Europe Part 1.
After months of planning, most of which Brian took charge of as he is the road warrior, we embarked on our European adventure. After a long flight through the night we arrived in Brussels Belgium. We didn't stay here long, it was just the best (cheapest and available place to fly to for the dates we wanted). We rented a car and again, Brian the road warrior with little sleep on the plane took the wheel and drove to Munster Germany. Here we had a stop to wander around, stretch our legs and see the three cages. In short: In 1534 Munster got recaptured and the 3 leaders of the Anabaptists got murdered. Their bodies were put into 3 cages on the tower of St. Lamberts Church.
Brutal. The cages are still hanging today.
After, we decided to lighten the mood and eat some bratwurst while in Germany. The kids seemed to rather enjoy this. We found a food truck alley and enjoyed the sounds of all the people enjoying time outside.
From there we drove until we got to the Ferry that took us to Denmark. We booked Scandlines Ferry before we left so this worked out rather well. We mostly just enjoyed dinner on the boat and a sunset that had beautiful reds. We arrived to our hotel very tired. Bed was very welcome!
In the morning we sought out danishes. While in Denmark... you will see a we tried to taste local specialties throughout the trip. :)
The kids had pastries as they couldn't decide on a danish that looked good enough to eat.
This day was a bit rainy but not too bad. We took the VERY EXPENSIVE bridge to Sweden, had some Swedish meatballs at Lilla Torg (a small square), and then explored Malmohus. There were cannons, beautiful rooms, people dressed up, and we even enjoyed a small aquarium, before moving on.
While driving to our hotel we saw an IKEA, so of course we stopped.
That night we had dinner at Nyhavn, in Copenhagen Denmark. People were everywhere! The boats, colourful buildings, and live music, and food were fantastic!
After dinner we wandered on to Amalienborg. This is where the royals reside. There was a horse and rider statue that looked amazing with the sunsetting behind it and we saw guards that looked similar to guards you would see in England with the bearskin caps.
We had to convince the kids to walk on as they were quite tired but we pressed on to see the Little Mermaid. A major tourist attraction based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson. It has been there since 1913.
The next day we decided the kids would need a kid friendly day. So we spent the day at Tivoli Gardens. This famous amusement park had beautiful gardens as well. It was suited for all ages. The park has been around since 1843. There were people enjoying the gardens with books in hand, people enjoying live music and food, and also people like us enjoying the rides. The mountain coaster built in 1914 is one of the worlds oldest wooden roller coasters that still operates.
The next day we found ourselves in Billund, Denmark. This is the home of The Lego Group. Lego was founded here. There really isn't anything else in this town but Legoland. This is another amusement park that the kids were thrilled about. We each made a lego character to take home to represent ourselves. We also bought a few lego people to trade with the ride and store operators. There was an amazing lego mini village. It had place like Nyhaven, and Amalienborg, Neuschwanstein and other great displays of the Netherlands and so much more.
That night we drove to Hamburg, Germany. The next day we had a swim day in the hotel and also went out to explore and enjoy German pretzels by the water. There were a lot of swans. Perhaps they get a lot of pretzels given to them.
That night we arrived in Applingdam, in the Netherlands for dinner. Despite the drizzle in the air, we went to see the hanging kitchens. These are basically extensions over a canal from a brick building. We didn't spend too much time here before heading to The Hague, Netherlands. We would stay here for a few days.
Brian found some King mints that his grandpa loved, plus some other black licorices that were so salty. We tried to go to the beach but it was way too windy. Sand in our faces! So we wandered around the city instead with Hadley using the GPS to get us back to our hotel.
Next up... Amsterdam. We arrived by train and were welcomed by an uncountable number of bicycles. We took a boat taxi, showing the kids the Rijks Museum, and spending most of the day at Vondelpark. The kids loved a tree that had fallen and was now considered a climbing structure. Both kids ripped holes in at least one spot on their clothing but they loved playing there anyway.
We wandered through and found most of the six playgrounds throughout. Some were safe. One was like tree top treking with rope bridges to other tree houses. One was a climbing structure that if you missed one grip, I am pretty sure you would die. One had a cool swing that three of us could use at the same time. Let's just say we played at some, and not so much at others.
That night we found a local restaurant called Carter bar and Kitchen. We tried bitterballen, which none of us loved but we can all say that we tried it. We also had a nice chicken dinner with lots of cheese and some beer.
At the Van Gogh museum Hadley pointed out things she had learned in school. I loved that she could link this!
The day was full, not at all what we expected but lovely.
In the morning we drove to Kinderdijk. The kids sat in a giant wooden shoe, stood in smaller wooden shoes, saw the windmills, climbed inside a windmill, and even pretended to give a windmill a spinning start for a photo.
Later that afternoon we met up with Marion, Ben and their daughter Susan and her daughter Fena Verkleij. They showed us around Trekkertrek, treated the kids to shirts, ice-cream, and more fair rides.
