Wow... ten days go so quickly when you are having fun! Sean arrived safely last Friday, the 16th. I was so excited and nervous at the same time to see him... it had been nearly 8 weeks. Being me, of course I got to the airport 30 minutes early, and waited with anticipation to see the man I love. I stood at the window for what seemed like an eternity, waiting to see the face that I miss so much. Somehow, despite my attention, I missed Sean coming through the baggage claim, and so, when I felt a hand on my shoulder, I was a bit startled. Then, I turned around, and there he was! Tears came to my eyes immediately - tears of happiness, of course! I put my hand in his, and it was the best feeling in the world. Ten days of being together! :)
For the first day and the next, Sean needed a little time to get adjusted (it's a 9 hour time difference to Portland, so his day pretty much got turned upside down), so we laid pretty low. Sean helped me get settled in to my apartment - first going to Ikea to get a few pieces of furniture and then to a "Best Buy"ish store for a new TV (the one I had was about the size of my computer monitor!). I'm happy to say that with Sean's help, my apartment is almost, almost done! I'll post pictures in a few days after I put the final touches on.
Sunday morning, we got up and began our adventure through Germany. We drove the whole time (okay, I should say that Sean drove - we get along better that way!). I think that driving on the Autobahn through Germany had to have been a highlight for Sean - there is really no speed limit, so at times we were going over 100 MPH! Our first stop was Cologne, which was largely a disappointment. A good portion of the city was bomed during WWII, and, rather than restore the original charm, the city was just rebuilt quickly so the citizens could try to get on with their lives. One highlight, however, was the beautiful cathedral, which was largely un-harmed. Here are a few pictures from Cologne:
Sean and I relaxing on a bench while we watch ships and trains along the Rhine
The Cologne Cathedral, in Gothic Style
Our First Beers
The Chocolate Museum - Guess who's idea this was? :)
That evening, we attended a wine festival showcasing German wines - it was fun, and we got pretty silly!
The next morning, we woke up and hit the road for the next leg of our tour. Sean and I decided mid-route that we'd like to take a cruise down the Rhine to see some of the famous castles. We took a 2 hour round trip tour, which was pretty cool.
Sean and I on the deck of our cruise ship - it was freezing, so we went inside right after this!
Bacharach, Germany
After this relaxing break, we drove to our endpoint, Rothenburg. This town was absolutely adorable - exactly what you think of when you think of Germany. It was a medieval town, with a wall built around it to protect from outsiders. The wall still exists, and the town was relatively unharmed during the war. Sean and I took a tour (with the "Night Watchman" - very entertaining!), and the tour guide told us that the reason that this city was left alone was because the person leading the US Army through this part of Germany was from a family that had a painting of Rothenburg in their Manhattan apartment. When the man remembered how fondly his mother spoke of Rothenburg, he decided not to bomb it, but just to use it as a base for US troops. Not sure if this is true or not, but I'll say that this town was one of the few that we went to that looked so old.
Anyways, when we arrived, we went to the Crime and Punishment Musuem, which showcases all different kinds of instruments that used to be use to torture people who did "wrong" back in the day (and, trust me, we would have ALL been tortured - there were torture devices for things as small as falling asleep in church!).
Sean at the Crime and Punishment Museum
A Chastity Belt at the Crime and Punishment Museum
The key feature of the town is definitely the wall that circles the whole thing, which guests are allowed to climb and walk around. It was pretty cool to get to be up that high and look out over the city.
Sean on the Wall
Tuesday morning, we took the scenic route from Rothenburg to Munich. There was quite a bit of beautiful scenery - rolling hills and quaint towns - along the way. Our first stop in Munich was a huge highlight for both Sean and I - we took a tour of the BMW Factory. I loved it because of my background with manufacturing, and Sean loved it because he loves BMW. We were both totally blown away by the process - 900 cars are made at this factory each day, and there are 600 robots that do everything automatically. It was almost like watching something from a sci-fi movie - very eery! The 3-series sedans and wagons were being made at this particular factory, and it was amazing - they weren't making them in batches, there would be one or two sedans, then a wagon, etc, etc. The machines all new exactly what to do to make sure that the right parts came together. Okay, enough about that! :)
BMW Welt Building (kind of a showroom, which is brand new as of this year)
Sean with the BMW Headquarters
Tuesday night was our one-year anniversary. We got all dressed up, then went to an Italian restaurant. It was kind of a surreal feeling, being at a very authentic Italian restaurant (they were speaking Italian) in Germany, with my American boyfriend. I was a little confused about exactly WHERE the heck I was. Our dinner was wonderful, and having Sean's company warmed me from the inside out. (please stop rolling your eyes... you know I'm a romantic sap!)
