Europe, Part 5 · Reichenbach Falls and Neuschwanstein Castle

· Catch up on parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 if you haven't already! ·

On our way from our Alpine village to the Germany/Austria border, we took a few stops along the way.  Our first was the infamous Reichenbach Falls- scene to the final confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis, Moriarty.

Being a family rather keen on mysteries, we've of course read all the Sherlock Holmes books as well as enjoying several different movie adaptations.  When I realized that we'd be including Switzerland in our trip itinerary, I just had to see how close we'd be to Reichenbach Falls!  Wonderfully, it wasn't far out of our way at all. :-)

We drove through a large portion of Switzerland that day, and it was a wonderful drive for admiring the views!  From the looks of them, I'd love to take a Swiss lake vacation at some point. :-)

This stunning view was what greeted us at the top of our funicular ride up to the falls.  SO stunning!  And we loved how atmospheric the clouds and mist were that morning- even more lovely than a sunny day would have been. :-) 

The downside to having mainly novelty prints in your wardrobe... sometime they aren't quite applicable to the situation you find yourself in- as demonstrated by my 50 States dress being worn in Europe.
I guess that's one way to broadcast my tourist status. ;-)

The waterfall was impressive, although not quite the magnitude I expected after reading the book; however, that is most likely due to the fact that a hydro-electric plant now harnesses the flow of water.  Also, apparently in the intervening 120+ years since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle visited the falls, they've carved their way back into the mountainside several feet.

There is a white star (only visible as a speck from this far away) on the far left that marks the spot of the duel and demise.  I'll have to read the book again, because I was surprised they marked it so far from the falls!

Up at the very top of the falls is a hotel/tea shop.  We took the original funicular from 1899 up to the main vantage point, and after hiking the rest of the way to the top, we're rather glad we didn't opt to climb up the entire thing- the falls are over 850 ft in total!

All in all, it was a great way to break up the trip, and I love visiting book/movie locations!!

We drove off to our next home, and arrived early that evening.  Isn't it another nice place??  We used Homeaway.com to find almost all of our accommodations, and were so pleased with selection of affordable, comfortable places. :-)

This was just a one-night stopover on our way to Berchtesgaden, but it was almost within view of our destination for the next day: Neuschwanstein Castle!  We stopped by the grocery store for food that evening (local sausages-yum!), and as you walk out of the store you can't help but be struck by the clear view of the castle!  Whaaaattt.... I hope all the locals appreciate their area, because that's just crazy!  I'd love to see castles in the landscape when shopping for vegetables! ;-)

The castle was just as lovely in person as in all the famous photographs!

Unfortunately, the overlook bridge was closed for repairs, so we never really got a semi-aerial view of the castle.  I fee like that's one aspect that most castles could improve upon- give me directions to the place that I can take the "money shot"! :-)  I'm pretty sure that the view from nearby Hohenschwangau Castle would be rather nice, but we didn't make it there.

View from castle.  Sigh.  Hohenschwangau is on the right.  It was King Ludwig's childhood home- you can see why he was fond of the area!  Simply lovely!

It's kind of funny, when we drove up to the castle I was shocked at the location.  It's right on the edge of a large plain- completely not what I'd expected from all the photos!  But as you can see, it's nestled amongst the mountains, so the other 180° of views are stunning!

We had rather low expectations for the castle- we'd heard lots of people were very underwhelmed by it.  As it turned out, we were all pleasantly surprised and greatly enjoyed it!  Ludwig died before finishing it, but I didn't think that detracted much from the overall experience.  There were several interesting informational videos on his vision for the castle, the process of building it, and all of the buildings and rooms he planned but never made.

There are no photographs allowed within the castle itself and I didn't know what to expect.  I was so delighted by the interiors, though!  All the walls were painted with murals- he was very inspired by medieval stories and art and had a very opulent sense of style that meant the finished rooms were all lavishly decorated.

The whole thing has a definite "fairy tale" feel to it- it certainly doesn't feel like an authentically old castle, but I don't think that lessens the charm at all. :-)  And really- most of the well-known castles in Germany are actually from the 1800s, too!

We all greatly enjoyed our visit after all, and the horrible crowds that we were expecting really weren't bad at all. :-)

Centuries ago, there was a real medieval castle in this location, and Ludwig grew up exploring the ruins.  He decided to make his own ideal castle on the foundations of the original, and while many people deride him for his fondness for excess, it is rather true that he had rather good taste!  No one can deny that this castle has become quite iconic and universally admired.

His personal life on the other hand.... I'll admit that he sounded like quite the spoiled brat. ;-)

We spent the rest of the day driving through charming Bavaria (oh Bavaria, how I love you!!!) to our next destination: Berchtesgadener Land.  Stay tuned!

