All it took was a few too many trips on Google Maps Street View and some emails flaunting flight deals to finally pull the trigger.  With Dallin and I both finally done with school but not yet responsible for any offspring, we decided it was now or never.  5 years later, I was finally going to return to my favorite places in the world: Austria, Germany and Switzerland. How many nights had I dreamt of being there? We booked the tickets less than two months in advanced, just in time for us to visit the Christmas markets.

The first leg of our journey brought us to Charlotte, North Carolina for a 10-hour layover. We originally planned on exploring the city, but with nowhere to put our luggage and after a long night sleepless from restless leg, we decided to get a hotel and sleep for a few hours. We returned to the airport, where we enjoyed Carolina BBQ and white rocking chairs.  

Our trip route, mapped in pink

Our second flight arrived shortly before 6 AM on a rainy Munich morning. I was jittery with excitement by the time we reached the main section of the airport where bakeries and grocery stores sold foods I had craved for years. We picked up our rental car with bags and treats in hands and set our navigation for the Bodensee. The roads along this part of the south cross through miles and miles of rolling fields speckled here with small villages and there with thick patches of evergreens. 

At last the fields converged into vineyards that sloped down toward the blue Bodensee. Five years ago, I lived there during the summer, but the green charm of warm weather had now turned to a cool, frosty landscape. Winter also meant far fewer tourists, as the Bodensee is a common destination for other Europeans.  Many sites were closed for the season, but there was already more for us to see than we could possibly visit in two days.

Our first stop was Meersburg, a place I had never actually been despite living not too far off in Singen. The Neues Schloss ("New Castle", so named during the 1700's) was closed, but we were still able to visit the Alte Burg ("Old Castle"). Theories argue if its first stones were placed in the 7th or 12th century; regardless, this castle was home to many prince-bishops and beheld many an ancient battle. Dallin and I spent a few hours winding through the halls of the castle before finding a delicious lunch of döner kebab at a local imbiss. 

Hello, lovelies.  I just returned from a hike, which means that my fingers are grimy, my face tan (or sunburned?) and my belly full of delicious German gelato.  Oh, what a life.  We walked up to the ruins of Hohenwiel where the crumbling castle overlooks the rolling hills and zipping along the highway below are cars which look more like ants.  

• We assembled a trampoline 
• One night we ate delicious Indian food, went on a walk and talked about prayer
• We spent a day with the world's coolest Sister RM who joined us in three teaching appointments and also went dooring with us 
• We tutored a cute 12-year-old girl English
• We accidentally slept in on Sunday because this whole daylight savings thing is still so foreign to me-- they don't have it in Arizona OR Hawaii
• We went street finding in a beach town 

1. "A woman of faith trusts God and faces adversity with hope. She knows of His interest in her life."
2. "A woman of faith is confident because she understands the divine plan of our Heavenly Father and her role to bless lives."
3. "A woman of faith is fearless. She fears no evil, for God is with her."