Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland & St Goar, Germany

Well, nearing the end of 8 weeks of travel and I really can't believe how many things we've seen and done. Travelling has been very good for the heart and soul, and it also makes me feel more connected with my home and all our family and friends as you realise that life simply wouldn't be the same without our fantastic solar system of people.

Getting to Lauterbrunnen from Munich, was a 12 hour bus ride. We were diverted from the quicker route because the roads were under construction -- and we were on a very loaded bus and were going up and down mountain roads and winding Alpine "highways". And for those of you who don't know, I suffer from motion sickness. I was feeling quite awful by the end of it and when we arrived it was raining and everyone was feeling grumpy. So Stewart and I stayed in a nice little cabin and didn't think twice about plunking down 80 dollars for two nights. That was the night that the "real" campers were separated from people like us -- people whol like to camp only when the weather meets camping requirements. AKA generally sunny and not raining. So Lauterbrunnen is in the middle of the Swiss Alps, and there's a mountain there called the Jungfrau which was gorgeous. We walked to some waterfalls near the Jungrau and went up this very narrow passageway via a creaky elevator to access the walkways around the waterfalls (which are inside the mountain). The sound was deafening and the rock around us was shaking. It was a very powerful experience. We also had a fondu night. Giant pots of swiss fondu made their way to our tables and boy did we enjoy these with bits of bit. The crusty bits at the bottom were the most enjoyable. We were also served giant sausages which I promptly gave to Stewart. I'm sausaged out, I'm sorry to say. Lauterbrunnen was quite Swiss, with the cute Swiss houses and latices and lovely flower baskets.

St Goar was a quick one night stopover on our way to Amsterdam. But it really captured our hearts. It's in the Rhine Valley and supports the vineyards which supply the Ice Wine from the region. I ate a Berliner, which is just a fancy name for a jelly donut. I had to have one for historical reasons, as JFK announced to the real Berliners that he was a Berliner, but what he really said is that he was a jelly donut. So next time you sink your teeth into one of those, remember that there's some history to all that jam. We will definitely go back here someday. We saw a family of Swans and they even let us near them to look at their babies. We also saw gorgeous hand painted Steins (beer mugs) and one of them was $2300 hundred dollars. Better like your beer for that price. Stewart and I kept saying that Bruce, you would love it here, we thought. Especially the Steins -- they were classy and historical at the same time. Stewart and I stayed in a 1970's camper van because we were a couple and the owner gave all the couples a camper van to stay in. Apart from a couple big spiders it was a great treat.
Love you!
Amanda and Stewart :)