European Honeymoon 1999 - Germany, Phase Two
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Me on one of the bridges around the castle. Lane and I opted not to take the carriage back down to our hotel, but to walk down, seeing all kinds of things in the process. Almost no one was out there, because of the heavy snow, so we had it almost all to ourselves!
This is my second-favorite photo of me. It's the most SCENIC, at any rate, with the castle behind me. Those bright spots are snowflakes!! The bridge I'm on is called the Marienbruecke (Queen Mary's Bridge). There was some story about the bridge, but I can't find it. I can only remember it was named after King Ludwig II's mother.
One of my favorite photos of Lane from this trip. This is the view from the other side of the bridge!
Lane and I had a lot of fun in the snow. We had snowball fights, made snow angels (my coat even started "bleeding" color, it got so wet in the snow) and generally frolicked! How often to we Texans get to frolic in the snow, I ask you?
An actual photo of us together, taken by the only other brave souls we saw out that day. Thanks, strangers!
After leaving Fussen, we drove up by the Bodensee (means "Big Lake") by Immensdaad, along the border with Switzerland (gee, I hope I'm getting this right or I'm going to sound way dumb). The wind was blowing SO HARD and it was SO COLD. So we stopped and took photos. :)
These ducks practically attacked us for food. This is Lane's favorite photo from the whole trip. If I let him, he'd make a big poster of it and frame it. I think it's cute, but it's not THAT cute!!
Later that day, we broke one of our cardinal rules "no American fast food" and ate at McDonald's. I swear, I sat and cried, it was so familiar and wonderful. Don't make fun of me. I told you I don't travel well.
We ended up having to stop in Offenburg at the "Central Hotel" for the night before continuing on to Rene's (remember, Phase Three?). The owner had the sweetest dog, whose name was "Biene", "Bee" in English. It's pronounced something like "Peena", or so it sounded when he said it. We had the best Chinese food we've ever eaten in our lives at "Tay-ho" in that small German town. It is interesting to note that we found our ONE AND ONLY use for our "book of words and phrases" for German. Our waitress spoke no English at all, and we found the German word for "chicken" and managed to order sweet and sour chicken and egg rolls! Wonderful!
The next morning, the owner of the hotel was the kindest, sweetest man, and made us the nicest, HUGEST breakfast in the world, full of hot eggs and sausage. Typical Germany breakfasts are cold meats, cold cheeses and hard, hard breads, which was great for a while, but was probably why McDonald's was looking so good by that time! Anyway, I think we were some of the only folks there, and he made us this HUGE breakfast, and I was SO HAPPY I just cried. Yes, more crying.
While we had driven in with little snow, we awoke to FEET of snow on the ground! It's following us!
Part of the whole Germany Thing for me was to get a Black Forest CuckCoo clock. We drove WAY into the Black Forest (the Schwartzwald), totally ignoring all of the snow plows and closed shops because of weather and stopped at each and every one that was open. The only clock I found that I really, really liked was about $1000. Needless to say, I skipped it. :( This photo was taken at the point where the SNOWPLOWS WERE NO LONGER RUNNING and we decided to turn around. Lane jumped out and took my picture. :) We found out later that this was the worst snowstorm to hit southern Germany in years, and that hundreds of people were stranded in their cars and had to be rescued the next day. It was apparently WAY MORE serious than we'd thought. Again, ignorance is bliss!!
And then we went to Rene's!! (See Phase Three.) Thus ends our German Adventure. On to Paris!
General observations about Germany:
- Few available over-the-counter medicines
- Amazing health care, especially prenatal
- Square pillows
- No sheets, just top covers appropriate to the season
- Strange toilets, ESPECIALLY the public ones on the roadsides
- Lots of American radio, especially Dolly Parton and, of all things, "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave me Lucille"
- Tips are called "trinken", meaning "drink money"
- Almost IMPOSSIBLE to order tap water - and they look at you strangely when you do
- LOTS of 18-wheelers on the roads
- Castles EVERYWHERE (it got to be a joke: LOOK, another schloss! LOOK, ANOTHER schloss!)
- Great food!
- Help Me Keep My Site Afloat!