I've been home for over two weeks, I guess it's finally time I get around to posting some picks from my latest jont to Europe. This time around, I visited Southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria. With the exception of getting really sick one day, it was such a fun trip. We visited several Weinachtmarkts in all three countries, met some of the lovely people who are graciously helping my parents feel so welcome and keeping them very busy, took a train through the Black Forest, toured Neuschwanstein Castle, explored the Bodensee Region, wandered around Zurich and Vienna, listened to a Christmas concert by the Vienna Boys Choir, toured Schönbrunn Palace, ate delicious food and celebrated Christmas early with my parents. It was busy and fun and COLD. But the scenery was beautiful and the people were warm.
Here are a few pics from the travels.
The Zurich Temple:
A cute clock shop just outside of Freiburg, Germany
Historic Merchants Hall - Freiburg, Germany
This isn't the best photo of this classy lady but it's all I have on my phone. The Imperia was erected in 1993 to commemorate the Council of Constance which took place there in 1414. The statue is a nearly naked prostitute with a nearly naked man in each hand - one wears a papal tiara and the other a crown, to represent their respective powers. Like I said - classy.
A roadway in Stein am Rhein, Switzerland with some charming holiday lights. A well-preserved medieval town on the river, many of the old buildings are painted with frescoes. The paintings are hard to see in the photos taken at night but it was a lovely evening stroll.
Wandering around Zurich we found this quaint park that has great views of the city, the river and a generous peek into residents' homes/yards.
Neuschwanstein Castle. So pretty.
This is the valley below the castle. Gorgeous.
This is about half of the Weinachtmarkt in Salzburg, Austria. This is the day I was sick as a dog but the market was still fun and it certainly didn't stop me from shopping.
Schönbrunn Palace - residence of the Habsburg monarchs for over 300 years. The palace and the grounds are pretty breath-taking. And there was even a market in front of the palace. Truly charming.
View from our hotel room in Vienna. My only complaint about Vienna is I'd like to just wander around the town for many more days. So much to see, so little time.
The Rathaus in Vienna with what else but another Weinachtmarkt in front of it.
Thank you Germany, thank you Switzerland, thank you Austria and a big THANK YOU to my parents for hosting two Mindies and being our very willing and helpful tour guides and driver for the longer hauls. I hope to see you again in the spring and/or summer and/or fall.
2 comments:
We had so much fun!! Come again. Convince some of your siblings they just need to take the leap and come over here. You've got some great pictures. Thanks for sharing them and you!
Yeah! I've been waiting for this post! So fun to see all your pictures and read about everything you did and so "on your latest jaunt to Europe." How cool does THAT sound??! :)
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