Hello there world...

So this past week I made it to my 8th country--Switzerland. It was actually a surprise to me because Jen hadnt told me the entire itinerary for the vacation. Anyway, it was amazing. I just have to figure out where to begin.

I guess I should start with us picking up the rental car. Jen and Brian decided that it would probably be cheaper to rent a car that would fit all 9 of us then it would to take two cars and pay for the gas on those two vehicles. sooo....we picked up a 9 passenger van. it was hilarious. sparkling silver--it looked like a space vehicle. I have a picture posted. We officially became the Brady Bunch.

Anyway, the huge van proved to be the perfect thing to make the trip. Brian has now decided that he wants to trade in their truck and buy one--hilarious. We ended up saving hundreds of dollars on gas because it takes diesel. Gas here is soooooooo expensive and its sold by the liter, not by the gallon. So we could have easily spent 200 dollars on gas, but we only ended up spending about 70 bucks. So great.

Alright...enough about the car. Our trip technically began on Tuesday with us departing to the Bodensee region, but on Monday we took the car for a test drive to legoland. It was great, but not as great as I had thought in my head. I mean, the lego creations were AMAZING! I could have been satisfied just looking at those all day. However the rides, which I was mostly looking forward to, were not quite up to par. Regardless, it was a great first trip and the start of a wonderful vacation.

So...on Tuesday we began our trip to Lake Constance. We loaded into the car at 7 a.m. with our bags packed. All was going smoothly--we had our GPS operating and were on our way to an amazing vacation when all of a sudden I hear, "Brian, pull over. Courtnie is about to get sick." Sure enough, within a few seconds, Courtnie was bawling and puking into a cup. Now, for those of you who know me well, I am scared shitless of vomit. I will do whatever I can to avoid it and stay away from it. So....immediately I opened my window and stuck my head out, sucking in the fresh air. After a few minutes on the side of the road we packed back in and were on our way. Apparently it wasnt written into the job description, but the girls tend to get carsick quite often. I just hoped that would be the only incident of the trip...and it was.

Anyway, after 3 1/2 hours of driving, we made it to Insel Mainao. I was originally under the impression that we would be going straight to our campsite and then hiking through the Island on another day. However, Jen is a believer in staying busy during vacations, so we went straight to the Island to explore.

Insel Mainao is an Island in the middle of Lake Constance that is filled with flowers and a big palace with a gorgeous chapel. Every day tourists flock to the Island to see the beatiful landscaping and the butterfly farm that have given the Island its beauty. It truly is a serene place that is perfect for laying in the grass and reading a good book. It was so romantic...I was wishing that I was there with someone to share it with.

The children proved themselves as typical annoying children. They ran around being disruptive and reuining everything in their wake. It was extremely frustrating to all of us adults that were simply trying to enjoy ourselves. After several reminders, they began to calm down and we were able to enjoy the surroundings.

After leaving the Insel, we took off to our campsite in Tengen. We had a hard time finding the place and our GPS was giving us bogus directions. However, after several U-turns, we found our way.

The campsite was AMAZING. It lay in a huge valley surrounded by wheat fields. It was truly a retreat from the world. We had rented two "caravans." When Jen told me that, I had NO idea what to expect. But I was soon to find out.

A caravan is a camper trailer. It is just like the kind that you pull behind your car. However, at this camp site, they keep them in place and allow people like us to just stop by and use them. It was amazing--we fit 6 people in one and 3 people in the other. We split it up between girls and boys. Originally Courtnie was going to stay in the guys place, but after a little crying and whining she got her way (whats new).

So, we were very hungry upon arrival and asked the lady at the front desk where we could eat. She gave us a few recommendations of good places in town (because their restaurant there on the camp site wasnt open that day). We chose a place that looked like it could accomodate both the kids and the adults and headed on our way.

When we got to the restaurant, I was the first to walk in. I said, "Noyn, bite" (nine, please). She looked at me and smiled and said that they already had a table for us. She asked if we were from the campsite and I said yes. The lady at the front desk apparently had called her and told her we were on our way. Hilarious.

I ordered schnitzel...my second one of this trip. Once again it was out of this world. SOOO good. After dinner Jen convinced us to order two things of ice cream fondue. Lets just say that it was decadent....and 150 bucks later we were out the door. The other people in the restaurant laughed as we left and were amazed at how much we Americans can eat. I swore I would never be hungry again.

The next day was AMAZING. We went to a place called Affenberg--which literally means "Monkey Mountain" in German. Upon arriving we see these HUGE white storks. They were SOOOO cool....and they were EVERYWHERE!!! I just about died...i took soooo manny pictures! Anyway, we entered the park and the adventure began. This park, mostly run by young looking college students, is a sanctuary for storchs, North African Monkeys, deer and carribou, fish, swans, ducks, frogs, and i think thats it. The monkeys were the most impressive.

As we were walking through the first part of the park, we were waiting for the monkeys to show up. Then, we started walking uphill and noticed a gate ahead. People were slowing down and dipping there hand into a huge bag of something. Once we got closer I realized that it was POPCORN....for feeding the monkeys!!!!

Basically, this park has created a mock environment for these monkeys to flourish. It is huge!! They have planted these special trees that are much like the ones found in Algeria and Morroco and have re-made the natural environment for these monkeys. Apprently, these monkeys are number 2 on the endangered species list and this park is trying to change that. As we were walking, these monkeys would just come up to us and eat out of our hands. It was truly amazing. While the kids ran ahead, we adults started doing some tests to see how smart these little creatures really were.

