Adventures of an Adventurer who Adventures: Bavaria and Italy

Neuschwanstein Castle and Austria Alps

Jeanie, Paul, their two boys and one of their daughters escorted me on a dream trip to five countries (yes, I am counting Bavaria as its own county…if you have your own cream you should be your own country) and dream destinations. Our first stop was in the middle of the Bavarian Alps. Neuschwanstein Castle is very famous because of its crazy Bavarian King and because Mr. Walt Disney patterned Sleeping Beauty’s castle after it…I think it was Sleeping Beauty…but, you know, one of those princess types. It was set upon a high hill surrounded by Alps and trees with a gorge full of Alpine waterfalls and my favorite, deep pool of clear blue green water resting under a rock arch. I can’t say I was very fond of the bridge far above the gorge…something about the squeaking, groaning bridge with a million tourists clustered on it jockeying for position to take a picture with the castle. However, it was very pretty view from the bridge and would have been as you plunged down into the gorge…but, I made it out alive. Fog was hanging on the Alps behind the castle making it very photogenic. Jeanie and I took a shortcut and helped a British couple that were lost…until we realized that we didn’t really know where we were and we perhaps leading them in the wrong direction….but, turns out Jeanie was correct and we lead them not astray. As I am writing I keep thinking of what I guess must be my favorite part…the piping hot bratwurst at the bottom of the hill…oh it was good. And that my friend is the story of Neuschwanstein.

the Bavarian countryside

mmm...brats

are we lost?

our horses that carried us up the hill

Alps, side trip and Venice, Italy

Driving through the Alps to Venice, Italy was stunningly beautiful. The fields were a lush green full of wildflowers. I of course, was oohing and aahing. The trouble with Europe is they don’t seem to understand the power of their own beauty. They have a serious lack of pull outs for picture taking and tend to put large trees and bridges in places where you want to just stare. I took pictures from the car, because I couldn’t let it go…I had to have pictures of Alps. Paul took us on a little detour up to a little town in the Italian mountains called Segno. This, as we found out, was where Father Kino was born in 1645 and raised. It is a quaint little village. We came to a monument to Father Kino. For those non Arizonans, Father Kino was a missionary sent from Spain to Sonora, Mexico. He was an amazing man. He founded many missions including San Xavier Del Bac (which I took pictures of before I left to Europe). The statue that was placed in front of the museum honoring him was donated by the city of Tucson and the Arizona Historical Society in 1992. It was a beautiful place and a wonderful find by the tour guide extraordinaire Sir Paul Kartchner. We loved that there was an Arizona street in this little town in the mountains of northern Italy.

Father Kino

Segno, Italy

We arrived in Venice and were treated to the sights of this icon Italian city. The canals, colorful buildings and gelato did not disappoint. However, I probably have never seen so many tourists in one place…and many of them Americans. It was incredibly crowded in San Marco di Venezia plaza. The basilica was stunning. It was originally built in the mid-800’s…though, has been reconstruction since then, because you know there has to be some rebellions and burnings and stuff. It is pretty awesome Byzantine architecture…and I just like writing the word Byzantine. The main thoroughfares were pretty busy, but we went off the beaten path and were able to find plenty of hidden canals, flowers and scenery in less crowded areas. The two boys bought Carnival masks and enjoyed wearing them around the city and making people laugh. Mimi just wanted to chase all the birds. It was a successfully enjoyable day in Venezia.