Salzburg - Frankfurt - Heidelberg

This weekend we went on our first big trip. Rachel and Spencer have a cousin in Heidelberg, Germany. They spent the first month here biking around Europe, so they had all their stuff from home shipped to Heidelberg and this weekend we went with them to pick it up. They were going to take the train, but we all decided it'd be cheaper and more fun to all four rent a car and go.
We left Thursday and went to Salzburg, Austria. We spent the night there, and some time on Friday. We planned to see a couple of sights just outside of Salzburg on Friday, but quite honestly we got distracted shopping. We stopped just quickly at a shoe store next to a grocery store; to grab some breakfast and some warmer shoes for Rachel's poor cold wet feet. It was a pretty successful trip, but it did take up too much time. We didn't make it to the other sights, but we enjoyed a wet picnic lunch in a park in Salzburg. 

The park where we picnicked is actually a mini gold course, but completely deserted because of the weather growing increasingly crappy each day.

 

It had a great view though.

Shopping success. Delicious cereal and yogurt for breakfast. Shoes for Rachel. A 20euro rain jacket for me (which I have been looking for since the middle of the summer in Calgary)

A perfect fit and style and the last in the store. I love it when that happens!

Then we went to Frankfurt that night. We left in time, according to the GPS, to get there for 8o'clock to check into the temple housing, but it didn't factor for us the number of wrong turns we would take or times we were lost. We called and asked if they wouldn't mind waiting just a little longer for us, and they were kind to say yes. But when we got there, it was about 10o'clock so of course there was no one in site. It was a long process and a confusing situation but eventually we got into our room, and it was so nice to lay in bed! Saturday morning we did a session at the Temple and it was really nice. It was cool to hear everyone speaking German around us, but our session was actually in English. 

I love to see the temple.

That afternoon we left for Heidelberg, for Rachel and Spencer to finally get their stuff back. We spent that evening with Spencer's cousin and her family. They fed us a delicious meal, and we then played the world's longest Uno game with them. They had some funny rules for the game that just made it last forever. It was fun, but eventually it came down to cheating to make one of the kids win just so it could end. 

The next morning we actually got to spend some time seeing things in the town of Heidelberg, and it was really nice. The town is beautiful, and so much how I always pictured old town Germany to be. 

Our hotel was great. We all slept in one room (Eric and I got the bed, and Rachel and Spencer got the floor because they're much stronger than we are). It also had free breakfast, and a great view.

 

This is Jesuit chapel we saw, and I really liked it. It was all white and bright one the inside, which is unlike any other we've seen so far in Europe. It was really pretty. Then the service started, with the choir, and that made it even more enjoyable. 

The rest of Heidelberg was great. Then we went to Sacrament meeting (getting lost on the way, and missing the first ward and having to attend the second), and then we headed home to Vienna. 

Aww isn't he cute?...it was all just to avoid having to look into the sun.

FALL!

Eric driving on the Autobahn.