Day 9: "

After a cozy night in the castle-side hotel, we woke up and got to breakfast as early as it opened, 8. We ate our usual meat and cheese and bread before taking the hike (in the rain and cold) to the castle, donning our ponchos and rain coats.

Upon getting up there, we found that our tour did not start until 10:10. It was only 9, so we decided to walk around and enjoy the view and watch the weather improve. We bought a coffee mug at the gift shop and made a few runs back down to the hotel. After taking some pictures for other tourists and staring at the castle from below, we headed around the bend and got ready for our tour.
Once inside, we learned about King Ludwig II and how he built the castle around his own medieval fantasies, inspired by Wagner's Operas. He wanted to live just as a medieval king would have (with all the technology of the 1880s, of course). But, 13 years after the castle started, Ludwig was dethroned and found dead 3 days later. Construction on the castle halted, and it remains about half finished to this day. It's missing a keep and an entire garden, and the whole second floor is undeveloped. The completed floors were filled with beautiful paintings of scenes from legends that Ludwig liked, and he apparently didn't let anyone use the same staircase as he did or enter his Singing Hall.
We then hiked all the way down the hill to the main city and stored our luggage in an information center, before heading to the Hohenschwangau, where the royal family lived during the summer months. The castle was yellow with red terracotta roofing, and surrounding it was a beautiful garden with fountains of swans. Apparently, the swan was the favorite animal of both Ludwig II and his father, Maximilian. There were swan fountains, swans painted in the walls, and swans on the chandeliers. This castle, too, was full of paintings, but of historical events as opposed to legends. Historical events, that is, excluding the woman being eaten by a dragon. It's easy to see why young Ludwig fell in love with fairytales and wanted a world of his own.

After finishing our tour, we made a mad dash down to the bus stop and then to the train station, just in time for the 4:00 train to Munich. After a two hour ride with a transfer in the middle, we made it to Munich. We dumped our stuff and decided to shop around a little in the old city.
And here's where it happened- in the Sports Scheck of the old city, there was a display with the jerseys of all the teams (in ranking order) of Bundesliga. In the number 4 spot there they were- 2 Hoffenheim jerseys. Overjoyed, Abby bought the one with Rupp's name, #7, who plays midfield. Our country wide search for the legendary jersey was finally finished!
We were all tired and hungry, so we stopped at a Biergarten for dinner. It was sort of cafeteria style, so we ate Bratwursts and french fries while admiring the gardens that surrounded us. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for a good night of sleep. I'll update you tomorrow on our adventures in Austria.

Day 8: "What's that over there?"

There's not going to be a whole lot of pictures for today, we spent a lot of time on a train...

After an early wake-up call at 6:30, the Jackson 4 headed for the bus stop to take us to the train station. Our train ride consisted of 3 connecting trains- Heidelberg to Mannheim, Mannheim to Augsburg, Augsburg to Fussen. Fussen is a small town that is just a few minutes away from the Neu Schwannstein and HohenSchwanngau Castles. Upon arriving at the train station in Fussen four hours later, we were shocked to see a man dressed in full medieval garb. When we looked across the street, there was a full on medieval festival going on, apparently one that stretched the weekend. So, the only logical choice was to stow our stuff in a locker and head over there.
The medieval festival was absolutely astounding. There was a man with a hawk on his arm and another with an owl on his shoulder! We saw all sorts of people dressed in medieval clothing, from beautiful skirts to leather kilts. It seemed like the festival was a good way for craftsmen to sell their wares- we saw jewelrymakers, leather workers, actual blacksmiths with actual blacksmithing furnaces, cheesemakers from the Alps, woodworkers, and much more. The food was also impressive- our lunch consisted of a variety of bratwursts- including Mom's two foot long hot dog! There was also a dish called the "Crazy Potato," which was a potato cut so that it twisted around a stick and then fried in oil. During lunch, we got to see a band that consisted of two bagpipes and two drummers, which obviously made an interesting sound. The music was unique because the drummers played what sounded like rock beats, and the bagpipes moved almost as if they were playing guitar solos. It was like nothing we had ever heard before. After looping around a few times (for the cheese samples) we bought some mead and some cheese.
Once we had seen our fair share of the medieval festival, we decided to walk around the old city a little. We saw a beautiful castle, with many traditional elements- including staircases that spiraled down left so you could fight and slits for arrows (Psheeew!). Dad thinks he would have been an excellent medieval archer. After an ice cream break, we got our stuff and took a taxi up to our hotel, by the New Schwannstein castle.
Our hotel was absolutely amazing! We were situated right below the castle, and Abby and I could actually see it from our window. Once we dropped our stuff, we decided to head up there for the view and eat some cheese, crackers and "fancy mixed nuts" for dinner. The view was gorgeous, but we were surprised by how little the castle resembled the Disney castle. I guess it was just inspiration, after all. The castle was stunning, and we went up to a bridge so we could see it from afar and take pictures. We have a couple Christmas-Card-worthy shots as well.
We were ready to end our day by the time we made it back down to the hotel, so we decided to head down for the night. I'll be back tomorrow with more interesting facts about the castle!
Sarah Jackson

