Ludwigsburg

Wednesday we went to Ludwigsburg Palace and went on the English tour.  Afterwards we had lunch (donner wraps) and Spaghetti Ice (Spaghetti Ice is a concoction with a whipped cream base, vanilla ice cream pressed out into spaghetti strands, with strawberry sauce and white chocolate flakes.  VERY DELICIOUS!  Especially made with smooth, creamy Italian ice cream).

Some interesting facts: The palace was built starting in 1718 as a home for Duke Ludwig's mistress, but he moved into the palace with her, leaving his wife in the old palace.

After late 1800s it wasn't lived in, that's why so much of it is still intact and in good shape.  Of course the big cammoflague nets they covered the palace with during WWII didn't hurt, either.

The last resident, a queen, lived there after her husband died and her son moved elsewhere.  Paralyzed after a horse accident, she was housebound (or palace bound) for the next 11 years until she died.  All the furniture in one of the rooms are elaborately embroidered - some of her work during the last years of her life.

There aren't hallways, the rooms all go from one to the next.

It has Baroque, Rococo, Classicism and Empire styles throughout.

This horse is outside in the main courtyard of the Palace.

Andrew, Shelly & Jess in the courtyard at Ludwigsburg Palace.

Some of the rooms inside the palace.

Watching the magic happen as they plant the gardens outside (view through the window).

Andrew & Jess eating Spaghetti Ice.

Amsterdam

We drove to Amsterdam, had dinner (Argentinian steaks), walked around downtown a little, and sent Brad and the dogs off on a plane to Dallas.  It was so much easier for him to leave than it was when the dogs came here.  I guess Brad had some problem with the customs in the states - they didn't want to accept the 3 year rabies shot, which the dogs got in the states, because of a new rule.  Brad was able to talk them into accepting it - being nice, Texas and military orders all worked in his favor.

On the drive to Amsterdam we had a full van - the van we'd rented to take us around town.  The back space was filled with dog kennels and our bags, and the dogs were split between the back two seats.  Bow laid on the floor at mine and Jessica's feet, keeping our toes toasty warm, while Cruiser sat up on the seat between Shelly and Andrew, keeping his eye on the drive.  Both dogs behaved great, staying still and quiet for the drive, they sure are good travelers.

The next morning, after seeing Brad off early in the morning, we drove around Amsterdam.  One thing we all noticed is that bikes are just as dominant as the pedestrians and cars as means of transportation.  They have whole bike lanes with their own bike traffic lights, bike parking lots, bike garages, and INSANE bike riders.  You have to drive slow and stay ready to hit the breaks in Amsterdam.

The architecture is very modern, with historic buildings in downtown and canals all over the place.  I'm going to be back there in a week to pick up Brad, and we're going to see some sites, but here's some pictures of our venture.  And yes - there are windmills!

Strasbourg, France

We woke up this morning early, planning a drive out to Neuschwanstein Castle, but the below freezing weather and long drive deterred us.  Instead, we headed to Strasbourg France.  Strasbourg is a city on the Germany - France border; throughout it's history this city has changed hands back and forth several times.  We took the long route to get there, driving through the Black Forest, seeing picturesque German towns, with the goal of visiting another castle en route - the Hohenbaden Castle.  Unfortunately, the mile walk in the freezing weather was a deterrent so we never walked around the grounds.  This castle was built in the 1100's and has been ruins since the 1400's.  We were able to look at it from a distance and enjoy the view.

Arriving in Strasbourg we parked and then walked around.  Seeing that the river boat tours were still running, we bought tickets for the next trip and went and got lunch in the hour beforehand, the restaurant is shown here.  The men had pizza and the women pasta at a little Italian restaurant.  We really got a good overview of the city on the river tour, a 70 minute route around the city including views of the European Union headquarters, the churches, traditional German wood and stucco buildings and French buildings with ornate balconies.  There was a large variety of bridges and even a couple lochs we went through, enjoying the heated enclosed boat ride.

After the boat tour, we walked around doing some shopping and ending up at the Strasbourg Cathedral - also known as Cathedral of Notre Dame.  This beautiful cathedral was first built in 1015, was burnt down during the 1100's and rebuilt.  The gorgeous stained glass windows are known are some of the oldest known stained glass, dating from the 12th and 13th century.  When it was built, it was the tallest cathedral in the world, maintaining that status for four centuries; now it's the fourth tallest.  One of the most interesting things inside is a elaborate mechanical clock that maps the stars.

Then we walked around more shopping and ended with some coffee and cheesecake before heading home.

Waiting for the boat.

In an alley.  The building on the right leans in.  The building on the left is tiered with each floor extending further out than the one below it.

This was taken in the large open area outside the Cathedral.  Fascinating is the architecture on the brown restaurant second from the right in the frame.  The place we ate desert is the building back behind (the third building from the right).

Here are pictures of the Cathedral:

Brad, me & Andrew.  This shows the scale of the Cathedral, most of which isn't captured in the frame of this picture.

Against the Cathedral wall outside.

Stained Glass windows

This memorial is engraved on the wall inside the Cathedral.

The front doors to the Strasbourg Cathedral.

The mechanical astronomy clock in the Cathedral.

Hohenzollern

This afternoon, after Brad and Mark rented a van for us for the rest of the week -- a 9 passenger Opal van that takes the same parking space size as a car -- pictured here.  Able to get us all into a vehicle finally, since there was no way the six of us were going to fit into my five person Passat, we headed out to Hohenzollern castle to see our second castle of the week.  Brad and I've been there before so with the tour book telling us the hours were 10:00 - 4:30, we thought we had it covered.

Arriving a Hohenzollern, we drove up to the visitor parking lot - not a car to be seen, the tourist shop isn't open, snow covers the parking lot.  I was thinking that our plan had completely backfired.  But, since we were there, we thought we'd at least give it a try and hike up to the base of the castle and take some pictures.  The stairs were closed, and covered with snow, so we walked along the winding road.  A car drives down, and I get that nervous feeling in my stomach that they are going to stop and tell us we're trespassing since the Castle (or Burg in German) is closed.  Car drives by us.  Since I know people work at the castle, I figure that's who's coming by.    Keep hiking, breaking a sweat since it's a 100 m height increase in a mile of walking.  Next car approaches - nervous again I wait - nothing.  When the third car passes - A TAXI - I'm thinking - this could be fine.  We get to the base of the castle, the drawbridge is open but the place we've always paid to enter is closed and locked.  Since the gate is open, we keep going.  Next car...nothing...

Finally we're in the castle courtyard, freezing our butts off in spite of the hike up to the top.  Nothing is open - until we go into the area where the tourist store is - and it's OPEN!  Yay!  Maybe we're not trespassing after all!!!  We head into a new area, where a woman comes out.  When asked, she tells us it is still open, and yes, there's a tour in 20 minutes if we'd like.  Since us and 4 students were the only tourists, and we were all english speakers, we got an English tour.  It was great, since we've been here three times and never understood the guide.  I learned new things - the dress in the treasure room is covered in 20 lbs of silver thread, and was worn by the queen when talking terms with Napoleon.  The current king still owns the castle, though he's 33 years old.  Earthquakes affect the castle, the last one causing $18,000,000 in damages, and other interesting facts.  Altogether, our bravery in hiking up disregarding the below freezing weather and long hike, was time well spent.  Here's some pictures of our day for you to enjoy.