Germany stop 3 and 4- Rothenburg and Geuser

Next stop... a few nights in a castle! A visit to Rothenburg ob der tauber and a stop in Geuser- the birthplace of the Wiedel family!

Castle Colmberg- the kids LOVED the idea of sleeping in a castle and exploring like knights.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is storybook Germany. A city built within the protection of fortress wall.

The legend of Rothenburg is told by the clock tower. Every hour people gather in the town square to watch two figures pop out of the clock tower. Apparently in 1631 the mayor of the town saved the town from destruction by chugging 3 liters of wine in one gulp! A true hero- and rathering exciting to see his figure jump out of the clock tower...

Next stop Geuser- the home of the Wiedel ancestors...

This about sums up Geuser- 10 houses, 2 barns for everyhouse and....

a PLAYGROUND! 

Germany- Stop 2 Fussen

After an incredible time at the Eibsee resort, we headed out to Fussen in anticipation of the well known Castles of King Ludwig. We stayed in Suzanne's lovely B&B and got some much needed rest.

The story of King Ludwig is bizarre - he was an extravagant ruler that spent most of his life building this castle next to his childhood castle and after a decade of building it he only enjoyed living in it for 72 days! He was overthrown and mysterious found dead days later- talk about fantasy and tragedy. We experienced the castle from several views, but you can't take photos on the inside- which was even more incredible.

View from the bridge and from the hike below

View from the hike above the castle- does it look familiar?

 Its the one Disney used for it's design in the Magic Kingdom and Princess Aurora's castle.

We thought it was only fitting for Audrey to wear her princess outfit here and Luke is the frog prince (he was feeling left out and this is the best I could come up with). Perhaps the most entertaining part of the day was the reaction our little blonde princess received from the Japanese tourist! She is in MANY photo books- they were squeezing her, taking pictures with her, and doting all over her.

The town the castle is built near, Fussen, was very charming. And of course in typical Lester style the most enjoyable part was finding the playground and tasting the local ice cream.

One final shot just because- 

Germany- Stop 1

We had an incredible time on our Germany trip. We sure fit a lot in to the 9 days we spent there with 2 grandparents, 2 toddlers, and 2 parents without ANY luggage for 5 days! With that being said- please refrain from laughing at the second hand clothing we purchased in the German Alps- there were not a lot of pickings and 100 Euros (compliments of KLM) for losing our luggage doesnt go far. So here is Germany through mostly images:

Stop 1: Eibsee Lake Resort with incredible views and activities on the Crystal Clear Lake and Zugitze- the Highest point in the German Alps

We made it to the top of Germany and Austria 

(cheater style on a Gondola)

A true Bavarian man celebrating his 60th Birthday in style!

Nothing like sledding and walking around a glacier in July! 

                                  

For Derek and I there are few things more enjoyable then taking our kids outdoors to explore in nature- even if it is a 4 miles hike in the rain for half the time.

Yes that is a tiara on Audrey's head- it was her 2nd birthday- how could I say "No"?

A traumatic lesson in "catch and release"

Now do you agree- there is nothing more incredible then a morning hike like this?

Well... the Partnach Gorge was a close second- but it was impossible to catch a true image due to water mist... but we tried

Derek and I enjoyed incredible sites hiking through and above the clouds ...

 while Mom and Dad enjoyed relaxing and spending time with the kids.

Next stop- Rothenburg, Fussen, Gueser and Munich (only 1,000+ more photos to sort through)