Hitler & Fog (...& frog)

Up again at 7!  On the road right at 8.  We drove across the Austrian border into Germany!!  It was pouring rain again.  We all slept again for an hour ish.  We went up to the Eagle’s Nest.  This was Hitler’s home/fortress/lookout.  He kicked out a little small town at the top of this mountain so he could build his home and fortress buildings etc.  They were complete with an underground tunnel of streets to get from one building to the next!  That part was crazy.  We didn’t go up to the actual lookout point (where they say there is an amazing view) because there was SO MUCH FOG.  It was really cool though.  I love the fog and rainy weather, always!  We got to walk around and go see the ruins of his house.  I guess after the war was over, the US troops (I think..) decided to bomb his house so that people wouldn’t like worship it after everything?...Or make a shrine to Hitler.  So anyways there are just a few walls left.

pretty roommate Caelyn

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found this beauty on the street.  WOW

Cuties

Back into the bus!  We had lunch (I had a packed apple, yogurt, and jerky), and ice cream!!!!  This kind was soft serve custardy for 2 Euro.  So good.

We went to this salt mine and had a tour inside!  We rode down in train things (cameras weren’t allowed so I took some pics on my iPhone to document the occasion).  We had to wear these full body suits!  I don’t even know why.  The tour was so cool though.  We got to slide down slides to get to the lower levels where they extract the salt deposits.  We rode in a boat across a salt lake!  It was so dark…and they had a light show installed on the ceiling?  It was unreal.  It was such a fun tour.

the lake underground.... bad pic

when we got off and it was pouring, everyone in the back was getting wet and started screaming and the lady behind Mara (wherever she was) was like, "You can always tell when there are Americans..." AHHAHA 

our awesome bus driver...he got mad at me for taking this hahaha 

When that was over we LITERALLY RAN back to the bus in the pouring rain and drove for an hour and a half to our next stop!  At 4:00 we hopped on this ferry and cruised out across this lake to an island where this palace exists where Ludwig something (XIV maybe?) “lived”.  He never actually lived here…he had it built but ran out of money.  He had it modeled after the palace in Versailles, buuuut some of it is not finished…it was cool to see the unfinished parts.  This was the most lavish, ornate building I have ever been in.  Gold on EVERYTHING.  Real gold.  Paintings everywhere….we weren’t allowed to take pictures (I snuck this one…) but really it was amazing.  What was even cooler was that we went in without a tour guide and Roger gave us our tour!!  Turns out he lived on this island for four years when he was younger and worked giving this tour in German and English!!  So he knew every little detail about the place.  It was so awesome.  This king was depressed and lonely and didn’t like visitors, so he built his home in a way where he had his own dining room right by his bedroom, and his table could be LOWERED down into the kitchen below, then raised back up to him.  He worked from his bed.  He became overweight and depressed and kinda crazy, and killed himself by drowning.  Crazy stories.  Crazy building.

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ROOMMATES Caelyn & Kimber -- this fountain had frog people

Lexi found a tiny lizard on the fountains!

I got in trouble for taking this hahaha it was really dark in there too soooo bad photo but GOLD

Jeannie had on Garrison's beanie...long story. haha

where we are staying tonight!

After that we rode back to the land and drove in our bus 45 minutes to our hotel!!  FINALLY!  We love getting to the hotel.  We got our room assignments…it really is amazing that we can be grouped with any girl(s) and be able to handle it.  We are all so close it’s crazy.  Nobody has any problems with anybody, I don’t think.

A dinner came with our night!!!!  Oh my gosh we were so happy.  We had liver noodle soup….?.... then this plate of turkey with mushrooms in a marsala sauce I think, with some potato balls and vegetables.  Then ice cream with a peach and sugarless whipped cream and a wafer for dessert!   So perfect.  I love everybody.

Bedtime now!!  Wifi is being so slow.  It is amazing…we are in Germany!!!