With Broggingen plugged into our GPS, we began our drive down the Alps. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, with snow covered mountains and small towns. Our drive lead us past a few different castles and monuments that had been carved into the alps.
As our windy road continued, we passed through Italy and into Austria. Once we passed the Austrian border, we pulled over in order to purchase a vignette. While driving through the Italian Alps, we were lucky in that we didn't pass through any tolls. Italy does not require vignettes, though there are tolls roads everywhere!
We continued our drive through Austria and watched the Alps as they vanished behind us. Much of Austria we passed through consisted of farm land. Before we even realized it we had entered Germany and were on the Autobahn! The speed in which cars drive on the Autobahn is insane!! For the most part, we stayed in the right-hand lane and only passed occasionally. Cars that passed us did so at such high speeds, it made our car shake!!
We pulled off the Autobahn to check out Stuttgart, a popular city in Germany. Unfortunately, there was so much traffic that we chose not to attempt and explore the city and chose to get back onto the Autobahn in order to make it to Broggingen before dark.
Our GPS lead us right into the town of Broggingen. When we pulled into the tiny town, I called my cousin Johannes and he met us outside of his home. We could not see much because night had already come. Johannes showed us where to park and lead us into his family's three-story farm house to greet his parents. His mom, Erika, had prepared a traditional German meal for us, Vintners Bread. The warm bread was delicious, covered with cheese, onion and ham. After visiting with Johannes for awhile, we called it a night at 11pm and headed to bed. We all agreed to have breakfast at 9am the next morning.
