Vacation Part 2: Feldkirch, Lichtenstein, & Germany

The plan for staying in Austria: Visit and stay with Husband's family....for free! We were so excited to be able to stay in a home with all the comforts of a family visit, but a few weeks before our trip there was an unfortunate turn of events that forced the family back to Texas for a bit.  Saddened by the thought of not being with them, they still generously allowed us to stay in their flat in Weiler, a subburb outside of Feldkirch. 

And even though Husband's family would not be able to be with us on our trip, a lady from their local church had taken it upon herself to pick us up from the train station, show us around, and take us into Germany for one afternoon to check out some historic castles. It was very hospitable, and we were so thankful to have a personal tour guide for a few days.  It rained quite a bit while we were there, but it was nice and never stopped us from getting out.

FYI, as a forewarning, Blogger's photo uploader stinks.  Please click on the images to see the hi-res versions. :)

The view from the flat.  I miss it already.  It was like our own little apartment. 

 

We went into Feldkirch to explore some of the town for one afternoon. Our walk to the bus stop was so peaceful, the picture below are a few sites that we saw along our walk...like a fairy tale.

Overlooking the town of Feldkirch, is the massive 800 year old Schattenburg Castle Museum.

Inside the castle. 

Courtyard in the center of the castle.  The door near the center of the photo leads to their restaurant.  We ate here the next evening with our tour guide and had traditional Wienerschnitzel. 

Later that afternoon we headed into Liechtenstein. If you don't know much about this country, here are a few facts:

• The entire country only covers about 62 square miles
• Population is around 35,000
• Is the world's last remaining true monarchy (ya know where the King lives in the castle and rules all the land and stuff :)

First item on the to-do list: Get our passport stamped! That will be one that not a whole lot of people in the world have :) 

The Vaduz Castle which is still home to the Prince of Liechtenstein. 

Headed over to Balzers Castle in Gutenburg

View from the hill of Balzers Castle. 

There we are :) 

The next day our tour guide drove us into Hohenschwangau...you think I'm making these names up don't you... Don't worry I double checked, AND spelling is correct too ;)  We specifically were going to see 2 castles, Neuschwanstein Castle, and Hohenschwangau Castle. 

Hohenschwangau... 

Had to stop for some fun at the gift shop on our hike up to the castle. We hiked a good 10 miles that day, no lie! 

Neuschwanstein may look a little familiar to you.  That's because it was Walt Disney's inspiration for Cinderella's Castle! So cool. 

Scary, but beautiful bridge that over looks the castle

On the bridge

We ARE in a fairy tale!

Germany was so naturally beautiful, and the castles were really great, but once you've seen one...you've seen them all. Our next leg of the trip we headed to Salzburg.