Wolfstein Culinary Hike

While Daniel was TDY to the States, I had the opportunity to go on a 6K culinary hike with some friends of ours in Wolfstein, Germany.  We could not have asked for better weather.  Especially here in Germany when this time of the year often yields nothing but rain & "gray-ness".

 

View over the town of Wolfstein & the Königsberg mountain massif. 

 

 

The crowded town center & stop 1 of 6.

 

 

Face-painting was a must.

 

 

 

 

This woman is a treasure.  God's timing is amazing.  Our families were stationed at the exact same duty station in Massachusetts for three years & yet, did not meet until we both moved to Germany.  Again, God's timing serves purposes greater than my mind can comprehend.  Thank you for being a friendly face & a safe place.  Thank you for letting my love on your boys & spend time with your family.  End sappy rant.

  

 

. . .  "Okay, now try something less ballerina."  :)

 

 

 

  

 

This salmon was the most amazingly, deliciously perfect fish I have ever eaten.  If you're going to cook Salmon for large crowds of people, I suppose this is the way to do it.  I've said it before & I'm sure I'll echo it a million more times before we PCS, but the Germans as a whole really know how to do food.

 

Best believe I hate every. last. bite.

 

 

 

 

Tent 6 of 6.  Nearing the end. 

 

Any successful day trip in Germany deserves ice cream. 

...Sunday afternoon well spent in an adorable town I had no idea even existed.  The town also has two castles from the Middle Ages (an adventure for another day). Marking this culinary walk on our calendar for next year.

Tulips in Holland

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take a day trip to Keukenhof, Holland with some girl friends.  On the way, we stopped at the Clara Marie Farm, just outside of Amsterdam & got to watch a clog demonstration as well as a cheese making demonstration (same farm mentioned in my Amsterdam Post).  The farm was just as charming as the last time I visited.  The Dutch farmer and his Texan wife were extremely gracious hosts & provided us with a delicious Dutch Breakfast, complete with SEVERAL tasty cheeses to sample.  My favorite - garlic & herb.  Yum. 

 



 

Although the clogs were originally made by hand, the farm has long since adapted the use of the machines pictured here.  However, I found it interesting that the machines still only carve one pair of shoes at a time and still require the farmer's trained eye and guiding hand.

 

Part of the cheese making process.

 

Moo.

 

 

 

After taking quite some time to choose which cheese I wanted to purchase - I don't do well with that many choices, we headed towards the main attraction - The Keukenhof Gardens.

 

The wonderful ladies who let me tag along on this fun excursion. 

Thanks for introducing us Michelle ;) We miss you!

 

Not gonna lie ya'll, I was a little bummed that more of this field wasn't in bloom.  Honestly, I blame Pinterest for my high expectations.  Don't get me wrong, the park was still beautiful & well worth the trip.  I guess I just expected to see more tulips in bloom in this particular field behind the windmill.  This picture was taken from on top of the windmill.  I've since learned that we were perhaps a few weeks early & had we made our trip later in April, we may have had a better shot at the picture I had created for myself in my heard.

 

 

 

Probably my favorite tulips I saw the entire day. 

Thanks random tourist who didn't run away with my camera.

 

Something else I learned was that each year the Tulip Festival has a different theme.  This year's theme was Van Gogh, in honor of the 125th anniversary of his death.  In addition to some displays through the garden like the one pictured directly below, there was also a HUG exhibit in one of the park's pavilions that was absolutely incredible.

 

Inspired by "Starry Night"

"Sunflowers" ...my absolute favorite painting by Van Gogh.

Got to see the real thing last time we were in Amsterdam.

 

 

A day well spent.  A bus ride without sleep.  A very tired Rebekah.

Easter in Bavaria

Over Easter weekend Daniel & I drove to Füssen in southwest Bavaria.  Arriving Friday afternoon, we checked into our cute little apartment for the weekend and ventured into town to find something to eat.

 

A table with a view.

 

 

 

 

The view from the balcony of our apartment. Notice the Neuschwanstein Castle tucked nicely behind the rooftops & trees.  

 

 

Waking up on day 2, eager to hike to the castles, we looked out the window only to see ... snow. Everywhere white.  Notice the difference in the above & below pictures - less than 24 hours before the below picture, Daniel & I were sitting outside, coat-less enjoying the warmth of the sunshine from the same vantage point.

 

 

Bundling up, we made the best of the situation and headed to the castles for our early morning tours. First stop, the less well-known Hohenschwangau Castle - King Lugwig II's boyhood home.

 

 

 

The tour lasted just long enough for us to warm up before beginning the 30 minute, uphill hike to the Neuschwanstein Castle - the fairytale castle built by King Ludwig & known for the inspiration it gave Walt Disney to create Cinderella's Castle in Disney World.   

 

 

Even though the rout is blocked off in bas weather, tourists are allowed to climb over/around the large barriers "at their own risk".  And, that's exactly what we did.  Climbing over the barrios, we ventured all the way to Mary's Bridge.  Known for giving its visitors the most scenic views of the castle. HOWEVER, not today. Today everything was white.

 

 

Mary's Bridge

 

I'm not gonna lie ya'll, I was disappointed.  I probably sound like a big brat when I say it, but it's true.  I had been looking forward to the view the entire trip.  It's okay though.  The trip was still more than worth it AND who's to say we won't be back.  Maybe even sometime this summer.

 

The weather was more of the same the following day.  Wah wah.  We took our time to checkout out of the apartment & enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before beginning the snowy drive home.