 |
| Neuschwanstein Castle |
The day Chris accepted his job in France, our friends Trynke and Arne invited us to spend Christmas at their house in Germany. Actually, I'm pretty sure Tynke had started planning this Christmas since I told her Chris was applying for the job in France. And then the day Mart got his job in Switzerland, Trynke's Christmas offer was immediately extended to Mart and Ann as well. Needless to say, Christmas in Germany had been on the radar for a long time; so when the time actually came to pack our bags for this trip we were all giddy with excitement.
 |
| Lilah enjoying some German Pastries |
When Lilah was first born and would nurse/sleep on me all day long, I got really into The Amazing Race. The season I happened to watch had an episode where they went to Bavaria to the 'original Disney castle'. I have wanted to see this castle in person ever since. I'm not a huge Disney fan, but it just seemed like such an iconic place to see. Trynke and Arne live a few hours away from the castle, so we decided to all meet there for a couple days before heading to their house in Regensburg. We stayed in a very quaint hotel/bed and breakfast in Fussen, the kind where you grab beers out of their fridge and just tell them how many you had the next morning.
 |
| Bavaria |
King Ludwig II built Sleeping Beauty's castle, and after learning about him during the tours of Neuschwanstein (the Sleeping Beauty castle), and Hohenschwangau (the equally exquisite castle his father built that he lived in while his castle was being built), I think he'd be pretty proud of this accomplishment. The castle was just as beautiful in person as they made it on TV, and I was happy to bring my own little princess to see it.
 |
| Neuschwanstein Castle up close |
 |
| Family shot with Neuschwanstein Castle |
 |
| Ann, Mart, Chris, Lilah, me, Arne, Tynke, Melle in front of Hohenschwangau Castle |
After a few days in southern Germany, we headed to Trynke and Arne's house. They live in a little village outside of Regensburg where the main attractions include horse stables and one restaurant, a pork-house where you can eat pig anything out of a trough (I'm both bummed and relieved we didn't eat there). We spent a very cozy week at their place filled with cooking, baking, board games, walks around their neighborhood, and German beer. We ventured into Regensburg a few times to visit the Christmas Markets, which were exactly what you think a Bavarian Christmas market should look like - little chalets set up selling food, crafts, mulled wine, pottery, etc. In the main food/drinks area there was a tiny carousel set up for the kids which kept Lilah and Melle busy allowing the rest of us to enjoy an awesome lunch of cedar-plank salmon, potatoes, brats, and spaetzle.
 |
| Regensburg, Germany |
 |
| Lilah at the horse stables |
 |
| Cute toddlers in the tub. And blackmail. |
 |
| Inside the cutest Christmas Market in Regensburg |
 |
| Melle and Lilah riding the carousel |
 |
| Wood-fired salmon. It was as delicious as it looks. |
We had a fun-filled Christmas morning opening presents in pjs, eating cinnamon rolls (a Wheeler family tradition), and sitting by the fire.
 |
| Lilah and Chris trimming the tree |
 |
| Lilah, Melle, Mart, Ann, Huxley, and the train |
 |
| Melle loved helping Lilah open her presents |
 |
| Our cute little rascal |
PS. Shout-out to Ann, Mart, Trynke and Arne for some of these awesome photos!
