Saying Goodbye :(

We have enjoyed our last two days in Fussen. Yesterday afternoon, the kids and I rode the gondola up to the top again and hiked down. I should know better than to start a hike in the mountains in the afternoon.... It was a 2 1/2 hour hike and sure enough, a thunderstorm rolled in! The scenery coming down the mountain was beautiful and dramatic and a little challenging for Ava. We kept calling her "Ava the Brave" and that helped to keep her going. The kids each had a bag of gummy bears, and that helped a lot! We were totally unprepared as we decided to do the hike at the last minute, so we only had one water bottle to share and no food (shame on me!). The woman at the Gondola assured me (I thought) that the trail was well marked. Well, we ran into several intersections with no markers and a few that had signs with no words! Luckily, a nice guy came by us and directed us which path to take. We were about 45 minutes from the bottom when the rain started. We all got a bit scared when we saw lightening flashing right near us. But, we made it to the car! We started driving and all of a sudden something hit our car that made a huge noise, then we were pelted several times - of course...hail! Not your typical hail, but "lacrosse ball size" as Cullen and Aidan called them....and they really were that big. It felt like we were in a movie scene, escaping the earth's destruction - I screamed "oh sh_ _!" when the first hail hit our car and the kids all screamed. The kids chided me for swearing, but it was really a reaction I couldn't control. Luckily, we were able to drive out of the hail storm quickly and we made it safely back to our apartment...back to Oma who was pacing with worry. Very exciting story now that it is over!

It rained all day today. We have been lucky to have such great weather the past month. We explored Fussen with umbrellas today, visiting the Abbey, the graveyard and the Monastery. We went to a fantastic exhibit that follows the history and relationship of Bavaria and Italy- the coolest artifact was a metal horse head that dates back to the Roman Empire - it washed up in a river in Bavaria. We also learned that the very first image of a man playing a violin came from Fussen. The history of violins here is fascinating as the instrument originated and developed in Italy and Bavaria. The exhibit had a violin from the 1400s - Cullen loved it. Speaking of violins, Cullen played on the cobblestone streets again yesterday and made 24 euro! Its becoming a lucrative activity and he was bummed about the rain today...all those missed coins! He has never been so excited to play his violin!

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Oma...we are all very sad. Time is playing its trick on all of us, making us feel like we have been here a long time and also like we just got here. Oma doesn't think she will ever return to Germany, so that is an added layer of sadness for her. She will cherish the memories of this trip for a long time.

The kids and I stay in Munich for one night and then off to Dublin on Sunday. We are all excited that Marc joins us soon - we can't wait!! More adventures to come...