Kim: Just for a bit of history, Salzburg was the birthplace of Joseph Mohr, who wrote the words to Silent Night. This popular Christmas carol was composed and first sung in the village of Oberndorf, just outside of Salzburg, in 1818. This is where the oldest nunnery in the German speaking world (established in 712) is located. The real Maria from The Sound of Music taught in this nunnery school.

Darren: Our arrival in Salzburg included many of the things we've come to expect on a "travel day." We rode a train, did some laundry, checked in to a new place, walked to the nearest grocery store and then showered and collapsed. The lady who rented us the place was very helpful although we spoke alot by hand gestures as her English wasn't the greatest and Kim and my German is extremely lacking. She was very kind though and even helped us find the Church's address on a local map to show us where we'd be going the next day.

The old town is beautiful. The Salzach River runs through town and it's lined with grassy riverbanks, trees and bike paths. The Cathedral was amazing and decorated inside with extremely detailed white wood. We rode the funicular up the hill one day to tour the fortress that sits overlooking the city. Great views from the top.

We attended a Mozart dinner theatre one night and met some really neat people at our table. Three of the four couples were from the states but one couple was Romanian and spoke great English. Fun conversations. The music was great and accompanied by a 3-course meal. Another night we attended a Baroque Hall concert. It was a piano/violin duo who were incredible. The music touched us both.

One day we rented bikes and rode down to Hellbrunn Castle. The ride took us along the river at first, then through some meadows and dirt rode paths. Really pretty. The palace is known for its trick fountains and we took the tour to check it out. It was really fun. The tour guide showed how the designer made the fountains thoughout the garden shoot water and catch people off guard. He got people wet and made people scream and laugh all the way through the tour. He was a fun guy and you can tell he enjoyed his job. We had a picnic in a huge park by the palace and then headed back to town. We got cleaned up and went to Mirabell Gardens and listened to a free brass band playing there. The gardens are spectacular and fun to wander through.

Kim: Salzburg was so much fun. I absolutely loved it. It had a little bit of everything I love. Music and culture, green surroundings, historic downtown, outdoor recreation, beautiful architecture and bell towers. If I haven't mentioned it already, I love bells. I have always loved them. Some of my favorite memories of this trip have been waking up to the sound of bells. So mystical.

At church on Sunday we met a couple from Utah who were traveling around Europe, ending in Belgium where the guy's parents were serving a mission. We met a woman originally from Tucson who married a German man and has been living in Germany for 13 years. It's been fun meeting so many different people on this trip and sharing stories with fellow travelers. None of us have the same story. Not all of us believe the same way. We're all from different places, yet we all have that same travelers spirit. So fun!

Later on Sunday we went for a walk around town. On a high trail that circles around the city (offering amazing views of the buildings and town below) we met a man and a woman from Salzburg. They have lived in Salzburg their entire lives and described to us what it looks like in the winter. It sounded like a fairytale. Someday around Christmas I'll definitely have to drag Darren back. They also told us about a bakery at the foot of the mountain right by a waterwheel. Apparently its the oldest bakery in town, dating back to 1150. We found it the next day and bought one of each kind (there were only 3). One was called Roggenbrot. Very heavy and dense but yummy!

The Salzburg Cathedral was really cool. The intricately carved white wood was different than the others we have seen. It was really pretty against some of the other darker furniture. Mozart was baptized here, "Amadeus" means "beloved by God". We also walked through St. Peter's Cemetery. There were many tombs and graves amidst many small gardens.We learned that in Austria, gravesites are rented, not owned. Rent bills are sent out every 10 years. If relatives don't care enough to make the payment, the remains are chucked. Another good reason to remain on good terms with family members. I told Darren if he "chucked" my remains, I'd come back to haunt him. :) On a Hollywood note, while the cemetery scene for The Sound of Music was just a set, it was inspired by this one. We also walked by the 1925 Festival Hall. This is where the nervous Captain von Trapp waited before walking onstage just before he escaped with his family.

