Lahr in Germany

For a larger selection of photos go to: https://goo.gl/photos/7sLVqK4vFrr8otQy7

Josh says:
Sorry we are really behind will only do good things and rush a bit again.

Lahr was very nice a little chilly. Our Airbnb accommodation was one was one of the nicest we have stayed in.

The first day we went to the Black Forest and it was nice we went for a couple of walks. We went to 1 castle, water fall and explored some towns. The last thing we did was we went to a toboggan run. It was really fun and you could control how fast you went. I went on my own and Leesh went with Dad. Unfortunately we couldn't race as you had to keep a 20m distance from each other.

In one of the towns on the Romantic road we got gelatti. I got a pasta gelatti.... It was actually vanilla icecream as the spaghetti, strawberry sauce and white chocolate as a parmesan cheese.

Spaghetti icecream

The next day was a surprise for Leesh as I over heard it the night before. We were going to Europa Park which is a German Disney Land. The cool thing was that there was 13 major European countries, Arthur Land which was crap and Fairytale world. Ireland was getting constructed. All the rides wear amazing we could go on them all as well. We all had heaps of fun and a good time. In the end we got to go on all the rides we wanted, before closing time which was about 6pm. Sorry for my language about but I really don't like Arthur the movie. The ride was OK though.

Alicia says:

We went to Europa Park which is a theme park. Well we also went to some other places like The Black Forest and we also went on a Toboggan ride. Yeah they are all great but the really cool thing that I can't wait to tell you about is.... Europa Park. In Europa Park we went on lots of rides like this really big roller coaster, some wet rides. The one that l like the best was the really big roller coaster. The thing was that Josh (brother) and me didn't even know that we where going to Europa Park, it was a nice surprise.

Dad says:
Due to our slow internet connection I will not add my pictures. I hope to upload some, but dont hold your breath.

Lahr is a small town on the western edge of Germany, very close to the French border and is near the Black Forest region and Europa Park. Firstly our accommodation was perfect, it was five stars from me. Not only was the place nice, they provided some extra items like milk, they also supplied some really nice country bread and smoked prosciutto.

My expectations of the Black Forest were for lots of really big pine trees and lots of undercover. There was a lot of woodlands, but also many green rolling hills and pine trees really did not dominate, it was pretty nether-less. We visited a few areas and towns, saw some cascading waterfalls and stopped off on the side of the road to take a few photos. We also saw a old castle tower that was a bit of a ruin. The good thing about this was that there were virtually no tourists there and it was a nice pretty walk to the top. Unfortunately not only I am old, I am unfit and somehow hurt my quad and so I was limping that day. It has been all right ever since, due to my superhuman recovery powers no doubt.

I am sure the kids will talk about Europa Park, but it was a lot of fun. They loved all the rides, roller coasters and just having fun. We managed to get on all the rides we wanted and didn't get too wet on the water attractions.

We have one more day in Germany before making a stay over in Strasbourg. We had a few car issues this time. We were not able to return our car in Strasbourg (or anywhere in France), so our original plan was to drop it off in a town near the border (Offenberg) and do a quick train trip back across (25km or 30 mins). We fortunately realised the day before that the travel company incorrectly booked it in for Offenbach, which is in Frankfurt (220km or 2+ hours by train). I was able to change the car drop off location which in itself was a bit of a story that is too hard to explain right now. After touring Strasbourg I drove back myself to drop off the car. Due to meeting the rep the previous day we struck up a conversation and he dropped me back into town rather than waiting for a bus (or 1 hour walk), which was really nice. I then tried to book the train and got a price of 150EUR. What!!! I tried again and the same price, even for a later train. Forget that, so I went off looking for a bus. I managed to see a train rep and queried about the price of a trip and he said about 8EUR. So after trying again (for the same 150EUR price) he came to help. I was trying to go to Strasburg (Germany), not Strasbourg (France). Oh, yes the difference was an "o", 142EUR, 8 hours and 900 kilometres (near the border of Poland in the North East of Germany). So REALLY REALLY REALLY check the spelling and ensure you spell it out, as they all sound the same to me. Note with the place that I dropped of the car (Offenburg, on the west border), there is also an Offenberg (East border) and Ofenberg (South border).

I really enjoyed Germany. The people were very nice, most spoke English and it was quite pretty and enjoyable where we explored.

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Fussen and Rothenburg (Germany)

For a larger selection of photos go to: https://goo.gl/photos/7sLVqK4vFrr8otQy7

We will be cutting the journals a bit short as to finish before we leave. Only 15 days behind....

Josh says:
Fussen is a very nice place but a little chilly. When we arrived in Rosenhiem we got the car we were hiring. After about a 4-5 hours of driving we arrived in Fussen. The hotel was ok 2 rooms a bathroom and bedroom. After relaxing for a while we went to the foot of the mountain which Neuschwanstein Castle was on. When we arrived we got a small tea and walked to the top of the mountain 20 minute walk. When we got to the top we took a lot of photos of an amazing view and the castle. Then we waited for our tour which was the last English speaking tour. Unfortunately we weren't aloud to take photos inside to keep protect the art work.  The Neuschwanstein Castle is the best castle ever!!!!!. The art work is amazing never been redone. The views from the castle were amazing. Unfortunately the king was found dead by the lake so construction stop, only a little bit of the castle was finished about 14 rooms. After we finished in the castle we went to get some photos of the bridge it was closed due to construction for some reason so we didn't get to go on it.

The next day we started the romantic road which was not that romantic but nice. It would have taken days to see everything on it. One of the things we did was we went to the top of a mountain. We got to the top by chair lift at the top we saw a heaps of  para gliders at the top jumping off.  We watched the para gliders for a wile then went to look at the views. After that we went down with the chair lifts ans I saw a deer going down :) Then we continued on the romantic road. We stopped at a couple of other places along the way but they weren't that good. After about a 5-6 hour drive, we got to Rothenburg. Our a apartment was bad it was like a nursing home. It had 3 rooms 1 bathroom and 2 bedrooms. Then we explored a bit of Rothemburg.  

