Last night in Germany

Today was our day trip to the Bavarian alps, and Neuschwanstein Castle. We had to get up pretty early for the two hour drive, but we took a private coach, which is so nice. You can sleep and not worry about anyone stealing your stuff, there's lots of room, you don't have to wait for a certain stop; everything is just simple and done for you. It feels like royalty. Plus, inside the bus, is America- even if the bus is in Germany. Everyone is from home, and theres a weird comfort in that.

The alps were not what I expected- still very pretty, but the ones we saw weren't nearly as big as mt Washington, or even some of the rolling hills of Pennsylvania. We had a 30 minute hike up to the castle, which was pretty intense,but the weather in Germany has been a lot colder (like 50 degrees) so it wasn't as bad. I can't imagine doing it on a hot day. Whe you get to the top it's mostly fog, but the castle is right there waiting on top next to these big cliffs with a river way down at the bottom, and then on the other side you see where it becomes a pond in this little countryside. So cute.

The castle was never finished; king Ludwig died before they did the 2nd floor, so we only saw the first and third. Everything just seems rediculously huge. Like, it's all very impressive, but not at all home-y. This is the castle that cinderellas castle in Walt disney world is modeled after, but there was a bunch of scaffolding on the side where they were doing renovations, so it didn't come off as quite as magical. The pictures in the gift shop were very cool though. I would have liked a snow globe, but that sort of thing just does not travel well.

We had a mini scare when we stopped at a cafe for lunch and realized there were
Pistachios in the muffin Alex was eating, and she's allergic. Her throat closed up but she was still breathing, so not super emergency room reaction, but that stuff still makes me nervous. I realized I only knew how to help someone with a severe allergy, the normal ones I'm at a loss for.

We stopped at a church on the way back that no one really knew anything about- not much to report there. Slept on the way home, which left us all kind of groggy and un-ambitious once we got back. I was trying desperately to find the milka chocolate store, because I wanted to get a huge box to bring back to the states, since it is delicious. I think Doug's dad is going to have to bringme some back everytime he flies out there. Anyway, I found the address, mapped it, and then talked to Alex, the bartender, about getting there.

None of that helped me. I had the most frustrating night, getting lost in a bunch of different ways before finally finding the area the shop was supposed to be in, and never discovering it. I spent an hour going up and down back streets, circling around- everything I could think of. I even saw a woman holding a bag from the store,but when I tried to ask her for help she ignored me. Cold shoulder, ouch. So I was starting to get a little worn down.

I got lost on the way home, and I knew everyone was waiting for me to go to dinner, but I got stuck in the subway system and lost in a department store that I suspect had no real way out. then when it started raining I decided I earned ice cream, but then I couldn't read any of the flavors and there were no pictures, and I just gave up. Struggle bus central. Normally I've been flying by pretty well with the language barrier and picking up what I need to know, but today was just the last straw, I guess. It's officially 3 weeks since being home, and I think i just stretched myself out too far.

At some point the group back at the hostel found a way to text me because they started to get worried. Luke kept saying that he should have gone with me, and that if I were lost Doug was going to kill him, to which katie replied they would just have to find me then. I didn't mean to scare anyone, it just took longer than I expected, and it's nice to have some alone time. I told them to go to dinner without me though; I didn't want to rain on their parade, and I was deffinitely in a rain cloud mood.

I had some toasties for dinner, and now I'm sipping water and in bed early to try and fight this sore throat. I really just don't have time to be sick. But tomorrow we are on our way to Paris, so I made it through Munich!

I would have liked more time; I honestly don't feel I even scratched the surface as far as the culture, and there was so much more I would have liked to see. I don't know that I would ever come back on my own though- Barbara Greene, how would you feel about a cousin trip to Germany? :)