The Travels With Simba Christmas Special!

I'm so sorry this is so late! Between being sick and finals here, I've been a terrible blogger!
Thank you for your support!

Anyway, this year I got an amazing Christmas gift - besides my plastic pug "piggy" (or should I say "puggy"?) bank, which is pretty awesome,  or my American Dvd of The Lion King,  or even Season 2 of Modern Family (the funniest show ever) on Dvd - my family came to Germany.


Yes, I know Christmas is long since past, but with sinking cruise liners, the government trying to censor our internet, and other depressing things in the news, I'm bringing some much belated Christmas cheer to you and this blog.

Despite some bumps in the road and some very long delays - during which your humble blogger paid an obscene amount for a terrible panini (the receipt was nice enough to tell me that I paid 6 Euros = 8 US Dollars = 611 Yen) - my family arrived.  And so did their luggage!!

We spent Christmas together as a family, along with Rachel who we adopted (because who wants to be alone on Christmas?!).  On Christmas Morning, we also went to this epic High Mass at the Catholic church downtown - they majorly kicked it old school by using the music from Mozart's Mass in B minor (if I remember correctly).  Also, not to be put to shame by any cathedral at home, this small parish was able to support 22 - yeah, you read that right, 22 - altar servers.  Let it never be said that we Catholics don't know how to put on a show.

The rest of the time, my family traveled around the area of Tübingen and I got to see places that would be difficult for me to get to without a car.  So without further adieu, the pictures!

We first visited the Abbey in Bebenhausen. (Not to be confused with Downton Abbey - my latest obsession) The abbey was used by Trappist monks who took vows of silence.  The abbey was also freezing cold - the weather wasn't great when we were there, but inside the abbey it was a good 10 degrees colder.  I couldn't imagine living there in the 1300s in the dead of winter and not being able to talk about how cold you were!

Yes, I am related to these people.
Frightening.

Caution: Roof Avalanches
Or if you mistranslate it: Dachshund Avalanches

The inner and outer wall.

Yours truly and her brother.

Silly faces run in the family.

Lookin' fierce boys.

Much better.

The only bit of snow we had the entire Christmas!!!

Snapped this one at an untimely moment.

Not awkward at all, huh, Will?

Look at the beautiful Gothic arches.

Starbucks was not original in their choice of logo.

What the rooms looked like when
the Kaiser lived in Bebenhausen...

And several centuries before...how the monks lived.

This gorgeous blue ceiling was added when the Kaiser and
 his wife lived in the Abbey.

Short door or tall brother?

On another day, we did a Castle Day!  We first visited Burg Hohenzollern (which I've visited before - clicky if you need a refresher).  Alas, the prince was not there!

We then drove up the curving, winding mountains (which is pretty scary when aggressive German drivers are tailgating you!) to see Schloss Lichtenstein.  Unfortunately, the castle wasn't open for tours in the cold weather.  But there was a scary dog barking behind the gate - a true German Shepherd guard dog!

The castle is not that impressive from the parking lot since it sits on the edge of a cliff. But hopefully, I'll be back later in the spring to capture some new pictures!

Rawr.

No alligators in this moat.

We then left the castles behind for the charming valley town Bad Urach.  We stopped at a charming cafe and had traditional German "Kaffee und Kuchen" (Coffee and Cake).  Needless to say, it was super tasty!

The town all done up for Christmas!

The market square at night. Check out the moon in the sky!

The next day we followed the monarchy with the clergy - a church day.  Once again, we found ourselves driving along the long winding roads.

Will got this shot of Lichtenstein out the car window!
See the cliff side is much cooler than the parking lot side.

We first visited Zwiefalten - home to a gorgeous rococo church and the monastery brewery.

I love Zwiefalten and the church is gorgeous.

Some of it was under construction.

The monk's old brewery is now totally modernized!
And comes with a tasty restaurant.

We ate lunch at the Brewery - I went with a schnitzel, but everyone else went with trout fished from the stream.  It came to the table with its head, eyes and everything. Will made the trout talk to me in an effort to creep me out - isn't that what brothers are for?!

Unfortunately, the inner gate of the church was locked to visitors, so we couldn't go inside the church properly. Fortunately, my camera has 14x zoom! 

The ceiling is filled with gorgeous rococo imagery.

Behind the altar are the (supposed)
relics of St. Stephen.

Sorry it's a little blurry from the zoom!

After getting lost and turned about on the country back roads, we found our way to both Obermarchtal and Untermarchtal (Above- and Below-Marchtal).  Untermarchtal has a nunnery (which resulted in many "Get thee to nunnery jokes) and Obermarchtal has an abbey.  All the photos below are from the Obermarchtal Abbey, which has now been converted into a boarding school.

This Catholic church is also done up in the rococo style.

One of the elaborate side altars!

Another side altar, this one to St. Mary.

Back of the church!

The pulpit is just as elaborate as everything else.

The front altar is still decorated for Christmas

A beautiful ceiling fresco! 

This gorgeous Marian painting celebrates
the nuns and monks in the area.

Another rococo side altar

We also spent the other days visiting family friends and touring through Tübingen.  It was an amazing two weeks!