Road trip! We set off on a pretty massive one with Chad and Claire after spending a day with them in Lausanne. We’ve always heard great things about several spots in Switzerland that we have yet to visit. And as they weren’t able to see much of the beauty that Switzerland offers we decided to pop down through the canton of Ticino to kick start our trip. In the small village of Lavertezzo there’s a popular spot for a swim, featuring a double arch bridge that’s over 400 years old. We arrived just in time to have lunch before the rain rolled in. Ticino is incredibly charming with its vineyards, stone homes, and mountain views! We really try to take it all in when we travel via car. There’s always so much beauty along the way! The waterfalls set into the mountains that we passed were unreal and the windy road that led us there… so fun.

After this quick stop in Lavertezzo we headed onward to Liechtenstein. Despite being less well known and one of the world’s smallest countries, we wanted to see what it was all about. Being small, there weren’t endless options for activities but it was perfect for us as we elected to enjoy a night in. We’d been missing our game nights with them so we shared dinner in and played who knows how many games of gin.

Working our way to Salzburg the next morning we made a pit stop at the Neuschwanstein Castle. Serving as inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle and others we expected grand things for it. Lovely on the outside, the history inside was just as rich. We enjoyed exploring the castle but would recommend doing the hike to see if from afar as well. Unfortunately the weather didn’t allow us to do that but we could imagine what the views must have been like. Salzburg surprised us as it’s quainter than we anticipated! Quaint but full of things to see. Not much time passed since we went with his family but it was enough for the flowers to bloom in the Mirabell Garden! The buildings have personality, many built right into the rock. We walked through St. Peter’s Abbey, one of the oldest monasteries to date. Nearby, a bakery that’s been around for a little over 800 years still exists. The bread has to be good right? It was. And if you have a thing for Mozart or The Sound of Music then Salzburg is a good place to visit. The hills were very alive!

We carried our gin games over into the numerous beer gardens of Munich. We love Munich from its architecture to the people and nightlife. From an outsider’s point of view, residents there are all about family and fun. Everyone is so friendly! Not that people aren’t friendly elsewhere. Their town hall is one of the more incredible pieces of architecture we’ve ever seen. It’s so intricate! To get a different vantage point of it we climbed a few steps (299 to be exact) in St. Peter’s Church across the street. It was pretty neat to look out over Munich as it’s such a huge city but few of the buildings are very tall. Fun fact: it’s prohibited for buildings to exceed 99 meters in city center and the town hall is just under. It felt like we could see forever!

Just outside of Munich is Dachau, one of the concentration camps and a memorial site present day. We took a tour of it and it was definitely uncomfortable at times as we explored the history and we surely couldn’t imagine how it felt for those who were imprisoned there. The former administration building now museum offered a lot of insight like some of what they endured and many photos taken at the time. Seeing things like the disinfecting chambers and crematorium was unsettling. It really makes us appreciate what we have today. Overall the last 6 weeks have been a whirlwind! Twice to both Paris and Salzburg with our friends and family plus other one off adventures with them. The next trip on our docket is Croatia, our second time but a different island! We’re really looking forward to it as it’s been one of our favorite trips in the past. In the meantime, we’ll be spending as much time as possible under the sun, get some hiking in, and keep enjoying life as we do!