Schloss Ludwigsburg

A couple weeks ago a sweet friend of mine from Fort Bragg came to Germany with her husband, who was on TDY. She had time to kill during the day while he was working so Joshua and I decided to drive over to Stuttgart to meet her.
Now, you may have heard me lament over driving to, near, around, in the vicinity of Stuttgart before. The TRAFFIC. It's just terrible. Every. Single. Time. And honestly, this time was no different. I lamented the whole way there and back. ;)
Let's just take a minute and thank the Lord and the Army that the Soldier was not stationed in Stuttgart.....
ok.

But once we (finally) got there we had a great time! And it was actually such a great time the extremely slow and long drive home didn't overshadow the fun. :)

We went to Ludwigsburg castle, a beautiful baroque palace just north of Stuttgart. The foundations were layed in the early 18th century and the palace was gradually added to, redecorated,  and completed over the next 40 or 50 years. as different rulers assumed title.
Surprisingly, the castle was not destroyed during WWII and it remains in beautiful condition today. The centrepiece of the grounds are the gardens. As we visited during one of the driest summers on record, they were not as spectacular as some of the photos we saw of them, but they were still lovely.
In addition, there is a children's fairy tale garden on the grounds--and that was an absolute delight to explore.

In the courtyard

from inside the courtyard-looking back at the first building of the complex

beautiful old carousel

This was the only photo I was able to snap inside the palace before we were informed that no photography was allowed...

taken from inside the castle

Lost in the hedge maze. Good thing we had just filled up on coffee and cake!

fun in the fairy tale garden. 

On the boat, just before floating through the big whale...

Do, A Deer.....

You guessed it!
Our last day was spent in Salzburg, home to all things Mozart and the Sound of Music.
We really went back and forth about taking one of the many SoM tours that are offered in the city. They are kind of expensive but the benefit would be being able to see all of the Sound of Music sights in a day, including the ones outside of the city. The weather was a little iffy in the morning and we figured that we had better take an afternoon tour (which ended up being 95 degrees...) but the later tour would mean we would be getting home after midnight. Such a dilemma.
In the end, we decided to just go for it on our own. We had been there once before (12 1/2 years ago...) and we figured that combined with a couple online guides and a Rick Steves book we could hit the major sights in the city.

 And, oh, we did! Now, I do have to say that I am a BIG fan of the Sound of Music. I have very fond memories of going to the elderly lady's house across the street from us when I was a little girl because they had the piano sheet music I could play. I was REALLY looking forward to this. And the boys were great sports and even though it was sweltering (after raining all morning) and I think I may have even heard them humming along with me at some point...

They're hoping the Sisters will let them in to talk to Maria...

Inside the Abbey...

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

"I have confidence....."

I totally should have had him run around that ledge on the fountain singing....

 This is my only regret. The steps Maria and the children jump up during Do, Re, Mi are just to the left of where Joshua is sitting above. But I didn't get a picture there...

Mirabel Gardens

 We didn't get to look into the theater (now horse show venue) where the concert was held the night the Von Trapp's made their escape. We didn't want to pay to go in to the building and although we tried sneaking a peek through some side doors, were thwarted in our attempts. But it's ok. The day was just awesome.

 Those pictures make you want to watch the movie, don't they? Just do it. :)

And here are some random pictures of other cool churches and buildings around the city...
Salzburg is busy and touristy, but has a certain charm to it. I still like Holland the best, but I could definitely spend more time in Salzburg if i HAD to...

Mozart in Mozart Square

So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehn, Good-bye.....