`Today we went to Herrenchiemsee the third and last of the castles build by Ludwig II.  It was built on an island in the middle of a large lake and is modeled on Versailles. It is another castle where photography is banned on the inside so I do not have many pictures of it, though I did sneak a few as we walked around.  I did get scolded by the tour guide for the tour after us when she caught be taking a picture after our tour had moved on.

After the castle we went to our first Christmas market in the city of Bad Toelz.  Apparently having Bad in the city name indicates it has some sort of healt benefit in the city.  In the case of Bad Toelz it has iodine in the water which is supposed to be healthy for you.


The outside of Herrenshiemsee. 


A picture I snook of the kings bed and the back of Gavin’s head.


The Christmas market in Bad Toltz


The live music at the market


While we were there we tried Gluhwein, which is a traditional Christmas drink that is mulled (heated) wine with spices.  The boys had non-alcoholic kinderpunsch.  In the middle you can see our snowball, which as far as we can tell is a giant ball of baked sugar cookie dough with powdered sugar on it.


More pictures of the Christmas market


After the market we went for a traditional Bavarian dinner, which apparently means huge portions.  Desert was something like a huge funnel cake.  


On the boat going to the castle on the island.

Today we saw Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles.  Neuschwanstein is the famous castle built by Ludwig II that Walt Disney used as the basis for the castle in Disneyland.  It was the first castle that Ludwig the 2nd build.  Hohenschwangau is right next to it and is the castle build by Ludwig’s dad Maximillian where Ludwig grew up.  Neither castle allowed picture taking inside :(. I have a couple of pictures I sneaked on my phone  but that’s it. The rest are all outside shots. 

Outside of Neuschwanstein castle.  

A shot from inside the castle that I snuck on my phone.  

A shot from inside the castle looking out.  Unfortunately they had the balcony closed due to ice.  

Another shot of the outside of the castle. 

A shot of the mountains surrounding the castle. 

Another shot of the outside of the castle. 


An outside shot of Hohenschwangau castle. 

Well we made it to Germany.  We had to leave for the airport right after the kids got out of school.  Our plane took off at 7pm and 16 hours (including a 4 hour layover in London) later we were in Munich.  It was a really long day but thanks to air miles, at least the LAX to London part was in business class, so it was a lot more comfortable than normal.  Unfortinaly our trip back is in economy, which is going to suck.

Our tour picked us up from Munich airport on Sunday morning and took us to the Landhaus Kossel where we are staying for our week here.  That afternoon we went to a Christmas concert in a church built in the 1400s and then to dinner at a fish house.  Our tour is just us and an older couple from Austrialia, Max and Hillary.  Max is an interesting fellow with a lot of strong opinions about stuff.

One thing that has been really odd for us is that sunrise it right about 7:50am and sunset 4:30.  Getting up in the pitch dark is kinda weird when it isn’t that early.

Gavin in his seat on the airplane

Tristan supervising his brother on the plane. 

Tristan watching Brenda on the plane. 

This is a shot out the window from the Munich airport at 7:45am.

Walking through Fussen to the concert.

Another shot of the town walking to the concert.  

The church where the concert was held. 

A shot of the choir at the concert. 


The little town we are staying in after the concert. 

I figured I would post some post some pictures of the dogs from over the years. We brought them home a little over 3 years ago now. Now, in no particular order, Max and Dori.

Their first day at the house, back when Max was known as "Mack"

Their first day at the house, back when Max was known as “Mack”. Max is on the left, Dori on the right,

Dory in the backyard on her first day with us

Dori in the backyard on her first day with us

Dory on her first day again

Dori on her first day again

Dori wearing sunglasses

Dori wearing sunglasses

Dori on the bed

Dori on the bed

Dogs getting treats

Dogs getting treats

Dogs on Mother's Day

Dogs on Mother’s Day

Max laying down near Tristan's desk

Max laying down near Tristan’s desk

Max in the cone of shame

Max in the cone of shame

Dori in the cone of shame

Dori in the cone of shame

Dogs going on a walk, not fully grown yet

Dogs going on a walk, not fully grown yet

Max wearing sunglasses

Max wearing sunglasses

 

Tristan was on the Pony Met’s this season and his team finished 1st with a final record of 14-5-1.  The Olive league only had 2 Pony teams so they played interleague with Santa Ana Pony, Irvine Pony, and Garden Grove Pony.  Tristan mostly played Left Field, Right Field and Second Base.

On third base

On third base

fielding at 2nd.

fielding at 2nd.

up to bat

up to bat

Talking with the coach

Talking with the coach

batting again

batting again

throwing

throwing

playing second base

playing second base

Up to bat

Up to bat

Gavin has officially bridged from cubscouts to boyscouts. He is now in the Bulldog patrol in troop 525.

Gavin with his new scout leader at the bridging cerimony

Gavin with his new scout leader at the bridging ceremony

Gavin in his new uniform

Gavin in his new uniform

Gavin's official welcome in his new troop

Gavin’s official welcome in his new troop

Gavin’s troop went to Fairhaven cemetery to put flags on all the graves of servicemen for Memorial day.

Gavin is thrilled to be out on a Saturday morning

Gavin is thrilled to be out on a Saturday morning

Gavin's troop at Fairhaven cemetery

Gavin’s troop at Fairhaven cemetery

Gavin’s school had a year end festival. They had a Karaoke stand and Gavin tried it and decided he liked it. I videoed a couple, which I now present to you in all his karaoke glory!

We Will Rock You by Queen

Gangnam Style by Psy

Tristan’s 6th grade class put on Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’ play and Tristan played Bottom.  Bottom is what was termed a ‘rude mechanical’ basically a group of common people who are not too bright and are in the play to provide humor.  In this play Bottom is the head of a small group of men who are going to do a play for the local ruler.  Puck (a farie) sees them practicing in the forest and decides to give Bottom a donkey’s head. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Midsummer_Night%27s_Dream#Plot (click if you want a longer explanation of the story).