January and February 2020
Home again after almost a month of traveling. Almost 3 weeks in South Africa with family, then off to Europe for 8 days that will be etched in my memory forever. Time with Jacob and Seb, and a visit or two with Melody were priceless, as it always is. Never can spend long enough there. Arrived in Munich on a Tuesday, stayed until early Thursday morning. Wednesday a quick walk around town then on to Neuenschwanstein Castle, which is the stuff fairy tales are made of. No photos inside, and it really defies description. But the stairs! Hundreds of steps up and then all those stairs down, not to mention the incline just to get up to where the castle is perched on the side of a hill. I did take the horse drawn carriage for most of the trip to the top, all but about the last several hundred yards so I was panting when I began the stairs to begin with. Thursday morning I boarded the train for Klagenfurt for a short visit with a long-time internet frie...