Day 7: "The World's Second Largest Wine Barrel"

After a good night in Heidelberg, we awoke and enjoyed a hotel breakfast of what seems to be typical in Germany- bread, meat, cheese, and cereal. Today was our day to visit the Heidelberg Castle, which sits upon a hill overlooking the city. There was only one way to get up to the castle, though: Funicular.
I, for one, had no idea what a Funicular was, so I was surprised to find that it was sort of like a multi-level bus. Because the hill had such a steep incline, the bus was built like stair-steps and only went diagonally instead of on flat land. Here's a picture I found online-

The doors are on different levels, as you can see, and two funiculars run up and down simultaneously, then switch directions. We had to get on a different funicular track at the halfway point that was a little older than the other ones, and much, much slower.
We made it up to the castle and found that it was built in the 1500s. There was a large courtyard in the center surrounded by the building, and a lovely garden a little further away. We didn't have an audio tour so I can't tell you as much as I'd like to, but a lot of the castle was either destroyed or under construction. We weren't allowed to go inside most of the castle, probably because the 500 year old brick was getting a little shaky. We were, however, allowed to see the world's second largest and largest wine barrels.
Abby took some awesome pictures of the castle- sorry for the sideways-ness.

A lot of those were taken from outside the castle, either on the way to the garden or in the garden. The last picture is of some cows/oxen/bulls/yaks that we saw as we were walking.
After we finished at the castle, we got back on the funicular and made the transfer to the older one so we could go to the top of the hill. The view was amazing, but it was very, very cold! Dad had a beer, and the rest of us split a hot chocolate and a pretzel.

We rode back down to the ground and walked over to our hotel. Next on the agenda was getting our laundry done at the laundromat. We had to take a bus there, but the buses ran every half hour so it was no trouble. While the clothes were drying, we headed over to a mall food court and had some pizza. It was pretty good, and the people-watching in the mall was enjoyable. We collected our laundry and returned to the hotel, before heading out for the afternoon.
Our afternoon was spent shopping down the world's longest pedestrian-only zone. We were searching specifically for a jersey for Abby (see yesterday's post) but unfortunately couldn't find anything. I, however, got a pretty pair of earrings from a department store. We then decided to stop for a break at Pier 4, a bar/restaurant on the water. We had some drinks and watched the water, before heading up to the bridge.
The bridge across the Neckar was about 400 meters long and filled with people. It was also a pedestrian-only zone, which I find to be wonderful. We could see the boats passing beneath us and the mountains on either side of the river.
Once we got across the bridge, we decided to have a walk up the Philosopher's Way, where scholars at the local university would walk to talk about grand ideas. We found, however, that it was difficult to think about moral questions while hiking up the steep slope. We were not disappointed, however, when we saw the awesome view from the top. We shared some gummies and relaxed a while, before heading down to find somewhere for dinner.
After walking around the streets for a while and heading through the big church, we stopped at a fancy organic hamburger place. It was fantastic- the burgers were big and they were delicious. The only off thing about it was the fact that their ketchup tasted like marinara sauce.
We were sleepy after dinner and we had to wake up early the next morning, so we headed to bed at our hotel- only after watching a dramatic episode of the wall in German. We couldn't understand much of what was going on but it looked like they were doing pretty well. I'll update you on our adventures in Fussen tomorrow!
Sarah Jackson

Day 6: "A Bonn-ding Experience!"