The dinner theatre was a lot of fun. The couples we met provided very entertaining conversation. Especially the Romanian couple. He was a spinal surgeon and his wife was a doctor as well. He told us he gets 29 days of holiday (vacation) every 6 months. WHAT!? Forget 3 weeks a year, let's move to Europe!

Mirabell Gardens were so beautiful! I would love to imitate some of the designs and layouts in a garden of my own someday (but on a much smaller scale of course). The statues, arbor and stairs by the palace were used in The Sound of Music as well.

Hohensalzburg Fortress is built on a rock 400 feet above the Salzach River. It was never really used as a Fortress, since it was so foreboding that nobody actually attacked the town for a thousand years. It was surrendered to Napolean for a while though. It was fun to walk around and look at the mini-city within it's walls. It was here at their Marionette Exhibit that Darren and I posed as chickens and Sound of Music puppets.

Our bike ride along the Salzach "Salt" River was fun. So peaceful and green. It would be so fun to live in a place that offers so many bike trails. Yes Gilbert has some. But riding along a stinky canal has never been my "cup of tea." One of the first things we saw upon our arrival at Hellbrunn Castle was the famous gazebo from The Sound of Music and of course I couldn't pass on a photo op.

Salzburg was awesome! Can't wait to go back. How long is my "can't wait to return" list?? Pretty long ;o)

Kim: Castelrotto was beautiful. We stayed in a cute little bed and breakfast with our own private patio overlooking the beautiful green valley below. We ate at a little diner called Bar Toni's where we ran into a young couple we had met in the Cinque Terre. Small world. We had spinaci dumplings, turkey and potatoes and salmon. Yum! It was great to have some meat and potatoes after so much bread and pasta. Our first full day in Castelrotto we took a ski lift up to the Alpe de Suisi, Europe's largest high-alpine meadow. Talk about absolutely breathtaking!! I felt like I was Heidi frolicking in the hills of Austria. Green rolling hills everywhere. Wild flowers, cows, streams, little mountain huts, farms, snow capped mountains, waterfalls. It was awesome! On our hike to Panorama Point, we were surrounded by cows and horses. We heard the cows and their bells coming down the mountain and before we knew it, they had us surrounded. I wish we could have gotten a picture of that :) After a few minutes we were able to maneuver between them and continue on our hike. Later horses came up to us digging in our pockets for food.

Darren: Oh yes, the "cattle incident." These cows were more than friendly, they were out to get us I swear! No lie, they wouldn't let us pass. They seriously "surrounded" us and then kept blocking any escape. I felt like we'd walked into a bad neighborhood and felt like we were about to get roughed up. :)
The town there was very interesting. It's history is a bit complicated but what resulted was a town where they speak both German and Italian and really recognize both languages everywhere you look. Every sign, brochure, menu and bus stop schedule had information printed in both German and Itialian. Seeing as how we were headed north to Austria next on our journey we started to learn and practice some German. Funny stuff just laughing at each other at how we sounded. Just ask Kim how to say "I want to buy two postcards, please" in German. It's hilarious. She learned it by memory and it sounded like she'd memorized it to the tune of "red rover, red rover, send whoever right over." Oh the laughs!
The hiking was great. Huge open meadows, sunny and breathtaking. The second day hike we did we followed alongside a creek and saw multiple waterfalls along the way.

Kim: The next day we went hiking again in the Alpe de Suisi. This time we went in the direction of Schlern mountain. We had a picnic in the meadow listening to a nearby stream. Our hike down took us by some beautiful waterfalls and some cool water fountains. It was a pretty long hike. By the time we got done our muscles were pretty tired and sore. It was way fun though. That night we ate at a restaurant where we tasted some bread that tasted like black licorice. Interesting but good.
We dedicated our last day in Castelrotto to a day of relaxation. We went swimming in the B&B pool, sat in the solarium, and took a nap. Perfect!

