A Few of My Favorite Things

Whenever I'm in the Alps (both times) I've had the urge to spin and sing The Hills are Alive. I mean....really. It is an awesome place. Were I to actually do this, however, the hills would groan and crumble, windows would break, goats would bolt, cows would have no milk for months, and I most likely would be added to the list of persona non grata. If there were such a thing. If there isn't, one would be created.

So instead, I'm going list here my TOP 5 favorite things about our trip. Tomorrow, Rudy will list his.

1. The boys and their pretending and even their fighting. Star Wars, up dog, How to Train Your Dragon, Get Smart (the old TV series!), snuggles, boobies. All of it.

2. Partnach Gorge outside of Garmisch was awesome. I posted picts earlier. But one thing that was amazing to me was coming out of the tunnel on the hike up through the gorge to find dozens and dozens of stacked rocks. I know there is a word for them. Someone suggested prayer stone stacks. I'm not sure, but to me it was a magical site!

3. Cow and goat bells. Yes, I'm dingy. The first night in the Alps Cuddle Buns and I sat outside of our room admiring the mountains we could barely make out in the dark. There were bells ringing. Not like church bells. More tin-y than chimes. Then, as we hiked up one of the slopes to a lake nestled above us, we heard goats. They had bells. And then cows. They had bells. In the morning and again in the evening, the sound of bells could be heard from our room. Loved it.

4. Heidelberg. I just love it. The castle and it's history. But the little town itself, too. Sitting in the little outdoor cafe eating ice cream while the other adults had beers, watching the "tourists" and the locals and the boys run around the fountain.

5. Our host and hostess. For putting up with my kleenex and knitting and Cuddle Bun's Mario Kart and beer drinking. For taking Cuddle Buns to Oktoberfest and letting me swim all day with the boys. For showing us everything but Neuschwanstein Castle. : )

(This isn't a picture of their apartment. It is at Heidelberg Castle. Their apartment has about as many steps as does the castle, but they have plumbing.)