HOME SAFE AND SOUND!

Just wanted to let you know we arrived home safe and sound late Saturday night!! We are still adjusting to the 7 hour time change but its is wonderful to be back in the states. Thanks so much for reading the blog- It was really fun to do- I'm sure there will be another one for our adventures in Waco, Texas this Fall! I'll keep you posted :)
Love, Tim and Carol

HOFBRAUHAUS

We finished our night at the most famous beer garden, perhaps in Germany; the Hofbrauhaus of Munich! Place was pretty cool- just about every stereotype that you can picture about a German beer hall took place here. Here's a shot of Carol tipping a glass (of lemonade)- :)

BEER GARDEN #1

Carol discovered this wonderful little place for us to have lunch- Ummmmm the German's know how to serve a hot dog- a foot long- each side, doubled over in a fresh hard crust bun! They had an ooompah band set up in the middle so we sat and enjoyed that for awhile. We also went to Munich's biggest outdoor market called Viktualienmarkt. Thing I thought was coolest was this tall pole that advertises what they are selling for people who can't read (a medevial tool) .

COUPLE MORE PALACE SHOTS

Bottom up:

1. Private chapel for the King built RIGHT into the castle next to his bedroom- this is where the funeral services were held for "Mad King Ludwig" who went crazy buildings all those beautiful castles in S. Germany.

2. Ceiling of a private reliquary room for one of the kings. Relics were (and still are) are HUGE thing in Europe. There exists a belief that if you have a piece of Christ's cross- or a nail from the cross- a piece of his robe- you have a more direct line to God-and if a relic belongs to one of the saints, perhaps all the better cause they might not be as busy as God and can intercede for you. So there were and are entire rooms devoted these relics. Today we saw what are claimed to be the complete skeletons of three babies believed to have been killed when Herod gave his command that all male babies be killed in his quest to kill Jesus after his birth. They were very carefully wrapped in beautiful linens and enclosed in a glass tomb- so tiny! Also saw what are believed to be the skulls of John the Baptist and his mother Elizabeth.

Last year I scoffed that these kinds of things were really 'the real McCoy' but this year the more I read about the connections of Italy to the mideast- and in this case the Pope was eager to give relic after relic to Munich to keep them Catholic and ward off the evil Protestant Martin Luther.

Last- this bed for the King, which was not even used- the room wasn't even used- it was just for show. His bed and bedroom were in a different hall in the palace.

INSIDE THE PLACE

Wasn't a let down from the gardens (bottom to top), shelled grotto area that was 1/2 inside, 1/2 outside, and hello! a mammoth hall created just to house one of the king's statue collection (a man after my own heart), a hall of relatives paintings,..

and take a close look at one of these paintings-

cause they were all CUT with a very bad knife- right when it was the last minute before bombs were about to fall on the palaces - to get them into safety-- you can see where each of them has been patched back in-

RESIDENZMUSEUM

We had to check out the main stomping grounds of the previous Kings of Bavaria (which is what this area was called before it joined with other states and became Germany in the late 1800s). You know the famous castle Neuschwanstein that Walt Disney based his famous Cinderella castle off of for Disneyworld... we saw that last year. That beauty is about 1.5 hours from here right near the Germany / Austria border.

This palace we saw today is the main headquarters for all of Bavaria- and it was HUUUUUUGE! It was made to look like the Pitti Palace in Florence which oddly enough-we saw in May so we could say, Yeah it really DOES look like the Pitti Palace!

Unfortunately it was yet another famous landmark being redone but at least they put up these very artistic drop cloths to show you what is under all the sheeting-

TOURIST TRAPS

They just exist everywhere don't they. But could these places BE more Bavarian- and I have to say- they get me with the hook everytime!

WW II BOMBINGS

Take a look at this picture of this very church after the bombings in World War II. SO MUCH of Munich was just flattened by Allied bombing, it just makes you sick. But then you have to remember who was running this town back then-- A. Hitler.

INTERESTING TIDBIT INSIDE

There was a footprint in the marble- just as you walked into the church-- and people would stop and take pictures of it- finally I figured, I had to! You can even see MY feet in the picture. So Carol says, 'What is that anyway?" I say, "Its Jesus' footprint"-

"It IS not.." she replies. I'm thinking- hey I climbed Pontius Pilates steps that Jesus walked on a couple of months ago- why can't this be Jesus' footprint?

Well as it turns out- its the DEVIL's footprint!

Turns out the devil made a deal with the builder: no windows were to be built in the church. The clever builder, however, tricked the devil by positioning columns so that the windows were not visible from the spot where the devil stood in the foyer. When the devil discovered that he had been tricked, he could not enter the already consecrated church. The devil could only stand in the foyer and stomp his foot furiously, which left the dark footprint that remains visible in the church's entrance today.

