This Castle 'Twas Home

Tuesday morning, it felt like we were really going on vacation!  We had five whole days with no work, no coming back to Basel for church responsibilities before Sunday, no worries, and we were headed to one of our favorite places----Bavaria!

We got out of here in pretty good time.  DJ had swapped company cars with someone who had a Volvo SUV with more leg room and more cargo space.  We could have had that car for our own, but it was a "bugger" to park so we opted for our smaller Audi for our everyday use.  The Audi was okay for our little day trips with the kids, but we needed some room for this one given the fact that there were five of us and lots of "stuff", and we were going to be on the road for up to five and six-hour stretches. 

After driving through a lot of Switzerland and a slice of Austria, we made our way to Schwangau where we checked into our hotel and then headed to Hohenschwangau, the summer residence of Maximillian II.  His son, Ludwig, is the one who built Neuschwanstein (I gave you a history lesson about him here).  We had time to tour the castle before supper and did just that despite drizzly weather!



A view from the village below



A view from Neuschwanstein the next day

A few shots from the courtyard outside before we went in:

When we went inside, we found that just like Neuschwanstein, there is a "no photography" policy.  So... this shot of the door is as close as I could get!  I found the inside of the castle to be the most "homey" of any we have seen so far.  Not that it wasn't large and spacious.  Not that it wasn't filled with beautiful and expensive things.  But because it was decorated with the things that the family loved and because there were evidences of the family that lived there (like family portraits and busts of their two sons on the mantle), it made it feel like "real" people lived there.  There were places for them to worship.  The telescope that Ludwig used later when he was watching Neuschwanstein being built is still there.  Gifts from other royals were there as well, denoting some kind of a relationship with them (maybe that's good, maybe that's bad).  It was almost as if you could "feel" the presence of those that called the castle home.  I almost felt like they might come home at any minute and catch us invading their private spaces!



Back outside:

We had a beautiful walk down the back of the hill and near the shores of Alpsee, a beautiful mountain lake.

One last shot as we headed for dinner



Loved our day despite the fairly long drive and the rain.

Roamin' in the Ruins without the Ancients

Monday, May 30, I felt like crud even after trying to slow down a litle bit on Saturday and Sunday.  DJ needed to go to work before he took Tuesday off and then enjoyed the three paid-holidays (Wednesday-Friday) that people get here to celebrate the Ascension.  So...just after lunch, he came home and took the A-team out to the Roman ruins in what used to be Augusta Raurica.  We told you a bit about it (here).  They spent the afternoon there without us (the ancients) slowing them down!  DJ picked them up that evening after work. 

Here's a bit of what they saw (in the order in which they posted their photos):

Our Sunday Walk in Colmar

On Sunday, May 29th, after church and after DJ was done with his church responsibilities, we headed for a different kind of France than the kids had seen in Paris.  We thought it would be fun to take them to Colmar.  Of course, we've been there twice, once in October (here) and again to see the Christmas market (here), so I didn't take many pictures, but the A-team got a few more.  It was a nice day for a nice leisurely walk through the old part of town.

I snapped a few shots of some more of their uniquely designed business signs:

We stopped by the steps of the museum to get some shots with the rhino----Katelyn wasn't so sure she liked it:

Although a lot of their window boxes were empty or the flowers weren't all the way in bloom, right next to the museum were some beautiful roses:

Took a few pics in one of my favorite spots (Little Venice):

A few random shots:



Loved the patterned tiles in this roof and the belfry/clock.

Loved this "turret-looking thing".  I adore old architecture.



And you know I have a "thing" for doors----look at this door pull!

Look who's back....

 

If you look carefully on the right, you can see a baby stork's head!

And I couldn't resist including  a shot of Miss Katelyn with her French doll, plus a few that her parents took---too cute!