Swarovsky

We did a quick detour over to Austria to see the Swarovsky Crystal factory and museum. TJ and were pretty tired, so we slept in the car while everyone else went inside.

Herrenchiemsee

Herrenchiemsee is a palace located on an island in the middle of Chiemsee (a lake in Bavaria). King Ludwig (the same king who built Neuschwanstein and Linderhof palaces) had this palace built to look exactly like Versailles Palace in France. It looks very similar, but it is larger. And it is unfinished.

We took a ferry to the island where the kids enjoyed chasing ducks. We enjoyed the extensive grounds, and we toured the inside and saw the finished and unfinished rooms within the palace. It was quite a treat!

I'm so glad Kim and Dave planned this week's itinerary. I had never heard of this place. It was so much fun! Some of the pictures below are compliments of Annie and Grandma. Enjoy!

Top of the world and getting stranded

While the kids continued to enjoy the alpine slide, Grandpa B invited Erick and I to take the gondola up to the top of the mountain in Füssen. The three of us loved the views from the top. 

After walking around for a bit and enjoying the views, we took the gondola back down the mountain. The rest of the family had headed back to camp about an hour away by car. They were kind enough to leave Erick's car behind, so we could drive ourselves back. We found one problem, however. Erick's car keys were in Annie's bag. Oops!

Erick's cell phone was also in Erick's bag. We were stranded without car keys or a cell phone. None of our family had phones that worked. Which is normal when traveling overseas. So Erick and I walked up to a stranger and asked if we could use their "handy." Handy is how you say cell phone in Germany. Luckily, Erick remembered his cell phone number (I think it's time to memorize mine. Don't judge. The phone numbers here are REALLY LONG!)

Erick called his own phone, but there was no answer. At this point, Grandpa got a little impatient. He had someone call him a cab. It cost him a pretty penny. Erick and I didn't feel good about getting into the cab, so we told him we would wait a little longer in case a family member came back for us. Only a few minutes after Grandpa left, our brother-in-law Dave showed up with our car keys.

It had been a few hours, but we were grateful that it all worked out.

On our way back to camp, Erick and I saw these ruins from the freeway. We decided to exit and see if we could find them. It turns out they are super cool. Portions of the fortress were first constructed in the 1200s. It is called Ehrenberg. It is located outside the Austrian town of Reutte. It was so cool. The hike was a bit rough for me being eight months pregnant, but it was totally worth it!

Come visit me, and I'll take you!

Neuschwanstein

Next, we all went to see the Neuschwanstein castle. I opted not to hike up the hill in time to take a tour. Instead, I stayed in the town with Nancy and Grandpa. So most of these photos were taken by Erick and Annie (Thank you both for documenting such a fun day!).

After touring the castle, the kids played on these bumper bikes. Then everyone went on the alpine slide in nearby Füssen. It was such a fun day!