This is truly a love/hate relationship that we have. I'm not sure that I can depend on you any more. I think that maybe we should see other people. I am currently interested in getting to know a few other fellows a little bit better. Their names are Garmen, Nuvi and Navigon. If you are at all interested in saving our relationship, you had better be on your best behavior. I'm just saying.
Most Sincerely,
Barb
It should have been such a simple (yet long) trip back to Belgium. Truly. We had a very nice and uneventful drive to Garmisch-Partenkirchen last weekend, so why would the return trip be any different? Apparently Thomas got hold of the same thing the people at Swarovski have been sniffing. We he instructed us to take a left turn outside the lodge gates instead of right, we didn't think too much about it. After all, he said this way would be almost half an hour quicker. We should have suspected something. I'm pretty sure that Tom belongs to the Witness Protection Program, because he never seems to take us the same route twice. Following Tom's directions, we soon found ourselves on a narrow two lane road in Austria. That's right. Austria. Now geography is not my strong suit, but is the most direct route from southern Germany to eastern Belgium through Austria? I think not. By the time we found out his intentions, it was too late to turn back. He reassured us that this was indeed the best route for us. With little opportunity to turn around, we didn't have much choice, so we followed the winding road through the Bavarian Alps. At least the weather was nice.
Um, apparently the high altitude through the mountains lends itself to heavy snow storms. Again, we are in the middle of nowhere, can't pull off, and can't turn around. Thomas is learning a few new words to add to his vocabulary. If we weren't desperate, I would have tossed him out the window at this point. 
After QUITE a long time, driving at very slow speeds, we finally found ourselves on a main roadway. Whew. Relief. As you can see, the skies have cleared and the sun is shining. It's smooth sailing home from here. At least it will be once we get back into Germany. 
Great. We get to Germany, and this is what was waiting for us. We'll start looking for a rest stop to pull off and wait out the storm. This is ridiculous. 
Mother nature would love the Swarovski Museum. She's whacked out as well. Is this weather crazy, or what? We've ended up in the Twighlight Zone. Nice wind turbines, though. The red tips looked really pretty against the CLEAR BLUE SKY. 
YEA, we have reached Belgium. I don't have a clue where we are, because none of these roads Tom's taking us down are familiar, but at least it's the right country. I just want to get home. It's been a long day. Love the windmill. 
Are you kidding me???? It's a ONE LANE/TWO WAY ROAD!!!!! Ugh!!!!!!! If we weren't minutes from home... 
Ahhhh. It's my canal. I'm feeling much better now. We'll be home in a minute. With the exception of this drive, our trip to Germany went really well. Russ had to work, but it was a fantastic TDY for me and the kids. (Of course, it was our only TDY, but who's counting.) Jess got violently sick and ingested nothing but saltine crackers and water for 2 days, but she's better now. Besides, she said it was the BEST DIET EVER! In all, it was a entertaining and educational trip. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, do so. I highly recommend it. Just don't take Thomas along!
Poor Jess was feeling a little better (but exhausted), so she decided to opt out of today's adventure. Russ was finally done with work, so we headed out to spend the day in Austria. We traveled through the Bavarian Alps and into Northern 
The first stop on today's tour was at 
You can't tour the actual plant, but they do have a museum open for tourists. The entrance is hidden behind this giant head made of hedges. His eyes were huge crystals, and they changed colors. The frozen fountain coming out of his mouth made it look like he must have caught the same virus Jess seems to have. This should have given me a hint as to what we would find inside... 
When you first enter the museum, there is a huge wall of 
Here's a close up of the wall. Very impressive! 
The crystal saddle set for the horse was pretty interesting, too. 
A crystal Christmas tree. Absolutely stunning. 
Closeup of a branch. The amount of crystals that went into making this tree were unbelievable. 
We really enjoyed the glass dome, too. It was like walking around in a giant crystal. Plus, when you stood in the middle and whispered, it was like talking into a microphone. You voice was reflected back at you so much louder. It was lots of fun to play around with. Other things in the museum were much stranger....
Disembodied legs tap danced around to some strange music, while two men holding hands across a round table (with no chairs) spun around quickly in a circle. A naked female 
I know that this is art, but I just don't get it. 
This is the 
OK, I definitely took a wrong turn somewhere. Is that lemon I keep smelling?
