Vielen Dank Deutschland

Back in July, we spent a little over a week in Germany with some of Jess’s family. It was a beautiful trip full of many different experiences. I’ve been waiting to get Jess’s photos from his phone, but we’ve never been able to get to it, so photos from my collection will have to suffice. Here we go!

After a 12 hour trip, we arrived in Germany and waited for our rental car. The kids were in good spirits even after the long day and a bit of a delay when we found out our luggage had been misplaced. 

Our first stop was Bad Kissingen. Jess and his family lived in this spot when he was a kid. He has such fond memories of the place. From what I can gather, it’s a town based around the healing elements of the mineral waters. Many people are prescribed a visit to the town when they are in need of restorative health. We tried the water. Here are the kids’ reactions. Mine was the same :)

Jess has so many good photos of this stop, but alas, we are left with Ashley’s collection. 

Between this stop and the next we went on the Zugsptiz and rode a gondola to the top of the Alps. Wow! We then visited King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein Castle. Another wow! Photos on Jess’s camera. I better come back and add them. 

Then we were off to Berchestgaden. This town is beautiful. Right at the border of Germany and Austria. During the Third Reich, it housed Hitler’s administration (very comfortably). We took a ride up to the Eagle’s Nest, walked through the corridor and went up the elevator.  Jess went with his family on a special four hour tour of the place and learned a lot. The kids were eager to see it, so I took them. 

This place was Hitler’s spot high in the mountains. He only visited a handful of times. It was a feat of engineering and man power to complete. 

The views were breathtaking and thankfully it was a clear day. We could see over to Austria!

The next day we visited Salzburg and the Hellbrun Castle and Fountains. 

This place was such a riot. Lots of fun and we all got wet. 

Here’s Ian doing his best, “I’m two, but I totally get how this audio tour guide works. And NBD, there’s a unicorn behind me.”

We then went to Delbrunn and rode on what felt like the longest Alpine Slide. The views! I never tired of the views.  Photos on Jess’s phone...

Back in Berchestgaden, we visited Konigsee. The water was beautiful. 

Ian fell asleep surrounded by the quiet of the forest. If gnomes live anywhere, this is the place. The forest floor was soft and ferns were everywhere. 

We walked around town and fed the birds. 

We visited the Salt Mines here which was a favorite activity of mine. The slides were awesome. Here’s part of our group enjoying the thrill!

The adults then went to Dachau to visit the vestiges of history and a past concentration camp. Driving by the place was somber. I dropped Jess off and the kids and I played in a nearby park. 

Afterward we drove to Dinkelsbuhl to stay the night. We walked the streets and found a stork nest. See up on the orange roof? 

The next day was spent in Rothenberg, a centuries-old, walled city. 

We visited the Medieval Crime Museum, basically a Torture Museum. The huge necklace in the display on the right was used for people who weren’t reverent at church. “Hey you there, wake up and listen!! Oh yeah, and wear this necklace for the rest of the service!”

Neat views. 

Earlier in the week, Ansel was playing near some huge tires (we were at a restaurant and the little kids needed a break, so being the good mom that I am, I let them play in the huge tires across the street). Unbeknownst to us, wasps had made there home on said tires and Ansel was attacked and bit 4-5 times. His face was swollen for three days. He was a trooper and by this day was back to 100%. 

We finished off our trip by heading back to Badkissingen. Our last activity was a swim in the pool that tops all pools. 

The water slide was awesome and self directed. See how Jess is coming down after Ansel? I kind of loved how Germany assumed we all know how to take care of ourselves so endless warnings and excessive rules were unnecessary. (Can you tell I have some opinions about some of the rules at our neighborhood pool? 😆)   

And here we are, bound for home. It was such a great trip. The kids were such good travelers. I’d take them again in a heartbeat! And thank goodness for screens during the long plane ride. Made the experience so much better for all!