Germany...WOW..What an amazing adventure!

What can I say, Germany is absolutely amazing. We arrived on Monday morning at 8 AM, that was midnight Sunday for us. We hit the ground running. Our exchange student Thomas and his parents Gert and Barbara Frahsek were the best tour guides ever. We started with a tour of downtown Dusseldorf. Then we drove to Koln. This first picture is of us in front of the Koln Cathedral, one of the worlds largest buildings. The construction of the cathedral took over 600 years. The building has turned black from the pollution. The cathedral was hit serveral times during World War II, you can see the repair on the bottom left of the building.

This is the entry into the Cathedral. There are carvings of biblical prophets and the arch is also carvings, the details were endless. We were amazed at every detail. Cameron, Thomas and I climbed to the top of the bell tower, 533 steps to the top. The view was worth it. This is me and Cameron by the bells, thank goodness they didn't go off while we were standing there.

The Frahsek's took us on a 3-day road trip of East Germany. This is a picture of us shopping at a cute village in the Rhine Valley. The Rhine valley had a castle around every corner, we lost count of all the castles.This is the side view of the Heidelberg Castle. Noticed that the side of it has been bombed.This is the courtyard inside Heidelberg. More amazing architecture.Cameron practicing his tracting techniques at the Castle door. No one answered.Here I am at my favorite Hotel "Hotel Bergidyll" It was like stopping at Grandma's house for the night. I loved how quaint it was. In the morning we woke up to what I thought was wind chimes. We later found out it was the cowbells as the cows were grazing on the grass. We had a balcony view of the Alps of Austria. It was breath taking!Here is Cameron and Thomas at the Neuschwanstein Castle. Patiently waiting to begin our trek up the hill. Steve, me and Cameron in front of the Castle before we take our tour inside. Steve, me,Cameron, Gert and Barbara Frahsek in front of the castle.
The courtyard. This is just one of the absolutley breath taking views out one of the windows of the Neuschwanstein Castle. There were amazing views out every window. There are seven lakes to view from the top. So this is just one of the lakes.

Another view out another window, another lake. Notice the Alps in the back ground.

Details at every corner. Can you make out what this is?

This is a view of "Mary's Bridge" named after King Ludwigs mother. This is where we stood to take the next picture....
This is Cameron, me and Thomas on the bridge. A great view of the castle, but a little scary with a million tourist on it and soo high in the air.
This is St. Coloman church that was near the castle in Bavaria.
This is the view from outside of the church, notice the Bavarian Alps in the background.

This is the amazing art work inside of the church.

Cameron kept saying that all he wanted for his souvenir were Lederhosen. We really thought once he tried them on he would change his mind. Oh no, he came home with a full outfit. Lederhosen, shirt, hat, socks and shoes. Ask him to put them on next time you see him. He is quite proud of his outfit.

After his big purchase, it was time to eat. Here are the boys enjoying lunch at the village butcher shop. They had "Liver cheese" yea, just the name turned me away, but they really liked it!
Us walking through the town square in Munich. Another town full of history and architecture.
This is Steve in front of the Nurnberg Castle door.

Cameron, me and Steve at the Munich Castle, the view over looks the rear courtyard where they would stock deer for hunting.

This is us with all of Thomas's family on our last night in Germany. We were so blessed to have such wonderful host to show us all around the country. We were all amazed at the beauty and history of the country. We hope we will have the opportunity to go again and learn and see more. Thanks Frahsek Family for the fabulous memories! We'll miss you Thomas!