Monday, August 25, 2008
Mission Officially Over
We received our release from our mission from Bill Nixon, Stake President of the Mount Vernon Stake on Sunday, 24 August. He read us a very nice letter from President Gasser, thanking us for our work in the mission office. We met many friends from our prior residence in Alexandria. We were especially happy to meet with some of the people we home taught who welcomed us into their homes again. While we were standing outside the King Street Chapel, we met young Br. Szamosfalvi and his new bride. Br. Szamosfalvi is the son of Branch President Szamosfalvi of Miskolc, Hungary. It truly is a small world.
The gardens at Nymphenburg, Ludwig's family home.Ludwig's coronation coach, the larger of two gold plated rolling extravaganzas.
If some gold and ornamentation was good, more was better, and too much was just right for King Ludwig.
The weather finally turned nice, Saturday afternoon.
The dining area of the Victualien Market in Munich
More pictures from our final trip through Europe
Pictures from the Linderhof castle
Ludwig and Sissy kitch
A Swiss Army knife that has no practical application.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Heidelberg to Neuschwanstein
The legendary King Ludwig II of Bavaria built his fantasy castle called Neuschweinstein to attract Richard Wagner, the composer to visit. Wagner and Ludwig both died before that visit could be accomplished.There is no view point where the Neuschwanstein castle does not make a good photo.
Paragliders soared above the castle like giant vultures on colorful wings.
Ludwig's parents had a castle, Hohenschwangau, just down the hill from Neuenschwanstein.
The people of Bavaria complained about Ludwig's extravagance in building his fantasy castles. Each year these castles probably bring in their initial building costs in tourist entrance fees.
We camped at the scenic Haide campgrounds on the banks of the Nekar River just outside Ziegelhausen near Heidelberg. Unfortunately, this same campground was used by youth tour groups who came in big buses. On our second night there, the young people apparently wanted to replicate the high-jinks seen in Spring Break movies and caused quite a commotion until early morning. The weather was uniformly cool and wet during this portion of our trip.
Our old neighborhood in Bonames.
The view from the end of Heinrich Berbalk Strasse to the Frankfurt city skyline. When we lived there only the Heiniken Tower and the TV tower could be seen above the trees.
Our old front door.
Walking out to see the pigs in the Oftersheim forest.
What it really means to live like a pig.
Moving on from Prague to Dresden
We slept above the stable in Prague.
Fox Auto Rent van that we used and can highly recommend for travelers with families.
The rebuilt cathedral at Dresden.
One of the surviving pieces of Communist era artwork.
The Dresden opera.
More pictues from Prague
The real Ironman
Narrow streets are common
The castle and the Karl bridge
The artistic stone work is impressive and can be found everywhere.
This is not a Holocaust memorial but sure looked like one from the distance.
Traveling outside of Hungary
We left Budapest on 8 August on our way to Prague. We stayed in the guest house above the stables at Camp Darsus outside of Prague. We can highly recommend it. The camp restaurant is open for breakfast and supper. The food is great and cheap.
We hiked across the fields to the local shopping center.
Rose appreciated her rain coat.
Prague has many spires.
The tourist carriages came with their tops up.
Even the statues were feeling a bit cold and wet.
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