Heading South!

Dear Blog,

Sorry I have forgotten you so. I have been without the Internet for over a week and been to busy / having too much fun to have time to blog. I apologize in advance for the length of this blog. It is worth it; I promise.

Where do I even start! Well in the last week or so I have seen the most beautiful place in the world (Wengen, Switzerland), had a riot in the largest beer hall in the world in Munich, Germany, played in the Disney castle of Neuswanstein, cruised the streets of Salzburg, Austria on a segway, went for a run along a gorgeous river in Lienz, Austria, and floated my way through the beautiful yet romantic city of Venice, Italy. I don’t think my mind can take in this much beauty in this short amount of time. This is not even to mention all the fun littler things I did in each of these cities.

Well in Wengen, Switzerland I had the most fun of my life. You will have to wait to hear it from the “horses mouth” so to speak. Words cannot describe the sights or experiences I was able to participate in. Wow. A few pictures won’t come close to doing it justice but will have to suffice because of my lack of time and energy. All I have to say is that I had too much fun but that I came out alive in the end. ;) You really need to talk to me in person about how wonderful Wengen is.

A splendid view from Wengen down the valley

overlooking Lauterbrunnen. This is what I woke

up to every morning!

Canyoning Interlaken was so splendid!

I am definately going to go back for this.

One of the many jumps we did along with slides, rappeling, hiking,

and other crazy things that canyoning entails.

They call this the canyon swing. This is a picture I took before I fell

270 feetand then was swung a couple football fields through this

glacier canyon withthe wall 10 feet away on both sides of me.

Video to come. ;)

One of the splendid hikes I took leaded me to Trummelbach Falls!

So amazing!

This is our group of rafters that went down one of the prettiest rivers

in the world! We went 14 km down the river and into the huge lake that

opened up for as long as you can see. Coming downt the river into the

lake was one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen.

Boy was this water cold!

Who would jump out of a ski Gondola 450 feet above the ground?

Correct answer is: Gordy!

We got to go visit Neuswanstein castle, which is the castle that looks like the Disney Castle I believe. It sure was pretty and had some amazing things done to the inside like woodwork and a man made cave looking hall. Pretty neat.

Neuswanstein Castle and I. I think we make a good match.

We then headed into Munich and had a blast there. We went to that Haufbrahaus, which is the largest beer hall in the world. Boy was it a crazy place, but our group of BYU students sure had fun there drinking our water. Ha. We had some sweet business visits in Munich as well. We got to go to the BMW headquarters and meet with one of the big wigs; we then went to visit with KPMG and had an amazing visit with them. On our way back we stopped at Dachau, which is the first concentration camp put into use, and got to see what took place there. Those three things made for an amazing experience and lessons that I will never forget.

Bro Pic at the Haufbrahaus beer hall in Munich.

The entry to Dachau concentration camp.

The gate reads "Work will make you free."

Some of the beds the inmates had to live in.

On our way to Salzburg, Austria we got to take an awesome tour through a salt mine and visit Hitler’s Eagles Nest. I know the salt mine doesn’t sound fun but it was pretty dang cool. You get to take a train ride into it and then take slides down through it and an underground boat ride across the water filled caverns. Pretty sweet if I do say so myself. Hitler’s Eagles Nest was fun too. The weather was gloomy so you couldn’t see the amazing view that it has but I got to eat a wiener schnitzel up on top in the restaurant and that made it all worth it.

Catching the train through the Salt Mines!

Such a Blast!

A bunch of us at Hitlers Eagles Nest

with the famous fireplace behind us.

The view from Hitlers Eagles Nest!

You can't even see the far end of the deck.

Once in Salzburg it was free sailing. Between the “Sound of Music” tour I saw, and the Dinner and a Concert in the huge fortress on the highest hill, Salzburg was pretty awesome. The crazy segway ride was definitely interesting and very nerve racking. I can honestly say that jumping from that Gondola wasn’t as scary as riding the segway at high speeds feeling like it is trying to fall over backward on you. Salzburg was a blast.

This is a tribute for Crave Baby.

This mustache is amazing. He was outside the church that was used

in the filming of "The Sound of Music."

This Chapel is where the Christmas Carol "Silent Night" was first sung.

The girls were struggling to hold me. I can take a hint.

Steve and I jumping over the river.

The back of the house from "The Sound of Music."

I am almost as musically inclined as the Von Trapps.

Not!

Blair and I reinacting part of the movie.

The view of Salzburg from the fortress on the hill were

we had our fancy dinner and a concert.

In the Catacombs at St. Peters.

Blair, Kelley Anne and I at the horse baths.

Steve and I cruising the city by segway. People from our

group that randomly saw us thought we were missionaries

at first. That would be sweet to have as missionaries.

We stopped in Lienz, Austria to break up our drive to Venice and was probably one of my favorite cities. It was a small town feel and we had all day in the most beautiful weather we have received so far to walk, explore and have an awesome pool party. Exploring took us to adventurous places where we could play in the freezing river and walk through the middle of nowhere hearing only the sound of the river and only being able to see the beautiful mountains in front of us. We found out about this water park in town and most of our group ended up there eventually to play some beach volleyball and play on the slides and diving boards. This was definitely a highlight. It was so much fun.

Our group in front of our bus just outside Lienz.

The beautiful river in Lienz. This is were the two rivers met.

They are different colors when they meet. It is pretty cool.

The local pool we went to for our pool party.

Crave, you should be proud of my diving abilities. ;)

This morning I woke early and went for a nice long run through the city of Lienz. I went along the river and through the old town and was just continually amazed at what I saw. After buying some of my new favorite music by Peter Fox at the local “Pop Shop”. We headed to Venice where we got to spend the remainder of the afternoon and evening seeing the sights of Venice and getting lost in the city. I love Italy so much and can’t wait for the next week and a half to explore more of Italy.

The famous city of Venice. Boy is it a wonderful place to explore.

I love it here!

This trip is seriously amazing and has changed my outlook on life. I am spending to much money but can’t think of a better way to spend it. I will remember this forever and always. I can’t believe it has been 4 weeks already. Life continues to fly by. The great thing is that I have an awesome group and it is going to be weird not to wake up and see all of their faces every morning. Some more than others obviously ;). This is my report for now. Take care of yourselves!