ASCENSION OF CAROL: AGAIN

Well I gotta admit- I tricked her this time- I told her we were just going in to see the church- one of Munich's big ones- and then JUST as we were walking out I saw the steps to the tower- and turned and said, "So are you coming?" Carol was a series of um...ah....um.... I put my best curious face on...."Hmm?" And then I pay her 3 euros to the sweet old woman working the ticket counter- and we're off!

Turns out the views of Munich were great! Here's a shot looking down towards the Rathaus where the glockenspiel is.

MUNICH IN A DAY

Last night when we got here we just crashed- but we made up for it today- we left the room about 9am and got back at about 11:30pm. Here's a rundown of what we did:

1. The GLOCKENSPIEL. Which is housed in that Rathaus (Town Hall)- Munich's glockenspiel is one of the most famous in the world (if not the most). Carol saw it 30 years ago and today got to relive it. Here's a little video of it too.

THE COPS DAUGHTER

So as many of you know, Carol is the daughter of a Michigan State Trooper- and there's something about she and her sister Catherine; they can smell trouble before it even happens.

So as the camera crew is back there making this poor guy go through his entire set of bags- show his passport, answer question after question-- I'm sitting there looking out the window thinking- just don't come here, just don't come here....but Carol is faking that she's reading her kindle and is keeping an eagle eye on the action in the rear of the car.

Finally- after about 45 minutes the camera crew suddenly gets out at one of our stops followed by the police!!!

The train starts up, the conductors all leave for other cars-- and we are enroute again- and I think. Its DONE.

That's when my wife puts down her Kindle, shifts her eyes over to the guy across the aisle who had to show his IDs to the police and says, "So....what was that all about?"

Inside I'm like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO don't talk to him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're lucky we LIVED through this are you crazy!

"I mean were those police??? They sure were asking you a lot of questions..."

He turns to her and smiles and says very brokenly, "My English...it is not so good.....I'm sorry"

Carol waves her hand, "Ah you're fine! I can't speak a word of German! So tell me- what's up?"

ARE YOU NUTS??????????????????? I'm thinking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He then proceeds to tell her that they are not really police but rather the type of security that enforce...oh how do you say in English.....the coming and going.....especially from Switzerland to Germany.....not really police...but sort of like police........

She says, "We call 'em border patrol....go on.."

AH YES Border patrol! Thank you! Well they are filming a show about vorking for the border patrol--- and they are searching people--- and i say to them, 'that's not right! you can't do that-

it is wrong-

"So THAT's what it was all about----- I knew they were searching those people---- but I couldn't figure out why....and I knew they were asking you a lot of questions but I couldn't translate the German you know..."

NOR SHOULD YOU! I'm thinking of course!!!!

He chuckles- ah yes well that is what it was all about- and it is wrong- they have no right to do that and it shouldn't happen

"Well thanks I appreciate the information-... and no its not right.."

TERROR ON THE TRAINS- AGAIN

I've decided that it is just me- and trains- and trouble. It took 7 hours to get from Zermatt to Munich yesterday- plus three different trains. It started out fine- got out of Zermatt on the cog train- and then got to Zurich again without incident. We left Zurich on the SBB line which is the Swiss train- and I didn't know it was going to happen, but we ended up going back through Austria again for a short time enroute to Germany so that was an unexpected pleasure. But then, once we got into Germany- I realized that the conductors had shirts that read DB which meant Deutsch train lines.

Well at about the 5 hour mark all of a sudden the doors to our car burst open and in comes this camera crew with a gigantic tv camera, microphone boom and a guy doing interrogating followed by about 4 people in green uniforms, big guns and patches that read ZOLL!

They came in and zoomed right in on these people who were behind us- the people spoke English- and finally with a german accent the interrogator said, "Ve are filming a documentahry for Cherman television"- I tried to sneak a couple of shots when they weren't looking-

Well then the cops end up back right by our seats and start interrogating the guy who has been sitting across from us. He, interestingly enough, looks JUST like Tom Bosley who played the dad on Happy Days- so the whole thing is pretty surreal- he hauls out his ID and they keep asking him questions (in German of course). Finally they seemed to be accepting whatever he was telling them- and the guy with the cop with the gun sits right next to me, with the gun practically sticking into my stomach.

Now I've seen enough of those movies about WWII to know that this situation doesn't end up good-

and the conductors were all so nervous- there were FOUR of them gathered in our car- and you're lucky if you ever even see one on your whole trip. One of them was so animated talking with the police that he even opened up a package of cookies and gave them each to the cops. I SO WANTED one of those cookies- cause they were my favorite kind like Schoolboy cookies you can get in the US only the real German ones with the rich milk chocolate- but I had to tell myself, STAY OUT OF IT!

HEADING DOWN

INSIDE A GLACIER

and as if that's not enough- on the top of this mountain they've also cut into a GLACIER- and have it lit so that you can walk into this longgggggggggggggggggggg longgggggggggggggggggg tunnel and then come out into this ice room- it was mind blowing to realize you're up 12000 feet, INSIDE a glacier- in Switzerland!

