Guten Tag! A Trip Report About This Page:

[pamcarey]

Great updates! The spa looked truly wonderful, and your day in Munich was memorable, to say the least! Great pictures from the cathedrals.

[Dlandmom2]

LOL, that WAS three things! I'm not sure now if it was a typo or if my brain was fried...most likely the latter!

I have to say, reading your report really has me thinking of similar things I can do around here...though obviously not quite as "exotic" as travelling to Europe!

Can't wait to read more!

[shazza]

Great report. I had to go back and check out your PTR - really enjoyed seeing how you adapted to changes and saw so many castles in Hawaii . Beautiful photos as well.

[KMB733]

All caught up. The spa looked and sounded great!! What a nice way to relax. Love the pictures from Munich. Sorry that the hail storm ruined the Glockenspiel!

[cubfancolleen]

Loved hearing about the spa again, and knew the hail was going to be the painful part. Good you can laugh now, as I know how painful that can be!
Must go make dinner now, and pout just a little since I can't have crepes....

[rlb38]

Great updates. Love the white church ,`it`s so beautiful ! Glad you could laugh despite being pelted with hail.

[disney_duke]

I've been reading along on my phone, but it's such a pain to comment on that little thing!! Love all the updates, it's all so beautiful! The photos are awesome. Your story of being caught in the rain and hail just had me cracking up while watching (or not) my DD's softball game! Glad Meri survived OK. Sounds and looks like your Mom was having a grand ol' time too. That white church is amazing!!

[DawnK]

I got so far behind so i just read a huge chunk of this. What a great trip you had. The pictures are just beautiful....I just told Katie we HAVE to go to Germany.

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Originally Posted by DVCjulie09

Thanks for sharing so many great experiences with us. I'm really enjoying the photos!

I'm glad you are reading along! It's easy to take so many photos since everything is so lovely there!

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Great updates! The spa looked truly wonderful, and your day in Munich was memorable, to say the least! Great pictures from the cathedrals.

I would love to go back just for the spa.

Originally Posted by Dlandmom2

LOL, that WAS three things! I'm not sure now if it was a typo or if my brain was fried...most likely the latter!

I have to say, reading your report really has me thinking of similar things I can do around here...though obviously not quite as "exotic" as traveling to Europe!

Can't wait to read more!

I will update tomorrow for sure - today was such a lazy day!

Originally Posted by shazza

Great report. I had to go back and check out your PTR - really enjoyed seeing how you adapted to changes and saw so many castles in Hawaii . Beautiful photos as well.

LOL! Yes, quite the drastic change!

Originally Posted by KMB733

All caught up. The spa looked and sounded great!! What a nice way to relax. Love the pictures from Munich. Sorry that the hail storm ruined the Glockenspiel!

I think I could have used the spa the day AFTER Munich! Who knew?

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

Loved hearing about the spa again, and knew the hail was going to be the painful part. Good you can laugh now, as I know how painful that can be!
Must go make dinner now, and pout just a little since I can't have crepes....

We have a creperie here - in case you ever come visit Memphis (though frankly I can't imagine why you would unless you're a huge Elvis fan, lol).

Originally Posted by rlb38

Great updates. Love the white church ,`it`s so beautiful ! Glad you could laugh despite being pelted with hail.

The white church really was beautiful.

Originally Posted by disney_duke

I've been reading along on my phone, but it's such a pain to comment on that little thing!! Love all the updates, it's all so beautiful! The photos are awesome. Your story of being caught in the rain and hail just had me cracking up while watching (or not) my DD's softball game! Glad Meri survived OK. Sounds and looks like your Mom was having a grand ol' time too. That white church is amazing!!

Mom really was so happy to be there. She loved Germany, and just had so much fun there, soaking it all in.

Originally Posted by DawnK

I got so far behind so i just read a huge chunk of this. What a great trip you had. The pictures are just beautiful....I just told Katie we HAVE to go to Germany.

Yes you must! I must recommend it to anyone. It's a lovely country with friendly people, beautiful sights, and crazy (but great) drivers!

[chezp]

The spa sounded wonderful, as did Munich, despite the dreadful weather. My goodness, you did have the worst luck with that rain and hail.

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Originally Posted by chezp

The spa sounded wonderful, as did Munich, despite the dreadful weather. My goodness, you did have the worst luck with that rain and hail.

Unlike Sharon, I'm not known for my weather mojo!! But more or less, we survived unscathed!

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Day 8 - Wednesday, May 30

We were up this morning at 6:30am, because we wanted to get an early start, since we had much ground to cover today! We packed up, and then took a quick jaunt to the underground to a bakery we had seen yesterday. We briefly considered the hotel buffet, but at 23 euro per person, we felt like it was just more than we wanted to pay - especially considering the close proximity of the bakery below.

