Beautiful Fussen!

We have been in Fussen for 4 days now and we are loving it! The first day we hiked around Hopfensee - a beautiful high mountain lake that has panoramic views of all the beautiful mountains around us. It is very slow going with Oma (she now wants us to call her that :), but the kids (and me) are trying to be patient. The second day we rode the gondola and hiked an incredible trail. Oma stayed at the cafe and had coffee while the kids and I hiked. We sat on the edge of a mountain and ate our lunch admiring the landscape. The day was foggy and misty, so the mountains came and went as the clouds parted and the sun came out - a constantly changing view. The meadows of wildflowers set against the impressive mountains was a wonderful sight. We tried to hike to a cross that is perched on the top of a mountain, but turned back when the trail got dicey and it became necessary to use cables. After hiking, we watched the hangliders and paragliders taking off - really fun to watch. We are hiking again tomorrow - I could stay here for a month and just hike...its really amazing.

Next came the alpine slides - seemed crazy at first, but after the first couple of rides, I found myself wanting to go faster and faster! We will definitely do the slides

again before we leave Fussen. The next day we hung out on Forgensee - another beautiful lake. We swam and played for hours - so much fun.

Today we visited Neuschwanstein Castle - the famous castle of King Ludwig II - an amazing tour! Getting to the castle is difficult and would have been impossible for Oma to walk the trail. There are normally busses available, but because of the rain, there were no busses today. That left us the only option of taking the horse and carriage - not something we normally would have done, but a little serendipity that it was the only choice. We all enjoyed the ride through the forest and Oma was well rested for the 300 steps she climbed inside the castle. The Castle's history is very interesting and mysterious. King Ludwig built it in the 1800's in the style of 11th and 12th century castles. After living in the castle fo

r only 172 days, Ludwig was declared insane and taken to an institution. The next day he was found drowned in a local lake, together with the psychiatrist who declared him insane. The circumstances of his death remain a mystery to this day. There is speculation that his pacifist politics and his affection for music and art (considered eccentric at the time) played a part in his death. The kids had fun concocting scenarios of his murder! Aidan is convinced that he was not insane and that he was killed by his uncle. After the tour, the kids and I walked to Mary's Bridge - a very high bridge that spans across a river...we quickly got off the bridge when it became loaded with people...a bit scary because it is just a wooden plank bridge with metal guardrails.

We are really enjoying the town of Fussen - very quaint and lively. Cullen has been eyeing the street musicians and wanting to give it a try with his violin. So...this afternoon the 2 of us strolled into town with his violin in tow. We chose a spot and I sat at a cafe nearby, pretending that I didn't know him. He opened his red case and played for 20 minutes. He was overjoyed that people gave him money - 8 euros! He enticed a lot of listeners and sounded great. He is only lacking a longer playlist. He learned a lot about people in those short 20 minutes - how some walk right by and others stop to listen and then give him a coin. He was offended by the man who listened the longest, but didn't drop in anything. After watching Cullen, I don't think I will ever pass by an open music case without dropping in some change! His self-confidence is really amazing - he is dying to do it again!

2 more days here and then off to Munich to say goodbye to Oma. She has had a wonderful trip and we have so enjoyed sharing Germany with her. Next adventure is Ireland, where everyone is gearing up for Patrick and Joanne's wedding...very exciting. Marc joins us in exactly 2 weeks - Ava thinks its never going to get here! Kids can't wait to see their cousins :)