Europe, Part 4 · Switzerland

OK, I realize Switzerland gets raved about all the time and that I'll just be repeating what everyone else has said before.... but that's because it is just UNREAL!  We loved being there and it was awe-inspiring, but looking at these pictures again really brings it home- it is, quite simply, gorgeous.

It didn't hurt that our weather was positively magnificent!  I was a bit concerned about the weather for this portion of the trip, as it would make a huge impact if it wasn't very nice... well, I needn't have worried- we had sun and wonderful temps the whole time. :-)

(Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the trip found here!)

Quite literally, this was the view from our room.  Stunning.

We stayed in Gimmelwald, a tiny town nestled in the Swiss Alps and only accessible by cable car!  We traveled from Colmar, France to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland on our travel day and arrived at the cable car in the early afternoon.  It was a short ride up, but wow! was it steep!

That was one of the aspects of our alpine stay that was a huge "culture" shock- there was no flat ground!  Literally, always an incline.  We come from the prairie and we don't even have many steps to climb in buildings, either!  Needless to say, we got a workout. ;-)

My cousin had been to Gimmelwald twice before and has taken stunning pictures, which is what prompted us to put it on our itinerary!  We got our accommodation referral from her too, and we enjoyed our quaint stay! :-)  

Hotel Mittaghorn (or "Walter's") is a small, old-fashioned hotel in a wonderful location!  The accommodations are more "old-school"- bathroom down the hall, showers on a 5-minute timer, not remodeled for 40 years, etc.  However, with that also comes a certain charm... everything was clean and cared for, our host was wonderfully welcoming and personable, our stay felt more authentic, and... we had really cute little green beds. :-) 

Stunning location!!

We took a walk one day that led us into a little wooded area- it seemed like something out of Narnia. :-)

(oh, and can we just have a moment with that waterfall picture??  yeah, I'm pretty impressed that I was able to achieve the coveted "soft" look for the water!  LOL, it's the simple things, folks... ;-))

A sampling of the alpine flora on our walks.

Shepherds huts from our walk.

I felt like Heidi.

On all our walks we saw cows and goats (or heard their bells), but this group was the most photogenic! 

A hotel in Gimmelwald; the cable car that goes up to Gimmelwald and then Murren, as seen from our balcony.

(oh man! Swiss buildings are just as cute in person as you'd expect!!)

Downtown Murren.  Not exactly bustling itself! ;-)  It does however boast a grocery and a few restaurants, as well as some souvenir shops.  I'm not a big one for buying souvenirs or mementos of my travels, but I did indulge while in Switzerland.... :-)  Something about edelweiss scarf pins and decorative cow bells (to make my cow dress more Swiss, ya know! ;-)) isn't to be resisted!

Actually, I realized after we were already in the Alps that it was another of those rare opportunities to wear my cow dress!  That clanging bell wouldn't be out of place at all!  Such a pity I didn't think to pack it... heehee. ;-)

Just look at those mountains!  It's really just unreal.....  In the second photo, that's the view from our hotel- looking up the mountain to Murren.  It's farther to walk up for dinner than it looks.  Just sayin'. ;-)  However, the amazing cheese fondue dinner was totally worth it.  And this way, we burned off a few of those calories. ;-)

We saw this sweet kitty several times throughout our trip- from all appearances, it looks like he walks back and forth from Murren a few times each day, looking for loving from anyone along the trail.  So cute!  Gretel is great with animals, and has a special fondness for cats, so we always kept our eyes open for them. :-)

Is this for real?  Can I live here forever?

I took a series of photos for a panorama, but as I mentioned in my last post, they don't translate as easily to digital sharing as I expected.... and this group is even worse than the one in Colmar. :-P  So instead, I'll just share the pics individually. ;-)

These are from our hike up above Murren.  We had the same view from our hotel, just a little closer and a couple thousand feet lower and thus less capturable with a camera. :-)

 Look how huge and amazing those mountains are!!

The view over Murren- complete with a parasailer taking off!  There were lots of them out all day- sounds like such a cool experience!  Looks absolutely terrifying. ;-)

Thanks for visiting!

Europe, Part 3 · Strasbourg and Colmar

· WARNING · If you aren't particularly fond of half-timbered houses, this is your notice that you'll get bored quickly.  For all the rest of you- these towns are a must-see! ;-)

(Parts 1 and 2 here!)