That evening we were invited back to Brentano. This is the Verkely family farm. Brian's great grandfather bought the farm over a hundred years ago. It was built in 1796. The house is lovely! The kids got to feed calves, see Ben milking, we were lucky enough to had Marion give us a lesson in cheese making.
Before leaving we went up to see the attic. This is where some people used to hide during war times. Ben even found a real sword when he was a kid. Easton loved holding it!
The next day was a beach day at the North sea. We saw so many people kite surfing. The air was cool, in fact I had a jacket on and only put my feet in, but the kids both put on their bathing suits and went in full force! We built a dyke, and canals and watched the tide come in to demonstrate how water flows.
A little history at the Canadian War Cemetery before leaving the Netherlands. We saw the crosses row on row. Even a poppy or two and some Canadian flags. The kids showed great respect while we were there.
We drove on to Brussels, Belgium where we actually spend a little time this time. After some Belgian waffles for breakfast, we played some Pokemon Go as we wandered around Brussels Park, we saw the Royal Palace of Brussels, we made a stop to see the peeing boy, which apparently is a must see. Meh! Just a naked boy fountain but very popular by the tourists.
I was happier at the next few stops. Godiva for chocolate, which we all enjoyed at the Grand Place. (Brussels Town Hall). Then we found the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate. We watched a professional chocolatier make Belgian chocolates right in front of us and then we got to enjoy the goods!
After our dessert we went for Belgian Fries with Mayo. Everyone loved the fries! I am pretty sure Easton had fries once a day on this trip despite our best efforts.
That night we met up with Brian's old colleague from Bell, Matthew.
Matthew quit Bell to pursue his career in Opera singing and move to Belgium with his family. His lovely wife Maggie and their kids Malcolm and Duncan entertained us with great games, Belgian Beer, dinner and conversation. They had just moved into their house so they were excited about the future possibilities of their life there.
It was a lovely evening spent mostly in their backyard.
The next day before leaving Belgium we went to where the Trappist Monks brew Orval beer and make cheese at Orval Abbey. We explored the grounds including some gardens, and ruins. We had a quick trip to Luxembourg where we walked around seeing the city and fortress that that was founded in 963. I love seeing Unesco World Heritage sites.
We walked a lot of stairs, had dinner on a balcony, Brian ate a local dish, that we will just say was like jelly and ham... and then we found a fantastic park. The Luxembourg people know how to build great parks! The food... well, that is another story.
We also stopped at Park Merveilleux. An amusement park that had a small zoo, a miniature railway, cars the kids could ride, playgrounds that were the most amazing playgrounds I have seen, fairy tale scenes (with stories in other languages), and restaurants.
That night we drove to Champagne, Spain. We saw the vineyards which were quite impressive. The land was not flat and very different than our farm land. There were grapes that were purple, and some that were green. We tasted them, and found them to be sour. Afterwards we had dinner, with champagne of course.
Next up Reims Cathedral. This is a cathedral that the kings of France were crowned at.
After some intense driving on the Champs Elysees, we arrived at our hotel. While we waited for our room to be ready, we spent the day walking and exploring. We started with some Crepes on the Champs Elysees. The Nutella ones were delicious. We tried the sugar one too.
We ventured to see the Obelisk, played a little Pokemon Go en-route to the Louvre.
We saw the original lock bridge near Pont Neuf, and took in the beauty of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Then we took our time at the Eiffel Tower posing and having fun in the Champs de Mars park. We took a shoe photo like the one Brian and I took years ago when we were last there and then after a lengthy wait in line, we went up to watch the sunset on the tower. Easton loved that he could climb some of the tower, Hadley loved the ice cream at the top.
The kids had no fear on the glass floor. Jumping and dancing. I put both feet on but that was about it.
We decided to come down just at the glittering lights were coming on. Hadley got to press the button to bring us down and Easton got to press the button to open the doors.
At the bottom we enjoyed the glitter display on the tower and took it all in. Magical.
After a long walk, we stopped for some pizza, which was two for one, so the kids decided to donate some of our pizza to a family living on the street.
It was late, but the arc de Triumph looked fantastic at night, so of course we stopped for a few photos before heading to our hotel some much needed sleep.
Brian, got up early to take in Paris just before the sunrise. He said the round-about around the arc de Triumph was a lot less crazy at this time.
We joined him at a much more civilized hour... around 8 am for pastries and macaroons.
Then the day was spent at Versailles. At first we thought the line was so long we wouldn't get in, so we walked around the back just to see what we could see, and found an entrance with no line to just the gardens. Perfect. We went into the gardens, through the mazes, and saw the musical fountain shows.
That night we went to the Canadian National Vimy Ridge Memorial. When I saw V-W Vinen on the wall, it all became more real. (My dad says he had the war medals somewhere and will show me some time). I felt proud and sad.
From here we drove to the Brussels airport to return our rental car, and then to the hotel to sleep for a few hours before part 2 of our trip would begin.