Catch up time!

I finally have time to sit down and document our last 3.5 weeks. We had a crazy busy travel schedule with my Parents in town. To begin with, they arrived early on a Thursday morning. We whirled them around to keep them awake and headed out bright and early the next morning to Paris. Lauryn and Dallin did not want to go, we left them behind with our wonderful neighbor's the Ulmen's.
We took the 2.5 hour fast train into Paris. Our first stop was to see the Arc de Triomphe.
We had an hour after the Arc to chill out on the lawns below the Eiffel Tower to await our tour to the top. It was beautiful and sunny outside, this was FUN!
It was windy at the top! We've been to Paris 3 times but have not gone to the top of the Eiffel Tower. This was our first time!
After the tower, we headed to the Louvre museum. We got in half off because we arrived after 6pm. We blazed through the museum, saw the main sights then got the heck out of there!
What a lucky Mama I am! I have the best husband EVER and super kids!
This is the Venus de Milo
After the Louvre, the Tower was all lit up. We headed back to our hotel around 11pm.
Up bright and early to see the Notre Dam Cathedral.
Maddi got to feed some birds
To finish out that day before we had to catch our train back home, we took a river tour. It was relaxing after we'd walked and walked and walked all day long.
Next on our travel list was Bavaria. We got home late Saturday night from Paris and headed out early Sunday morning. We picked up a rental van to fit everyone and hit the road! We arrived late in the afternoon to Garmish, a resort town in Southern Germany. You can see how the ski jump has progressed over the years. The brand new one is quite amazing. It was fun to see the jump up close as the winter olympic's ended a while back. I can't believe they soar in the air for as long as they do. CRAZY!
We had time before dark to drive 10 minutes to Oberramergau. Every 10 years this town puts on the Passion of Christ play. This year, beginning in May the play with be seen by thousands of people each day. We heard them rehearsing, I wish we could take a trip to see the play.
We got snowed on, it was a treat for my parents to see!
I love the painting on the buildings. Bavaria is just beautiful!
Their first gelato, but surely not the last! Even though it had just snowed, we had to show my parents how delicious and creamy gelato can be. MMMM!
The tallest peak in Germany, the zugspitze
We woke up early to head to the Neuschwanstein castle (also known as the Cinderella Castle). The clouds were gone, we got a good shot!

The next morning we headed to Salzburg. We stayed in a fun youth hostel. That day we went to see the documentation center which was below the Eagle's Nest. (a retreat built for Hitler's 50th bday) The Eagles Nest was closed but we did learn a lot about that era inside the documentation center. After that visit, we headed to the salt mines. We roade a train that took us deep into the still active mine.

After the mine, we headed to the konigsee lake. It's absolutely beautiful! The water is clear because only electric driven boats are allowed.
The lake is surrounded by mountains. The boat stopped and the captain got out and played his trumpet. It was fun hearing the echo off the mountain.
This is St. Bartholomä church. We took the boat out to the famous church then turned back around.

The next day was quite rainy and soggy. It didn't stop us from seeing things, just made for wet feet and hair (I wasn't prepared with an umbrella). We started out seeing Mozart's house and learning a lot about him and his family.
We saw the gazebo from the Sound of Music
This duck was pretty!
We headed home and stopped into Munich. Our travel book by Rick Steve's said we just "had" to visit the most famous beer hall in the world. So, we did and enjoyed it!
The kids standing in front of the live band. This place was HUGE!
The "drinks" we ordered. hee hee!
We took a day to re-coup after our Bavarian travels. On this day we went and toured the flight line. (I forgot to add pictures of that).
Back on the road, this time a 90 minute drive to Koblenz, Germany. This is where the Rhine and the Mosel rivers meet. There is a fun monument here as well as 3 pieces of the Berlin Wall.
Here was our "sweet ride" for the week. The best part, the floors were rubber...no muddy residue stuck in carpet. YAY!
My parents standing next to the Mosel river with the Cochem Castle in the back ground. We did not go inside this castle, we did however see Burg Eltz. We neglected to take pictures of Eltz as it was our 2nd time there...
Since my Dad's flight was canceled due to the volcano, we took the opportunity to take another day trip. We Headed to Luxembourg to see the American Military Cemetery.
We are standing in front of General Patton's grave.
This map shows some of the routes the soldiers took while in Germany. We live just minutes from Landstuhl.
The cemetery was absolutely beautiful. I am thankful for those who have and who continue to fight for our freedom.
Just around the corner is the German military cemetery. Although the grounds weren't as pristine as ours, the same reverent feeling was felt. The trees with the birds chirping added to the peaceful feeling.
Since flights were delayed even longer, we took the opportunity to head to Holland! The tulips were in full bloom, something I've wanted to see but have missed them. We took my parents to a fun village that has windmills still in operation.






We only took Maddi and Dallin with us as we had already returned the rental van. The two girls stayed with a friend for the 24 hours we were gone. Yep, a 5 hour ride late Friday afternoon arriving back home at 2am Sunday morning. 3 short hours of sleep later we were up and headed to the airport to take Ron. A whirlwind trip for sure!
Inside the Keukenhoff gardens. Hundreds of acres full of flowers. Each flower was planted perfectly, each display was gorgeous.




There were fields and fields of flowers along side the road.

After the gardens, we headed to Carlton beach. Again, we enjoyed gelato! This ended our whirlwind of travels. We enjoyed every minute of our sight seeing. Again, we are thankful for the chances that we do have to see such amazing things. What lucky people we are!