Thursday, May 23, 2013

Switzerland

The Alps in Switzerland are possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Mark rented a loft for us to stay in that had a perfect view of the mountains from our bedroom window. Even though we did not do very much while we were in Grindelwald since Mark's knee was hurt (and everything was VERY expensive), we did enjoy taking the bus through the valley, walking around our little town and to the grocery store, and looking at the mountains from our front porch and window. This was the most relaxing stretch of our trip.
 



We only went out to dinner once during our stay to try a tradition Swiss meal-- hash-browns, eggs, Swiss cheese, and sausage. 



The loft we stayed in was part of a 200 year old house. The couple we rented from was very sweet and even got us a free bus card and personally drove us to and from the train station. 

The first day we were in Switzerland we saw this outside of our bedroom window after a light rain.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

English Garden pictures, Munich

Here are some pictures from our day at the English Gardens in Munich.






Naked man in the park!


Taking a nap







Munich

We arrived in Munich yesterday around noon via train. We grabbed a sandwich at the train station, packed our luggage into a locker, and headed straight to the Dachau concentration camp memorial.

We spent over three hours at Dachau walking around and reflecting at the memorial, watching videos, and listening to our audio guide. It was a very enlightening and heavy experience.There were several journal entries from prisoners posted around the sight that were very difficult to read. I often found myself amazed at the hope, courage, and sense of justice present in the letters as the prisoners wrote about caring for other inmates, honoring and encouraging one another, and praying. Mark and I had an interesting conversation during our bus ride back about the similarities between Dachau and the present day holocaust with the unborn happening around the world today.

It was cold and cloudy all day which seemed fitting.

Today we spent most of the day at the English Gardens in Munich. Tomorrow we leave for Switzerland.

If you would like to see more pictures check out Mark's Facebook page. I've been having a hard time getting my phone to post pictures.

Peace and Love, 
Cortney 





Work Makes (You) Free



Jewish Memorial




Bath House

Gas Chamber

Bath House







Pistol Range































Friday, May 17, 2013

Salzburg, Austria

We arrived in Salzburg around noon today and walked to our hostel from the train station. We tried to take it easy today because Mark's knee is still hurt. We did get to take a bus tour around town and also went for a short walk. We were able to get a bag of ice at our hostel for Mark's knee and he iced it while we sat out on the terrace and watched the sun set over the Alps. He's going to continue to ice it tonight, though he is already feeling much better.


View from our hostel window


The pond from The Sound of Music

Mozart Chocolate


Forever locks




























Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Vienna Day Three


We started off today by having breakfast at a coffee shop near our apartment. Vienna is know for its coffee shops, so we decided to check one out. Neither of us had coffee, but our orange juice and pastries were delicious.

After breakfast we visited St. Stephens and then St. Charles across town. St. Charles had a huge lift and ugly staircase right in the middle if the church. We though that it was in there because they were doing repairs at first, but later realized that it is in there for tourists who wish to see the top of the church. We climbed to the top but it wasn't very impressive. I would have preferred to see the beautiful cathedral without the lift. So far the churches here have been a little disappointing. We stop by a small Jesuit church by our apartment later in the afternoon that was very beautiful. There was someone playing the organ while we were there so that made the visit even more enjoyable.

On our way home Mark twisted his knee trying to dodge a bicycle, so we tried to take it easy the rest of the day. We went back to our apartment and planned the rest of our trip-- 1 day in Salzburg, 2 days in Munich, 3 days in Switzerland, 5 days in Paris. 

We ate at an Australian restaurant for dinner (the Austrian place we wanted to eat at was packed) and then had dessert at a coffee shop--hot chocolate and apple strudel. 

We will catch a train to Salzburg in the morning. 

Breakfast-




St. Stephen's-



St. Charles-



Jesuit Church-





Dessert!-