My sister, Diane, and I left Charlotte Douglas Airport on Sept 15, 2025, for a trip to
Auerbach, Germany — a small, medieval town located in the eastern half of the country that is actually closer to the Czech Republic than it is to Berlin. It’s not exactly a tourist destination, I’ll grant you that, but it was a place that we heard about for years from our mother.

 

      After our visit, we planned to venture out to Salzburg, Austria since it was “right there.”
But let me back up because a lot happened before we actually boarded the flight taking
us 4,550 miles away from home. My sister had been in contact with a cousin in Auerbach ever
since my mother — who was born in this small village — was reconnected with that side of her family. Mom had only met her elder half-brother, Heinz, once in her life when she was a
teenager. After World War II, when the Berlin Wall was built, East Germany was kept apart from the rest of western Europe and practically the world. But to avoid going too deep into history, the reunification between our families occurred after the wall was taken down in 1989, and suddenly there were new uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, and cousins who met and fell in love with our mom. Who could blame them?

      My sister remained in touch with our cousin Eric, the grandson of Heinz’s eldest
daughter, through social media. When he became engaged, he extended an invitation to his
September wedding. That is how the road — or more appropriately, the skies — led us there.

      Diane wanted to go to this wedding and asked if I would accompany her. I admit, I was
hesitant. I knew the minute I said yes, the anxiety countdown would begin. i have never been a
fan of flying but it was February when she told me of her plans – plenty of time to back out if I
needed to. Since it felt like eons away, I kept it on the back burner until July came and I started my full panic: What do I wear? How much money was this going to set me back? And, my favorite default: Do I really have to go?

 

      Anyway, Diane had a travel agent get our itinerary together — which I highly recommend
— and it appeared I was indeed going, especially when I dropped $1100 for the flight. The eight to nine-hour flight. Ugh...But hold on. There is more to the start of this adventure and it begins the Friday evening before we were scheduled to leave for Charlotte. My suitcase, which I weighed over and over again to be sure it did not exceed the 50 pound requirement, was ready to be loaded in the car. I probably spent as much on new clothing as I did on the airline tickets. A new dress for the wedding, pants, sweaters, comfy clothes for a very long stint on the plane. New shoes that would look perfect with the new casual stuff I picked out. I became obsessed with wanting the right clothes for unpredictable weather. I unpacked and packed so many times I left half the new wardrobe at home and went with my old standbys – except for the brand new shoes that went with everything. Plus, they fit so well, I could walk in them for miles — at least (that was what the shoe clerk told me. And that’s how they felt when I strolled the short carpeted floors of the shop. I refused to wear them until I arrived in Germany. I wanted them to be fresh and fabulous.

 

      Then on that Friday night around 9:30 my sister called sounding a bit agitated and
worried, which is a strange combo for her. But as it turned out her state of mind was appropriate given the news she told me. Her passport — the same one she used for multiple trips abroad in recent years — was going to expire in less than a month. And as we learned passports nearing an expiration date within three months is considered expired. We may not be doing this trip after all.

 

      I felt a rush of relief, in truth, because my dread of a long flight was starting to take over
my thoughts at night. I told her I was fine with not going and we paid a higher price for the
insurance on the ticket so we could get a full refund. I was feeling pretty good about the change of plans. Not Diane, though. She wanted to go and worked it out so she could get a passport out of Charleston the very same day we were scheduled to leave. We hopped in my car, drove to The Holy City the night before with our suitcases ready on the off chance we were actually flying out. I had my doubts.

 

      Early that morning, I drove Diane to the Charleston Passport Center, which in itself wasn’t a smooth journey. But I could go on and on with the mishaps along the way. Miraculously, however, Diane got her passport and we drove another three hours to Charlotte in time to catch our flight.