Our second area to stay and explore was the Alsace region of France- right over the border from Germany.  Actually, both sides of our family have strong ties to the area, but that wasn't the reason to add it to the itinerary... these towns were really just too cute to pass up. ;-)

Our first day in the area took us from Traben-Trarbach down to Strasbourg.  The scenery was lovely along the way, although I will confess that I spent part of the ride attempting to shake off the last lingerings of jet lag. ;-)  Our goal was to make it in time for the church service at the Cathedral and when we pulled into the center of town as the clock was striking the hour, I'll admit that I considered it a hopeless cause.  However, it's a jolly good thing that the bells ring for 10 minutes, as that gave us just enough time to find an underground parking garage, pick a spot, grab a few things from the car, and scurry into the cathedral!  Whew!

The Cathedral is celebrating its 1,000th anniversary this year!  We were able to take photos just after the service, and I managed to grab a few slightly blurry pics in the darkness before the security guards hustled everyone out. ;-)  While I was taking photos, a couple came up to talk to me and started talking fluent French- my German is non-existent, but I think my French is even worse... I quickly told them I only spoke English at which point a wave of relief washed over their faces, "Oh good!  We're Canadian!".  I think we were all glad to converse in our natural language!

The Cathedral has the distinction of having been the tallest building in the world for over 200 years!!

We were so fortunate that our itinerary coincided with the one day a month that every museum in Strasbourg is free!  We took advantage of the moment and climbed up to the top of the cathedral.  I love the opportunity it provides to see the architecture up close and to marvel at all the detail.

And there were stunning views from the top!  Oh, and pardon my hilariously bad attempt at a panorama shot...  I'm used to my mom developing physical photos and arranging them in a scrapbook- somehow I didn't realize how very much more difficult it would be to do digitally!

I attempted to get a shot of the whole cathedral, but.... it's tall.  And before I had a chance to try again, an older gentleman wondered if I didn't want to have my picture taken?  Well, not particularly, but.... whatever.  Apparently the spire was too tall for him, too. ;-)  And yeah, I have no idea why I'm standing crooked.  But hey! It's actual proof I was in Europe! ;-)

The rest of the town was chock full of charming old buildings!  It was so enjoyable to just wander around and revel in the atmosphere and the beautiful weather.

We had our typical bread-and-cheese lunch in the town square- and even had prime seats to watch the swing dancing group that came by!

My request for the day was to stop at one of the many cute little cafes for a coffee that afternoon.  While we were there, I wanted to get a picture with Gretel, and it was such a comedy of errors that I had to save all the failed attempts just for the memories. ;-)  

Here we have Exhibit A- a lovely photo.  Except for the fact that the subjects are completely out of focus.

Exhibit B- Second attempt.  Looks suspiciously like everyone thought Dad was going to be in the photo, except the photographer, so only his arm remains in shot.  As well as the whole shot being crooked.

Exhibit C- Overall an acceptable shot, except the composition leaves a little to be desired....

.... And here we go!  4th time's the charm!  Worth the wait though, I think. ;-)

Another museum stop that we made was the Palais Rohan.  No, nothing to do with Tolkien, however it was a gorgeous museum and well worth the time!!

The main level had many restored rooms- this one was my favorite.  Seems like the ideal setting for a ball, don't you think?!

Aaand, I do love Empire style furniture as well.... ;-)

The Ill River

Our final destination for the day and our home for the next few days was Colmar, France- actually you can see our building on the far left of this photo- the top floor and a half were ours! :-)

Staying right in the center of town worked out wonderfully.  We could spend the time just leisurely wandering the town, discovering all the winding roads and enjoying the non-touristy times.  We could see a butcher, baker, and grocer right from our window, too!

The canals run throughout town....

And half-timbered houses are almost a requirement!

Funny little crooked roof!  And.... pastries!

This town just oozes charm!

We could see the cathedral from our window and we loved how it even has a stork nest!  We're huge Playmobil fans, and this whole town looked like it could be straight out of their catalog- even down to stork nests. ;-)

Hearing church bells throughout the day was one of my favorite aspects of the trip- we were fortunate to have nearby bells almost every place we stayed.  I loved it! :-)

A few of the buildings in town had lovely tile roofs.

Ready for an even worse panorama shot?  Heehee... ;-)  I'm sure there is a program out there somewhere that makes this easier, but it's just not that high on the list of things to do! ;-)

This is the view from our window!  Charming!

Well, there we go for our third installment!  My life has been craaaaazy since getting back from this trip, so I wasn't able to compile all these posts ahead of time like I normally do so that I could have them all scheduled and auto-published like usual.  Ah well, that's life! :-)  I'd love to get the rest of these posts up soon- next is Switzerland, and let me tell you.... it was like a fairytale!!

· Pattern Pre-Sale! ·

For those who don't already follow me on instagram, you'll want to head on over and check out my pattern "pre-sale" going on right now!  I'm offering my latest batch of vintage patterns at a discount, so be sure to get them before they head to the shop!