We made it back to Munich from Austria late last night. We found out when we got back that my grandfather passed away on Saturday. We are moving up our trip home a week and going home tomorrow and then straight to San Antonio. Please keep my grandmother and the family in your prayers during this time. Also, please pray for our flight back and our adjustment with the time change.

The trip to Salzburg, Austria was beautiful. It’s about a 2 hour drive from Munich – we went styling in our black BMW the car rental place gave us. It had a super cool navigation system that without that we would have been very lost. Those things are amazing how accurate they are! Our hotel had a panorama view of Salzburg. We could see the whole city with the Alps wrapping around it. Just when you think you see something so beautiful – you just keep seeing more and more – that words to describe it don’t seem enough. It was beyond breathtaking to see the grandeur of the Alps.

The Sound of Music tour was so awesome! We got to see the Lake where the kids fall out of the boat and saw the gazebo where they sang “I am Sixteen Going on Seventeen”. We splashed our hands in the horse fountain as Julie Andrews does singing “I Have Confidence” and saw the mansion and gate she runs up to during that song. Went into the Nonnberg Abbey where many shots with the nuns were filmed. We went into the church where they got married. Danced around the fountain and through the garden where they sang “Do-Re-Mi” and walked on the same bridge they did. Well you get the picture. We saw a lot with the tour, but then later we went on our own to more places the film was shot to get better photos and close-ups.

We heard that around 5ish you can usually hear the nuns singing at the Nonnberg Abbey. So we hurried to make it there in time only to be greeted with a ton of steep stairs to get to the Abbey and no singing. We decided to haul the stroller up all the stairs – poor Ronnie. It was tough, but when we got to the top, there were the nuns. We just happened to run into them, so Alexis got to meet them and get a photo with the nuns. What great timing – made the trip up there worth it.

We also went to the Hohensalzburg Fortress ( http://www.gasthofschorn.at/en/festung.shtml ) that you see many times in the background in the movie. Once again we had to hike it up steep hills and stairs to get to it. Alexis really had daddy doing some exercises! It was so beautiful once we got to the top – we saw an interesting Marionette Exhibit with some spooky puppets, had dinner and saw a Mozart concert outdoors within the fortress. There I was sitting in a fortress, listening to a symphony and a little opera into the late night –what a dream! Only thing missing was my hubby– he was off taking care of the little princess who was talking and clapping while they played, so we had to remove her. So Ronnie got to know the castle really well while mommy sat and lived her dream. What an amazing husband God has blessed me with!

After the concert we took a funicular down to the base of the fortress. We were the only crazy couple out that late with a baby and a stroller so we had to take an elevator down a little further. So we got in, pressed a button and the doors opened into a small hallway with a door. We opened that door to find a dark shop with no one in it. We thought OK, this is the wrong floor let’s get back in the elevator. But, the elevator was not working anymore it would not open. So here we were stuck in a pitch black gift shop with a very small hallway in a castle at 10PM with no one around. Ronnie saw an emergency door and hit that to make the alarm go off, but it only opened up to another locked door, but you could see out it. Ronnie could see some people passing by, so he pounded on the door and started screaming “Help – we’re locked in”. At first no one responded, then he got weird looks, then finally someone stopped and got security. Thankfully, the people walking by were the musicians – if they had left we don’t know who else would of walked by. I was near tears and started thinking about the reality of spending a night in a dark store, with a baby in a fortress. Then finally, after about 15 minutes, the security guy saved us and apologized. It was scary – but we laughed when we got out. We literally got locked in a fortress. Oh the adventures we have.

Next day we went to see the Birthplace and the residence of Mozart. We got to see the room he was born in and many of his instruments and compositions. Also the originals of letters he wrote and other personal possessions belonging to the family. It was a very neat experience. We then drove up into the mountains and tried to see Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest and where some more of the Sound of Music was shot. We got there too late and missed the last bus by an hour. Sad. But we drove down and found a beautiful lake at the base of a mountain and then a wonderful restaurant to have dinner in.

Salzburg was a very charming town, everyone there was very friendly. There was lots of people outdoors and shopping. They had an area full of tents going down the river selling homemade products and food. It would be a dream to live in such a beautiful place. We had some crazy moments, but it was a lovely trip and – thanks be to God for the experience!
Well, we are off back to Texas, so I will blog again when we get back to Munich. I am sure we will have photos to post of our trip home and Alexis’s 1st birthday and Ronnie’s birthday as well. Oh and I will post photos of Salzburg probably next week. We love you and thank you for the prayers. Texas here we come! Us3