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. 

Time to catch up!

Winter doesn’t begin for another month, but here it’s been 20 degrees every morning. If it’s still autumn, then it’s a cold one, but a wonderful one. I love that I get to work with kids helping them communicate. And outside of work, there has been so much happening! It’s the only semester 5 of the Lundgreen kids will be living in one city, so we’ve been trying to do lots of family dinners, and mom and dad have come up a few times, sometimes bringing our “baby” sister Sophie along. Though 4 of the kids are at BYU now, come spring semester Adam will move to California and Eric will head on his mission to Armenia. Who knows, maybe Rachel and her husband will move to Alaska! 

Our latest family get togethers included pumpkin carving, watching Adam play rugby, and game night:

Adam and his GF Hannah.

Olivia and her BF.

Sophie Loo

The Urness family has come a few times as well. Dallin’s brother Cooper has had a massive string of misfortune the last few months including appendicitis, busting his knee and going septic following his knee surgery. He parents came to help Coop as well as to make decisions for the house rebuild. It’s been 19 months since the house fire and they are making great progress on their beautiful new place. We joined them for the premier of “Gladiators of Steel,” a documentary directed by a longtime family friend. Lastly, the invited us to attend a gala for Dahlia’s Hope to raise money for victims of sex trafficking. 

For Halloween this year Dallin and I dressed as Medusa and a statue. We went to our friends’ Conner and Ailey’s new condo to celebrate, and at my work all the kids dressed up and held a parade. 

Last but not least, I must share about the little story about a cat that made my heart bleed. Two nights ago I was leaving the Trader Joe’s parking lot with my sisters when suddenly I saw a little black cat duck under a parked car. It was freezing outside, and only a few feet away busy traffic rushed by. After a lot of pleading I convinced Olivia to take a detour back around the block and into the parking lot again. Then I sat on the ground, calling gently to the cat for about 5 minutes. He cried and cried in a sweet meow and came to me twice, quickly darting away in fright. Then on the third approach, he let me pick him up! I took him in Olivia’s car. He immediately started licking a paper plate with the grease from a slice of pizza I had just eaten, and then he was climbing all over the car. When I got him into my house and shut in my bathroom with a bowl of food, he started purring. The poor kitty was underweight and very hungry, and now that he was in a warm place being fed, he was even friendlier than he already was. He continually rubbed against me and purred louder when I picked him up. My cats kept sticking their paws under the door curiously. I took him to the last vet open to check for a microchip; there was none. I posted him on multiple found websites and then went to bed, trying not to let my heart get torn up as he cried all night long from the bathroom. The next morning I used my lunch break time to take him to the shelter, where I almost immediately started bawling because I didn’t want to give him up. Returning to work was so hard! That night Dallin and I posted found flyers around the area, and I contacted a rescue to let them know he is at the shelter, since they cannot take animals from the public. There is a five day wait period to see if his original family claims him, and then he can be put up for adoption . My mother-in-law says she might adopt him! 

Of course, here are my goofy critters: