Cartrips and a Castle

The past few days have been full of driving and seeing two of the most picturesque places in this part of Germany. On Thursday, we rented a car and drove to Rothenburg Ob der Tauber. I am sure most people who have been to this area of the country have seen this town. It is a walled city that has kept its medieval charm. I have been there a few times before, including the last time we were here and I was pregnant with Paul. It was fun to have him tour the city, but he was mostly interested in chasing the birds again.

On the lookout for birds in Rothenburg.

Happy boy.

We had a bit of a hiccup with the GPS and the Autobahn, so it took us 4 hours instead of 2 to arrive at Rothenburg, so our planned side trip to Bamberg was cancelled. No matter though. We wandered around the city, had a cute lunch in a little picnic cabin, and visited an epic Christmas store. Paul played in the park overlooking the city and then we drove home. He really has been quite a trooper when we take him to all these different places. He has his fair share of tantrums, but overall, when you consider that he's had very little routine here, he's in a really good mood most of the time. Very busy though, it's like he never stops moving.

View of the valley around the castle

View from bridge.

On Friday, we got up early and piled into the car again. This time we took the scenic drive to Neuschwanstein in the foothills of the Alps. Donnie and I visited this castle on our honeymoon, five years ago, in the snow, but we took the same road, and found the spot where we had a picnic lunch before touring the castle. It was fun to retrace our steps, and realize how much has changed since then.

We had some trouble with the road, so we were a little late arriving. It seems all the roads we had chosen to take those two days were closed, each time when we were within 23 km of our destination. It was comical, but so frustrating.

Playing around :)

Smizing.

We walked up to the castle, which was quite a hike, pushing Paul up the hill in a stroller. (It's a 20 minute hike straight uphill.) We were worried that Paul would have a breakdown like in the BMW museum, but he was really good during the tour of the castle.

Afterwards, we had a snack and played around outside the castle while Ron and Angie finished up inside. Then they walked Paul down the hill and Donnie and I walked another 20 minutes uphill to view the castle from a bridge across on the mountains. It was spectacular, the view was amazing.

From there, we jumped back in the car and jetted over to Garmisch. We were planning on going back up the Zugspitz, which we had done last time were were in Munich with Ron and Angie in 2009. However, the weather wasn't cooperating, so we wandered the streets, chased some birds and had a very hearty meal. Donnie drove us back to Munich in a mere 45 minutes (85km) and we made a quick trip to the store (since we had a car to carry groceries) and were home with enough time to put Paul to bed before the Eurocup!

The game was fantastic, I think Germany will end up in the finals. We are hanging around town today, then Donnie and I will be off to Hamburg early tomorrow for our half-marathon and Shins! Then just a few more days with Ron and Angie. :( The days are flying by now, but I will continue to enjoy the weather, beer, soccer and fabulous company.