Kim: Our first night was spent at an agriturismo outside of Venice. Agriturismo's are basically working farms that accomodate guests in order to help themselves survive financially. That night the owners mother Lugina made us dinner consisting of raw prosciutto and salami, and meatballs and spinach. The meatballs and spinach were pretty good but the raw ham was disgusting. I swear I could taste the hay that they had the fed the dead animal. Gross!! After a bite or two we rolled the ham into the smallest ball we could so it would look like we had eaten more than we actually did. I wonder if she noticed? haha

We were supposed to stay there the entire 4 days but it ended up being further out of the city than we wanted so we found an apartment in the city and moved in. So glad we did. We had to take a valporetto to our apartment. Water taxis...so cool. We were able to find an apartment right around the corner from St. Mark's Square. We could see gondolas and hear the gondoliers singing from our window. Awesome! That night we walked around St. Marks square and listened to the dueling orchestras. We also walked across the Rialto Bridge and watched gondolas float by. Truly a sight to see.

The next day we toured St. Marks Basilica. I still can't believe the entire decor is done in mosaic. Imagine an area the size of a football field decorated with pieces the size of a contact lense. Insane! It was so pretty though. It was all done in gold leafing so the ceilings and walls looked like they were glowing. St. Mark's remains have allegedly been here since A.D. 830. We also saw the Frari Church. This church houses the tomb of Titian and also contains some amazing statues and art pieces (and of course more reliquaries, see pic below)

Darren: Kim's notes are almost identical to mine when it comes to Venice. All I can add are a few little memories. I remember getting two of the best pizza slices EVER in Venice. Also, I remember sitting out by the main canal on two the of nights we were there on some benches. There was a man playing an achordian and it made Kim and I think of mom and dad playing. I remember people feeding the pigeons in St. mark's Square and letting their kids hold handfuls of seeds for the birds. It was a mixture of kids giggling, laughing, screeming and crying that filled the square. I remember Kim ordering some produce, in Italian, at a market in the street. She did great. And I remember going to an internet cafe to check our emails and we found out that Lecia had had her baby, Hendrix, and that all was well.

Kim: One night we attended an opera, La Traviatta, in an old palace. We circulated from room to room as the opera was performed. Other than the singers/actors being oddly matched, it was a fun experience. The craziest experience was trying to get to the palace on time. It had been raining like crazy for a couple of days and when we left the apt to go the performance, St. Marks Square was flooded. Like way past my ankles flooded. The flooding would have been enough of an obstacle by itself, but add to that the twisted, maze-like streets of Venice and it was quite the ordeal. Darren did a great job at navigating and got us there with time to spare.

The night before we left, Darren took me on a gondola ride. Very romantic. We even kissed under the Bridge of Sighs in order to assure us eternal love (although we already have that :) It was just like a dream. How many movies have I seen? How many stories have I heard? And then...here I am. Riding in a gondola with the man I love down the watery streets of Venice. Absolutely perfect!! After the gondola ride we went back to St. Mark's Square to listen to the dueling orchestras one more time. We danced and made fools of ourselves. What a perfectly fun evening. :)

Kim: We stayed in a cute little apartment on the outside of Florence near Fiesole. It was in a newly renovated villa that used to be the home of some noble family back in the day. I absolutely loved the garden. Trees, flowers and vines everywhere. The apartment had wood floors, rustic furniture and cool metal work, including the headboard and light fixtures. Click HERE to see pics.

We made it to church right on time on Sunday just to find out that it was regional conference and that all members should meet across town at a completely different location. And not to mention that the meeting had started 1 hour before our arrival at the building. A little frustrating but hopefully we'll be blessed for our efforts :) We met a woman and her daughter from Utah and a girl from Washington D.C. She is a concert pianist for professional singers and was there learning Italian so she can converse with the singers better.

