Summer

Our summer has been lots of fun.  Now that it is nearly officially over I figured I should sum up:

The boy is my more-or-less constant companion.  He wants to be right in the middle of everything, especially if it involves the use of machines.  

and finished a quilt top on her own

Deanna learned to sew

No embraced his 'tough guy' side

We visited the castle at Bad Durkheim and the kids played in the 'goblet of fire'  Not any fire, just an abundance of kids.  

Krazy King Ludwig's Kastles

Our last big trip of the summer was to Bavaria and the last of King Ludwig's castles.  We saw Neuschwanstein, which Ludwig built, never finished, and lived in for only a few days before he was deposed and died under mysterious circumstances.  It is famously the basis for Disney's sleeping beauty castle.  It was huge.  Also, Ludwig was a great friend of Wagner and wrote the composer lengthy letters about the throne room and banqueting hall based on Wagner's operas.  He and Wagner also shared a disdain for Ludwig's parents, one letter tells how glad Ludwig will be to live in Neuschwanstein, where he will no longer share the 'polluted air' where his mother lives in the valley bottom.  Issues, eh?  

My favorite was the Linderhof, where the gardens were marvelous and the little 'huts' all over the grounds are fascinating.  My kids' favorite part of the trip, however, was the swimming pool at our hotel in Garmisch.  So much for getting them a little historical edumacation.  

The Alps

Linderhof fountain

The Linderhof--only castle Ludwig completed and lived in
It was his retreat from 'real life' in Munich.
Modeled after Versailles

Hohenschwangau  (swan castle) where Ludwig grew up

out of the mouths

Emma, this morning, as she prepared for school:   "Mommy, do you just sleep all day while we're at school?"

Rothenburg

Still one of my favorite places.

Versailles, 17 July

Is it wrong of me to not love such a cultural touchstone?  Let's just say that the huge crowds and the French disdain for efficiency combine in this place to make it rather less than pleasant to tour. 

Charlemagne.  They're not impressed

gold gates.  sparkly!

Halls of fancy furnishings, expensive paintings, fabulous tapestry, amid the hordes of people who stop right in front of you to listen to the audio tour.  Sadly, the famous hall of mirrors is dingy and many of the mirrors have been vandalized.  It was reminiscent of our Loire trip where the stairwells of the fabulous chateaux were defaced with graffiti.   We ended up skipping the one part I really wanted to see--the gardens, because we were fed up with the whole experience. 

Mont St-Michel, 16 July

Mt St-Michel

The abbey built at the top of the hill was once only reachable at low tide.  Nowadays, however, the modern causeway allows access day and night and for ample tourist parking.  I want to come back in the slow season to stay here and watch the tide come in. 

Look!  Deanna is nearly smiling!

Omaha Beach, 15 July

Mine Eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord