Audge

So, when last we saw our fearless travelers, they had just returned back to Germany from the city of lights--Paris. They crashed for a few hours and then off to the next destination: Switzerland. 

Switzerland

Everywhere I went in Europe was beautiful. Each country had its own unique beauty. But Switzerland. Oh my heavens. It was....breathtaking. Rolling green hills, snow covered Alps, cows with bells on them.  It literally looks like a postcard. And you won't believe me until you see it for yourself. 

So here's what we did in Switzerland: 

-First we drove to the Callier Chocolate factory, nestled in this little nook in the Alps. It was a beautiful sunny, blue skies day, and the perfect kind of day to eat a LOT of swiss chocolate. The tour we went on through the factory gave a marvelous presentation of the history of swiss chocolate and how this factory came to be. We also so the process of how it goes from cocoa bean to creamy, melt in your mouth chocolate. Then....then we sampled LOTS of chocolate. Then...then I BOUGHT a lot of chocolate. #noshame

-Grueye cheese factory just a few minutes away and indulged in some delicious cheese and saw how long it takes to make said delicious cheese. Let's just say by this point I was living my montra of #fatandhappy 

-Castle in Grueye Valley. Picture this: large cobblestoned courtyard, complete with vine covered buildings with small cafes, flower boxes, and fresh spring Alps water running through it. Oh, and did I mention the breathtaking view of the green valley below? It's a little piece of heaven. 

-Luzern. This city is BEAUTIFUL. I know I keep saying that, but.....I did warn you. Here, we got to walk across the oldest bridge in Europe, complete with crystal clear water, flocks of swans, and more blue skies. It felt so....wonderfully old. We walked through the city and saw the memorial to the Swiss soldiers, which was very touching. The lake and just the beautiful backdrop of the Alps made it one of my favorite days. 

Moments: One of my favorite moments in this country was when we were at our first castle and we were just walking through the lower courtyard. Drinking our swiss water (I'm converted) and just not believing how beautiful and magical it felt. Yeah, that sounds cheesy, but hey, you would have felt it too. ;)

Pictures: 

Chocolate Factory

My favorite sample :)

Cheese. So much CHEESE.

Courtyard at Swiss Castle

Swiss Water ;)

Lucerne: The oldest bridge in Europe

Swiss Memorial to fallen soliders

Germany Castles

My overall feeling about castles can pretty much be summed up the way Flynn Rider feels about them in Tangled. "I could get used to a view like this. *momentary pause* Yep, I'm used it. Guys.....I want a castle." 

Summary:

-Neuschwanstein Castle: In case you didn't know....I love history. News flash. So if any of you have seen Monuments Men or read the book (which I'm currently reading and LOVING it, highly recommend it), you know that in World War II, the Nazi's stored thousands of art artifacts inside the Neuschwanstein Castle. It absolutely baffles my mind. I stood right next to that castle. From my travel journal that day, I wrote: 

" Sometimes, when we drive around these beautiful countries all I can think about is the war and destruction and history it held. It's incredible." 

Though we were not able to go inside this beauiful castle, we took plenty of pictures outside it and I lived the Sleeping Beauty dream, seeing in real life why Walt thought it was the perfect inspiration for the happiest place on earth. 

-Hohenschwangau Castle: This castle neighbors Neschwanstein, and in my opinion is just as beautiful. King Maximillan of Buvaria (who's son Ludwig would be the one to start building Neuschwanstein, but died before it could be completely) had it built for hunting season and it's a very beautiful and quaint castle. The rooms were all delicately decorated and filled with family heirlooms. The queen's floor was absolutely lovely and I wouldn't mind having a wing of the house solely for the purpose of entertaining my guests, or having afternoon tea. 

-Weiner Schnitzel: After touring the castles and wearing ourselves out from a lot of hiking and walking, we made a stop at a VERy authentic german pub for dinner. Complete with old german men and their beards and large kegs of beer, and a waitress dressed in old time wench clothes. The food? Divine. And the bathrooms were free. #blessed 

Moments: When we were walking around the Neuschwanstein Castle I had a moment where I could almost literally picture what it may have looked like during WWII. No tourists. Quiet. And filled with mourning almost. For all the hidden treasures inside the castle, it's as if the place was somewhat haunted. Call me imaginary, but it's the truth. 

Pictures:

First glimpse at Neuschwanstein

Hohenschwangau Castle

Delicious Tomato soup

WIENER SCHNITZEL

Munich: 

The one place that I wish I could have spent at least a couple days in was Munich. I fell in love with the city almost immediately. I loved the feeling of it. This city has SO much history, and I feel like it often gets overlooked for cities like Berlin and Frankfurt. So much happened during both world wars and then they even had the 1976 Olympics there. It's a beautiful city, with lots to tell. :) 

Summary: 

-Gothic Building: This building was the very first thing we came to as we walked up from the underground parking. It was.....breathtaking. And I mean that on a VERY literal sense. I could not believe my eyes. And this was after having seen the Notre Dame and 3 very large castles. I just couldn't believe how incredible it was. The courtyard inside it was SO wonderful. I would have loved to sit there and eat my lunch and read a book or sketch or something (yes, sketch). We went up to the very top of it and the view on yet another beautiful blue sky day was amazing. Later, we got to hear and see the lovely glockenspiel ring in the new hour. SO COOL! Seriously, America.....get some good architectural buildings. 

-St. Peter's Cathedral: Went inside my first major cathedral and needless to say it was QUITE the experience. I'll talk about that later. 

-Second Cathedral: Another beautiful cathedral that had a very ornate coffin....hahaha

-Dachau Concentration Camp: We spent the afternoon touring this camp and it was one of the things on my "Need to Do" list that I wanted checked off. One of the most humbling, sobering experiences I'll ever have. 

Moments: I just loved everything about this place, but one of my favorites was walking inside that first cathedral. The first notable thing was that it was GIANT, and extremely ornate. I'm pretty sure I audibly gasped. The second thing, was how light it felt. Inside of dark colors, the entire place was painted in golds and whites. It was beautiful. I took my time walking up and down the different alcoves it had. But when I got to the front, I just sat down in one of the pews and sat still for a good five minutes. I just tried to take everything in. It was an Audrey moment, and that's all I wanted it to be. I truly felt touched. 

I cannot accurately describe to you what it was like to go through Dachau. I've learned a lot about World War II and the Holocaust, but actually being there was a whole new level for me. I cannot believe  someone in this beautiful world that I live in could so something so wretchedly horrible to innocent people. The anguish, the pain, the terror, you could still feel it there in the camp, especially in the gas chambers and crematorium. I remember walking through the gas chamber and having tears fill my eyes involuntarily. It all gave me an even greater appreciation for the Atonement and my Savior. Though such horrible things happened there, there is also a reverence that seems to sit on it as well. I'm glad people remember the bad, but also give it respect as well. The whole thing was truly a humbling experience for me. 

Pictures:

I signed the book at the top of the clock tower in the Gothic Building

Original gateway into Munich

Second Cathedral

My morning tea :)

Inside Gothic building

Cathedral 1

Italian fruit stand #heaveninastand

Plaque at entrance of Dachau

Dachau

London: 

Our last destination was London. Just one day. Which, yes, wasn't long enough, but it was enough to see what we wanted and get our British feel. :) My overall impression? Absolutely lovely. And I could live here. In a heartbeat. Especially to run through those gorgeous green parks. 

-Kings Cross Station: The only thing that I absolutely HAD to do was go to Platform 9 3/4. Which I did. Right after our flight in, we headed straight there and saw the massive station and I lived my Harry Potter dream. #thechosenoneliveson

-Bike Tour: Since we loved our bike tour SOO much in Paris, we decided to do the same thing in London, and it was the BEST decision we could have made. We got to go all over the main city and see all the beautiful things we wanted to, plus get a historical run down with everything AND be guided by the 20 something replica of Hugh Grant. #nocomplaints 

-Westminster Cathedral: Before I we headed for our bike tour, we stopped in on this beautiful cathedral and got to attend part of Sunday mass, which was a very cool. 

Moments: This whole day was one of my favorites merely because we managed to fly in and out of London and get around the tube (metro) all by ourselves. It DID help that everything was in English. ;) But, while on our bike tour, we stopped at Trafalgar Square and our tour guide took us up on top of this ritzy hotel which had a REALLY nice restaurant on top. The view was......incredible. Another sunny day for us, and London was just sparkling. You could see the square, you could see Big Ben and the London Eye, you could see over hundreds of rooftops. It was just amazing. Then our tour guide said this was where we could have lunch (which turned out to be VERY reasonably priced). So there we sat, on top of London, eating our delicious lunch and making friends with pigeons. It was one of the best parts of the whole trip. 

Pictures:

The Tube :)

Westminster Cathedral

With my bike, Helen Mirren

Kensington

View from lunch...AH

Right bottom corner is our tour guide, young Hugh Grant

Princess Diana's memorial

Prince Albert memorial

Legit fish n' chips. #heartattack

After flying back to Germany that night, we slept, then got up and finished packing and headed for the airport! Our adventure was over. Back to reality. Back to life. Back to our young America. It was crazy to think about all the places we had been and all the things we had seen, but it was real. We had really been there. On the plane back to the States I wrote this in my travel journal: 

"This world is full of so many beautiful and humbling thing. For me, the experience felt like I was finally opening up a part of my heart and soul. Europe spoke to me in a way that nothing else has. I could fit right into the beauty and class and fog and rolling hills and winding roads and chiming clock towers."

I loved every minute, and it just made my travel bug that much BIGGER! This world is a beautiful place and it was given to us to see and explore and appreciate.

Until next time Europe, I'm coming back to you.....