Happy To Design

It's Show & Tell Friday!

Hello my friends...welcome to "Show & Tell" Friday!

This fun filled Friday event is hosted by Kelli over at There Is No Place Like Home! Thank you, Kelli...for being such a sweet hostess and giving us the opportunity to "Show & Tell" our goodies!

Please go over to Kelli's and see what she has going today and while you're there you can check out all of the other Show & Tell participants!

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It's Pink Saturday!

I didn't think I was going to be able to participate for Pink Saturday this week...until I realized that there is some pretty pink to show in today's post!

Beverly over at How Sweet The Sound hosts this pretty-n-pink Saturday event. Thank you, Beverly! Please stop by Beverly's and see what pink she has goin' on for this Pink Saturday! You will find a list of pink participants over there as well! Don't miss out!!!

European Honeymoon

On June 4th, my honey and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. I started thinking about the wonderful gift that my husband gave me for a wedding present...a honeymoon in Europe! I haven't really shared much of our European honeymoon on my blog and I have some wonderful photos that I thought you might enjoy!

The first trek of our journey was spent in Switzerland. We spent several days in Zurich and then traveled south into the Central Oberland region of Switzerland through the Swiss Alps...it was absolutely amazing!!! After spending several days in Switzerland, we decided to drive into Germany...into the region known as Bavaria.

2nd Trek of our Journey...

Bavaria and the German Castles

Our destination was the small town of Fussen, Germany. I circled it on the map below. Two very famous German castles are located only about 10 miles from Fussen...

Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles

The drive from Switzerland into Germany was so beautiful! The rolling hills of the German countryside were so lush and green...and so well MANICURED!!! It just amazed me! All of the pasture land seemed to be freshly mowed...it all looked so neat and tidy! In fact, Germany was probably the most tidy country that I've ever seen (as well as Switzerland). We actually saw an elderly German woman down on her hands and knees trimming her grass with a pair of scissors! Can you believe it? Litter was nowhere to be found!!! Bavaria is just breathtakingly beautiful!!!

Another interesting tidbit...

Nearly every roof in Germany or at least in Bavaria where we traveled...was red! I found that to be very interesting. Also, after traveling several days through Switzerland and Germany...I began to notice that there were NO small houses! That's right! They were all really big, multi story homes! It was awesome!!!

The lush green, rolling hills of the Bavarian countryside.


Fussen, Germany

I just loved the quaint little German town of Fussen. It's a bit "touristy" since the famous castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are nearby, but it was such a pretty little town! The large, steep roofed, multi-story buildings are all painted in pretty pastel colors! Look...pink buildings!!! Happy Pink Saturday!!!


Little ol' me...standing in the town square of Fussen, Germany.

The local pharmacy.

Just look at the Trompe L'Oeil painting on the store front of this old pharmacy...isn't it fabulous? Ooooh...and the colors are so beautiful...peach, blue, and lavender! I would have loved to watch the artist paint this!!!

The Hotel Hirsch

This was probably my favorite hotel that we stayed in while in Europe! It was everything that this little ol' American girl expected a European hotel to be! I believe that the building was quite old...or it appeared to be. Our room was on the second floor. Ohhh, you should have seen the beautiful carved wooden staircase...it was gorgeous! Big wide halls that were filled with numerous German antiques....such as this pretty handpainted armoire that you see below. We found the hotels of Europe to be very accomidating...Hotel Hirsch cost about $90 for a night's stay. Oh my, they really put out a spread for breakfast too...not just a donut and cup of coffee like American motel/hotels do!

A beautiful antique German armoire.

Schloss (Castle) Hohenschwangau

Hohenschwangau was the first castle that we toured. Hohenschwangau means "home of the swan"! Just look at that beautiful yellow ochre color! This castle is fairly new as far as castles go. It was built in the 19th century by King Maximilian II. Hohenschwangau was the official summer and hunting residence of Maximilian, his wife Marie of Prussia and their two sons Ludwig (the later King Ludwig II of Bavaria) and Otto (the later King Otto I of Bavaria).

If you're interested in the history of Hohenschwangau you can click HERE.

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Just lil' ol' me again. Hehe! Taking a little break from the serious uphill climb.

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The inner courtyard.

Honey and I at one of the beautiful fountains of Hohenschwangau.

One of the rooms at Hohenschwangau.

I took got this photo off of the internet...we were not allowed to take photos inside the castle. Isn't this beautiful? Look at all of the deep rich colors...very lavish!!! Our tour lasted about an hour...we were able to tour much of this fabulous castle. It was simply divine!!!

The famous Swan Lake...

After touring Hohenschwangau, we took a tour car just up the hill to Neuschwanstein Castle. These two castles are situated very close to one another. Hohenschwangau was the "family" castle. Neuschwanstein was built by Ludwig, the son of Maximilian. Ludwig didn't get very far from his childhood home. Hehe! Of course, we could only ride so far...and there was another long climb to get to Neuschwanstein. I took this photo on our way up to the castle...the view was absolutely breathtaking!!!

In this photo...you can see the yellow ochre colored Hohenschwangau. Swan Lake is located to the left of Hohenschwangau. And yes...this is the very same lake that the famous ballet "Swan Lake" was written about! Isn't that awesome?

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A view from Neuschwanstein. The famous Swan Lake is on the left side of the photo.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Lots of walking/climbing...whew...we're almost there!

Honey and I stopped at this "look-out" for a photo with Neuschwanstein in the background.

Ahhh...we made it! The front entrance to Neuschwanstein Castle!

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Ahhh...isn't this regal? Does it look a bit familiar? Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disney was modeled after Neuschwanstein, also the classic children's movie, "Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang" was filmed at this castle!

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Neuschwanstein means "new swan palace". It was built by Ludwig II (the mad king) in the late 1800's as a retreat and as an homage to the famous composer Richard Wagner, the king's muse! The story is...that the king, after having this magnificent castle built, only lived in it for a few short years before moving back to his childhood home of Hohenschwangau. Ludwig had mental illness and was later declared mentally insane by the government of Bavaria.

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For more (very interesting) history of Neuschwanstein Castle you can click HERE.

The inner courtyard of Neuschwanstein Castle.

Ohhh my...just lil' ol' me again...I think I'm becoming a nuisance! Hehe!

The following photos have all been taken from the internet. Once again, we were not allowed to take photos inside Neuschwanstein....but I really wanted you to see just how beautiful and regal that this castle is.

Just one of the many waiting rooms.

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The wall murals and paintings, tapestries, etc. of Neuschwanstein pays homage to the German legends of Lohengrin, the Swan Knight.

Singers Hall.

Another waiting room...you can really see the Legends of the Swan Knights portrayed on the walls in this room.

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The magnificent...awe inspiring...Castle of Neuschwanstein!!!

Well my friends...I hope you enjoyed the tour through Bavaria and the castles Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein! See...fairy tales do come true!!! I married my "Knight in Shining Armor" and he took me on a honeymoon trip to the castles!!! I'll never forget it for as long as I live!!!

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I'm so glad that you came by today! Please leave me a comment and let me know that you were here...I love our visits!!!

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Love ya'll,

Chari

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