Wednesday, we drove to Dachau, which is about 30 minutes away, to visit the concentration camp memorial that is there. The Holocaust has been something I've been interested in since I was a little girl, so having the chance to visit a concentration camp was something I was pretty interested in. It was pretty sobering - Sean and I walked in on the same walkway as hundreds of thousands - some that came out, and many that didn't. We walked around the camp, and also watched a 20 minute movie about what happened, and how the camp was finally liberated. I feel like I learned so much... One thing that I always asked myself when I'd hear about things that happened during the Holocaust was "How could this have happened?". Going to the memorial gave me a little more insight... Hitler was able to inspire men that were downtrodden from losing WWI. He gave them hope and was confident when they were not. He was able to earn their trust, and then warp their minds. It's very scary how powerful one person could be.
The Road leading up to Dachau
The words on the Entrance, which mean "Through Work You Can Be Free"
The Dachau Memorial
After that sad morning, we decided we needed to do something pretty light that evening, so we went to the Hofbrauhaus, which is one of the most famous, if not THE most famous, beer halls in the world. Beer only comes in one liter glasses, and we both drank two (yes, that's like a 2-liter bottle of soda - I was freaking hammered!) We had a great time joking around, and we met some interesting folks from all over the world.
Beer Number One
Someone is looking awfully happy...
Thursday morning, thankfully we were not too hung over, and we drove about two hours to the town of Fussen, where the castles of "Mad" King Ludwig are. We toured both of them. The first one, Hohenschwangau was the boyhood home of King Ludwig. The second one, Neuschwanstein, was the castle that Ludwig designed and had built for himself. Unfortunately, he only got to live in it for about 180 days. When you see it, it might look familiar, because it's the castle that Disney modeled Cinderella's castle after. It was spectacular inside!
Hohenschwangau
Me with Neuschwanstein
Castle, check. Prince Charming, double check.
After the castles, Sean got a bit of a wild hair up his ass and decided that since we were SO CLOSE to Switzerland (about 3 hours), we should drive to Zurich to see that city. And, so we did. We just checked out the city, walked around a bit, and then decided to find dinner. Holy smokes - this has to bee one of the most expensive cities I have ever been to! Our "cafe" dinner was nearly $100! We didn't even have drinks! We definitely think this is a place we'd like to come back to at some point or another, but, unfortunately, we had reservations back in Germany that evening, so we had to drive to the resort town of Baden-Baden (which , unfortunately, was 3 hours away, and we didn't get started until nearly 8 - that was a LONG DAY!)
Swiss Celebration!
After getting a tongue lashing from the inn keeper for showing up so late (I seriously wanted to punch the guy), Sean and I finally hit the hay. Baden-Baden (which means "Bath-Bath" in German) is known for its casino and for its bathhouses. Sean and I went to one of the bathhouses (the one where you keep your clothes on - the other one was nude - hey, it's Europe!) on Friday morning, and really, really enjoyed it. I have to say, I think we were the youngest people there, but, it was a super relaxing way to end our trip. We drove about 6 hours back to Amsterdam, and called it a day!
The past few days were kind of just "normal" for Sean and I. We did things like we used to do in Portland... making breakfast together, enjoying dinners out, and just BEING. It was so nice to just be with someone who knows me so well, that I can be 100% "Kristen" with. This morning was one of the saddest moments I've had since I arrived in Amsterdam. Taking Sean to the airport felt almost as terrible as leaving him in the airport in Portland. We know that we love each other, and we are both committed to making it work, but goodbyes are still not easy. The one lucky thing is that there is still a lot going on at work, so I can throw myself into my work a little bit to keep my mind busy.
