Waterfalls, Ziplining, Fishing, and Castles...Oh My!

We awoke early the next morning to another stupendously gorgeous blue sky (so much for the rain they had forecast for the weekend) and we were eager to be off as we had a full day of fun planned.  But before we could even make it to our first location, I made them all pull the car over a few times so I could snap some pictures of our surroundings.  I don't think the photos do the views justice because even though the views look pretty here they were simply breathtaking in person.

It looked like every shade of green known to man was represented!

Because, of course, there was a castle, nestled on a hill, above a small village, with a field of wildflowers surrounding it and snowcapped mountains framing it from behind...

I finally got back into the car and we made it to our first spot of the day - a hike up to see 3 waterfalls and then a zip line back to the start.  I'm not sure who was more excited, me or the kids.  

The waterfalls produced some great rainbows.

We made it.  A little wet, but we made it to the zip line.

It was a very family friendly zip line.  It included a canvas seat and handle bars (to keep you from spinning).  It was just the right speed so I went first and then the kids followed together.

The "kids" coming in over the river.

It was time for some lunch so M asked a random walker on the street in this cute village where to eat.  She recommended a hotel up the road so off we went.

And we had it all to ourselves!  It is off season after all.  The kids loved that they had the playground to themselves and the adults enjoyed the atmosphere and each others company.  But not for too long - we still had to get to the fishing hole.  

This is the fishing spot.  Which was hosting a wedding but still allowed us to fish.  Which we did for about an hour...

M teaching the kids how to bait the hook.

While N was fishing these two caught tadpoles...

This one caught a nap...

This one  then caught a fish...

And so did this one.

Deciding that we had caught our 4 fish (it was the limit) and then tossed them back (which was against the rules - you were supposed to kill and eat) we headed off again as we still had one more destination for the day - a castle tour.

But you know I had to stop and take a few closeups of these guys as we drove past...

Anyone who knows me well knows I love cows.

These were the views from the castle (as seen in that picture up at the top of the post).  There were no pictures allowed inside the castle but who needs more pictures of a musty old castle when you can take these instead...

It was nearing pool time for the kids and break time for the women, we made it back to the hotel and the boys gladly took the kids for a quick swim before dinner.  As for M and I, lets just say we enjoyed some alone time to finish off the day...

It was a fantastic trip with good friends.  We left mid-morning on Sunday as the drive back in can get very long and trafficy (not a word, I know) as the day goes on.  Especially on long weekends and we didn't want 4 hours turning into 8 as it has before.  We made it just in time, as the back ups were just starting as we pulled into Munich, tired and somehow still refreshed from our whirlwind weekend.

The Dolomites

We had a fabulous morning celebrating Stinkerbell's first communion on Thursday.  But let's be honest, we had no family in town, we do not speak enough German to enjoy the party they threw for us and it was a 4 day weekend.  We had places to go.  A few weeks before we knew exacly when Stinkerbell's communion would be we decided that we needed to get out and enjoy the Alps.  I looked all over for where we should go and found this great little town just across the Austrian border in Italy.  I snapped up on of the last rooms, called my friend M and asked if she and her family would like to join us and we had a plan.  So,we didn't stick around for long after the communion ceremony was over.  Don't get me wrong, we said our thank you's to everyone involved and took a few group snapshots but as soon as things broke up we hit the road.  We had a few days of hiking and camaraderie ahead of us in Italy that we were really looking forward to.

A few hours after leaving Munich, we were greeted by this view from our hotel room balcony...

Not too shabby!

The next morning the kids were all up bright and early in anticipation of a fun-filled day in the mountains.  We (and by we I mean M) asked about the best things to do in the area.  This is on top of the person he asked the night before about the best things to do in the area.  I jest, but thankfully he did because our plans changed a slight bit and we ended up heading out to a different location for the morning.  

The kids love hanging out together!  S and N are American/Italian/Swiss friends of ours from school.

The first thing we stumbled upon was this gorgeous church.  With its creepy Jesus inside...We kept moving...

And for the rest of the afternoon, we enjoyed the scenery, each others company, and gorgeous sunshine.  It truly could not have been more pleasant in any way...well, maybe if my girls would have stopped arguing with each other but I don't expect that to change for the next 10 years or so...

We made it to the restaurant on top of the mountain and were happy to rest, have some local dishes and work our way back down again for some pool time and dinner.

Of course, I also had to stop and take a picture of the church on the hill in the middle of nowhere...

And we also partook in the free afternoon bubbles provided back at the hotel.  We worked hard for that glass and we would do it again the next day!