The Hills Are Alive....

With Larry, Charmen and Cathleen. Yes, that's right. Lar joined in on the European fun on October 5th and we had a tremendous time touring Austria and Switzerland together for two weeks.

However, before venturing south of the German border, we did make a mid-day stop to the charming medieval town of Rothenburg.

After touring around and grabbing lunch, we continued our journey south to Salzburg. Our first day, we took a tour of Hitler's Eagle's Nest, in the town of Bertchesgaden, Germany, near Salzburg.

Surprisingly, there isn't much there, other than the one building at the top that was built for Hitler by his Nazi party as a gift. He actually only went there a handful of times, but to get to the top is quite impressive. You have to walk through a long tunnel and ride a brass elevator to the top.

Once back in Salzburg, the sun was shining and we walked through the beautiful Mirabel Gardens.

The following day, Lar and Charm did the Sound of Music tour. They were able to visit the famous gazebo (during song, "You are Sixteen, Going on Seventeen"), the house used in the film and the church where Maria got married.

View of the fortress and Salzburg's old city.

Salzburg's old city.

After two days in Salzburg, we traveled an hour south to Hallstatt, in Austria's Salzkammergut Lake district. This adorable village nestled into the hillside, sits along a gorgeous and peaceful lake.

We had a wonderful and very relaxing overnight stay in this quiet and quaint setting.

Next, we were off to the western part of Austria, to Innsbruck. Here, we met our friends, Al and Cristina, who joined us from Italy for two days. Most of our time consisted of visiting restaurants adn experiencing Austrian cuisine. One morning we did trek to a palace on the edge of town that was frequented by the Hapsburgs during summers. There were beautiful gardens surrounding the palace.

We also visited the neighboring village of Hall. The old town is actually larger than Innsbruck's and we enjoyed listening to an oompah band while having coffee in the market square.

After Austria, we headed to the Black Forest of Germany where Lar and Charm participated in a mission trip with their church for several days. Afterward, we enjoyed one final weekend together in Lucerne, Switzerland.

We had a lovely time walking around this beautiful old city alongside a lake with the Alps in the distance. The Chapel Bridge is beautiful as it snakes across the lake from one side of the city to the other.

We took a sunset boat cruise on the lake.

The following day, we trekked to the top of Mt. Pilatus, which towers over Lucerne. To get to the top, we rode the steepest cogwheel train in the world. Luckily, it was a clear, sunny day and the views were magnificent.

We had the best time together and I feel so lucky that I can have so much fun with my parents. They truly are two of the most remarkable people I know and I can't wait for many more traveling adventures ahead!