retroblogging: europe day 4

pretty much the entire day was spent in the car, with a few enjoyable resting interludes…which is not to say driving wasn’t fun. i think driving on the autobahn was on my mental do-before-i-die list. (i think i’ve started about 16 written lists, but i never manage to get past about 10 things. and, of course, none of them say the same things. sometimes it’s more fun to catalog the things i HAVE done.)

JP suggested swinging by strassbourg on my way back to switzerland…in theory, this was good advice…which i intended to take. however, google maps decided that i should go through strassbourg on the way to germany…and enjoy their rush hour traffic…but it sent me back south through germany. so, on a whim, i got off at an exit. and followed signs i couldn’t read, hoping i’d find something delightful to see. i was most definitely successful…and not having ANY IDEA where i was or the name of the town added a bit of spice to my adventure.

the church on the left is in the town i came to first on my detour…it had a map just next to it…there was a castle icon, so i decided to see if i could meander my way there…i’m still not sure if i wound up there or somewhere else. ? the one on the right is in neuleiningen, the town where i finally wound up. (i figured this out by taking a picture of every sign i saw and googling when i got home.)

picture perfect german town.

wouldn’t you eat germany countryside flavored ice cream if ben and jerry’s invented that variety?

i was very happy to be standing in front of a german castle.

if these two images don’t make you want to explore, i don’t know if we could be friends.

godzilla’s practice run before he took on tokyo.

i like to think this was a prison pit. i mean, any self-respecting german castle would need one, right? on the right is the view through the bars looking up.

i am a giant dork of a wedding photographer, and i can’t help looking at this and thinking that it would be a super cool spot for a ceremony.

postcard! (seriously, fall colors…tile roofs…there is even a freaking river wending its way through the valley.)

i think this is the first hint of blue sky i saw the entire trip!

got a LITTLE too into driving european style and failed to notice that i was very nearly out of gas. don’t worry…this was taken at the gas station when i turned the car back on to show the dangerously empty tank.

every day i was there, i prayed that i’d get to see a clear view from the balcony. the night before i was due to leave…God said, “ok.” and it was still clear in the morning when i woke up! stay tuned for those images. they’re pretty freaking spectacular.