of meeting groups with matching t-shirts shouting "prost", couples of all ages, and families with their picnic baskets. After touring the city for a day, we made a change of plans and headed up to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. So many people recommended this city, and we were not dissapointed. The midevil walled city was interesting and a nice break from the big city. Next we headed over to the Neuschwanstein castle for some more mountain hikes and beautiful country views. The castle decor was eccentric, but our favorite part was overlooking the amazing valley, mountains, and lake by the castle. There is much more that we did and saw, but only pictures can do our stories justice, so we'll have to share them with you later.

The last leg of the trip was mainly spent driving to get back to the airport, but even driving is wonderful because there is never a turn without something to look at, church steeples in the skyline, cows grazing on a hillside, castles overlooking little villages, vinyards covering a steep mountainside. Just amazing, but we are a little relieved to be back in America where we don't have to hesitate everytime we try to communicate with someone. I could never get "Gruess gott" to roll off my tongue naturally. Once we get our pictures in our computer and organized, we would love to share our photo gallery with you.

Thanks for reading and keeping track of our updates. It was a great trip and we can't wait to start planning the next one. But it will probably be to Hawaii or somewhere more relaxing...

Austria - we have arrived!

We finally made it to Austria. Just to backtrack, we went to Bern, Switzerland for a day on our way to Interlaken. It was one of our favorites so far. It was a hot day and we spent some time soaking our feet along the riverbank next to the bears - yes, bears is right. Even made it in time to the Einstein museum before closing. Uncle Jim, we took tons of pics for you (but unforutately, his house wasn not open). Then we had a great few days in Interlaken, Switzerland. We went to the "Top of Europe" at Jungfaujoch (spelled something like that but I cant remember now) and got to chimmy up in the snow to a beautiful view of theAlps. Just amazing! glad we brought our winter wear. So long for now, well let zou knów how everzthing goes over the next couple of dazs once we reach Salzberg tomorrow.  These German kezboards are reallz different to tzpe on!  We are in Insbrook, Austria, tonight and will be leaving in the morning for Salzburg.  We will be visiting a concentration camp memorial, the Sound of Music tour, a salt mine, and some ice caves while in Salzburg.  The hostels were nice to stay in while at our first few destinations, but it is nice to be in an actual hotel tonight.  We have lots of great pictures we are excited to share with everyone.  We will check in next time we have access to internet, probably in Salzburg or Munich.  Chow for now.

hmm, that seemed to work to just type in the title. we are in lausanne switzerland and it is beautiful, hot, and steep. we have been climbing up and down the city and waterfront all day checking out the beautiful gothic cathedral and other sights. we took some time to relax by the water and i took a well deserved nap. but i have had a couple run ins with the local birds...one literally ran into my shoulder and the other missed my face by inches....maybe they like my american perfume. we are going to chateau chillion (look it up) and gruyere for cheese factory and broc for chocolate making factory. see you all later

We made it but are using a german computer and cant figure out how to work this thing. a whole different keyboard and everything is in german, so i cant figure out how to post

Here's our plan... Can't believe it's days away

Road trip - European style!

A: Geneva, Switzerland
B: Lausanne, Switzerland
C: Interlaken, Switzerland
D: Innsbruck, Austria
E: Salzburg, Austria
F: Munich, Germany
G: Füssen, Germany
H: Geneva, Switzerland
and then home

This is a general map of our road trip itinerary. Each stop is a city where we will be staying overnight at least 1 day. From there we will travel to other spots outside the city (Bern, Switzerland; Hallstatt, Austria; and towns in Germany t.b.d.)

As I promised before, I'll share a more detailed itinerary once we finalize it a little more. There are just so many places we want to go and see, and it seems impossible to imagine fitting it all in and relaxing at the same time! Rick Steves, how do you do it?

If you have favorite places you've been, we'd love to hear about them and of course, any safe driving and travel tips are super helpful!

http://g.co/maps/r37kw



First couple days of our trip in Lausanne, Switzerland. Looks like we will have a day of rain on Wedesday, but sunny the rest of the time. I'll have to remember to bring an umbrella! Might have to do some indoor tours on Wednesday.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Lausanne+SZXX0017:1:SZ