We arrive to their home on a Monday afternoon. School is still in session, so Frederick is not due home until 4pm, but as soon as he arrives we head to Lake Ammersee for a swim. The day is hot and the water is a refreshing 22*c. Juergen made a lovely dinner of roasted vegetables and seared loin of lamb; of course we had some nice wine to go along with it.
The next day we head to Garmisch Partenkirchen where we go for a hike in the Alps! Amazing, I know we are in Germany, but I cannot help thinking of the Sound of Music because the “hills” roll and they are just amazing and beautiful! We hike for about 4 hours and discover an amazing canyon that the river has carved out over the centuries. Photos really do not do justice, it is just amazingly gorgeous. The path winds along a meter or two above the water. In some places it is tunnels that have been carved to accommodate the path in others the path is at the base of the cliff.
We explore the nearby town of Landsberg on Wednesday, where I decide to finally have my hair cut…mistake. I need to do some work on it as it is not looking great. Juergen belongs to a sailing club, so he has reserved a sailboat for the day. We head out after 1pm when Frederick is out of school. This is my first real experience on a sailboat, and although the wind was not great we had a fabulous time. I even worry about the angle the boat takes and should we move…..I am not a sailor, but I am working on it and I had a great time.
Thursday it is into Munich. Juergen drives us in, shows us the Olympic Park, many of the historical sights such as a square where Hitler gave many speeches. We spend the day exploring the city and even find a river you can surf on. Tim is quite impressed! We have purchased truffles for dinner and Juergen makes a wonderful pasta with the truffles…wow! Another first, and I liked it very much. Sabine has had to work while we have been here but she is great and stays up late into the night talking with us.
We decide to stay close on Friday and Jeff and I discover the town of Schondorf and its beach. Tim stays “home” and heads to the beach with Frederick when he returns from school.
Saturday finds us on the road to Oberau, a little Bavarian town famous for their presentation of the play, The Passion (the death of Christ). They only present the play every 10 years and the people of the village who act in it, grow their hair and beards for the better part of a year or two in preparation for the roles. This happens to be the year the play is on, so the town is jammed with tourists. It is a nice town. Tim comments that it looks like Leavenworth. I would have to agree with him. Our actual destination is the Schloss Neuschwanstein in Fussen. . As we approach the town, you can see the castle on the hill. It is absolutely stunning. We check into taking a tour, but the timing won’t work for us to take a tour and make it back to watch the Germany v. Argentina game. We opt to wander around the grounds. It is one of the most beautiful settings I have every seen. Just like a fairy tale castle (In fact, it is. This is the castle used by Walt Disney to design Snow White’s castle.) The view from the castle is wonderful. There are some lakes down below in the low lands and the castle is surrounded by cliffs in the mountains. The castle looks across a small valley to a waterfall. This is somewhere we hope to come back to someday and spend an entire day exploring the area and looking at the castle from different angles and vantage points.
Back at the house, Germany wins versus Argentina and we celebrate with a fantastic barbeque and salads. A fantastic end to a wonderful visit. We look forward to seeing Juergen, Sabine and Frederick in Seattle and have the opportunity to show them around our corner of the world. We hate to leave on Sunday, but it is a quick drive through Austria on our way to Italy.
~Karen and Jeff~
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