Four Years Stronger

We recently celebrated our 4^th wedding anniversary and freakishly realized this was our 3^rd consecutive one while living in Germany.   Have we really been out of the USA this long?!  This year also marks 10 years since we first got together, the best decade I could have ever imagined.

We stayed closer to home for our anniversary this year at the Spitzingsee in the Bavarian Alps.  That means the dogs were lucky and also got to tag along our little getaway.  Our trip was delayed and cut short a bit by bad weather, but we were able to enjoy 1.5 beautiful days at the alpine lake. 

 

We spent our first day enjoying some nice hikes around the lake and surrounding area.  There we met probably the happiest cows in the world.  And then the rest of the time we were enjoying the spa/pool with a lakeside view. 

We ate dinner at the hotel’s Italian restaurant, where we enjoyed an absolutely delicious appetizer buffet.  However we almost made ourselves sick on all the marinated vegetables, cheese, and bread.  We could barely eat the pizza we ordered for the main course.

The dogs also had a wonderfully spoiled day.  Many German hotels, especially in the countryside, are very dog friendly and provide nice accommodations for pets.  This particular place had a bowl of treats in the lobby entrance.  This meant the dogs never really wanted to leave the lobby, and were actually excited when the walks were over and it was time to return to the room.  Each walk by they would grab as many treats that would fit in their mouths, knowing we wouldn’t let them have more than one pass at a time. 

Not a photo of the treats, but a cute picture of Sadie scaring off a duck 

We spent the night star gazing and trying to capture some night sky photography.  We lucked out with clear skies and were able to spot the 2 or 3 constellations we actually know.

When it was time for bed, we didn’t sleep too long before waking up for our anniversary tradition of photographing the sunrise (a very painful 5 a.m.).  We got some beautiful shots of the lake reflection before stumbling back to bed to try to grab a few more hours of sleep. 

However our plan to sleep in late was interrupted by what Julie thought was a casino that opened outside our window.  There were so many loud clangs and people cheering that she finally got up to see what was going on.  Looking out the window she learned that it wasn’t a casino, but a cattle drive directly through town (and right outside our window).  The noises were the cowbells and the farmers in lederhosen directing the cows through the main street. Oh the things you can see in Bavaria! 

After our cowbell alarm clock we decided to take a gondola ride up the mountain.  It was the first gondola ride for the dogs, so it was fun to watch their reactions to it.  However they have learned that when on vacation with us, they get to experience pretty fun things, so neither were worried enough to avoid the strange new ride.  At the top the weather was completely different, so we found ourselves stuck in a bit of a cold rain cloud.  Though we didn’t let it stop us from stomping around a bit and enjoying some nice views and hot chocolate before making our way back home. 

Happy Anniversary Julie!