Europe!

 

Me. In France. Wearing teal skinny jeans.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” 

--St. Augustine 

All right, folks. It's been about a year and a half since I last told you about my life. And what an awesome life it has been. There's a lot to update you on, and to be honest, I probably won't tell you everything. But today, I mostly want to touch upon the fact that travel makes me happy.

I recently have been incredibly blessed with the opportunity to go overseas and visit Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and France. And it was WONDERFUL. I adore Europe. The above picture is in Mulhouse (pronounced "Mull- ooze"), France.  It was such a pretty town. One of the things I appreciated most about Europe was how picturesque it was. Even in larger cities, with modern buildings, everything seemed more beautiful. Probably, I just noticed the splendor of it more, since I was in unfamiliar territory, as it is my firm belief that every place has its own beauty to offer the world.

The whole trip I was surrounded by kind people (including my loving and AWESOME grandmother), fantastic scenery, and good food. Seriously, the food was brilliant. I don't know how I went my whole life thinking the bread America has to offer me was any good. Don't even get me started on the chocolate. And while I'm not a huge fan of cheese (it makes me kind of sick to my stomach...), even I could appreciate how good it was.  The cake I'm eating in this picture was beautiful. There was a raspberry filling layer, and a cream layer... and it seriously brought joy to my life. Even looking at this picture makes me hungry. 

One of the highlights of the trip for me was going to Diemtigen, Switzerland. This is not your typical tourist town. In fact, I'm pretty sure even the Swiss tend to ignore this little village. But to me, it was one of the coolest places I visited. Besides the fact that the town had an incredibly old church with beautiful painting done all over the walls, that little hamlet is where I hail from. Technically speaking, it's where my triple great grandfather came from (It might even be quadruple great...). I got to walk the very streets he walked as a boy, before he came to America. Probably I'm the only person who even finds that remotely cool. But whatever, you know? Also, in Diemtigen, I started a Garden Gnome collection. Because they're so stinking cute. 

I spent roughly five days in Salzburg, Austria, seeing Mozart's birthplace, the Sound of Music film locations, etc. I also bought an incredible pair of shoes, and gifts for my family and friends. Salzburg was pretty awesome, and given the opportunity, I would definitely go back. 

We ended the trip with a visit to Neuschwanstein. That castle is beautiful. It was built in the 1800s (so somewhat newer than a lot of the things I saw) by the egotistical and somewhat crazy Konig Ludwig II, who died under mysterious circumstances. The castle's interior is really amazing, but unfortunately unfinished. However, among the various features was in indoor cave. Seriously. The guy built a cave INSIDE his castle. But hey, if I have enough money to have two castles built for myself, I might as well have an easily accessible cave, complete with stalactites. 

All in all, that was one of the most incredible twelve days of my life. I can't wait to go back!

What makes you happy?