Across the Pond...: 9 Days, 6 Countries, 1760 Miles...

Team Ludwig did a MAJOR road trip over the half term. In nine days, we drove through six countries, stopping to rest in six cities over (approximately) 1760 miles.

It's hard to even get my head around it all, but we had a wonderful time as a family. My top 10 highlights (in no particular order)....

1 - Bike riding in Brugge.
2 - Fantastic hotels that all met or exceeded expectations. (Thank you Trip Advisor!)
3 - Belgian waffles, German pretzels and Nutella crepes. (Oh, and salted caramel gelato in Heidelberg of all places!)
4 - Ryan and Lanie doing some "songwriting" while we were walking the streets of Salzburg and during our downtime at the hotel.
5 - An incredible dinner at a funky restaurant in Belgium owned by a couple who were clearly obsessed with clocks and all things American.
6 - The Sound of Music Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus Tour.
7 - Kids that were so great during our long drives... enjoying movies, Leapsters, reading, puzzle books - and even some homework.
8 - Hiking out to Mary's Bridge for an incredible view of Neuschwanstein Castle.
9 - Sunshine at Neuschwanstein Castle AND in Salzburg (where it was actually warm enough to sit and enjoy an ice cream cone)!
10 - The Playmobil Fun Park in Zirndorf... not packed with rides, but rather 90,000 square meters of themed adventure playgrounds. The kids LOVED it!

Now, of course a road trip for nine days with two children was not without it's low points, too. The biggest bummer was the weather - which hit a literal low of 41F when we were in Heidelberg (with rain). There was also the occassional "I'm bored." from our children immediately followed by my response: "Do you realize how far we've come to see [fill in the blank with appropriate landmark or castle]?" But it all came to a head in Heidelberg at the Schnitzel Haus...

After starting the trip off with two days of rain and temperatures in the 40's and low 50's (while the UK was finally enjoying some spring sun), we arrived late in the evening in Heidelberg. I wanted to go straight to the Heidelberger Schnitzel Haus (which I had previously researched online), but John wasn't up for it. (Seriously, who doesn't want to go someplace they have over fifty kinds of schnitzel?!) This led to about an hour of wandering, until we all (cold, grouchy and tired) finally ended up at... the Schnitzel Haus. Just minutes after our dinner arrived, as Lane was trying to cut her schnitzel, she managed to tip her entire plate into her lap. What started as laughter quickly changed, for me, into a flood of tears. The stress of the planning the trip and the disappointment with the weather had caught up with me. I was already strategizing in my head how we might cut our 9 days trip short by about 4 days. Ryan, quickly picking up on my rapid change in demeanor, announced that he wanted to go home. Lane, who was taking the whole dinner-in-her-lap incident in stride, tried to explain that he meant he wanted to go back to the hotel, not all the way back to England. (Indeed he, like me, did want to go back to England.)

Truthfully, I think I just needed a good cry. And, honestly, the whole trip was better after the Schnitzel Haus. I'm just glad it happened on Day 2 (not Day 7) of our nine day adventure...

Of course, a few photos...