Riding Lesson XI

Spring has finally arrived! The air is dry, the birds are singing, and there are daffodils everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE. The ditches, the round-a-bouts, in window boxes, front yards, hanging baskets; I've never seen so many daffodils!

The girls had riding again this afternoon. Only a couple more lessons and then we're back home! Trista--what are we going to do with them? They love to jump. I think Lucy really likes the challenge of doing an obstacle course. She won't admit it though. She'll say how awful and frustrating it is but then she'll get a good run and will just beam from ear to ear. They've built their own minature jumping course in the front yard for all their toy horses. I'm glad--for a while there they were using each other to ride and jump over stuff! My knees ached just watching them.

Munich

We had an hour or so to wait for our train back to Munich, so we walked around Fussen and grabbed a sausage for dinner. Fussen was adorable. It was like being in a storybook--the buildings were all so soft and charming.

Fussen

Fussen

On Sunday, we made our way to the English Gardens (like Central Park). It was gorgeous. You didn't even feel like you were in a city with 1.35 million people.

The girls found some very, very friendly ducks to feed.

Diana's Temple

Just when you need a break, you walk into the beer garden in the middle of the park- like an oasis! Yes, it's a real pretzel Sofie's holding and yes, it's bigger than her head! There's baskets of them at the counter. What more could you want on a sunny afternoon in the park but a beer and a pretzel?

Munich

Munich

As you can see from the title, we went to Munich for vacation! It was incredible. We all wish we could've stayed longer. After sorting through 350+ pictures, here's some of the things we did--
After deciphering the fahrplan (train schedule) we headed to Fussen on Friday morning. Fussen is south of Munich and it's the town where you catch the bus to see the castles-Hochwangau and Neuschwanstein.

Hoschwangau--If you can believe it, this was a summer/hunting lodge, not a main residence. This is where King Ludwig II spent his summers as a child. Not too shabby! We all grabbed a bratwurst (so good!) and started the hike up to the castle. The weather was perfect-warm and 65. I can't tell you how good it felt after months of wet, damp, cold weather in Ireland. The girls were so happy they didn't have to wear coats! After touring Hoschwangau, we hiked down and started the hike up to Neuschwanstein.

The hike up to Neuschwanstein is a lot longer and steeper than it's neighboring castle but the views from the top are outstanding. The girls did wonderfully on the hike. It's amazing how much energy there is in a brat.

Sofie and I are sitting in the courtyard. You have timed tickets for your tour and we made pretty good time on the walk up so we all sat down and just enjoyed being up there!

There is a glass lookout platform that hangs over the ravine before you get to the castle. Luckily, none of us are scared of heights!

Belvedere Easter Egg Hunt

Susan tipped us off to the Easter Egg Hunt at the Belvedere House so we thought we'd take the girls for their very first egg hunt. Below is a picture of the starting point for all kids 5 and over. Most of these kids looked like they knew what they were doing. They all had their tote bags and muscled their way to the front of the line.

Lucy, Sofie, and another Sophie they met before the big hunt. I think Lucy is already pointing out eggs and working out the egg hunt strategy with her team.

They all took off running just after I snapped this picture. I'm lucky I got out of the way. It was like a herd of elephants. I didn't see any of them until it was all over. 160 acres is a lot of ground to cover. The girls did find a couple big chocolate eggs and a handful of small ones. Lucy was more thrilled with the small frog she caught and with their new friend they made. I'm so glad she has her priorities in the right order!

After playing down by the lake skipping stones, we walked up to see the house. It was in use until 1988. The views from the house of the surrounding grounds were just gorgeous--enormous beech and cedar trees, walled gardens, and the lake. Not a telephone pole in sight!

View from the top of the terrace.

The Terrace

Belvedere House

Riding Lesson X

Thursdays sure do come up fast! The girls had a great lesson--lots of cantering and jumping. It's another rainy, cold day here. I hear there's quite the heat wave going on at home-80 degrees! What I wouldn't give to wear a pair of sandals and a t-shirt!

Glendalough

On the way through Avoca, we stopped at Avoca Handweavers. Can you see in the sign that the date is 1723? 1723! We saw a couple looms set up but they weren't running. They make the most amazing wool blankets and scarves. Needless to say, when I walked into the shop I was in heaven. After we made a few purchases, we drove on to Glendalough. As we pulled into the visitor's center, I had major de ja vu. I had been here before. Fifteen years ago when my roommate and I came to Dublin for a weekend, we took a bus out into the country for the day. I didn't keep much of a diary or travel log back then and I can't remember that far back anyway. I know I took much better pictures this time around. Glendalough is a 6th century monastic settlement, that's set in among the Wicklow Mountains. Just the drive through the mountains to Glendalough is a trip in itself. The roads are very narrow and very curvy. Tim's just dying for his motorcycle.