Week 2 here in the REAL Disneyland

This post's title refers to the real Disneyland and what I mean by that is that I keep comparing everything here to Disneyland, but where did Disneyland get their ideas?  Here and other amazing places around the world.  Think of the Matterhorn ride.  I'm going to see the REAL Matterhorn mountain.  It's super cool.  Disneyland may be amazing, but try it here.

This week started off by driving to Austria for our last introductory zone conference with the Salzburg and Wien zones.  we drove down on Monday and went to see the salt mines in Bertchesgarden.  So they gave you cool mining suits to wear and you rode on a little train deep, DEEP into the mountain.  It was dark and cold and felt like the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland.  I kept expecting a yeti to growl at us.  It was really scary, but super cool.  When we got to the end we got off and there were different stations we went to with mining tools and videos and things and the guide would tell us about the steps to salt mining.  He spoke in German, but we had English translators.  At one point you had to slide down a wooden slide really fast and it felt like the Splash Mountain ride at Disneyland.  My mom was hilarious when she went down because you could hear her screaming all the way down and when the people at the bottom heard it they all looked with weird faces.  Tanner and I just laughed.  Classic Sister Kohler.  At another part you rode a little boat thing across the salty water and there was a light show.  That part felt like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.  then we rode back out on the little train.  It was a really cool experience.

That night we walked around in Betchesgarden and looked at the shops and that part felt like walking down Main Street at Disneyland.  All the cute little houses and shops here seem fake, but I just have to keep reminding myself that people really live here and this is their life and these are real.  This isn't a set up village where there are overpriced souvenir shops and tour guides.  This is the real deal.  So we walked around and ate a delicious, real German meal.  Then we watched the little oompah band outside the restaurant.

  Then a bigger band set up on the stage in the middle of the shops and we watched them for a little bit.

My mom leaned over and said, "Doesn't it seem like they are just dressing up in dirndls and lederhosen to put on a fake show?  This is what they really where to dress up."  It was weird to think about.  After that we checked into our hotel and the first thing we see in the door is a cigarette vending machine.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast that was delicious and we went to the zone conference.  We did our usual stuff there and some of the sisters told us that just down the road was the house where they filmed The Sound of Music.  It was just the one where they filmed the outside parts, though.  But, of course we wanted to see it.  So here is a picture, but it is kind of hard to see because it was raining, as usual.

that night we ended up eating dinner at the hotel and I ordered bratwurst and fries and they looked quite interesting.  Giving J-Dawgs a run for their money.

The next morning we had to get up really early to get out of the hotel in time, but we still had time for a delicious breakfast.   They had the cutest seating and it looked like something from a fairy tail of Snow White or Disneyland.  ;)  The sun was coming in the window and it was so beautiful.

This hot chocolate was the best I have ever tried.  It was amazingly frothy and chocolaty and the perfect temperature.  I would drink it again in a second.

They had a delicious selection of cakes and pastries

 And cheeses

 And the CUTEST little pots of jam

 This was my plate...

...and this was my Dad's.  Who eats stuffed peppers and smoked salmon for breakfast?  Only him.

 This is a picture of our adorable hotel called the Laschenskyof

Then we drove home and went to the store to buy food for Mission Leadership Council.  We found many different kinds of Ketchup and mustard and mayo.  Nasty flavors that no one would want to eat.  Except my dad.

Anyone who knows my name would know that this is how you spell Amerika
 
You can buy coke with all the names of Germany's soccer players on them and collect the whole team

That night I got to Skype one of my bestest friends back in Provo.

The next night eight sisters came and slept over for MLC and had a big slumber party.  And then the next morning was MLC and the whole first half of the meeting I was helping Sister Gildner in the kitchen to make lunch.  It was crazy, but awesome in the end.

That night we had a stake dance and I had never been to one because i am not fourteen yet, but here you can go when you are twelve because they don't have enough youth there otherwise.  It was weird and intimidating, but actually really fun.

Some weird things here in Munich.  This is the sign that means cross the street because so many people bike here

You can't really see it in this picture, but on top of this crazy gym there is a golden trailer and a helicopter and a tiny statue of liberty.  Apparently a crazy artist guy flew a trailer up there with his helicopter and lives up there.  Weird.

 
You never know what you are going to run into here!