Four Countries in One Day

We woke up in Austria, had lunch in Germany, stopped for a snack in Liechtenstein, and finally arrived in Switzerland this evening. (According to our travel map on the right, our arrival here puts us in the double-digits for percentages of countries visited, which is very exciting for us!) I know many who get tired just thinking about that much movement, but, for us, it is thrilling and truly enjoyable. We passed the time in the car enthralled in the story of The Swiss Family Robinson and in the beautiful scenery encompassing us on every side. When we passed through Bavaria, we had the opportunity to see three different castles, including Neuschwanstein, which is the inspiration for Disney's iconic castle. We also took in lakes and mountains and flowers in abundance. It was a treat for the eyes and for the soul. We will be in Switzerland for the next ten days, and we are looking forward to soaking it all up.

Castle #1--Neuschwanstein

Castle #2

Outer wall of Castle #3

Lunch stop in Oy-Mittelberg, Germany
(This fountain was the closest thing we saw to a statue.)

Breathtaking views out the car windows

Gorgeous!

Snack stop in Liechtenstein--just to say we went there

Luckenwalde Tierpark

The town we are staying in is fairly small, but we discovered a nice little zoo to visit this afternoon, after a leisurely morning around our apartment. It was not dangerous, but safety standards here are certainly not what they are in the U.S. Let's just say we were able to get plenty close to the animals.

Tierpark=Zoo

Weston's favorite animal was the white owl

burro buddy

proud peacock

This boy loves statues so much!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

golden pheasant rooster--so beautiful!

Another colorful bird enjoying a snack

The boys loved the petting zoo area

A statue of O. California
(Clay's buffalo friend, who made the trip with us)

A face only a mother could love
(but not this mother!)

spinning

You can't beat an elephant slide!

Germany

We left The Netherlands early yesterday morning and headed for Germany. Along the way, we saw some amazing scenery and had a couple of unique experiences. First of all, we stopped at a gas station for fuel and a pitstop and learned that not all public restrooms are free to use. We also learned that not all privacy standards are the same the world over, and my boys are still shaking their heads at the urinal being pretty much out in the open. Around lunch time, we discovered that it was a national holiday, since we couldn't find any place open to grab a bite to eat. About an hour after the kids were "starving to death," we found a truck stop with a cafeteria and were able to eat our fill of delicious and truly authentic German food. We finally stopped for the night at a lovely home, in the beautiful little village of Holm-Seppensen, Germany.

We were up early again this morning, moving toward Berlin. On the way, we stopped at the Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen. With lumps in our throats and tears in our eyes, we tried to comprehend the truly incomprehensible of a unbelievably horrific time and place. I have no words.

After a picnic lunch, we drove on through Berlin and past what is left of the Berlin Wall. We then continued on to our home for the next couple of nights in Luckenwalde, Germany. We had a chance to take the kids to a nearby park to stretch our legs after the long car ride. And, then, taking advantage of our first really good internet signal since we've been traveling, we did Skype and Facetime calls with our parents. Finally, we found a little hole-in-the wall restaurant/bar for dinner, that has been in business since 1898, and where not a word of English was spoken or written on the menus. We were the only restaurant patrons, and possibly the only ones to ever come from America. One of our goals for this trip is to immerse ourselves in the true local culture as much as possible, and this definitely seemed like a good place to start. We did our best with the German, but were mostly surprised by what we ordered--pleasantly so. Every bite was phenomenal. It was a grand adventure and a wonderful end to this day of emotional ups and downs.

The drive through Germany is gorgeous! I especially love the rapeseed fields.

last night's accommodation

little monkey boy 

glad to stretch their legs after being in the car all day

playing frisbee in the yard

a short hike through the woods at Holm-Seppensen

Sachsenhausen

guard house at Sachsenhausen, built solely for it's opulence and appearance of power 

Berlin Wall

Our home tonight in Luckenwalde

Lovely day at the park 

unique see-saw

blowing wishes

talking to the grandparents

Gaststatte Unger

Holland

We woke up in Germany, and we are going to bed in The Netherlands, which is pretty cool, if you ask me. In our pre-trip research, we learned that "Holland" is only a region of The Netherlands and not a alternative name for the entire country, like we foolishly believed before. We are, in fact, staying in Holland, which is the bulb growing region. Our accommodation for the week sits within a super cool holiday park, which is like a KOA on steroids. On site there is a fantastic playground, an amazing indoor/outdoor pool and mini water park, a restaurant, a market, laundry facilities, and a Kid's Club with organized activities happening throughout the day on most days. The kids are already pretty sure they never want to leave. On the way here, we drove past many tulip fields, a few of which were bursting with color. We also saw a couple of traditional Dutch windmills. This has been one of the stops I have been most looking forward to, and so far, it has not been a disappointment.

sweet sleeping buddies, not yet awake in Germany

tulip field {squeal!}

iconic scenery

our home for the week

a most excellent slide 

little monkeys

playground tunnel

Mr. Big

so much more than just a pool

soccer stud

fast and furious

"football" fans

We made it!

We landed in Frankfurt about 8:30 this morning, picked up our miniature "over-sized" car and headed west to the village of Windeck, Germany. After unloading our few belongings at our charming little AirB&B home-for-the-night, we took a lovely hike, through some beautiful country and ended up at the village's interesting castle ruins. It was just what we needed to help us push through the jet lag and to kickstart our adventure.

Our home for tonight

A meeting of the forrest people on our hike to the castle

Windeck Village, as seen from the hiking trail

The Princes and Princess of Windeck Castle

People say you get tired of seeing castles when you're in Europe,
butI I don't see how that's possible! 

hiding out in the creepy dungeon