Liege, Belgium is only an hour drive away, we had the greatest hot chocolate to start the day and were very happy. I didnt know what was up with Liege but found out that Standard Liege is the Number 1 soccer team in Belgium and I was excited to see the field and get a shirt, unfortunately, I needed directions and according to some smart ass French/Belgium guy == the stadium doesnt have an address....really frenchy how does the team get mail???
So it wasnt looking good to get a jersey, but we saw a bunch of churches, everyone was hungry so I ordered a sandwich in English-- I think she understood,. next Alyssa wanted a Waffle and again I ordered in English and they understood....:)
We finally headed home.....but we made one stop.... the Soccer Stadium and I got my shirt
Go STANDARD LIEGE
Sunday, April 19, 2009
April 17th- Koln
So we are finally headeded back to Sonsbeck after a road trip around Germany, t0 Austria, Swiss, and France. We did take a quick stop to Koln or Colgne and saw a church and saw the Sarcophagus of the Magi, --- the amount of historical things we have seen is amazing, we are so lucky.
For dinner we went to a small restaurant and had a Douner --- which is basically a Gyro as big as my stomach--- which as we all know is huge.
For dinner we went to a small restaurant and had a Douner --- which is basically a Gyro as big as my stomach--- which as we all know is huge.
April 16th -Strassburg France
The world wind tour continues.....we made a quick stop in Straussburg France to see the world's oldest astrological clock (not sure what that means....but we took pictures).
Because we parked at a street lot that let us park for 1.5 hrs, so we didnt see a lot of Straussburg...one fun thing is that some stupid french person dropped an egg from the 5th floor of their apartment and almost took out Julie and the girls.
Our next stop was Trier, Germany --- This was actually a pretty cool visit....we saw the best preserved Roman structure-- basically a really big wall. The next stop was a church that has the Holy Turin, which is the garmet that Jesus wore during his crucifixion. We then stopped to eat....Alyssa and Emily were excited ---they had chicken nuggets... I had my first Schnitzal damn it was good. Julie didnt like her lasgna but her and Barb loved the wine tasting
We ended the night on familar soil---We stayed at an Air Force Military base--- GO USA
Saturday, April 18, 2009
April 15th- Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein
Because Julie is always treated like a princess we decided to visit some castles. Both castles were built by the Bavarian King Ludwig II. Neuschwanstein took him 17 years to build but he only lived there for 172 days before he died under mysterious circumstances.... this was also the castle that was the basis for the Castle in Sleeping Beauty and at Disney. It was great waking up, looking up and seeing the castles from our hotel room.
We left Germany and headed to Mulhouse France -- via Zurich--- which was a nightmare. to end the day we bought some chocolates and found a small pizza place in France, where Dave had to fight for the correct bill as they tried to rip us off.
April 14th- Salzburg Austria
THE SOUND OF MUSIC !!!!! Dave is happy--- we visited several of the locations that were made famous by the movie. Our first stop was the Mirabell Gardens, which was a spot where the Von Trapps sang Do,Re,Mi...... So Dave pranced around the same gardens reinacting the song. Our next stop was St. Sebastin Cemetary, which was the basis of the Cemetary used in the movie for the Von Trapps to escape......next we knocked on the door to the Abbey and asked for Fraulin Maria (okay we really didnt do that but we saw it) Our next location was the front of the Von Trapp house, before we went to the crown jewel of the tour and went to the Gazebo used in the song I am 16......
We saw some other stuff too---- after walking for ever we took a tram to the Salzburg Castle
We ended the day by going to the Salt mines....Dave learned a very interesting thing....if you lick the walls they taste like salt
April13th - ROAD TRIP
Dave had his first taste of the Autobahn --- although driving really fast in a Honda Odessey doesnt do the Autobahn justice.
As Dave navaigated the left lane driving past Kia's, Fiats and more Kia's we arrived in Nuremberg we saw old churches from 1200-1300's. The highlight was we had lunch at a restaruant were the city council meet to decide about the official size and weight of the Nuremberg bratwursts....this has gone on since the 1300's,
We then stopped of in Munich at the World Famous Hofbrauhaus where we sat with locals and drank 32 ounces of beer and got pretzels from a pretzel wench.
Our final stop of the day was our hotel in Austria--- we ended the day with beers in a sports betting pub.......Cant wait until tomorrow for The Sound of Music
As Dave navaigated the left lane driving past Kia's, Fiats and more Kia's we arrived in Nuremberg we saw old churches from 1200-1300's. The highlight was we had lunch at a restaruant were the city council meet to decide about the official size and weight of the Nuremberg bratwursts....this has gone on since the 1300's,
We then stopped of in Munich at the World Famous Hofbrauhaus where we sat with locals and drank 32 ounces of beer and got pretzels from a pretzel wench.
Our final stop of the day was our hotel in Austria--- we ended the day with beers in a sports betting pub.......Cant wait until tomorrow for The Sound of Music
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Saturday April 11th- Belgium
Today we drove to Brussels, Belgium. It was our first ROCKSTAR parking spot....right outside of the King's Palace.... We were shocked by the amount of graffiti found in Brussels (all over landmarks, on the side of buildings you name it).
We figured the best way to see Brussels was by a bus tour.....we saw all the sites and learned some interesting history. Brussels is the hub of the European Union, it is big in banking and insurance.
One of the things the kids wanted to do in Belgium was eat a waffle, these are more of a dessert rather than a breakfast and they were awesome.
There is a story in Brussels that a little boy came across a fire in the city....while he was yelling for help he tried to extinguish the fire by peeing on it....when others arrived a bucket brigade was started. The town folk credited the little boy for saving the city and erected a statue of the boy. Upon seeing the statue Julie said "that is it...that isn't that big", thus making David happy the rest of the trip.
Finally we all had ABBA in our heads as we headed 12 miles out of town to Waterloo. Waterloo is the place where Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington. There is a huge statue of a lion set on a hill that we climbed all 226 steps to see the battlefield....our legs are still killing us.
We are laying low on Easter before we embark on our 5 day tour of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France.......Only 2 more days before the Goodwillie's are frolicking and singing the Hills Alive with the Sound of Music and going to the Salt Mines of Austria....yes these are a few of my favorite things.
We figured the best way to see Brussels was by a bus tour.....we saw all the sites and learned some interesting history. Brussels is the hub of the European Union, it is big in banking and insurance.
One of the things the kids wanted to do in Belgium was eat a waffle, these are more of a dessert rather than a breakfast and they were awesome.
There is a story in Brussels that a little boy came across a fire in the city....while he was yelling for help he tried to extinguish the fire by peeing on it....when others arrived a bucket brigade was started. The town folk credited the little boy for saving the city and erected a statue of the boy. Upon seeing the statue Julie said "that is it...that isn't that big", thus making David happy the rest of the trip.
Finally we all had ABBA in our heads as we headed 12 miles out of town to Waterloo. Waterloo is the place where Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington. There is a huge statue of a lion set on a hill that we climbed all 226 steps to see the battlefield....our legs are still killing us.
We are laying low on Easter before we embark on our 5 day tour of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France.......Only 2 more days before the Goodwillie's are frolicking and singing the Hills Alive with the Sound of Music and going to the Salt Mines of Austria....yes these are a few of my favorite things.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
