christmas without a tree?!

I can't believe I'm letting it happen. Christmas without a Christmas tree. Yes, it's true that I'm not very sentimental about some things...but when it comes to the holidays, I always have loved having a (real) tree. I was just telling someone today - having a yummy smelling, twinkling, freshly chopped Christmas tree makes coming home that much more of an event. I love cozying up on the couch in my PJs in our living room, next to this wonderful thing I wait all year for.

But alas...no tree this year. Jeff says we shouldn't, and I suppose I agree. Reason: We are selling the house (still), but as of this week we finally have it listed with a realtor (let's get this house SOLD). A tree will take up too much room, making the house feel smaller...thus not playing into our deception of trying to make buyers think our house is HUGE. :)

So, this is my tribute to all of the wonderful Christmas trees out there - in my friends' houses, department stores, shopping malls, downtown, and even at my workplace - these trees that I will that much more enjoy this year because I do not have my own. :( If I am at your house and you see me sadly gazing at your tree in an obsessive manner...you will now know why!

last stop: rothenburg

This little romantic town looks like it is straight out of Beauty & the Beast. We had heard it was magical, and it WAS. Rothenburg is a medieval city which started flourishing around 1150; its signature feature is a giant stone wall surrounding the entire city, which guests can walk inside (and we did!). I loved the cobblestone streets, colorful houses, and cute little Christmas shops. Definitely a romantic city!! We were able to coordinate and meet Jeff's sister Katie and her husband Jason here, who live a couple of hours away in Bitburg.

Entering through the outer wall of Rothenburg - this was used to protect the city from attackers

The main town square - many of these buildings were built in the 1200s.

A shot of the city wall - we walked all the way around.

View from the tower

Spectacular, right?

Some of the city was bombed in WWII, but the main part stayed intact.

Most adorable little streets

Katie, Jason, and Jeff about to climb up into the wall

I picture a fairytale happening here...

Highlight of Rothenburg: Nightwatchman's Tour!
This was a reenactment (OBVIOUSLY), but the nightwatchman used to walk around at night and guard the town from danger, as well as watch for fires which could burn down the entire city. This guy was hilarious, and gave a very interesting history of Rothenburg!

Our pub crawl through Rothenburg :)

This bar, called "Hell", is a legend in Rothenburg, so we stopped in for a beer. It was built in 918!

The four of us spent the night at Hotel Spitzweg, just about the most charming place I have ever stayed in my life. Jeff's and my hotel room was from 1556, and was definitely decorated in traditional German style. All of the hotels here are just like this - there are no Marriotts, Hiltons, or chain hotels - which is what we adored about Rothenburg. Our hotel owner, Herr Hocher, was warm and welcoming, and reminded me of Santa Claus. We were treated just like family!

Cutest little room ever - and spotlessly clean!

Rothenburg was a great ending to a fantastic trip - and seeing Katie and Jason in the country they are living in was really special. Our last day we said goodbyes, packed up the car and drove to Frankfurt where we stayed for one night before flying home on Halloween.

Another successful adventure crossed off the list for the Meakins! :)

6th stop: munich

One thing I haven't talked much about is the driving in Germany; and more specifically, the Autobahn. One word: WOW. The normal driving habits of people on the German Autobahn would land a person straight in jail for wreckless driving if it were in the US. Jeff drove our car upwards of 100 mph (or 160 kph) just to keep up at times, and people were still FLYING past us, one car after another. And I do mean flying. It was truly a sight. There is often no speed limit at all on the Autobahn, so people do take advantage.

Our first day in Munich was low-key. We both just wanted to walk the city to explore the different neighborhoods and adorable boutiques. Started off the morning strolling through the outdoor market and loving all of the fresh foods. Walked through the English Garden, stopping for Jeff to get a snack in the biergarten there. Stood around to watch the Glockinspiel - a huge clock in the main square that has figures which dance on the stroke of an hour (as I heard a tour guide explain - "ten minutes of your life you will never get back" :).

At the Virtualien Markt - loads of fresh foods, and all so pretty!

I could probably eat cheese forever. There were so many.

In the English Garden

At the Seehaus Beer Garden (notice I do not have a plate here - I was boycotting. It was so greasy!!!)

English Garden

Glockinspiel (the clock goes off occasionally and the figures "come out and dance" - very anticlimatic)

Our last night in Munich was absolutely a BLAST. We were exhausted, must've walked at least five miles that day, but we forced ourselves out on the town. First stop: Hofbrauhaus! This place is jolly, lively, and wonderful. Everyone is happy, the beer is flowin', and the loud traditional German band is playin'. We sat down at a long table next to a Brazilian couple on their 25th anniversary trip. They only spoke Portuguese, but somehow in a combination of dramatic hand gestures and random word combinations we attempted to communicate, and somehow got by. At the far end of our table was a businessman from Denmark, quietly pounding back liters of beer (yes, liters plural) and chuckling to himself at the exchange between us all. By the end of the night we had lured him in, and were all laughing and chatting. I love our world! Such a jolly time. We finished off the night at one of the best restaurants, Brenner, which the Danish businessman recommended for us. They make their own pasta, the food was for foodies, and the service was outstanding. De-lightful! It was a fun and eventful night out to say the least - maybe one of my trip favorites. Below is a video to help you capture the jolly "scene" at the Hofbrauhaus that we loved so much...at the end of the video you can hear Roberto (our new friend) trying to talk to Jeff in his loud, boisterous voice...and then Jeff's puzzled look as he tries to understand Portuguese...:)

Jeff and I at the Hofbrauhaus - first round!

