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...