MORE SHOTS FROM THE TOP

The views up here were just incredible- and to go from 80 degrees in Zermatt to WINTER in a matter of an hour- pretty cool- especially when you know you're looking out at Switzerland- actually over these peaks if you ski'd them- you'd end up in Italy!

FLASH TO THE SUMMIT

and a very happy Carol Lee :)

FLASH TO CAROL ON THE CABLE CAR!

I think the face says it all.

WE'D BEST BE THERE!

So the whole ride took about 45-50 minutes- but as we were approaching the first snow covered station in the gondola Carol says to me, "All I can say is we had BEST be there at this point! We had better NOT have to go any further!"--- silence in the car- its just the two of us in there--- "Do you hear me????" she says quite emphatically! I look out and up at the mountain ahead of us and I say as calmly as I can muster, "Well, I guess it is, what it is..." Carol told me later- that's when she knew she was in trouble.... :)

And as it turns out we weren't there yet. In fact we were only at the bottom of the last stretch- which involved pretty much STRAIGHT UP this mountain side- honestly I still don't know how this cable car made it but it did! This is a shot of the group waiting to get on and another of the cable car coming to get us.

HEADING UP

So its pretty cool- you walk out of your hotel, and go along a rushing mountain stream- and pretty soon in the middle of town you are at the lift which goes up to Klein Matterhorn! There are actually three lift stations in Zermatt; 1) goes to Klein Matterhorn the highest lift station in Europe (of COURSE the place we went), 2) another is a cog railroad that goes to about 10,000 feet but never involves gondolas and 3) is one that involves underground elevators, gondolas and cable cars and goes to about 10,000 ft with classic matterhorn views. Since we already have one of those on our balcony we figured, GO FOR THE GUSTO and go for the snow capped mountain!!! Here's a shot of Carol on one of the first gondolas and a view from the gondola. The snow capped mountain in the back (Klein Matterhorn) is where we went!!

AH SUMMER IN SWITZERLAND at 12,736 feet!

How's this for a shot! It took us about 45 minutes in a combination of gondolas (seat 6) and a cable car (there were about 50 people in it)- to get to the top of Klein Matterhorn-

And there were A LOT of people skiing!! And YES I wished that I could- but the lift tickets up/down for this mountain cost about $150 so I wasn't even going to THINK about renting skis and equipment for a few runs just say I did it- oh but I wanted to.... :)

CAROL CONQUERS THE MATTERHORN: SHE DID IT!!

I'm happy to report that Carol is not only continuing to feel better but she conquered the Matterhorn today!!! In case you don't know- she has a TERRIBLE fear of heights- but was determined to do this, for me, and for herself. Actually to be specific we went to Klein Matterhorn which is nearly as tall as the Matterhorn but is a couple of peaks away- Klein Matterhorn is the highest lift station in Europe at about 12,736 feet as I recall. Here we are in the clouds in Switzerland!

LITTLE HIKE

We went for a little hike today up in the hills around Zermatt- turns out we had some unexpected plans that changed. Carol came down with a bug a couple of days ago and hit rock bottom two nights ago- she hadn't slept for 3 nights- and so I pulled the plug on Lausanne and changed our reservations to stay here in Zermatt for two more days- and forget about making the trek to Lausanne. The woman who owns our hotel couldn't have been more sweet and told me that she was going to make Carol an herbal drink that would cure her and make her feel wonderful. I'm not really sure what was in it- I know honey and lemon- but it sure did the trick. We stayed in an entire day on Sunday and slept most of the day- we've both been so tired and worn out anyway- and these shots were taken today- so as you can see, we're back at it- although only coasting into the weekend and our return to the US now :) Plus she ran with the goats, so she can't be that bad---

SPRING AGAIN

You know, one thing (among many) that is interesting with all the traveling we've done this year- is that we've experienced FOUR Springs! First, we had spring in Raleigh, NC in March when we went to visit Carol's Mom and stayed with Catherine and Lyn. Then we came back and had spring again about a month later in Cedar Falls- enjoying the lilacs in our yard. Then when we went to parts of Italy in May, we had spring again in some locations, and now, its spring in Zermatt, Switzerland!! Look at the lilacs that we found this morning and there are more right underneath our balcony!

THE RUNNING OF THE GOATS

You know some people live on the edge by running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain- My wife, however, has decided that she will run with the goats-

Remember the goat parade I mentioned the other day? Turns out its a daily ritual in Zermatt, Switzerland- and Carol has it DOWN to an art at what time of day the goats will run. So at 4:15pm we headed over to the main street in town- and I averted off in one direction to pick up our laundry and bring it back to the hotel- and Carol went to run with the goats. After about 1/2 an hour I joined her- and it turns out I didn't miss the event!

She just loves these goats- she says to me, "Its just so 'old world' I mean what other city could you still see goats running through the streets?" I looked at her, "What other city have you been in that you could EVER see goats running through the streets???" Then I remembered that we lived in Iowa and it actually still could be a daily occurrence in some places. Here's a few shots of her goat run today :)