Our Brazilian friend, Roberto, who we met at the table

Best restaurant in Munich!

5th stop: eagle's nest & dachau

On the 27th, we left Salzburg and headed back to Germany. On our way to Munich, we stopped in Obersalzburg to visit Hitler's Eagle's Nest. The actual Eagle's Nest was closed for the year due to snow - the road is very steep and ends at the top of a very high mountain. This building was constructed for Hitler's birthday, but he only visited a few times because he was afraid of heights. We did, however, get to visit the Documentation Museum and the bunkers below where many of the leaders of the Nazi party resided during the war. These bunker tunnels go on for miles in all directions, and are fascinating to see. The museum gave us a very detailed account of World War II from the very beginning and included hundreds of documents from that time period.

These two stops deserve their own post. There is so much horror that went on during WWII, and most of us can't even begin to imagine it. For me, just seeing these sites made it so much more real. Jeff and I kept saying over and over throughout the day, "I just can't believe this was only around 70 years ago"... And to think there are still so many people living today who survived this era, but are having to live with those memories. My grandpa was in the German army (not by choice, but because he was a German citizen), and all I could think of was how many questions I would like to ask him. We did have a few good conversations about the war before he passed away, but now that I've seen these things, it brings up a hundred more questions. If you have a grandparent who lived through WWII...pick their brain!

Documentation Museum sitting directly above Hitler's underground bunker tunnels

The bunker tunnels that go on for miles and miles - I will admit, a bit spooky

While processing all of the World War II information and sights at Hitler's bunker (it's so much more real when you are actually there), we headed to Dachau concentration camp for the afternoon. Definitely a heavy day for us. Dachau was apparently the smallest of the concentration camps, killing around 33,000 prisoners. The horrific fact is that these numbers are infinitely smaller than most camps. Sickening. To see it all in front of us was powerful, and so, so sad. The acts that were committed there are bone-chilling. Maybe these pictures aren't the best to look at, but I feel every human needs to be aware of and see what atrocious acts went on there.

The entrance gate to Dachau - prisoners arrived by train, which was just to my right, and then walked straight through those gates.

The gate through which prisoners entered the camp - the words mockingly say "Work makes you free"

Where the bunkers once stood - rows and rows of concrete rectangles mark on each side (two are still standing for viewing purposes). Hundreds of prisoners lived in each one. It's crazy to imagine that these trees are the same ones there during the war.



Inside the bunkers - when overcrowded, they would sleep maybe 4 to a bed. Everything was to be kept in meticulous order or else prisoners were punished (shoes lined up, towels folded, sheets aligned up with edge of bed, etc).

"Brausebad" means showers or bath - prisoners were told this, but it was really a lethal gas chamber.

Crematorium

4th stop: salzburg (austria)

We got up our last morning in Fussen, ready to hit the road and get to Salzburg. But...a moment of panic hit me as I looked out the window and saw this: lots and lots of snow falling. We tried not to worry too much and instead focused on our decadent and very large breakfast instead. :) And then, we were on our way. Luckily our rental car had winter tires (we never thought we'd need them), so the drive was safe - it was snowy and white the entire way to Salzburg. We got a bit of a late start, but that's the beauty of it being just us two, with no schedule.

The morning we left Fussen...our car is down in that parking lot

The snowy drive to Salzburg

The first day in Salzburg was a bit snowy and wet, so I found myself grumbling as we explored the city. I was damp, cold, and not happy about it! It was a nice reality check when we met an older American couple who reminded us to never let weather ruin our plans :) Those words (and some yummy food) somehow warmed me up a bit. The rest of the day we did some shopping and took in the sights. Salzburg is SUCH AN AWESOME CITY!! And for those of you who don't know, this is where the Sound of Music was filmed (we didn't take the tour though).

Walking around Salzburg - this river pretty much separates the old town from the new

The second day in Salzburg was spectacular. What a cool city. The sun was shining and we decided to take the funicular train up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. The funicular is basically a train that goes straight up the side of the hill - yes, a bit scary. Up at the fortress we were able to see all of Salzburg, the mountains, and the river running through it. This crazy structure up on the top of a hill was used for protection from enemies, and even includes a torture chamber. The tour was very interesting!

You can see the Fortress up on the hill

View from the Fortress

We were lucky to have another spectacular day - view from the Fortress

Up in the tower

Another highlight of Salzburg was Mozart's house and museum. I was surprised to really enjoy this. The house displayed some of his original music, as well as the pianos he played on. He was such a genius! We also visited St. Peter's cemetery and catacombs, grabbed bratwurts from a street cart, walked through the gardens at Mirabella Palace, ate roasted chesnuts, and went to a typical Austrian pub for dinner (Jeff's request, definitely not mine).