We took a piece of popcorn and fed it to one monkey. Then, we took a piece that had dropped on the ground and tried to feed it to him, but he wouldn't take it. So...we went to a completely different monkey--one that hadnt seen us drop it--and tried to give it to him. He wouldn't take it and proceeded to make a face of aggression toward us for even suggesting that this was a piece of popcorn that he would eat. We countinued to take two pieces of popcorn--one that was dropped and one that wasn't--and held them out to yet another monkey. He chose the one that hadnt been dropped. They were amazing!! One last test...we took the piece to another monkey and watched him as he picked off the part that had fallen on the ground and then ate the rest. I was amazed...these animals are sooooo intelligent.

After leaving the park, we moved onto another part of Lake Constance called Pfahlbau that was a re-creation of a village from 4000 B.C. Apparently, scuba archaelogists back in the 1920s found these stakes in the ground that were in an abnormal figure. After doing some carbon dating and graphing out the placement of these poles, they concluded that this was an ancient settlement from the stone age. By 1940, they had recreated the village and made a museum to go along with it, teaching people about the history of this region. It was pretty amazing, but my feet could only take so much walking. After visiting the museum for about an hour and a half, we were on our way back to the campsite. Another day packed with fun.

Upon returning to the campsite we decided to take it easy and just eat dinner there at the restaurant. We were expecting a pretty casual restaurant...after all...this was camping. But once we got in, we realized we were in for a suprise. I ordered pork tenderloin with spetzle and fresh veggies. It was amazing!! As was the gelato following the meal!! We were so impressed...and so full...again.

After the meal I conquered the playground. I have rated it number 2 in my lifetime playground experiences. Just below the West Point Elementary school playground, this playground was phenomenal. It had a hang-glider thing and a slide. It even had a tire swing--oh childhood memories!! I'll tell ya, nothing can beat wooden playgrounds. They are simply the best.

Ok...so the next morning (thursday) was our checkout day. We still hadnt made it to the pool on the campsite because we had been so busy. So that morning we picked up fresh bread at the bakery and headed to the pool. It was a great way to start the day. I did some laps, relaxed in the hot tub, and even did some tanning. All the pools here in germany are indoor (well most anyway), but they make up for that by including tanning chairs where they use special lightbulbs to tan. It was awesome.

So...I thought that after checkout we were headed straight home. WRONG. We hopped in the car around 11:45 and headed out to SWITZERLAND!! It was AWESOME! Within 20 minutes were were across the border and into some beautiful country side. We made it to Stein am Rhein, an adorable village right on the Rhein River. All of the buildings are hand painted and the roads are all cobblestone. We grabbed lunch at an Italian Restaurant where I had a tomato salad. I figured I would keep it light--too much meat over the last few days. Plus, I needed to save room to sample some swiss chocolates. We went to a few touristy shops and I bought some gifts and postcards. Sometimes I just hate being a tourist, but then I realize that its necessary. The cashier at the souvenier shop was a young (attractive) guy with a New York City shirt on. He spoke perfect english and we got to talking a bit. I found out that he had just come back from the states. He was an exchange student in Minnesota for a year and then toured through the States and loved it. So funny. Minnesota...of all places! Hilar.

After leaving Stein am Rhein, we headed out to Rheinfalls--the biggest waterfall in Europe. It was spectacular. At first I wasn't too impressed. I mean, compared to pictures of Victoria Falls and Niagra Falls, i was expecting something a bit bigger. But, once we got on the boat and were taken to the base of the falls, I was blown away--literally. We were on this puny boat that takes you right to where the water crashes and sends you flying everywhere. The boat took off before I had a seat and I went flying--it was HILARIOUS! I was happy to get on shore in one piece.

We packed up the van for the last time...got our caffeine fix...and headed out. We had no car sickness on the way home (thank god) and made it home safely. We only stopped once, to eat dinner. Im telling you, they know how to do truck stops here. They had fresh cooked meals: from shnitzel to spaghetti to pork tenderloin to mashed potatoes. I stuck with the salad--I was still full from the last two nights of AMAZING dinners.

Anyway, now I am back...safe and sound. It really does feel like this room is my room and this house is my psuedo-home. I felt that "safe" feeling when walking through the door and I slept like an angel last night. Funny how perpective can change everything.

I am sorry for those of you who I have bored with this long and endless blog, but no one forced you to read it. I feel like I left out so much...there was so much emotion during each of these little trips that I just cant portray through writing. There is too much to explain...it is a hopeless effort.

There is just a feeling of immensity here. While at the camp site in Lake Constance Jen's mom and I went for a hike toward the Swiss forest. We were walking up this hill and came upon a tree with an empty bench beneath it. I thought about who had sat there and what they had pondered. I thought about Van Gogh and how he would have appreciated the emptiness of this scene. I thought about my family and friends that would have loved to sit there and just breathe the fresh air with me. Next to the bench was this sanctuary--it was a stone with a latin inscription and a figure of Mary. I dont know what it was for, or what it meant, or who made it, but it just seemed to fit. Even if it hadnt been there, this place was already a sanctuary....and I dont mean a religious sanctuary that is filled with expectations and regulations and laws and hierarchies and politics. It was just a sanctuary to life...a place for pondering--pondering belief and meaning and love. There was no answer, no question, just ambiguity and mystery up there on top of that mountain. All around us were tiny farms run by families that were just living. And that was enough for happiness.

I hope this blog finds you well and that maybe my thoughts will trigger something within you. If you pass it off as bullshit, that is fine too. I dont mind--I am the ultimate bullshitter. I love you all and look forward to this final month and a half before returning home.

Truly,
bean.