Wait a minute, it's lime scented now. Ugh! Where are all the darn crystals? And what's with this weird music that changes with each room? I think the 
Whew! I finally made it to the gift shop at the end. Then it 
The gift shop was very pretty, though, and I enjoyed walking around a little and checking everything out. This round bench is covered entirely with crystals, and costs thousands of euros. They encourage you to sit on it and try it out. I sat down for a second, and then carefully removed myself. (I don't know if they have the "you break it, you bought it" policy on the bench, but I wasn't taking any chances!) After a rejuvenating cup of 
Innsbruck is the Hapsburg capital of Tirol, and the home of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. You get a glimpse of the ski jumps while driving around the city. The newer part of the city is huge, but we were heading to the old part. This is the 
On the left end of the castle is the entrance arch. The Old City is surrounded by tall walls that protected the city. The old building were very detailed and 
The building on the left is a Best Western Hotel. It was beautiful. Go figure!
This view is back toward the arch through with we entered the Old City. 
From here, you can see the Old City Watchtower on the top right, the famous Golden Roof in the center, and the Alps in the background. You can also see the American Embassy on the right. (See the golden arches that mark the entrance?) 
This is one of the oldest Inns in Austria. 
When you go out another gate from the Old City, this is the view you get of the Alps. I could wake up to that every morning! After a delicious pizza lunch in the Old City, we got back on the bus and went to see the 
The 
The church is stunning inside. It's said to be one of the most beautiful churches in Northern Tirol. 
Our Lady Under the Four Columns.
Day 4 ended pretty badly for Jess. She either ate something that didn't agree with her, or was violently attacked by a vicious flu bug. Either way, she was down for the count. Poor Jess. Luckily, we had already planned on Day 5 to be a day of rest, so we ended up hanging out at the hotel. Jess stayed in bed, and Brandon and I took care of her and meandered around the hotel, just checking things out. This is the front of Edelweiss Lodge. 
Even the lodge had the tromp 
This painting was to the right of the entrance. There is another one just around the corner to the right. I suppose that the locals are bidding you "good journey" on your way home. Either that, or they are excited that the Glockenspiel is about to chime. No, wait. That's just us tourists. 
This is the view of the 
Here is the view from our balcony. I know. We had it pretty rough. Poor Jess did, at least. But if you have to be sick, it's nice to do it with a fantastic view. 
Wednesday. Another beautiful, snowy day in Bavaria. Once again, Russ is off to work, so the kids and I chose to check out 
On the walk from the parking lot up to the castle, you pass by this pretty little pond. I thought there were some statutes on it. On closer inspection...
I noticed that they were alive. The swans were patiently waiting for Spring. Poor swans. I'm not entirely sure that their rears weren't frozen to the surface. 
Once again, King Ludwig had great taste in locations for his castles. The views were spectacular. 
He had lots of gardens on the hillside behind the castle. These arches are entirely covered with leaves in the summer, making a nice cave-like walking path through the woods.
I admit I was a bit bummed that the fountains were all covered up for the winter. I would have loved to have seen the gilded statute of Neptune in the center of the pool. 
The castle was beautiful. It's the only one of Ludwig's castles that was actually completed. It's the smallest of all of them, too. Inside, there were wonderful things such as a hall of mirrors (Brandon's favorite room) as well as a huge bedroom with a beautiful blue canopied bed. Literally King-sized! Jess chose that one as her favorite. There were a pair of huge peacock statutes in the castle that the servants moved to each side of the entry when King Ludwig was in residence. The King was impressed with them, because he thought that showed how much his servants loved him when they moved them into the entry just for his arrival. In reality, it was a signal to the rest of the household to be careful and watch their behavior. If the swans were in the entry, then the King was around, so no joking around. If the peacocks weren't by the front doors, they could relax and have a good time, with no worries of the King catching them. 
These are the front doors to the castle. There are actually two sets of doors. The outer set if the black iron with gold accents, and the inner doors were solid wood. 
Another view of 
This is a tiny private chapel beside the castle. 
I loved these statute at the entry of the castle. The details were very realistic. The muscles and material were so perfectly carved. My favorite thing about them is how hard they are straining, trying to hold up the rest of the castle. Check out Guys #1 and #2. They are giving it their all. 
Guy #3 is straining to hold it all up, but he's starting to have his doubts. Guy #4, on the other hand, seems to be taking a coffee break. You can practically hear him thinking, "Man, I've really got to get a better job. This stinks! What on earth am I doing here?"
My question is this...what good is a helmet going to do if he's wearing a dress??? Nice legs, though.
After touring 
The back of the theater is open to the heavens. After all, He does get the best seat in the house. It's His play. 
The town of 
Some paintings are religious, 
