Murren, Switzerland: Trummelbach Falls

After leaving Rothenburg, Germany (see the amazing medieval cuteness here.) We headed south through the German countryside to Switzerland, which honestly ended up being one of our favorites spots of the entire trip. If you are considering a trip to Switzerland, just do it!! It is absolutely incredible. I planned the entire trip based off of recommendations from a few friends and family, but mostly through the Rick Steves Switzerland guidebook!! (If you don't know who Rick Steves is, read more about him here!! He is worth knowing about if you are traveling around Europe!! )

So unlike the rest of the trip where we moved from city to city, we decided to settle down in the charming village of Murren in the Berner Oberland Region overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley. If you are familiar with Switzerland, then we were really close to Interlaken. We stayed at Hotel Alpina for 4 nights and 5 days!! Would highly recommend that hotel! The views were absolutely incredible of the Swiss Alps. We arrived later Thursday night with just enough time to check in and grab dinner!! 

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Storybook Village: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the quaintest, cutest, storybook town in the heart of Germany. I squealed multiple times throughout our time here just from all the cuteness. If it looks a little familiar, this town helped inspire the creators of the Disney movie Pinocchio! It also happened to not get bombed flat in WWII which helped preserve the medieval cuteness. There is a wall lining the entire city that we got to walk on, and the doors are big enough so a horse drawn carriage could fit through!! It was seriously just so charming. 

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Mosel River Valley: Cochem, Germany

Our first day in Germany after we traveled to Kierspe (see more on Kierspe here.) We arrived in Cochem late that night after driving through lots of winding mountain backroads. One of the main reason's I picked the Mosel River Valley over the roaring Rhine River Valley was that it was closest to the Burg Eltz Castle that we wanted to visit, (to see all of its medieval glory click here. :) And also because it was less touristy and quieter. It casually has its own small castle on the top of the hill. Cochem is known for its wineries and because of that most of the wine is local! Its half-timbered traditional German architecture was incredibly quaint and beautiful and completely stole my heart! We woke up the next morning from our lovely hotel, Pension Gunter to head to the Burg Eltz Castle. After we returned we walked around Cochem and had a dinner & gelato date. Here are some of my favorites from our day in Cochem :)

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Burg Eltz Castle // Germany

To say all of my medieval castle finding dreams came true once we visited the Burg Eltz would be an understatement. Burg Eltz, an over 850-year-old intact castle just outside of Cochem, Germany, was like stepping into a medieval movie, but in real life.  Somehow since 1157 AD, this castle has remained untouched by wars and stayed within the same family for over 800 years!! CRAZINESS! Surrounded by forests that feel enchanted, and far away from any major city or roads, it is the real deal. I only wish I could show you pictures of the inside (photography wasn't allowed on the tour.) so you could see the grandeur and how crazy it was that everything was still intact. Chase and I hiked down the hill to see this glorious view of the Burg Eltz peeking through the trees. I definitely squealed multiple times just wondering how this place even existed still! Here are a few of my favorites. 

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Kierspe, Germany & Cologne, Germany

Hey guys! I can't wait to share all the fun memories from our trip to Europe a few weeks ago. We started off our European road trip through 3 different countries (well really, 4 countries, if you count Liechtenstein) by flying into Cologne, Germany and renting a car to travel to a tiny farm town named Kierspe. Going to the town that shares our last name has been on Chase's bucket list forever and it was SO FUN to knock that off!! We had to travel on the autobahn to get there which was an experience all in itself, but once we made it to Kierspe we quickly realized that there wasn't a whole lot here other than the Kierspe family crest and some cool road signs that said Kierspe! Haha but it sure was fun to walk around and explore the small downtown area, meet some locals and watch them laugh at us as they attempt to decipher our terrible German. 

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Day 1 Murano and Burano, Venice Italy

Hey guys! I am so excited to finally be able to share images from our trip to Italy last month. It's crazy how personal images get pushed to the back, as your clients images obviously come first!! I've had so many people ask about our trip, and all I can say is it really was a trip of a lifetime. It was definitely more of an adventure, versus a relaxing, chill by the pool, kind of vacation, but we absolutely loved every jammed packed second. We spent 16 days exploring 6 different cities, and 2 countries including Venice, Florence, San Gimignano, Rome, Positano & the Amalfi Coast, as well as Paris. It was my first time to Europe and now I definitely have the travel bug even more. My photographer heart was in heaven because every single place you turned was picturesque. From the culture, to the history, to the people, you could see so much beauty in God's creation everywhere you went. 

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