 

      The Lufthansa Airline flight (two thumbs up, by the way) left the Charlotte Douglas
Airport at 6:45 p.m. and landed in Munich at around 9 a.m.. Mind you, we did not sleep at all
and still had a full day ahead. Feeling a little sluggish, our first call of duty was to pick up our rental car that our travel agent said would be waiting for us. We would only have to spend upwards of $375-ish for our 9 days in Germany, which did not include the insurance. No problem. My sister had that part covered through an insurance plan she had. Of course, as things tend to happen, we were notified that the insurance was not a viable option. To spare you from the play-by-play of trying to translate German to English, mixed with the utter mind-fog from lack of sleep, the lady at the rental counter took control of the situation and basically signed us up for an entirely different car (with insurance) at a tune of $970-ish. The language barrier and fatigue did not help our plight.

 

      We were, by all accounts, literally taken for a ride. So we put the myriad of complaints we had on the back burner alongside my original hesitancy of going to Germany in the first place, and drove off in our newly upgraded auto to start our journey abroad.  The hotel was located within walking distance of the hub of Munich. We took a very short nap, changed clothes and headed out. I finally tried on my new shoes and we walked, walked and then walked some more. I took pictures of everything without knowing exactly what I was
looking at. Everything seemed so fascinating even as my feet started feeling squashed and

blistered inside the stiff casings of my shoes. With each step we took, my feet started
screaming. It became so bad, I actually had to take them off and walk the dirty streets of Munich barefoot. Those shoes stayed in the suitcase the remainder of the trip, and are now sitting on a shoe rack at a second hand store. Buyer beware.

 

      Somewhat familiar with the German language, I was trying to translate some of the signs
that were tacked onto old, historic buildings in the city. One fabulously ancient structure that was blackened with age, had a note that I believed spoke about the former occupants who lived there a long time ago. I was so excited to hear the history of these people, and waited for my sister to look up the translation. As it turned out it the sign indicated that the former occupant, a retail shop, had relocated. We laughed all the way back to our tiny hotel.
That evening we had one of the most amazing meals at a little Italian Restaurant called
Tratoria Seitz. Spectacular! This was authentic Italian Cuisine, with authentic Italian owners, and we were feeling absolutely at home there. A nice end to a crazy day.

 

      We were only staying one night in Munich and heading to Nuremberg the next day
where we planned to visit the spectacularly historic and medieval castle, the Holy Imperial
Castle. It was more than I would have ever expected. On our way there, I had to drive the Autobahn going upwards of 130 km (80.8 mph) on nice roads, Our rental car, while ridiculously expensive, drove like a charm. We only had one night in Nuremberg, so we packed in a lot of walking and sightseeing. We took a taxi to the castle because finding a place to park is next to impossible.

 

      The Holy Imperial Castle dates back to the 800s or 900s and inside you get to see the actual artifacts and furnishings used during that time period. I took so many photos and we were able to see much of what they offered in that short amount of time. It was absolutely worth exploring.

 

      After that we headed out to the Dokumentary (Documentary) Center, where Adolph
Hitler and thousands of his Nazi followers met. The rallies were held between 1933 and 1938 as part of Nazi propaganda while Hitler stood on a stage looking over the masses. The stage and concrete bleachers are still there along with a few other structures left behind after the collapse of the Nazi regime. Seeing that site was freakish but important to see.
We walked around a lot that day and topped the evening off at a German biergarten
called Gutman, located near the site. Interestingly, not many locals were aware of the
Dokumentary Center when we asked for directions. It could be that is a part of the past they
want to forget.

 

     The next day we drove to Auerbach for the reunion with our German relatives and the
upcoming wedding of our young cousin. With time on our hands, we did some sightseeing and
climbed the Auerbach Castle, which was more of a medieval fortress, then went shopping in

one of several Auerbach retailers that feature the traditional wooden figurines. Later that day,
we toured the house of composure Robert Schumann in nearby Zwickau.

 

      Saturday was all about the wedding and reception, which— I kid you not — ran from 10
a.m. (breakfast and pictures with the family) to well beyond midnight. Our cousins told us long
weddings like this are a tradition in their area. Also traditional is the sawing of the log. The
couple, dressed in their wedding attire, take a two handled blade, and cut through a narrow tree trunk while guests cheer them on. The meaning behind the log sawing? It represents working together through trials and tribulations. Wouldn’t it be nice if it were that easy?

