Closure

This is effectively the last post for this short-lived blog.

We arrived home from Europe last night after a HELLISHLY long plane ride.  It involved waking up at 0445 in order to check out of the hotel in Frankfurt at 0500.  Our flight was at 0720 or something like that.  Then it was two hours to London-Heathrow airport.  We had a 2.5 hr layover (thank goodness... we had to change terminals and such and that took FOREVER).  Then it was a long long long plane flight back to Raleigh-Durham International Airport.  

The plane from London to Raleigh wasn't too crowded so I had a two-seat row to myself.  Thus I was able to grab a little bit of sleep in between watching the in flight movies of Marley and Me, and Get Smart.  

Customs is very annoying in Raleigh, and the line was sort of long.  ><  but we got through ok, and were happily welcomed home into the United States.

After picking up the car from a friend's, it was a pretty long drive home to Virginia.  I tried to stay awake since we would be driving into deer country in the dusk, but motor vehicles make me really sleepy.

It was an absolutely GREAT trip, and it took the right amount of time.  At the end we were definitely ready to come home.

Highlights:  

-All the castles

-Obersalzburg/Eagles Nest

- watching the interaction between the guys selling eiffel tower souvenirs and the police.

- the TGV train and the RailJet train

- Luxembourg 

- mountains rising out of the edges of lakes

Lowlights

- lack of REAL pillows

- overnight train bunks.

- being a 'tourist' and getting overcharged for it

- cold cloudy weather in Paris

- rude people on the slow trains in the Rhine

- waking up at 0445 to come home

- missing home

Last Day

hmmm so in 8 hours or so, I'll be on a plane headed for London, and then to North Carolina. and then a drive home. Long story short, I'll be home tomorrow.

Not TOOOO much to talk about this time.
Toured a couple castles. Did some Rhine cruising. Saw more castles.
Took a couple trains.
Went to Nurenburg and visited the Nazi Documentation Center. That was actually very well set up. It talked about the rise of the National Socialist Party and its fall. It showed some propaganda film too. I forget what it was called. Triumph of the Will I think.

I have to say, whoever said that Germans are quiet is full of crap. They are loud and obnoxious on the trains. and rude. ><
Especially to people who dress weird (there were some teenagers who had mohawks and colored hair and stuff like excessive piercings). it was sad.

After Nurenburg, we went to Rothenburg. Just in time for the end of some sort of medieval festival. It was pretty cool, and pretty full of drunk folks. Good beer though.

and I had forgotten to add that Bacharach was home to the Tentacles Convention. Which is like a D&D (thats Dungeons and Dragons) convention. It was pretty funny (we went and ate at the hostel that hosted it. GEEKS haha. :)

and now we are in Frankfurt. WOOO!!! (kidding, Frankfurt is not that exciting).

I can't wait to get home and post the rest of my photos. and sleep in my own bed.
Europeans don't understand "real pillows" very well. They fail.

I'll post again one last time from home. sooo... tootles!