Its almost November?!?

Hohenschwangau

Things have started to settle down a little around school and Salzburg as we all get a bit more settled in the routine of the school week and weekend adventures.  Earlier in the month I traveled with the girls volleyball team to Budapest for a 4 game round robin tournament to act as the fill-in coach.  We had a great day, despite the fact that I've never played organized volleyball, and the girls won all four games and even said I knew exactly what to say at all the timeouts and team chats!  I guess those beach volleyball leagues in the 'Saw paid off for something.  It seemed like the longest 30 hours I ever spent traveling somewhere.  We departed after school, got stuck in a 2.5 hr traffic jam outside of Vienna and checked into our seemingly creepy, rustic hotel sometime after 1 am.  When we got moving early the next morning we were pleasantly surprised that the cabins were surrounded by the gorgeous hills and early fall colors just outside Budapest.   We played our 4 games, hopped on the bus, picked up the boys soccer team, and headed back to Salzburg. What was left of the weekend, Sunday, was spent on serious relaxation and recover.


Two weeks ago another St. Jude friend, Brian, was visiting Munich.  I met him on the train and we traveled to Füssen to visit the castles Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.  It was the coldest and rainiest day I think I've had here, but it was gorgeous anyway.  The colors of the trees were at their peak and we even got to try the first tastings of glühwein this season!  The castles were very impressive, especially Neuschwanstein that was only lived in for 172 days before the King died, and was not completely finished.  It did however have its own replica grotto built just outside the King's chambers as a tribute to the grotto of Venus, atleast I think its Venus.  By definition, I think this would be classified as extravagant!  It was a great day trip, only 4 hrs from Salzburg on the train one way;)  We had just enough time to walk around the streets of Füssen to find a nice local place for dinner.  It was the best Jaeger Schnitzel I've had!

Glühwein

Last week was fall break for the school, so after turning in midterm grades the kids headed off to Paris and I flew back to the States.  It was an unexpected trip, but my Gramma Virginia gave us a bit of a scare with some pretty serious Pneumonia so it seemed like the right decision.  It was nice to be home for a few days, amazingly saw a lot of family, enjoyed seeing the pup, and even got some good ole American shopping mall time in with Kelly!   The readjustment has been a bit hard this week as I've gone from a 10 pm bedtime to now after midnight!!  I was greeted by the first snow of the season on Monday while taking the train back from the airport.  I woke up from my nap and thought I was still dreaming since the fields were completely white!  It looked like a wonderland, but quickly dissipated as I got closer to the city.  Monday night we had beautiful white puffy (and wet) flakes but by today its back into the low 60s, which is unseasonable.  The weather seems a bit like the MIdwest!  The mountains are getting snow though, and its there to stay. Ski season and the Advent Markets are just around the corner and I can't wait!!

Neuschwanstein

Cousins in Ohio

View out my bedroom window!