Aaron and I had a wonderful opportunity to go on a marriage retreat with his work this past weekend in Germany. As soon as we heard there was a retreat coming up, I told him to sign us up! We went on one before I had Connor and we loved it, so it was about time we went on another. Our wonderful friends Morgan and Levi offered to keep Connor for the weekend so we could enjoy our weekend without chasing after him. At first we weren't sure about leaving him, but then we decided it would be a good idea to focus on just the two of us. Plus, they are great with him and he loves them!
We dropped Connor off with Morgan at 7:15 on Friday morning. He did really good and even said bye to us. We went to Aaron's work after leaving and picked our seat on the bus. It was so weird not having Connor with us when so many other people had their kids, but we were excited to spend a weekend together, just the two of us! We arrived in Germany at 2:30, an hour earlier than expected. Everyone went to the conference room to talk about the schedule for the weekend and then we got our keys. We settled into our room and then had dinner at 5. Our first session started at 6:30, so we went straight there after eating. We introduced ourselves and then watched a really funny video about the differences in the way men and women think. It was spot on! We then talked a little bit about the 5 love languages and were given our homework assignment: complete the questions at the back of the book to find out what our primary love language was. Aaron and I went to the bar for a couple drinks afterwards. We never get to do that, so we took advantage!
While we were driving to Germany and learning about the way men and women think, Connor was busy having fun and working on craft projects. Thank you Morgan and Levi for sending us millions of pictures and videos! I looked forward to everyone of them and re-watched them over and over!
We woke up early on Saturday. We ate breakfast and then waited for the bus to take us to Neuschwanstein Castle. It was a beautiful hour drive to the village, and even started snowing on the way. The bus dropped us off in the village {Hohenschwangau} below the castle. We immediately bought our tickets for the castle and then looked around a couple of the shops before taking a bus to the top of the mountain. It was so cold, and I wasn't dressed appropriately.
Hohenschwangau Castle
The beautiful village of Hohenschwangau.
Aaron picked this camo and orange had for Connor. He thought it would be perfect for when he goes hunting.
We could have taken a carriage ride up the mountain, but we decided the bus would be warmer and faster.
I got excited when I saw this shopping sign...
....but this was the only store and it was EXPENSIVE!
The bus drove us to the top of the mountain, but we still had to walk a short distance to the castle. It wouldn't have been so bad if I was wearing warmer clothes and something besides flats.
The village seen from the top of the mountain.
Almost to the castle!
So beautiful.
Inside the castle walls.
I was so cold, so we went inside and Aaron sat on my feet to thaw them out. It worked!
It started snowing again!
Waiting in the snow for our tour to start.
We weren't able to take pictures inside the castle, but it was really pretty. We got to see where the servants lived and ate, the throne hall, the hall of singers, the drawing room, the kings bedroom, the dining room, and the kitchen. Construction began in 1868 and was never finished. It was supposed to be a place for King Ludwig II to live privately since he was a recluse, but he died in 1886 before it was finished. The castle was opened to the public 6 weeks after he died to help pay his debts.
After touring the castle, we took the bus back to the village. We were starving, so we picked a really cute and cozy German restaurant to eat at.
Prost.
I loved this heater in the restaurant.
We walked around the village for a little while after lunch, and then waited in the bus for everyone else. I immediately thawed out as soon as we got on the bus.
Swans in the lake.
The sun came out as soon as we were about to leave.
Before it started snowing at the hotel.
We got to the hotel at 4:30 and ate dinner at 5 again. Our second session started at 6:15, so had time to do our homework right before. We were bad and waited until the last minutes ;) After the class, we went to the outdoor hot tub. It was so cool because it was snowing on us while we were in the water, but we weren't cold since it was warm. We spend about an hour in there before going back to our room and attempting to facetime with Connor. It didn't go so well :( He talked to us for maybe 10 seconds before he ran away and hid behind the couch and started crying. Of course I started crying and we were done talking within a minute. It was exactly what I was scared of.
Left: Connor helped put away the silverware. Right: He wanted to go straight to sleep after talking to us.
The next morning when I looked outside the door in our hotel room, there was snow everywhere. It looked very different from the grass covered yard and mountains I saw the night before...
Aaron went to fill out our critique while I got dressed and took
pictures. He met me outside and we were able to get one with the snow
all over us.
After eating breakfast and checking out, it was time to leave at 10. We slept most of the bus ride home and arrived back at 3. We were both so excited to see out baby!We went straight to pick him up and then to pick up the dogs. Everyone was excited to see us.
When we got home, we gave Connor the gift we got him: a wooden sword and shield. He loved playing with Aaron!
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