Germany!

How beautiful it is to be in a small village in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. Every kind of weather holds its own beauty: morning rain showers, sunny afternoon s or a gray evenings with low clouds hugging the mountain tops.

How pleasant it is to hear the gentle tinkling sounds of bells through the hills as the cows graze and the goats mingle through the grass.

Ok, enough poetry, let's get to the point- this place is really cool! All that I've seen actually has been really nice. Today, August 7th, has been quite rainy so there's little to do besides cook and read a book. I started reading Pride and Prejudice on the plane. It was free in the iTunes bookstore and I figured it was about time I read what almost every girl my age has already read. It's quite entertaining, predictable but yet so well written the eloquent use of language makes it quite pleasant.

My first day in Germany was spent relaxing with Isabel's family and touring Basel. Her home is only about 10min from the border. Basel is a very cute town, looks just like the pictures you see of old European towns. :)

Now, we are so blessed to be able to stay in this nice condo in the small village of Obermaiselstein. Our first day we decided to do what all the tourists in the area do- visit a very famous castle "Schloss Neuschwanstein", which literally translates to mean "New swan-stone". It is relatively "new" for a castle, built for Kind Ludwig II in 1866, and was never completed after Ludwig unexpectedly died in 1879 (no guarantee on that date). The castle is high in the mountains (you have to walk a mile uphill from the closest parking) and looks like such a fairy tale castle. Unfortunately we had to wait 4 hours for the next tour, which then only lasted about 20min, but the breathtaking views made up for it.

Yesterday the morning was sunny and beautiful so I took it upon me to do some exploring on a long run. I ran up the nearest path up a mountain and somehow ended up at this cave. The gate was open so I went in, but not for very far because the passage was so small and it was so dark and scary! But the smell was so fresh and wonderful :) I then ran on a sidewalk on the street but it was so flat (I felt lazy!) so the next path I found was a bike path up to some lookout. This is where I found a beautiful waterfall, though not without consequence, for in doing so I also "found" some stinging weeds that made my leg burn for the next hour. After 10min of running up this 20 degree incline I finally went back down and though I was tired I felt so refreshed. After breakfast I was delighted to hear we were going to take a lift up a nearby mountain and hike to a peak. That was quite fun, with beautiful views. We hiked the closet peak, Weiherkopf, which was at 1665m. Being the adventurous person I am, instead of taking the lift back down with Isabel and Christoph, I decided that, despite my attire, my running shoes were calling for me to run back down the mountain. It was so much fun, especially the looks I got from people. Needless to say, however, I am quite sore...it's kinda funny, because I've never been so sore in EVERY muscle of my legs, front, back and butt. Woohoo!

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain as we drive through Austria and Switzerland to Milano, ITALIA! Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll still have some nice views as we drive :)

I don't have my computer, so I can't upload any pictures except those from my phone, but I promise, there will be plenty later on Facebook!

Love,
Violamad