Spring Break 2013

We had a exciting Spring Break filled with family visitors and some time to explore some more!  My sister and her family came to spend their Spring Break with us and to see where we live.  We decided to meet in Bavaria and make our way back to Dusseldorf.

On our way to meet the Wynsma's in Munich, we stopped half way in the German town of Heidelberg.

Heidelberg Castle high on the hill behind Vivian and Jack

The Old Bridge - pedestrian only bridge.  However, we almost turned onto it with the car!

The Old Bridge in Heidelberg

Kennedy's and Wynsma's happily reunited in Munich
and watching the Glockenspiel at the Town Hall

We went to see Salzburg, Austria

While we were there, we took a Sound of Music Tour and 
saw many famous filmmaking spots including the famous gazebo

We also stopped at Red Bull Hanger 7 while we were in Salzburg

We went deep into the earth to explore and learn more about the famous Salzburg Salt Mines

Then, we took it to the opposite extreme and went skiing at the top of Germany.

But, it would have been nice to see where we were going the first day!  There were

blizzard conditions all day long.  We stuck together to make sure no one got lost!

Since we have lived in Germany, this was our third attempt to see the top of Germany, 
we finally did it!
The sun was out or we were higher than the snow clouds the next day, 
so we could see for miles.

Zugspitze, the top of Germany

I think many of us said this was our favorite day, skiing at sunny Zugspitze!

It was time to put our skis away.  What a great way to end the ski season!

Winter wasn't over yet though.  We had winter weather at Neuschwanstein too.

On our way back to Dusseldorf, we stopped in Rothenburg and stayed there overnight.
We took the Night Watchman Tour and enjoyed learning more
about the history of this walled medieval city.

Plonlein, a famous spot where an upper and lower street meet

We climbed and walked the city wall

We made it back to Dusseldorf.  
The famous Radschlager.

Jenna doing cartwheels along the Rhine, just like the Radschlager

A visit to Europe wouldn't be complete without a day trip to the Netherlands!

Super easy since this was only two hours away.

Kinderdjik, a group of  19 windmills built in 1740.  

Some people still live in some of them!

It was windy that day so we could see and hear the windmills in action!

We couldn't help but notice this replica of Noah's Ark as we were driving through the nearby town!

We had to stop and take a peek.  There were even live animals inside!

Our Spring Break with the Wynsma's went by fast!  They had to leave to go home, 

but we still had one more week of Spring Break!  Our kids got over three weeks off!  

But, they will go to school through the second week of July!  So, on our last weekend before school started again, we drove to the small country of Luxembourg.  

Mark figured out that Luxembourg is a little bigger than Kent County!  The drive through Luxembourg was beautiful with rolling hills and valleys.  It reminded us of Ireland a little.

We spent an afternoon in Luxembourg City and went on a walking tour 

                        which took us along the city walls overlooking the valleys and
                        we also went in some caves underneath some of the city's old fortifications.

Old city gate/entrance

General Patton's Grave at the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg City

Over 5,000 men and women are remembered here from WWII

While visiting Luxembourg, we stayed in the quaint town of Vianden.  We loved this little town which was down in a valley and nestled below the castle up on the hill.

Chateau de Vianden at night

We took a chair lift up to see the views of the town and the Chateau

Yea, it was our first warm Spring Day!

We stopped in a few towns on our way home.  
This is the old Roman entrance gate in the town of Trier, Germany.
It is called the Porta Nigra.

We stopped in many churches that day, but our last one was the Trier Dom.  
It just so happened to be Heilig Rock Tage, which is a two day exhibit of the tunic or the seamless garment that Jesus wore.  The Trier Pilgrim's prayer mentions the seamless garment and how it is a symbol of undivided Christianity and the binding power of God.
Wow, that was an unexpected treat to view this holy relic!
But, we didn't actually see it because it was in a beautiful box encased in glass.  Whether it was the real deal or not, it was nice to remember it and celebrate this day while we were there.