Ettal Abbey and The Ritter Sport Factory.

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."
~Martin Buber

After a wonderful 2½-day stay in Oberammergau, we packed up and headed home to Stuttgart. On our way out of town, we stopped for a brief walk around the grounds of the Ettal Abbey and a quick peek inside. What a beautiful place. The weather was a little wet, having rained a bit, with overcast skies, which I love. It just felt cozy and comfortable.

Emery at Ettal.

We drove back to Stuttgart in time to pick up their friend Catherine, and grab some hot chocolate at the Ritter Sport Factory and Museum where we stocked up on chocolate souvenirs because who could leave Germany without bringing back some Schokolade?!

The Ritter Sport Museum.

The weather was beautiful by the time we got to Stuttgart.

Catherine, KDJ, and Linda purchasing their goodies inside the Ritter Sport store.

The Ritter Sport Factory.

The reflection on this window was almost exactly like a mirror.

Emery, Sarah, KDJ, and Catherine enjoying hot chocolate at the Ritter Sport Cafe.

Long live chocolate and he who invented it. (I think that's what it says.)

European red hair! I couldn't resist taking this picture. Love it!

What a fun afternoon. As the cover of the cafe menu said, "To drink tea (insert: chocolate) is to forget the noise of the world." And forget we did. The sun was out, the clouds rolled by, and we chatted the afternoon away.

The next day, we awoke early. KDJ flew back to D.C., and I got to ride the Deutsch Bahn (I love trains) to Frankfurt and then back to SLC. I had a layover in Chicago and treated myself to a chair massage while I waited for my connecting flight, since I had been traveling a very long time. I also noticed Ritter Sport chocolate in the airport store for about three times as much as I had paid in Deutschland. Nice!

Also, as a random side note, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the airport store by my gate also had a full produce section and a lot of very healthy snacks. Seriously, boxes and boxes of fruit. I felt like I was in the real world, and not an airport, so I promptly bought a banana and an other apple. Linda had packed me a travel lunch with apples, cheese, dried cranberries, etc. so I had a great travel day diet. Having real food while I travel makes a world of difference in how I feel at the end of my journey. Thank you Linda!

Thank you for such a wonderful trip; for a week I will forever remember. Magical, it was. Really. I can't wait to return to make new memories. Auf Wiedersehen for now.
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