Darren: The place Kim picked was perfect. Far enough away f rom the city to feel like country but within a walk to the bus stop. We saw some fire flies (lightning bugs)on our walk a few of those nights and I think it was one of the first times Kim had ever seen them. Crazy little things. Missing church was a bummer, especially since we'd gotten all the way into town and found the place with time to spare only to find the note about the change of schedule. We went home and read a few conference talks in the garden though, and had some really good conversations about them.

Kim: The next day we went and saw the Duomo, the Duomo Museum, the Santa Croce Church. The one thing about the Duomo Museum that stood out to us were the reliquaries. They are basically transportable shrines that contain the remains of saints (bones, clothing, etc). It was a little disturbing. First, I would see an object that looks like a mantle clock adorned with gold and jewels and then I would move in a little closer and see a finger, jaw bone, or lock of hair from some acclaimed saint. One question...WHY? After seeing a few of these, I began avoiding those areas of the museum. The Santa Croce Church was awesome. One of our favorites of the trip. Inside are the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo. Having defied the Church by saying that the Earth revolved around the sun, Galileo's heretical remains were only allowed in the church long after his death. The Church also houses a leather school. We stopped and watched a couple of people in the process of making leather purses, wallets, etc. Pretty cool! We then walked around Piazza della Signoria and took pictures of the statues at the nearby loggia. We saw Cellini's bronze statue of Perseus holding the head of Medusa, the fake David, Hercules killing the centaur among others.

Darren: It was funny to see Kim freakin' out about the bones and fingers and stuff in the reliquaries. Don't get me wrong, I didn't enjoy them either, just saying it was kindof fun watching her reactions. :) In Santa Croce Church there was an amazing painting of "The Descent of Christ to Limbo." We just sat in some chairs and looked for a long time. The expressions on the faces in these paintings always impress me. Some were humble and hopeful, others ashamed.

That night we'd heard that they were going to be showing the Italian world cup football (never say soccer here) game vs. Paraguay live at the stadium near our apartment. It was free for anyone who wanted to go and watch on a huge screen. We made it over for the second half and watched the game with a rowdy bunch of Italian die-hard fans. They tied that night 1-1.

Kim: Over the next few days we toured the Accademia, the Galileo Science Museum and the Uffizi Gallery. The Accademia houses Michelangelo's David among some of his other work. The statue of David was awesome (and no babe...not because he's nude). The amount of detail that went into the work is absolutely astounding. The muscles, the facial features, it's just so...real. His face shows such determination to do God's will, yet there is concern there as well. So true to form. Some of our other favorites are what they call The Prisoners. These are some of Michelangelo's unfinished sculptures. Because they are unfinished, a lot of them will have their bodies completed but not their arms or head so it looks like they have a block of stone sitting on their shoulders. They look like they are trying to lift the stone off their heads, trying to dig themselves out, to free themselves from the imposing granite. It's really cool looking.

Darren: I have to say that out of all the museums and exhibits we'd seen to this point, none struck me with the spirit as strongly as did the statue of David. It actually caused me to take out a pen and paper and begin to write down a few of my thoughts and tranfer them to my journal later. Looking into the eyes of the statue you can see the combination of emotions that Kim mentioned; confidence and concern. It shows his faith and humility all at once. It made me think back to how I felt and how I'm sure most missionaries have felt when leaving for a mission. You know you are on the Lord's errand and you know it's the Lord's work, but you worry about your own ability. You could see that David had confidence in the Lord's strength and trusted in God. There were a few other really neat statues that made me ponder that day. There was one that represented "Day." It was an amazing statue of a man and very detailed...all except for his face. The face and beard were a bit unfinished and looked out of place on this amazing statue. It made me think that each day that Heavenly Father gives to us is a gift. Each day is amazing and full of beauty. Each day, however, is unfinished and we must give our own expression to it and decide how we will live it.

