Travel Log: Disneyland and Dinkelsbühl

It is with great relief that I begin to write this entry. It will the last post about our fantastic trip to Europe. About time! The trip was in May and here it is the 30th of October. I feel I've documented it pretty well. Thanks for the memories....

Several months before we began our adventure, the MAAWB swarmed in our living room. We set up a high tech command centre. Multiple laptops were humming. An overhead projector (borrowed from work) was attached to one laptop and beamed the desktop onto the wall so we could all see. We pulled the blinds and stayed sober. This was our planning day.

We discussed and debated our options; determined our route; and then compared, selected, and booked our hotels. Everything was pretty straight forward until we got to this last day. One last day. Where would it be?

Rootsey was the only member of the MAAWB who had traversed these parts before. He was bouncing back and forth from leg to leg (like an 8 year old who needs to pee) with his suggestion to see a castle. "Not just a castle," he said, "the castle to end all castles." So we looked at the map, found the castle, determined that we would be headed in the right direction (toward Frankfurt), and said, "Right-o."

But where would we spend the night?

We looked at the map and ran our eyes between the castle and Frankfurt. And that's when we found it: Dinkelsbühl.

According to the mayor of Dinkelsbühl, "[it] is simply enchanting! Every day of every year, guests from all over the world are overwhelmed by the charms of one of Germany’s most beautiful medieval towns.

So, because we liked the name, because it was so beautifully described, and, most importantly, because it was on the way, we booked our rooms and made that the last stop.

Between the castle that inspired Cindarella's castle at Disneyland - the reference makes sense now - (Neuschwanstein Castle, royal palace in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, the royal palace built for Mad King Ludwig) and Dinkelsbühl, I think we hit the motherload in beauty on the way out. The pictures will speak for themselves.

The Last Word

A few things I can think of to say before I let you go are these:

1. I love the Autobahn.
2. I actually looked forward to the 13 hour leg of our flight home because of the free foot massage machines at the Singapore Airport.
3. We all love the cans of 10% alcohol Jack & Cokes in Germany.
4. We enjoyed planning for this trip almost as much as going on it.
5. Alan is a great hotel selector.
6. Villa la Noce was AMAZING.
   
7. Two weeks was plenty of time.
8. Qantas in-flight entertainment made the 21 hours of flight time very bearable.
9. The 18 people who went on this trip are all fantastic!
10. I can't wait for the next big adventure!