Bavarian Cream Donut Anyone? Weekend fun with the Woolleys

We had a wonderful weekend with our friends, John and Ashley Woolley and their son John. We all hopped in the car and headed towards the Swiss-Austrian-German border. Yeah, sounds pretty crazy. Talk about a gorgeous part of the world! We had a nice drive, minus being stuck in traffic in Zurich. HATE traffic. But Ashley handled the car jams like a champ and she and John got us safely to a little town called Moggers. Yep, Moggers. There are two little dots above the "o," so German speakers out there enlighten me as to how it is to be pronounced;)  This town was a pleasant surprise! It is nestled right in the countryside in Austria, with rolling hills and fields around. We stayed on the top floor of a farmhouse, which Ashley found. Toni, the owner, rents out the top floor of his home to visitors. He was very gracious, and had cheese and breadsticks there to welcome us. After getting settled in, We went for a short walk and got to explore a little bit. Talk about beautiful!

Moggers

Our Farmhouse:)

The next day, we headed to Schwangau, Germany to see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, home of crazy King Leopold II of Bavaria. Once more, another beautiful drive. The Bavarian Alps are gorgeous!

We parked the car, got tickets and saw the Museum of Bavarian Kings, and then took a tour of Hohenschwangau Castle. It looks out onto a beautiful lake, the mountains, and the town below. Quite the location!

Hohenschwangau Castle

But Crazy King Leopold was a bit passionate (and obsessed with the operas of Wagner) and thought he should design a residence even more artistic, masterful, and romantic. He spent the last twenty years of his short life overseeing Neuschwanstein Castle's construction. He only got to live in it for a few months and it was far from finished when he mysteriously died in a lake. Rather than spending more money finishing it, the castle was opened as a tourist attraction. It is pretty famous because it is the inspiration for the castle in Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

Neuschwanstein Castle

 We made the hike up the hill, got some ice cream and Bavarian Donuts along the way, and went on a tour a the castle. Pretty spectacular! He spared no expense in the details! Everything was lavishly built, carved, and painted. My favorite parts were the kitchens (yes, kitchens!) and the mosaic work in the throne room. What was interesting was that he died before the throne room was finished and he had accumulated so much debt that nobody even bothered to build the throne itself (and quite a bit of the castle interior). We had a great tour, and then made our way to a rickety bridge to get a picture of the iconic view of the castle. Great pictures!

the View. 

There She Is!

View from the Castle

After getting a bratwurst on the way down, we met up with the Woolleys, grabbed some groceries, and had a delicious taco salad dinner. We all enjoyed talking and eating--great way to end a wonderful day!

This barn was just a few feet away from the farmhouse. Awesome.

Beef with Beef:)

The next morning, we drove to a ward building in Austria to watch the Western Europe Regional Conference. We were all warmly welcomed, and the missionaries were able to translate for us. An exciting piece of news was that President Uchtdorf rededicated the country of Switzerland to missionary work! Very cool.

We headed to a small town where some of Ashley's ancestors are from. We went to the churchyard, where she was able to find the gravestones with the family name. We had a nice picnic lunch, played with Little John and the fountain (he looovvvves fountains!) and then made our way to Lichtenstein. We had to visit! We stopped to see the castle, drove through the town, and then drove over the border into Germany......Just to say that we were in 4 countries in one day!

Lichtenstein Castle

Driving back through Switzerland

After getting back to the farmhouse, we all took advantage of the lazy afternoon. Some of us took naps, and Ashley and I went outside to paint. It was absolutely beautiful. Farmhouses, green hills and forrests. Oh and cows. Can't forget the cows!

The view on our walk!

Moo

Oh Hello:)

Andy and I were able to take a walk on one of the trails and enjoy the peaceful evening. Love going on walks with my man! All we could talk about was how beautiful and idyllic our surroundings. It was nice.

Top of the hill in Moggers

After our walk, we ended the day with Pasta Carbonara, salad and a game of Dominos Mexican Train with John and Ashley!