Just keeps getting better and better!!

After Vienna we started driving (on the 13th) towards Munich. On the way we stopped at the church where the wedding was filmed for “The Sound of Music”… so cool to see! We had fun singing SOM songs as we drove through the Austrian Alps :) We found a spot to camp outside of Munich and the next day went to see Dachau Concentration Camp. It was very sobering as expected, and the weather was gloomy which fit the mood of the day. We all felt like some comfort food of good’ol American KFC that night so we found one (once again… SO THANKFUL for our GPS!) and enjoyed it thoroughly.
The next day (the 15th) was…. AMAZING! Probably one of my favorites. We got to see Neuschwanstein and Hohenschawangau castles. Neuschwanstein is the one that the Disney castle was modeled after. They were breathtaking! I’ll put some pictures of the outside up, but we couldn’t take pictures on the inside – which is too bad because it was so impressively beautiful. After the castles we drove to ITALY!!! The country that I’ve been most excited to visit :) We drove through the Italian Alps and… oh my… AMAZING!!! It was just hillside after hillside of vineyards with quaint villages nestled at the base and always having at least one beautiful church steeple reaching into the sky. And then the CASTLES! Probably every five minutes you could see another castle – some of them are just ruins now, and some are still kept up really well. I was just in awe for the whole drive, I love seeing God’s beauty in other places of the world!
We stopped at a campground a couple hours from Venice and it was raining so we stayed in a camping cabin – it was very cute and had its own bathroom which was nice and convenient. We got a good nights sleep and then headed towards VENICE! We got into the city mid-afternoon yesterday and took a vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal to St. Mark’s Square. Then we just wandered our way back through the city (along canals, over bridges, through narrow passageways, under laundry hanging out to dry and flowers on windowsills… just as wonderful as I imagined it), enjoying ice cream and legit pizza on the way. I enjoyed it so so so much! Just to wander through the streets of such a beautiful place… there was new beauty around every corner! After enjoying the city, we went to meet up with Jonny Wapelhorst – my very good friend Audrey’s brother. He’s been studying in Spain and now traveling Italy for the week. He recently got one of his bags stolen, and then his other bag got sent on an airplane to Paris instead of to Milan with him! He’s having such a great attitude about it and just enjoying the adventure :) It was so great to spend some time with him and hear about his past 7 weeks and to share our stories with him. We’re hoping to connect again in Rome.
As I said in the title, every day really does just keep getting better and better! I’ve been excited for Italy, France, Switzerland, and the Romantic Rhine all trip and that’s what we’ve got left to do! God has continued to keep us safe, healthy, and getting to where we need to go and I am SO thankful! We have to leave out campground right now, but I’ll post some pictures the next chance I get. Arrivederci! (Gosh I love Italian words :)

Elise