“September 29, 2008 — Ever since we got back it’s like we’re sharing this grand secret–only the two of us were there for the shocking discovery of Oktoberfest, the miracle sound of cowbells, dumping water on the noisy couple having sex in the bushes four stories below our window, climbing in the Alps and almost falling down a cliff in front of Neuschwanstein, toasting champagne on a mountain in Austria, suckered into buying a coo-coo clock in Munich, surprised to land and find the airport labeled in French and English and realize we must be in Canada, exhausted and napping in the car in Charleston before straggling home to two meowing kitties at 4:30 am! 
Somehow Austria looked different than Germany even though they were so close. It’s interesting being old places, places with so much history. Places where battles were fought and people bled and died in the frigid Alps. Yikes! I really liked going grocery shopping for our lunch and seeing how inexpensive the German wine was and the new cheeses and sausages. We bought apples and champagne and rolls before hiking up Ehrnburg. 
A family friend said of Switzerland they could hear cowbells drifting up on the breeze as they hiked. That sounded so serene, and then, hiking in Austria…cowbells!! We picked and ate wild raspberries on our hike back down.” 
[That journal entry was the day after we got home and two days before the movers packed up our stuff and sent it to Japan. The 29th is also the day we got our flight information to Tokyo. One year later marks our 11 month Japanniversary and I can safely say that in the past year NOTHING has slowed down!]
Where Globe-Trotting meets Beach-Combing