Alicia says:
When we got to Fussen we firstly went to our hotel which was called Hotel Fantasia. It was very busy in the town as it was a public holiday. That afternoon we went to the big castle high up on the mountain. When we got to Neuchwanstein castle our tour guide said you couldn't take any photos and you had to wear your backpack on your tummy (so you wouldn't bump into anything). After the tour, we walked around the outside. That night I shared pizza and pasta for a late tea.

The next day we headed along the romantic road to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. On our way we stopped at a few stops, my favourite being going up a ski lift and seeing people paragliding.

When arrived in the walled city of Rothenburg we went to our accommodation which was small, old style but wasn't bad for me because we were hardly in there at all except for when we slept. On of the things I would recommend people doing is going on the night watchman tour, walking along and around the wall, and seeing the big Christmas shops. The night watch tour told you the history of the town in a funny, enjoyable way. The Christmas shops were great, as they were very big and had everything from Father Christmas to baubles. I enjoyed visiting Rothenburg.  

Dad says:
After a pretty successful train trip we arrived in Rosenheim one of the first cities in Germany from Salzburg. We hired a car from here to keep the car hire all contained within Germany. Lets just say though, Rosenheim is not geared up for the tourist and there is hardly any maps nor information boards or any tourist office that we could find. We circled the city (literally) a few times just to try to find some info. This is all after we got our car, that was just a bit too small to fit in the 4 bigger bags in the boot, but plenty of space to fit it in next to the kids. Giving in to finding anything, we finally found our way to Fussen. A fairly frustrating start to Germany.

Fussen is the home to the fantastic fantasy Neuschwanstein Castle. Our drive there was easy and fairly fast, zooming along those Germany autobahns. Over the last 20 km to Fussen we entered a flat grassy area full of native flowers with the Alps as a backdrop. It was breathtaking and a real 'wow' factor.

The Alps and the grass lands near Fussen,

Since we still had a bit of the day remaining (approx 4;30), we decided to walk around the base of the Neuschwanstein Castle. However upon getting there (and eventually relenting to pay 6EUR for parking) we enquired and could actually get into the last tour of the castle for that day at 5:50. It is a very picturesque area and an enjoyable walk. Entry is only valid with a tour guide, however no photos and no bags on backs permitted. This was all necessary to retain the conditions of the 14 completed rooms of the castle. The inside decoration seemed to be as good as it was over 200 years ago. No faded materials, original bright coloured paint, it was a real gem. Easily the best interior of any of the castles or homes we have seen, whilst the exterior also wasn't too shabby either.

Views from the walk up to the castle

The bridge was closed for repair - apparently it has great views

The Neuschwanstein Castle

From a balcony of Neuschwanstein Castle

Someone would not let Dad down the short-cut. Someone who is now scared of being told off. The same someone that was very upset in Strasbourg when we were parked in a loading zone whilst I went to get the keys for the accommodation and everyone else was still in the car.

Rare vision of the not-so-intimidating Josh Bear

Even more rare footage of the Josh Bear attacking his victims. His favourite target is the "annoying sister"

We were out that night taking a few photos of the castle

We only had the one night here and since we had already visited the main castle, we had a bit of time the next day on the Romantic Road up to Rohenburg. We did'nt bother with the smaller of the two castles, not sure what it is called, but it really must feel like the neglected castle or as we call it - the second child

The Romantic road wasn't that romantic. There was only the one stop worth mentioning and that is just outside of the Fussen. This was a mountain (Buchberg may be the name?) where we saw at least 10 para gliders in the air and others jumping off the ledge. We caught the chairlift to the top and there would have been around another 30 para gliders waiting to jump. This had a great view overlooking lakes and the flat lands. Apparently they can stay in the air for 1 - 8 hours, depending on the conditions.

The Buchberg

Typical of the Romantic Road

Another castle (Harburg) on the Romantic Road. Warning the 10EUR entry is just for the courtyard, it is another 9EUR to see the inside (slightly annoyed and we could be bothered)

One thing I did notice in Germany is that every village and most homes within the villages have solar panels covering their roof tops. There were also many fields of solar panels. Interestingly in England (we are currently in the midlands) also has quite a few solar farms. Yet in Australia, with ample sun, we hardly have any....go figure.

Rothenburg was interesting in that it still remains very much like a medieval town. The wall surrounding the town is still in place and you can walk on it. Whilst the accommodation was very basic, the city itself was nice and we had a relaxing time there.

Medieval shops in Rothenburg

Two large Christmas shops across the road from each other (photos not permitted inside)

All photos from inside the walls at Rothenburg

This city was a stronghold for the Nazis in WW2 and survived because of a painting. When the Americans arrived in the area the Nazis were holding out in Rothenburg with the orders to fight till the end. The Americans had a lot of air support and one day the bombers went out to bomb fuel supplies (elsewhere), however due to the weather they had to abort, however on return bombed the outskirts of Rothenburg, destroying part of the wall (and killing many people). The next day they were to "demolish the city" with their ground weapons. However, the American secretary of war John McCloy knew of the importance of the city from stories from his mother had relayed and also a painting that was always in his childhood home. He contacted the American commander and ordered that a cease fire be attempted. In negotiations to save the city, the German commander agreed and one night the Germans just left the city for the Americans to occupy without additional fighting. This was one of the stories that was told to us by the "night watchman" tour. Highly recommended by Josh and Alicia was very interested and shadowed the night watchman for the whole tour.

The night watchman and his shadow 

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