Last Day in Germany

Today is our last day in Wonderland. There haven't been any posts the past few days because we have spent them doing everyday things in an extraordinary place. On Saturday we took a very long hike to a brand new hut. We followed a river the entire time and just enjoyed the mountains around us. On Saturday evening we went to a restaurant in Erwald to watch St. Martin's Fires. Volunteers from different towns light fires in the mountains in different shapes. It is very cool to see because every mountain in the area had a different symbol illuminated on it. It involved a lot of waiting but we passed the time by playing Apples to Apples.

Since Sunday we have had beautiful warm weather. So we took advantage by going to the Farchant pool Sunday afternoon. Germans do pools right, they are no small square pools where the deepest end is only 8 feet. They all have slides and several diving boards. This one had 4 different pools, plus a sand volleyball court. I swam a few laps in the 50 meter pool and as I turned my head for a breath I looked straight up into the German Alps. It was breathtaking, which is a small problem I am more than willing to deal with when trying to swim. Monday Mia and I went to see Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangua castles. This is an iconic German tourist attraction for good reason, they are beautiful and who doesn't love a royal scandal, secret doorways, and princes? We also hiked up to St. Mary's Bridge, which provided an amazing view of Neuschwanstein and whet our appetite for hiking in the area. There were a ton of para-gliders taking advantage of the clear day. At one point there were 12 in the sky, all gliding over the castles and landing in a nearby field.

Once again I have had an amazing time in Germany, I know it is time to go home but it is so hard to leave! I am ready to see Dunte but not ready to see the flat dusty Lubbock landscape. My dad and I were taking a walk last summer and he said to me, "My worst days bottom out at excellent." I feel like I took advantage of my time here, in the place where everything is excellent or better. There were only a few down days but we still didn't get to do everything I had hoped. I think the lesson is, try to fit a TON into your vacations. Some things will fall through, but what you accomplish is excellent.

Today we are packing and trying to mentally prepare for the travel ahead. As long as it is better than the six days it took us to get here, I will call it improvement. Thank you to those of you who have been reading so far. You might be thinking things would slow down now that we are leaving Germany, but think again my friend. More great adventures are soon to come: my 21st birthday, working, school, wedding planning and other real life adventures are coming soon to a blog near you. I will also try and back track a little and share my pre-blog Germany and Rome adventures.