We got croissants and coffee, and I grabbed a baguette for later, and then we ate in our room, checked the weather forecast for our destinations, and hoped for the best. Today's plans were actually formulated and finalized just the day prior! We knew Lake Constance was a destination for us, but we had tossed a few other ideas around, as well. Finally we decided we were just being too ambitious, and kept it simple. Lindau (a city on Lake Constance), then taking the road around the top of the lake (the German side) before heading up to Triberg (cuckoo clock central), and then heading back to Andrea's after that.

I sent mom to check out while Meri and I grabbed the bags and headed down to the van. Initially, Tanya was going to remain in Munich, as she had a few extra days before her flight to Croatia (she's taking a tour of Europe over the summer) but when she heard today's destinations, she asked if she could tag along until Triberg, where she'd remain for two extra days. Then she was going to take the train to Munich for her flight. Of course we were totally agreeable to that, as it gave us more time with her, which was unexpected and fun!

After we checked out, I had to run to the market that we found downstairs near the bakery, as I found I had forgotten a few necessities. Then it was back to the car where we all piled in to the Beast, and got on the road just before 830am. We hit some wicked traffic thanks to construction, and it took longer than expected to get out of Munich.



Finally, we were on the open road again, and sailing along. I drove for the first leg, knowing that I would prefer to be the passenger (and therefore the photographer) on the second leg between Lindau and Triberg. Mom did manage to get a few photos on the drive, however.



Hello again, Austria!


Even Germans like monster trucks!!


We finally arrived in Lindau at around 10:45am. We found a parking lot quite easily, and dropped off the car, and headed over to the lake. This is just a lovely little town, I have to say.







While we were looking at the lake, mom meandered off to a kiosk. Before long, she came jaunting back, all excited, asking if we could do a one hour boat cruise. After finding out that there were snacks available on board (I was hungry, and so was Meri) we said absolutely, count us in!! The cost was 9 euros for adults and 4 euros for children, and it would take us on a cruise over to Bregenz, Austria (not getting off the boat) before returning to Lindau.



We bought the tickets at 10:55am, and boarding started at 11:00am. We were the first on board, and we went immediately to the top deck, and got a seat at the top of the boat, towards the back of the boat.





The coolest thing is, instead of a snack bar (which is what I thought), there ended up being two waitresses, and quite a decent snack menu! I was highly impressed by how hard they worked, and how well run it was. Meri got apple juice and ice cream, I got goulash and Fanta, and mom and Tanya both got apple streudel. Then Meri decided she wanted a pretzel, and she and I shared that! It was definitely a very good snack, and reasonably priced. They could have taken you to the cleaners, since you're on a boat and at their mercy, cost-wise... but for the fanta, apple juice, goulash, ice cream and pretzel, it was only 10,30 euros! The only thing I was disappointed about was that the commentary was all in German, with no English translation, so we had no idea what we were truly looking at or what they were saying. But the views were so lovely that it wasn't a HUGE deal.















My future house




I would love to see a concert here!




This would be so fun!


Green water


Coming back into Lindau




The lower level of the boat was lovely, too. I could see happily sitting down here, too, on a hot or cold day...


I loved the bathroom, too. Especially the picture in there, which tickled me!




After we docked, we walked through a portion of the town, before heading back to the car.







After we reached the car, I took the ticket and went to the machine on the other side of the lot, to pay. It was only 2,30 euro, and then we pulled out and hit the road! This portion of the drive was positively lovely, as I expected it to be!



Meri decided she was hot, and stripped in her back seat... kids...


We enjoyed many views of the lake from various spots, in between towns mostly, but sometimes over top of them.







Pretty soon we were veering north and getting close to Triberg, and the scenery changed some, but was just as lovely!





Continued...

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Finally, at around 3pm, we were there!!! We drove all the way through town, and parked in a lot beside the tourist information center.



This is just the quaintest town EVER! And the parking lot had quite a nice view of the town.









Tanya needed to find a hotel in town, and I wanted to see Germany's Highest Waterfalls! Fortunately the entrance to the falls were right nearby! We split up, agreeing to meet at the shop House of 1000 Clocks in an hour and a half.

So we three headed off to the waterfall... adults are 3,50 euros and I believe kids are free.



According to the brochure:
Germany's highest waterfalls are a splendid spectacle of nature. The waters of the Gutach plunge over 160m in seven cascades into the valley below. The waterfalls can be visited during all seasons and form a particularly imposing setting in winter. The waterfalls are also illuminated daily as soon as darkness sets in.

At Christmas, over 750,000 lights illuminate the falls! From Christmas, to 12/30, there is live music, events, etc. Sounds awesome!

Unsurprisingly, once inside the gates, Meri took off like a shot.





We came to a nice viewing area, which is where mom decided to hang out.