Day 6! We decided that after our adventures in Cologne, it was time for us to take a short excursion to the nearby town of Bonn. Bonn is a small town that happens to be the place where Beethoven was born, thus bringing it fame and many a traveler. We headed to the train station early in the morning and stowed our stuff in a locker machine. We aren't entirely sure how it worked, but it managed to keep our stuff safe and secure for the whole day, so it wasn't a problem. We hopped a train to Bonn and 20 minutes later, there we were!
The morning was spent in the Beethoven museum. The museum was insanely detailed, filled with pictures of Beethoven, his friends, his pianos, his manuscripts, and his letters. He composed a ridiculous amount of music, more than I thought he had. We got to listen to a library full of it and see what his pieces sounded like. He was an impressive composer for his time, and I'm glad I got to learn so much more about him.
After that, we walked around Bonn. It was an awesome city, but we decided we wanted to leave after lunch. Lunch was at a place called Back Werk, a cafeteria-style restaurant with good prices and good food. We enjoyed our pastries before walking back to the train station.
Once we arrived back in Cologne, we realized that we still had 7 hours before we had to get on the train to the next town we were staying in. So, we got on a train to a town called Duren, in the mood for an adventure.
Duren was a cute little shopping town with a lot of fun things to do. We stopped for ice cream by the street and watched the people go by, before continuing through the pedestrian-only roads of the city. We settled at a cafe, the Cafe Extra Blatt, and sat outdoors for some drinks. When I went inside for the bathroom, I was shocked to find out we were actually sitting at a two-story restaurant with a full bar. We opted to stay outside and discuss our plans and the things we'd seen.
After a peaceful afternoon in Duren, we headed back to the train station only to find that everything had gone to chaos. Our 8:28 train had been delayed by 25 minutes and we weren't going to make the connection in Frankfurt. We hopped on a train minutes before it left and found seats next to strangers. We switched our connection to Mannheim, and somehow got to Hiedelberg earlier than predicted. We were sleepy after our wild train connection, so we decided to hit the hotel and head to bed.
Sorry there aren't any pictures- no photos allowed in the museum and we didn't do much in the afternoon. I'm headed to bed but I'll update you tomorrow!
Sarah Jackson

Day 5: "What do you need 5 Organs For?"

Sorry for the late update! There have been a lot of late nights lately...

After finishing three days in Amsterdam, it was time to get up early and take the train to Cologne, a nearby town. The train ride took about 2 hours, and we enjoyed the many fun parts of the train, like the table seats and the bistro car. The first thing you see when you pull up to Cologne is the massive church, called the Dom, that was started in the 1500s. I'll go into more detail about that later, as the tour didn't start until 2:30.
As for the rest of the morning, the four of us traveled to our hotel room, which overlooked a square by the Rhine. Abby noted that it was definitely a view fit for a princess. Once we dumped our stuff and took a break from the chaos, we headed down the 71 stairs - we counted twice - and headed towards the Dom. We couldn't find a tour until the afternoon, so we decided instead to wander around and enjoy the view. The church was absolutely amazing, and it definitely stood out against the modern background of the city.
For lunch, we stopped at a place called "Curry and Wurst." Mom and Dad decided to daringly try the Currywurst- sausage cut up and put in a spicy curry. Abby and I opted for the humble hamburger, and got our first taste of the legendary "Mezzo Mix." Half Coke, Half Fanta. Once done with lunch, we stopped at the Cologne Fan Store and looked around for a jersey for a family friend. Abby was disappointed at the lack of Hoffenheim jerseys, but hoped that some would be available in the next town.
Finally, 2:30 rolled around and we went down to the Dom for our tour. We got handed headsets so we could hear over the background noise, and followed a guide around the church. Here are some fun facts:

• The Church was technically started at around 300AD, when Constantine legalized the practice of Christianity in the Roman Empire. People have been meeting around the spot of the Dom for over a thousand years, and it's likely a chapel was built there around that time. 
• The building we see today was started during the 1500s by a well traveled architect who was interested in Gothic Style. The church is thought to be the perfect example of French Gothic... except for the fact that it's in Germany. 
• Around the late 1600s, construction was stopped because of several reasons- money was one, of course, but Gothic style of architecture had gone out of fashion. That's, like, so last century. 
• Construction of the Dom resumed in the 1800s, perfectly in style and according to the plans that the architect made. 
• The Dom was made famous because it supposedly contains the remains of the three magi that visited Jesus at his birthplace. We're not sure how credible this is, but the shrine has an interesting history. It was originally in Milan, but was moved to Cologne after the leader of Cologne helped another leader fight Milan and win. 
• The shrine contains many pictures of Jesus- and a picture of Otto X, who decided to put himself on there so as to be portrayed as a follower of Christ. 
• Much of the stained glass is original, but the stained glass from the 1800s was destroyed in the War. The early stained glass was spared, as people moved it underground to keep the church from falling. 
• There is only one non-church related person buried in the church. He was a very wealthy knight. His tomb is covered in a grave, to keep his family away from him. They were angry because the money went to putting his grave in the church instead of to them. 
• The church has 5 organs?
• There are over 10,000 square meters of stained glass in the church, while only 8,000 square meters of floor space. That's a lot of glass. 

After the Dom, we shopped around a while and made our way to a cafe on a square, where I decided that I was going to have a taste of my Dad's beer. 

That was not a good idea. At least Dad seemed to enjoy it. 

We also ordered some pretzels. 

We shopped around a little longer and searched for a jersey for Abby, without much luck. We decided that dinner would be varied things from the Lidl, the small grocery, as some of us were more hungry than others. We bought some pastries and random snacks for the journey. 

It was a long day, so we retired to our hotel for the night. Stay tuned, Day 6 will be up in a few minutes!

Sarah Jackson