Mozart's house and museum

Yummy pretzels - these are everywhere

The catacombs and cemetery at St. Peter's - the catacombs were built inside that rock wall above

It was so interesting to look at the dates on the headstones!

Old Salzburg

The gardens at Mirabella Palace

Enjoying some yummy beer after a lot of walking and a long day!

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Interesting observations about Austria...
*Families rent gravesites for their lost ones, rather than owning them like here in the US. Every ten years, a bill is sent to whoever is responsible, and if the bill is not paid, the remains are dug up and chucked.
*Smoking is allowed in all restaurants, etc. Haven't seen that in a long time!
*Not sure if this is typical, but the (skinny) people sitting next to us at the restaurant each ordered an apple strudel (it was huge), finished them and then ordered two more!
*Food is SO fattening. I felt like fat was stuck in my lungs or something after that one Austrian dinner Jeff made me eat. And I got the fish!
*Wein-spritzers are yummy. These are probably everywhere but the first place I tried one was at a food cart in Salzburg. It's wine mixed with bubbly water and is oh-so-refreshing!

3rd stop: fussen (germany)

After spending a few days amongst the breathtaking sights of Switzerland, I was feeling bittersweet about heading on to Germany and Austria. However, I was excited to explore a new country where a lot of my family is from or has lived.

Side note regarding our drive into Germany. At one point we did not know which country we were driving in - Germany, Austria, or Switzerland! Everything is so close to each other. No signs were posted. Finally we realized we had arrived in Germany because we merged on to the Autobahn, notorious for its insane driving...which I will definitely get to later.

Bavaria is a large region in southwest Germany (marked with fabulous castles, beautiful scenery, bratwurst, and great beer in my opinion). The state of Bavaria was formerly ruled by the Royal Family; the most common ruler you may have heard of is crazy King Ludwig. Jeff and I chose to stay in a cute little town called Fussen for a few days, because of its location near all of King Ludwig's castles. Fussen has a beautiful riverfront area, as well as cobblestone streets and old buildings. We loved strolling around here; the weather was crisp and very, very chilly.

Driving through Bavaria

"Downtown" Fussen, a couple blocks from our hotel

The riverfront in Fussen

Dinner at Pizzeria Il Pescatore: BEST Italian ever. We found this one on Tripadvisor,
it was the #1 pick. Ahh, still dreaming about it.

That first day we also visited Hohenschwangau castle, King Ludwig's boyhood home. This castle was used by the Royal Family as a hunting getaway. We took a 30-minute tour which was fascinating, as I hadn't been in a castle before. I absolutely loved the fall colors from up here!

Photo of Hohenschwangau taken from above (when we visited Neuschwanstein castle)

At Hohenschwangau castle, with neighboring Neuschwanstein castle in the distance

Walking up to Hohenschwangau castle

View from Hohenschwangau castle

The second day we visited two more of King Ludwig's castles: Neuschwanstein and Linderhof. Neuschwanstein was built for King Ludwig just "because he could" I suppose you would say. He only spent a total of around 150 days here - can you believe that? No expense was spared; this was clear in the ornate details inside (no pictures allowed). While touring these castles, I kept thinking of what a cold, dark, un-cozy place these castles would be to live in, especially alone! No wonder he was crazy.

Arriving at Neuschwanstein

The famous Disneyland castle is an exact replica of this one

Exquisite fall colors!

Mary's Bridge - Jeff walked out on it despite the signs "Beware: Danger of Death"...this bridge was where King Ludwig would come to admire the construction of his new castle

Linderhof Palace is the smallest of the three. It felt like a large house to me, and much cozier (if that's possible) than the others. King Ludwig lived here for the last eight years of his life, so it was home to him. It was so crazy to think of him traveling back and forth between his castles though - I guess it would take all day, because they went by horse and carriage and the roads were horrible. It gets SO cold in Bavaria; what a miserable ride it must've been. This palace has breathtakingly beautiful gardens but all of the statues were covered for winter and the grounds were dusted with snow.

Linderhof Palace and its gardens

Standing in front of one of the many ornate gates (freezing - it was snowing outside)

Our last stop was at the Ettal Monastery. Yet another beautiful and very old church. The monks who live here are not just sitting around studying spiritual things, but in fact are very busy. Apparently it's common for monks in the area to brew their own beer and liqueurs. How cool! Of course we had to try some, so we stopped into a local restaurant across the street from the monastery to give the Ettal beer a taste. Yummy!

We LOVED our Bavarian style hotel in Fussen - the Hotel Kurcafe. Jeff actually found this one after a bit of research, and it was a gem. Right in the cute little city square, and only about 5 minutes from all of the castles. Tons of fab restaurants and bars around too. Breakfast here was amazing!! Unlike most hotel breakfasts that are included with your room, the Hotel Kurcafe's was over-the-top. Bacon, eggs, belgian waffles, pastries, mimosas, a chocolate fountain, fresh fruit, crepes with all the toppings, fruit juices, croissants...we were stuffed both days, and if ever in Fussen again, we will be back!!