Ralf and I are about to embark on a trip to discover the magic of Christmas tradition in Germany. He has so many fond memories and stories that he has shared about all of his years living there and I can't wait to experience it myself. We will spend 8 days there, visiting with family and friends, attending the opera in Dresden, and visiting some of the Christmas villages. My first fall and winter in Florida has left me anxious for cooler temps and snow. Yes, friends, that is not a typo! I recognize that those of you who know me well are probably choking on your coffee about right now but honestly, I am ready for a week of sweaters, boots, coats, and yes....even snow! I will try to keep up daily with pictures and ... read more

My number one "Bucket List" item finally discovered! During our brief planning for the weeks in Germany, I menitoned to Ralf that that Italy was one the the places I most wanted to see in my life. He made the arrangements for us to visit Venice and Verona during the last 4 days of our trip. While I know I only scratched the surface of everything I would like to see there, it was absolutely amazing. We spent two nights in Venice. The first, on Lido Island right across from the Grand Canal in Venice. Expedia.com did not specify that the reasonably priced hotel I located for our stay was only accessible by car ferry so imagine our surprise while diligently following the trusty GPS lady, she led us right to the waters edge with nothing ... read more

Greetings from the Bungalow! We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the "Castle Resturaunt" (as I call it) last night. It is an actual castle just down the hill from the bungalow and was the former home of the Duke of Chemnitz. It was an all around relaxing day just updating my blog and resting and then a nice dinner last night. Now we are packing up the bungalow, departing for a three hour drive to Berlin shortly, where we will explore the city a bit and then meet another of Ralf's friends' Swen and his wife for dinner. Tomorrow we fly to Venice!!! For those of you who know me well, this is a big one on the bucket list so I can hardly believe it's almost here. The following day we will drive to Verona ... read more

Rothenburg was our second stop in Bavaria from Sunday to Tuesday. Since there are several towns called simply Rothenburg, I specified the formal name for those that are looking online for more detail about the places I am visiting. In the Middle Ages, Rothenburg was a "free imperial city" and one of Germany's largest cities. Today, it is the country's best preserved medievial walled town. (a very cool sight -make sure you check out the pictures). We found a gorgeous room at Eisenhut which was right on the Market Square, a spot filled with history and shopping! It was a fancy medievial home with historic furnishings and our suite consisted of a sitting room, huge sleeping room complete with chandelier, and a luxury bathroom where I experienced my first bidet, kind of ironic after way too ... read more

Today's adventures began with a drive to Augustusburg to see the Augustusburg Castle on Schellenberg Mountain. It was built in 1568 for King August the Strong as a hunting castle. Again, it is amazing to me that this massive structure was built as a place for hunting and not a primary residence. We got to tour the inside of the castle which had hundreds of deer and other animal mounts. There was also a carriage house which served as a museum for carriages built over the years, including the carriage of King August. Next we drove through the Erzgebirger (sp?) area of Saxony which was an interesting experience leading to carsickness as Ralf navigated through the narrow, curvy roads of the mountains at top speeds! Let's just say that for a portion of the drive I ... read more