10 Days and Counting

It's getting so close! We've been doing a lot of prep work lately. This includes shopping for clothes, finishing the binder, and starting our packing lists. Below are pictures of the binder I made with information about everything (yes, go ahead and laugh, I know I can be a little OCD with stuff like this):

Less than 2 Weeks to Go!!!

So today my mom and I worked on getting our travel binder together. I am in charge of organizing it- which may be dangerous because I can be kind of obsessive with stuff like that! Looking up the places we were going to go made the trip seem even more exciting! The following is our itinerary so far:


July 8: My mom, James, and I arrive in Germany.

July 17: My dad arrives in Germany.

July 18: Day Trip to Buchenwald

July 19: Strasbourg (FRANCE!). Staying at the Hotel Relais du Ried Colmar

July 20: Colmar, Triberg Waterfalls, Titisee, Ravennaschlucht, Freiburg, Höllental, and Buchenbach. Also going to see Juergen's son Tobias.

July 21: Buchenbach, Bodensee, Meersburg, Lindau, Neuschwanstein, and Schwangau. Staying in the Hotel Helmerhof.

July 22: Füssen, Garmisch, Schachen, Partnachklamm, and Reutte (AUSTRIA!). Riding in a horse-drawn carriage and hiking up to a mountain hut for the night.

July 23: Garmisch, Rothenburg, and the Castle Linderhof.

July 24: Barbecue with neighbors in Freigericht.

July 25: River Rhine and Kelkheim.

July 26: Gang Car and Barefoot Path on the River Nahe.

July 27: Mittenberg, Abbey Engelberg, and possibly a boat trip on the River Main.

July 29: TO ICELAND!!!

July 31: Blue Laguna, Viking Village, and the Arbaer Museum Reykjavik.

August 1: South Iceland and the Grand Geyser. 

August 2: Fly to Minneapolis.

August 3: Fly to K.C.

So many things to do! Can't wait!

The Story Behind The Trip

This first blog post is going to be a test run as well as give you some background on our Germany trip.

Two years ago (summer of 2008), my family and I were vacationing in Switzerland- visiting some friends from K.C. who had moved there. We were staying with them for the whole trip, so to give everyone a break in the middle of our main trip, we took a side trip to Lake Como in Italy. 

 
While we were eating gelato in this square in Menaggio, where we were staying, we saw a family with a dog, and my dad and brother wanted to pet it. Turns out the dog, who we now know as Bonnie, didn't like them very much, but we started a conversation with her owners. They were a German family from the town of Freigericht (near Frankfurt); Juergen,Edith, and Sascha. We talked with them for a couple hours and exchanged contact information. 

Throughout the next year, we kept in touch with them through Skype calls and emails. Last summer (2009), they came to the U.S. for the first time to visit us. We toured K.C. and St. Louis and then headed to the Southwest for Bryce, Grand Canyon, Zion, and Las Vegas. We then flew home and they spent their last week in San Francisco.

It was an amazing trip and we continued to keep in touch afterwards. They extended an invitation for us to come to Germany to visit them- so that's what we're doing this summer! In April, my mom and I got the chance to see them in New York City- to celebrate Juergen's 60th birthday, and we can't wait to go to Germany and see them again!