Just to let you all know, my husband and I got back from Garmisch this afternoon. It was a nice trip ... Garmisch was a little disappointing, the guest house "a lot" expensive , and Neuschwanstein Castle "a lot" of steps . We ended up in Austria, saw the awesome Swiss Alps covered in snow (back side of the Zugspitze) after we got lost, ate in Bavarian & Italian resaurants, walked around in Garmisch and got some things that say Kloster Biere (Biere is our last name). We went through very long tunnels (they even had emergency exits although I'm not sure where they led to), drove over very long and very high bridges, and traveled over and around and up and down numerous switchbacks of narrow roads. I can't imagine those exits leading out of the mountain because the mountain is huge. And there were times I closed my eyes around the switchbacks. There were a few times I really fought down a panic attack but I put on John Denver and my husband got me laughing. The best thing of the whole trip was being together and having fun. And the times when we argued (just a few) I would wait a little bit and then start a conversation on something else and my husband would make me laugh. When we disagree I usually clam up and am just miserable.

Unfortunately, we didn't go up the Zugspitz ... and while I was disappointed, it was a wonderful trip. The weather was rainy on Wednesday, sunny and bright yesterday, and slightly overcast today.

I don't know how relaxing it was. The Disneyland castle was challenging ... I've never walked so many steep hills (and it really wasn’t walking … it was hiking ) or gone up and down so many twisty staircases. It was soooooo HARD. But worth it. We were a little disappointed with Garmisch itself. There were some pretty buildings but the surrounding area was beautiful. And I took about 200 photos (thank goodness for digital cameras).

But it's good to be home and back here at BWS.

Blessings, Francine