Hi mom!












Finally I had to cry uncle - we couldn't make it all the way to the top. I was absolutely winded, and was having trouble breathing (I guess because we were so high up?) and was just done for. Meri really wanted to go up as high as she could, lol, but I finally said no, it was time to go back down!







On the way down, there was a kids play area, and Meri had a fun time climbing and swinging while mom and I enjoyed the view.









Once we left the falls, we headed over to the cuckoo clock shop, where we perused the offerings, snapping photos all along the way...









When you walk into the store, this guy greets you, doing a prerecorded spiel (and boy he startled me).




Some amazing clocks






I imagine you wondered... and yes, we bought a clock! It's being shipped to us, and we should be getting it in the next week or two... I can't wait!


How about THIS huge clock?


After our purchases, we headed to the tshirt shop next door, where mom wanted to pick up a shirt for Meri. After that, mom and Tanya headed down the street to stop at an ATM, and Meri and I headed up to the restaurant across the street, at the top of the hill. I could see some dark clouds forming, so I chose a spot underneath the covered area, where no rain would fall on us. After checking with the waiter to ensure that it wouldn't close up if a storm showed up, Meri and I settled down and ordered drinks.

Then I realized... I didn't have my camera! *sigh* I'm notorious for losing my camera on vacation. Usually it's a Disney vacation where I lose it (and re-find it again, so far) but it happens everywhere. If it isn't my camera, it's my phone. Tammy, Crissy and Maria can attest to that one, as they've seen it in person repeatedly, lol. I knew exactly where it was... just across the street at the tshirt shop! Meri told me, "It's ok, mommy, just leave me here to hold the table while you go get it!" I actually considered it, and then thought, "Wait. I'm not leaving my 6 year old in a restaurant in a foreign country, no matter how benign." I had visions of Maddie McCann, and told her, "I'd rather lose my camera than my kid." I can tell you that in Germany, it's actually not unheard of to do just that, however. Most Germans, I'm told, would do just that - leave their kid at the table while they ran next door to get the camera, or whatever. I watch too many episodes of Criminal Minds, I just can't do it.

Mom and Tanya showed up before long, and I dashed across the street into the store to get the camera. The lady who had helped us greeted me, and I laughed and told her I just forgot my camera. I found it exactly where I thought I would, right next to the children's tshirts. I thanked her and headed back up to the restaurant. We ordered our food, and then I turned to Meri and said, "Ok, get out your new friends (the stuffed cat I gave her yesterday, and the stuffed squirrel she got today) so I can take a picture of you three!" She looked at me with a horrified face, and said, "OH NO! I LOST THEM!" Of course, I knew exactly where they must be - the only place we stopped between the clock store (where we bought the squirrel) and the restaurant. I ran back across to the tshirt shop, and the lady cracked up when she saw me again, picking up yet two more things from the children's tshirt section. She told me I'd better have a good look around, to make SURE I got everything this time!

Back at the restaurant, I could FINALLY settle in, now that we had everything we came with.



Finally our food came, around 5:15pm!! Meri and I each got a half roasted chicken with fries. Mom got spinach ravioli with bacon and onion. Tanya got Wild Boar. Every time I looked at Tanya's food, I kept thinking, "She's eating Pumbaa!" LOL! Meri ended up also eating half of mom's raviolis, which was pretty funny.







It poured while we ate, but no hail or anything else crazy. Phew! And amazingly, it let up just as we paid (39,60 euros for me, mom and Meri)! What a relief!



We hugged Tanya goodbye just before 6pm, and set out for Andrea's, hoping to get there at a reasonable hour. It wasn't a long drive, and it took us along this winding country road, through the most amazing towns with the most breathtaking views! We repeatedly exclaimed over the absolutely vivid and amazing shades of green.



Unfortunately, as I was the driver, there are really no photos from this trip. It's a real shame, because this is probably the most beautiful drive we had on the entire trip. I hated that I was the driver instead of the photographer!

We arrived at Andrea's at 730pm, and relaxed while the girls played. Then we put the girls to bed for the last time - as tomorrow morning we would be saying goodbye to Andrea and Jelena, and heading up to Frankfurt to overnight near the airport, in case we needed to try for an earlier flight!

Up next: An afternoon in Heidelberg and our final night in Germany

[KMB733]

Looks like you had an amazing day! The boat ride sounded like a nice way to see the area, and I can't believe how well priced and a variety they had on their snack menu. Love the pictures from the waterfall too!!

[lauriep]

Another great day! The tour of the lake was beautiful and I love the cuckoo clock town. Guess Meri is just like her mom, leaving her belongings all over town! And you can't get mad at her, having just done it yourself. I'm glad you bought a clock-- you'd think about it forever if you didn't. Please post a photo when it arrives.