Maggie and Ken's Visit July 2006

Ken and Maggie's visit July 2006

Geoff's parents came out to visit us on July 15th. They came to Germany back in December of 2004 before Geoff deployed and since the weather is so awful that time of year we had a lot to make up for. We made sure to take them to lots of German restaurants since last time we didn't go to ANY! We were such bad tour guides the last time around! We traveled down to Neuschwanstein also known as Cinderella's castle, into Garmisch and then over to the "Schwartzwald"or the Black Forest. We also did a day trip to the nearby medieval town of Rothenburg. We had a wonderful visit!! I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Geoff and Maggie at Gausthaus Dietz.

When in Rome....We are trying to take full advantage of being able to drag Reef wherever we go. This was his first trip to a restaurant and besides the occasional cry when another dog walked by he did wonderfully.

This is what you get when you come to our house. Hope you like animals!

Here is Ken with his first authentic German bratwurst. And of course a German Dunkle (dark) beer to wash it down.

This is a picture of the Neuschwanstein (New Swan Stone) Castle. The castle was built by Mad King Ludwig in the 1800s. The king was declared insane in 1886 and days later died of "mysterious circumstances" with the psychiatrist that made the declaration. Only 8 of the castle's rooms are complete.

Geoff with his parents waiting for our tour of the castle to begin.


Views from castle's windows.

After the castle tour we headed to our hotel in Garmisch. Since we were in southern Germany the quickest way to get there was to go was around the Alps and into Austria. For some reason we never stopped to take any pictures but Austria looks just like Germany so you can use your imagination.

Waiting for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Garmisch.

The following morning we went up the highest mountain in Germany, Zugspitze. The mountain boarders Austria and Germany and stands at 2962 meters or 9717 feet. To reach the top you can either take a cogwheel train or a cable car. We opted for the cable car to take us up and the train to bring us back down.

View from the queue waiting for the car to arrive.

Here is a picture so you can see of how tightly we are packed into the cable car.

And here are two pictures so you can understand the entire experience. Poor, poor Geoff!

Here is the view once we arrived at the top of the Zugspitze.

And some family pictures.

More views from the top of Zugspitze.

Geoff and his dad enjoying a beer at Cafe 2962.

Panoramic view.

Geoff and I on the cog wheel train returning to a normal elevation.

Before heading to the Black Forest we ate lunch along this lake. The first picture of the lake was taken from the train window.

From Garmisch we drove west, close to the French boarder, to the largest city in the Black Forest, Freiburg. Freiburg is a medieval city that was founded in the 12th century. Despite being heavilly damaged from WWII bombings it is still a very charming city. The streets, like most in Germany, are made of cobble stone and there are still channels of water along the streets that were used to fight fires and to clean the city streets.

Muenster Church

Handmade chains.

We stumbled upon a market that was held in the Muenster Church Square. There were many different craft, vegetable, fruit and flower vendors.

Here are a few pictures of the naked, anatomically correct fountains in the middle of the city. The best part is their little butts!

After a days rest back home we visited the medieval city of Rothenburg. This is a historic walled city only about 30 minutes from our house. This city was established in 500BC by Celtic Tribes along the Tauber River.

These are a few pictures of the garden where the cities castles once stood. The last castle was destroyed in the 14th century but because of different wars and plagues no new castles were ever built.

This is a not so good picture of Geoff, Ken and Maggie in one of the entrances into the city.

Geoff and I being punished in front of the Medieval Crime and Torture Museum.

For dinner we ate at Gausthaus Hoelle, which means Hell. This house was built in the 900's. Since we were the first ones to arrive we were able to sit in an old wine cellar. The table was made out of an old church bellow.

This picture was taken as we walked along on the Night Watchmen's Tour. In the medieval days every city had a watchmen who's job was to come out at night and walk the town in search of invaders or fires. This was a great way to learn all the little known facts about Rothenburg. We will definitely be taking all of our other guest on this tour!

For our last evening we ate dinner at Castle Colmberg. The first known mention of this castle was in 1269 written in the council books from the city of Rothenburg.

















Thank you for checking out our blog. Next up, Prague! Love, Jen and Geoff