When we found out Raymond was going to be going to a conference in Amsterdam we knew an adventure must take place. When we saw how cheap the tickets were on the awesome low budget airlines plus the added bonus of our tax return we were all systems GO!
When you are married to a PhD student you must pinch your pennies but we know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the world. My montra has been "It's never going to be cheaper to travel than right now".
Our thirst for Adventure has yet to be quenched. soooo Wheels up! We were off. I met Raymond in Amsterdam after the ISBL conference had finished. As soon as I stepped into the Amsterdam airport I had the weirdest experience. Now, I've always considered myself a pretty tall girl 5'8 and have always be the blondest person around. Both of these things were totally flipped up-side-down in Holland. I was a complete shrimp compared the others. One thing I'm really jealous about is most have blonde hair yet they TAN. Everyone was getting back from Holiday and I've never seen tans like that on naturally blonde people. I need to ask for forgiveness for coveting their skin pigmentation.
Raymond met me at the airport and we went and ate dinner.
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| Amsterdam Central Square |
BACK to the Trip
We slept in a Christian Hostel and got up super early the next morning, rented the car and were off to Brugge, Belgium Below is a map of our road travels over a 4 day period.
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| Map of our Route |
Brugge was our favorite stop of the trip. It was so beautiful with the old architecture as well as amazing musicians performing on the streets and amazing markets all over the town. That is one place we really want to go back and spend more time exploring. The waffles were amazing
From Brugge we drove to Brussels. Brussels was a cool town as well we went to dinner and met some really cool Brits. We went back to their place a few blocks from our hotel and watched the Olympic Opening ceremony. It was a really cool experience and they were so nice. India was 19 and had downs syndrome. She told me she had 4 ex husbands who were competing in the Olympic games and pretty much pointed at any good-looking guy that popped on the screen. She was hysterical, we had a blast together. I love meeting people all over the World!
Our hotel in Brussels had a Japanese themed room. It was really cool and different. We explored Brussels and then were back on the road to the Ardennes. For those of you who don't know a lot about WWII the Ardennes is where the Battle of the Bulge took place.
The town where we stayed, Le Roche-en-Ardennes, was decimated in the war. There were US tanks everywhere as memorials symbolizing their gratitude for liberating them from the Germans. We went hiking after settling in and got caught in a thunderstorm on our last mile back into town. It was so amazing hearing the thunder and feeling the refreshing rain. I just love a good thunderstorm. (I haven't heard thunder in Scotland yet)
One town where this was certainly true was Bastogne, Belgium. This is the town that was fetured in the show Band of Brothers. Read the history of Bastogne, It's really amazing. We went to the US memorial there and it was moving.
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| Vianden Castle |
From Bastogne we drove to Vianden, Luxembourg to see the Castle. There just happened to be a medieval festival going on when we arrived. WHAT LUCK! We jumped back in time with everyone else and had an amazing time watching sword fighting, jesters, and there were even birds of prey there ready for the hunt!
From Vianden we drove to Luxembourg City for the night. It was a beautiful town that reminded me a lot of Charlotte. BANKING TOWN.
On our last day we drove from Luxembour to Cologne, Germany to see the HUGE Cathedral. One of the largest in the world.
From Cologne we drove back to Amsterdam airport where I quickly fell asleep in the airport "Park". They had the most comfy bean bag bed things. The bird sounds and duck noises put me straight out! Raymond couldn't resist the urge and fell asleep as well. I set my watch alarm and we got to the gate in plenty of time for take off.
All in all an amazing Adventure.
Until next time, Later days
MB
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