And home is Carolyn from her travels

Home is the sailor, home from the sea, and the hunter home from the hill (Robert Stevenson). And Carolyn, home from her travels. The return trip is 17 hours, putting me home at 2AM German time on July 4th.  Because of the terrible fires we had in Colorado Springs, there were no fireworks for my return, which meant, for the first time ever, it was quiet on the night of July 4th, and my much needed sleep was uninterupted, surrounded by three happy dogs and two happy cats.  Even my phantom cat, Butter, that no one ever sees, came out and slept with us on the bed.  Yes, a bit crowded, but one bunch of happy critters. 

A bit about the flight.  I have always flown United. But, boy, have they changed.  My main complaint is that if you don"t care where you sit, great.  The planes were a 2/5/2/ configuration and they assign seats in economy and in the middle of the five seats.  So if that works for you for a 9 hour flight, all is well, those seats are included in your already high airfare.  BUT, if you want an aisle or window seat, there is an additional fee. The window seats are $59 and the aisle seats are $109.  I wanted aisle seats, and those are consided an "upgrade".  So my return flight cost $250 to change the ticket date and $168 for aisle seats.  that part aside, the trip was easy, sort of.  It takes an hour at Washington Dulles to go through customs, and I had a 2 hour layover, and the flight boards 30 minutes prior to takeoff, so that left me 30 minutes to find my new gate and get something to eat. I did it with a few minutes to spare. I saw two movies over the Atlantic: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Flynn.  Both good.  I didn's sleep on any of the flights home, so I was pretty exhausted getting here.

There's no smell of smoke in Colorado Springs, 347 houses burnt to the ground all in one subdivision.   Most of the smoke has cleared so the mountains are visible.  Very hot but it will cool down into the 70s over the weekend.  I've unpacked, put away, rearragned, taken naps, gone to bed early and watered the lawns. Life is good.  I had an incredible time in Europe, going to Prague, Paris, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, and of course, all around Germany.  They have a simpler life style there than we do here, I'm going to try to bring that home.  More photos to follow. 

Photos of Alps and Fairy Castle

Lunch someplace

Castle Newschwanstein, Bavaria, Germany

Going into the Austrian Alps

Part of the Castle

Our beds in the Youth Hostel in Füssen.  Steffi slept on top. 

Outside at Youth Hostel in Füssen.

Alps and Steffi

Austrian Alps

Alps

Carolyn and the Alps

Swiss Flag, yes we were there. 

Fairy Tale Castle and the Alps

Walt Disney used the castle called Neuschwanstien near Füssen, Germany by the Alps as the model for the Castle in Disneyland.  We went there Saturday, and stayed in the hostel in Füssen.  The castle is the most beautiful we've seen, with construction started in 1869, and still unfinished when King Ludwig died 17 years later from a tragic drowning.  It contains many paintings of legends and myths used by Richard Wagner in his operas, such as Isolde & Tristian, Sigfried, Parsifal, Lohengrin. The king that built the castle, Ludwig, and Wagner were friends and the Castle was dedicated to Wagner's Operas.  The paintings are beautiful, as are the wall decorations, ceilings, banisters, and carvings. The castle sits on top of a craggy ledge and was a serious climb after the bus left us off a ways below.  there are 300 steps all total.  The next morning, we drove through the Bavarian Alps into the Austrian Alps, and then dropped down into Switzerland.  We headed home in pouring rain and weekend traffic. That day we spent 12 hours traveling.  But it was worth every minute of it.

The Alps are spectacular.  The air was cool, and clear. There was still unmelted snow on the north-facing sides of many mountains, wide Alpine meadows sprinkled with flowers, and everything green, green, green. The roads through the Alps are narrow, with motorcycles racing past at breakneck speeds.

Now we're home, more rain today, in the 60s and overcast.  I am packing to return to the States.  I leave here Wed. at 12:30 PM, getting into Colorado Springs at 6:30PM, but don't be misled, it is a 17+ hour trip through Washington Dulles.

Photos in next blog.