Our European Adventure

Meaghan and I had the pleasure of spending a week exploring Switzerland and Germany during our last vacation. This was largely a free-form vacation, as I was not able to do my usual planning. We knew that we were flying into Zurich, Switzerland and staying for the week, but everything else was pretty much plan as we go.

We arrived on Saturday morning via Swiss Air (BOS to ZRH). I have to say even though the flight was overnight, it was a great experience as the international airlines do it right. They provide meals, unlimited drinks, personal entertainment systems, snacks, and swiss chocolate.

We arrived in Bremgarten, at the home of Martina and Duri Campbell, where we would be staying for the week. They were finishing up their vacation in Italy, so the house was quiet, and we were able to relax and rest up after our overnight flight.

On Sunday, we took the train to Zurich, where we discovered that everything was closed. It allowed us to explore the city without a lot of people and enjoy the one day of nice weather we experienced while in Switzerland. We walked along the lake, took pictures, and had a nice italian lunch. It was our first introduction to the swiss economy, as lunch cost $80.00 Swiss Francs. Oh the joys of Europe.

On Monday we packed a couple change of clothes and headed off to Germany. On the way we visited the town of Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

Schaffhausen is the home of IWC, an iconic watch manufacturer that produces quality timepieces. We stopped to visit their museum, but discovered that it wasn't open on Monday and for that fact was only open between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm daily. Oh well, we had to head off to Germany anyway, so away we went.

We arrived in Stuttgart, Germany around 5:00 pm and settled into our room at the Stuttgart Marriott. It was going to be our base for the next two days, so we unpacked and relaxed.

On Tuesday morning we headed off to Heidelberg, Germany. Known for its historical castle, Heidelberg was an excellent place to explore and observe some visual history.

We explored the Heidelberg Castle and walked around the downtown. A lunch of wienersitizel completed the day and before leaving town we ventured up to the top of a church in downtown, where the guide promised the best views in Heidelberg.

After many steps, we got up to the top and were able to view the entire city of Heidelberg. Amazingly enough while taking in the sites we ran into a couple of people from Puyallup. What are the chances. A couple of tourists from Boston, run into a couple of tourists from my hometown. Its a small world after all...

We headed out of Heidelberg and down the autobahn to Kindsbach, Germany. Since we were only a couple of hours aways from our friends, the Eltons we stopped by for dinner and to see their growing family. Thank you Elton's for having us over for dinner.

Upon leaving we had a two hour drive back to Stuttgart, which was an adventure in its own right. For anyone that hasn't heard of the German Autobahn, we got to experience a highway that has no fixed speed limit and cars that like to pass you going 110+ mph. Meaghan constantly told me to slow down, even though I never broke 150 kmph (90 mph) and with the darkness and rain, were constantly holding on for dear life. What an adventure...