 

      After saying our goodbyes the next day, Diane and I headed to Salzburg, Austria, a two
hour drive from Auerbach. The most startling and awe-inspiring part of our drive was when we saw the Alps in the distance looming so large we thought they were dark clouds rolling in. It was breathtaking and something I am not likely to forget. It’s hard to describe the amount of history in this one small city and it is almost overwhelming. Where do you begin? Well, we started our sightseeing efforts right after we checked into our small hotel located within walking distance of Salzburg hub. We managed to go one block before deciding to stop at a restaurant for dinner and essentially opting to visit the sights the next day.

 

      So, after breakfast we ventured out and followed the masses into the ancient plaza, filled
now with retail shops and restaurants. In the distance, a white castle called the Hohensalzburg Fortress, towered above the historic streets. We headed first to Mozart’s childhood home, which is a museum and difficult to imagine how it may have looked when he was a boy. Still, it was thrilling to imagine, and we enjoyed the self-guided tour.
Then we took a river cruise to get a different perspective of the city. It was stunning to
see the alpine landscape with its white capped mountains rise in harmony with the historic town. The captain of our boat took us down the Salzach, which runs straight through Salzburg. The current was rapid and on the way back from our sightseeing, the captain did a few stunts in the water, turning us around and around in the middle of the river. Fun, if you can keep yourself from hurling.

 

      Afterwards we hiked up hundreds of stairs to get to the convent where a part of the
Sound of Music was filmed. We had hoped to see the famous mountainside that Julie Andrew
ran along singing “The hills are alive …” but it turns out that was in a village in Bavaria — two
hours away. But the convent was absolutely worth the visit, and when we stepped through the
gated courtyard into the church, we were greeted with an unexpected surprise. We got to hear
the nuns sing. An emotionally charged experience.

 

      We stayed two nights in Salzburg and drove back to Munich to be near the airport for our
flight back home. But before then, we had one more place we wanted to see. The
Neushwanstein Castle.

 

      This 19th century structure with its white limestone walls and blue capped towers is
nestled inside the Bavarian Alps and became the template for Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle.
We heard a lot about the castle and thought it would be worth the long drive through winding
country roads to see.  Unfortunately, we picked a day that seeing anything was going to be difficult. Even though it was afternoon, the fog was so thick it made visibility poor. We couldn’t even see parts of the Alps that were a stone’s throw away. But we continued on.
When we found the road leading to the castle, we noticed that, while the rain was
starting to fall, it did not discourage other sightseers. The place, which offers views of two other structures at the site, was packed with tourists. Finally, we made our way to the ticket booth, and before we could utter a word, we were told the Neushwanstein tours were sold out. Luckily, a man decided he did not want to go and gave us two extra tickets. When does that happen?

 

      So up we go, hiking 30 minutes to this hillside castle in the rain and fog, on a narrow
steep road that was being shared by pedestrians and horses. Out of breath and looking like two wet dogs, we were finally at the front door of this extraordinary castle. I think it was
extraordinary. It was too foggy to really see the outside. I am sure it will be beautiful inside, I
thought. When we finally made it to the security point, I showed the man a picture of the tickets. “That ticket is not for this castle,” the man told us in broken English. It was for one of the other buildings that were nearby.  With a few expletives on the tip of my tongue, I turned to my sister and we left quietly rather than sounding like two American Karens.

 

      On our walk down the soggy mountain path, we noticed a cute little restaurant on the
property and had a delicious warm lunch which was perfect on this chilly day. We made our way back to Munich, stopped by a mall to buy another suitcase to pack our keepsakes, and headed to the hotel. Day nine was over. After another lovely dinner with lovely wine, we called it a night, knowing we would be leaving early for the airport to return the car, and catch our flight.

 

      After an hour delay and a weird start of the journey where we were bused to the plane — best not to ask questions — we made our 10-hour direct flight back to Charlotte, and another hour in the car to the front door of my house. It may not be Neushwanstein Castle or even fit for a King, but borrowing a line from Rocky Top, it will always be home sweet home to me.