European Adventure Days 1-4

Cahl and I set out on our big European adventure today, and we were so excited! We flew from Boise to Chicago, and had plenty of time to eat and wander around before our next flight to Brussels. Because it was an overnight flight, we splurged on upgraded seats, and they made a huge difference. We were comfortable and well taken care of, and we even managed to get some sleep on the plane. We landed in Brussels about 9am, made it through customs, got our rental car, and were on the road heading south before noon. We drove straight to Ath, which is a little town close to were Tristan lives. We met up with him and spent a few hours walking around the town and visiting before going to dinner at a local Belgian restaurant. The food was delicious, and we called it an early night. We stayed at a local small hotel, and it was super cute and had a beautiful garden area. 

Tuesday morning we picked up Tristan and he took us on a tour of his base. From there we drove to Mons, which is the closest biggish town to him. We went to the Mons Memorial Museum, and learned all about the military history of that region of Belgium, particularly during the world wars. From there we went to the Belfry of Mons, which was built in the late 1600s. It sits on top of a hill, so the views of the city and surrounding countryside are amazing. We climbed to the top of the tower, and just happened to get there a few minutes before the bells starting chiming. There are 49 bells, some of them several feet wide, so it was incredible to sit right next to them while the sang! We walked from the belfry to the town center, which was so cute, and we had lunch there. 

After lunch, we continued on to a little town called Enghien, where a friend of Cahl's told him about a friend he has there who has a shop restoring mustangs. We met the owner, Anthony, and he gave us a tour and told us all about his shop. It was insane- we had never seen so many mustangs in one place! After stopping there, we drove to a place called Pairi Daiza, which was listed as an animal park very close to were Tristan lives. He had not been there, so we decided to check it out. Holy smokes! It happens to be regarded as the best zoo in Europe and one of the best in the world. It absolutely blew our minds! The park is huge (nearly twice the size of the San Diego zoo), and built on the ruins of Cambron Abbey which was built in the mid 1100s. The bell tower is still there, and is now part of a habitat. The zoo has 9 distinct areas with over 7,000 animals, and they are all different and equally amazing. We only had a couple of hours before closing time, so there is so much more to see, and we'll definitely be going back!

Wednesday morning we got on the road early and drove over to Cologne Germany. Seeing the cathedral was at the top of our list, and we were lucky enough that our hotel was only about 2 blocks from it. We could even see it from our window. We walked over and toured the cathedral, and it knocked our socks off. It is hard to wrap your brain around how tall and intricate it is, and it is such a beautiful dark color. It was definitely worth the drive to see it! 

We also walked around the city center, and went to the Kolumba art gallery and museum. The St Kolumba church was built by the Romans in the late 900s, and was almost completely destroyed during WW2. But now the museum surrounds the church ruins, and sits atop ancient Roman building. It was pretty insane to walk among history that old! 

After dinner, we strolled across the Hohenzollern Bridge, and left a lock on it. It was a beautiful way to see the river and the skyline to end the day.