Well, it’s been a few years since I did something off my
list of “things I never wanted to do, but can.”
So when it was my dad’s last business trip to Germany in April (before
his retirement in September), and I had suddenly been made aware that most of
my reasons for avoiding traveling were no longer valid - I decided it was about
time for me to see some of this place called Europe that so many people want
desperately to visit. I think my dad was super surprised I suddenly wanted to come, but totally game for it.
I’m not going to detail the entire trip, but will make a few
other specific posts. In
short, I flew to Frankfurt, Germany to meet my dad, we drove through Heidelberg to first night in
Zurich, Switzerland, drove back into Germany, to Neuschwanstein Castle then second night in Munich, drove to
Dachau and third night in Saltzburg, Austria, spent day on tours in surrounding areas and
drove to fourth night in Regensburg, Germany, and on the last day went to Nuremberg, Rothenburg,
and back to Frankfurt to fly home.
Below are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:
 |
| View of Heidelberg from the Castle |
 |
| Gate across the bridge in Heidelberg |
 |
| Tiny street in Zurich - loved the streets when they were empty! Lesson learned: best time to be a tourist is before 7am and after 9pm. Bravo! |
 |
| Gorgeous Bible stories carved into church doors in Zurich, wish I had a closeup of each one, they were absolutely fantastic! |
 |
| I was rather surprised to find that the German countryside looks exactly how I pictured it! |
 |
| Dad in front of Neuschwanstein Castle |
 |
| Backside of the Castle - never thought I'd actually want to live in a castle, but sign me up for this one! Running water, indoor plumbing, central heat - done & done! |
 |
| Countryside with the Alps - and now I've seen the Alps, check. |
 |
| Munich space needle - true story, witnessed a proposal while we were up there. Guy went down on one knee and everything. Happy them. |
 |
| Brilliant idea in Salzburg- Kodak moment |
 |
| Love the Austrian photobomber! |
 |
| Ok, so I have a thing for cool trees - and a cool tree in the center of a castle in Austria? Yep, I approve. |
 |
| View from the stronghold castle, no pansy plumbing here! |
 |
| Couldn't resist the shot, even though it doesn't look especially European. |
 |
| Inside of one of the many cathedrals - all beautiful! |
 |
| Gardens in Saltzburg |
 |
| Trees right behind our hotel in Saltzburg, beautifully messy. |
 |
| Inside the salt mine - it was rather ethereal, looking down and not being able to tell where the water line was. |
 |
| Sunrise on the Alps, view from our hotel window |
 |
| No idea what town this was, but a great view on a stop during the Sound of Music tour. If it looked like this all year round, I might be able to be persuaded to move to Germany ... |
 |
| Regensburg at night |
 |
| Regensburg at dawn |
 |
| Amazing, I think I saw all the sunrises, guess jet-lag makes me a morning person! |
 |
| One of many beautiful stained glass windows |
 |
| Wishing well, can't remember what I wished for. |
 |
| Loving the empty tiny street in Rothenburg |
 |
| Regensburg |
 |
| My knight in shining armor - well, at least armor... |
 |
| Fortress at Rothenburg |
Thanks dad for the all expense paid trip, for accommodating my last-minute whim, and for showing me around Europe. And thanks again for going back to where you dropped me off in Rothenburg, because being separated in a foreign country with no means of contacting each other and in danger of missing our flight home was no fun. But we made it to the flight on time, so first trip to Europe - success!