Kim: The Galileo Science Museum was cool. Some of the exhibits included compasses, globes, thermometers, telescopes, clocks, pumps, medicine and chemistry. The Uffizi Gallery was awesome! It has the greatest collection of Italian paintings anywhere and features works by Giotto, Leonardo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian, Michelangelo and Botticelli. Room after room after room of famous paintings. It truly was an experience. One of my favorites was the Birth of Venus. It shows a woman standing on a shell with the god and goddess of wind blowing her toward shore, where a woman awaits to clothe Venus with a robe. The colors and details are spectacular!

Darren: The Galileo Museum made me think of Dad. The microscopes, pulleys, etc. all made me think back to 8th grade science. We were at the Uffizi for 2 hours and they had to shew us out at the end. Amazing artwork. My favorites were Botticelli's Primavera and Birth of Venus. I also liked Lippi's Madonna and Child with Angels, Da Vinci's Annunciation and Cranach's Adam and Eve. There was also a newer one that we both liked by Notti called Adoration of the Child.

Kim: Later that night we ate at a restaurant where we had to share a large, long table with 5 other people. We were literally sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers. I made the comment to the lady sitting next to me that it felt like Thanksgiving dinner. While it was a little uncomfortable in the beginning, we were able to meet two ladies from NY who were there for the first time. One of them was an artist who owned an art studio in NY. She taught us about some of the different techniques in drawing and the best way to learn them. It was fun.

Florence was amazing. So much art and culture. Another place to return to someday

Kim: The Cinque Terre is a remote area of the Italian Riviera, quite different from the bustling cities of the French Riviera. No traffic, no museums. Just sun, sea, and beach. Oh the life! Direct translation is "The Five Lands", consisting of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare. Our journey began in Riomaggiore. We stayed in a nice little studio apartment with an amazing view, our own roof-top terrace overlooking the Ligurian Sea. The only downside to this was the amount of stairs we had to climb to get to this top floor apartment, 85 steps. Doesn't sound too bad eh? Well...try that with two 50 lb suitcases, 2 backpacks and extremely narrow stairwells. F-U-N! Our first night there we ate at Ristorante la Lampara. Darren had the seafood penne and I had linguine with clams (see pics below). The food was great although a little too fresh looking. The next afternoon we went on the Via dell'Amore walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola. The story goes that due to the extremely isolated location of the towns until the last century, villagers rarely married anyone from outside their town. After the blasting of the train line in the 1920's, a trail was made between Riomaggiore and Manarola and became established as a lovers' meeting point for boys and girls from the two towns. Due to all the amorous graffiti along the path, a journalist coined the name Via dell'Amore: Pathway of Love. It is the current craze in Italy to close a padlock with your love along the path. We saw a ton of padlocks linked to railings, fencing, etc. We did not have a padlock so we weren't able to contribute (though we did find an extra suitcase lock later and decided to lock it around a fence in Hallstatt while hiking) Why not? ;o)

The next couple of days were spent in Vernazza hiking around the town and in Monterosso lying on the beach. We rented lounge chairs and an umbrella and spent two days chillin' at the beach. You can't get much better than a beach, a book and a cold drink. We even tried fresh coconut. Men walk up and down the beach selling pieces of fresh coconut. They dip them in cold water then hand you a piece to gnaw on. Good idea. Not a great taste.

The Cinque Terre was amazing. We can't wait to go back.

Darren: Yeah, my least favorite part of the Cinque Terre were the 85 steps and the less-than-impressive coconut...everything else was incedible. I liked the porthole windows in our room, shuttle boat ride between towns, pizzas by the beach, and just sitting on the rocks by the ocean at night talking. I loved sitting in our lounge chairs up on our roof-top patio, reading, writing in our journals, or just listening to the ocean while we looked at the stars. I even surprised Kim up there with a dance. No stereo, no problem. Just had her share one of my ipod earphones. Works great if you plan on standing really close. :) She likes when I try to be romantic. ;)