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Published: July 24th 2006
We've been putting this one off a little while we get over the jet lag, but we are finally home on Canadian soil and loving it.
We met Nick's parents in Germany and it was wonderful to be able to travel around with them for a couple of weeks. We stayed with some of Nick's mom's relative near the Black Forest and Bruchsal. This was a beautiful area which we were able to explore because Nick's parents had rented a van. We got a personal tour around the Bruchsal castle, toured around Freiburg and even went for a short walk in the Black Forest. Sarah enjoyed her birthday at the beginning of July with all the family around. She has decided to adopt the German birthday tradition of eating a wonderful homemade raspberry cheese cake for breakfast.....what could be better?
After leaving the Black Forest we drove to Prague in the Czech Republic. The two of us had wanted to go to Prague, but hadn't had the time, so when Nick's parents suggested it we jumped at the chance. Prague was a beautiful old city with fantastic architecture and wonderful cultural shows. The four of us spent a few
Sarah's birthday dinner
Doris, Jakob, Pete, Sarah, Sylvia, Angelikadays exploring the old streets and taking huge numbers of pictures because everywhere we turned there was something else to see. One night we went to a Mozart concert where all the musicians where dressed in period costume which was lots of fun. From Prague we headed south to Cesky Krumlov which is a much smaller town, but definately worth a visit. A river surrounds the old town which is a great help to those who are somewhat navigationally challenged. Again the buildings are spectacular and there are some wonderful little alleys with a whole array of great little shops. We stayed in a very nice pension right near the center of town called the Gardena.
We headed into Austria from here to spend a few days in and around Salzburg. Salzburg is a great city surrounded by hills which when climbed allowed for fantasic views. Very near Salzburg, just over the border into Germany, is Berchtesgaden (also known as the Eagle's Nest) which was a meeting house for Hitler built in late 1930's. It is up a huge mountain with the most beautiful views we have ever seen.
In southern Germany there are a number of castles
built by Ludwig II which were a must before we headed home. The first castle we went to see was Linderhof which is a relatively small castle, but the interior is covered in gold and is stunning. The grounds are magnificent and even include a man-made grotto which was used for concerts of Wagner's works. The second castle was the world famous Neuschwanstein which is on the side of a mountain and was the inspiration for the Disney-style fairytale castles. The view of this castle and surrounding area was awe inspiring. We all really enjoyed doing some walking and driving in this beautiful area.
After a quick visit to Munich it was time to head back to Canada. It was hard to say goodbye to Nick's parents after such a wonderful visit, but pretty exciting to be heading home after a year away. Since we have been home we have been doing alot of visiting with family and friends and enjoying the unusally warm weather here in Vancouver. We can't believe our year away is over, but we had such a wonderful time and a large part of that was the people we met and spent time with. We
want to thank everyone we stayed with for all of their amazing hospitality and hope we can repay them some day. You all made this trip the once in a life-time experiance which we will never forget!
We also want to thank everyone who works on the travelblog. This has been such a fun tool for us to share our experiences with our families, friends, and anybody else who wanted to follow our travels. This is a wonderful site and will keep following a number of the other wonderful adventures other people are having right now. Thanks again.
Now are trip is over, but we hope to keep having adventures right here at home to share with all of you, so you can see a little bit of our home too!
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Darn and Domen
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Home Again!
Well, it has been an amazing journey, with many fantastic stories to share. Many thanks for sharing them with us....and welcome home! Hope to see you in August during our visit out West. Cheers!