Our Home Away From Home!

This was our home away from home - Hotel Zur Post in Ruhpolding, Germany!

It was built in 1308 (NOt a typo!) and became a tavern in 1424. It has been a Rechl family-owned business for over a century, evolving from a historic inn into a modernized hotel, receiving awards for its Bavarian heritage and sustainability.

The first time I stayed here was 13 years ago - and there has been much renovation since yet still retains the old world charm it always has had.

I loved staying here and would come back in a heartbeat.

The best bonus for us?  We stayed here our whole trip, using Ruhpolding as our Bavarian home base, and our day trips  radiated out from here.  It was a wonderful spot to come "home" to!

And it was full of festive holiday cheer!

Our bleary eyed group on our day of arrival for our welcome dinner.

We quickly became like family!

I had a great time traveling with everyone - what a fun group of quilty folks and tag along hubbies! I especially loved having mother/daughter pairs along for the journey.

We even had a resident neighborhood cat outside our door.  He is well taken care of, has a warm house, food and water and was there to greet our comings and goings - we nicknamed him Fritz, not knowing what his real name was.

A visit to Mondsee Austria!

This is the beautiful church portrayed in the Sound of Music where Maria wed the Captain.  There was a fun little Christmas Market set up in the square outside the church, and even a brass band!

I love the little girl in pink who came up!

Easter egg colors of Mondsee -

There are beautiful things found at the vendors, and always a hot cider or a Glühwein - the German name for mulled wine, a spiced, heated wine, welcome and delicious on a cold day.

Inside the church - Organ at the back.

Love the pink!

Altar

The baroque churches are astounding. I love visiting.  I think of all of the generations of folks who had come for comfort, for family ritual, for community.  All of the candles that had been lit for loved ones.

What a beautiful visit!

Looking back as we headed to the bus.

And our view through the bus front window as we made our way back to Ruhpolding.

The view from my room balcony.

Back at home - reality seeps in!  There is so much to do.  

The December Quiltvillians packed it all up and headed out yesterday morning.  I've got my machine gal coming to give the long arm a spa treatment and hopefully trouble shoot what is going on with the Intelliquilter.  My fingers are crossed.

Not sure if she is arriving this afternoon or tomorrow - it depends on how her job in Wilmington goes. I'm awaiting an ETA, but the retreat house will be her home for a couple of nights.

UPDATE: I did update Part 3 of Lupine & Laughter after checking how I pressed all of the different sizes of triangles.  I pressed everything toward the PINK fabric but it won't matter if pressed the medium size toward the purple.  It won't interfere with anything.  It doesn't matter one bit.  So just carry on.

I did get SOME of these done - before I crawled off for a 45 minute nap.

There will be more of these in my future.

But first - let's get that long arm working!

Yesterday's view off the back porch.  Brrrr!

The old mill remains look especially haunted this time of the year!
And just for fun - My friend send me this photo that was posted by the Grayson County Historical Society on Facebook:

From 1900!!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -
I set in this morning to bring a little bit of holiday cheer to my surroundings. ⁣
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This photo is a close-up of a hexie table runner made by my mom. I taught her how to do English paper piecing and she turned around and made this for me! ⁣
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There is a definite need to be creative within the human spirit. The things we make with our hands we also make with our hearts!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone -