European Adventure Days 5-7

Thursday morning we were up and on the road early, on our way south. Cahl got to drive on the Autobahn for a few hours, and we stopped at Eltz Castle for a tour and lunch. The castle is amazing! It is about a mile walk or so from the parking lot, through woods above a river, and you can't see the castle until the very end, when you round a corner. It is a medieval castle that has been there since the mid 800s, and was used as a fortress to protect trade routes for several hundred years. The family that occupied it was actually 3 branches of the same family, and they lived in 3 separate wings with shared living areas. Now only 1 branch still lives in and controls the castle and land, but it was so beautiful to walk through and learn about! 

After the castle tour, we headed down to Trier. There is the oldest cathedrals in Germany, and one of the oldest in the world. It was built in the 300s by Romans, and contains some incredible artifacts- the robe said to have been worn by Jesus shortly before his crucifixion, the skull of St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, and a Holy Nail from the Cross of Jesus. It is a beautiful building, and it's so cool to see the different styles of architecture from throughout history as it's been rebuilt and added to over the years. From there, we walked through the own square over to the Porta Nigra, which is the last standing Roman gate of the city, built in 170. It is a beautiful structure, even though it is currently under construction, and we weren't able to tour it. 

From Trier, we drove down into Luxembourg City for the night. We met up with Tristan's girlfriend Jazzlyn, for dinner and the evening. We walked all around the city and had dinner, before heading back to the hotel for the night. 

Friday morning we had breakfast with Tristan and Jazz, then they headed back to Germany and we headed back into Belgium to visit Bastogne, where the Battle of the Bulge took place. We went to the 101st Airborne Museum, then walked downtown to check out the shops. It is a super cute town, and hopefully we can go back someday, because there a lot more things I'd like to see!

We crossed into France, and our first stop was Belleau Wood to visit the Marine Corp monument and cemetery. The battle of Belleau Wood in 1918 earned the Marines their nickname of Devil Dogs, and it is also where the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments were awarded the French Fourragere- a special award worn only by those units for their service at Belleau Wood. Cahl is a member of the 5th Regiment, so visiting this place was very special to us, and a deep reminder of those who have come before us. 

Our last stop of the day was Paris! We got there late in the afternoon, and found our hotel- the Maison Astor. The hotel was built by John Jacob Astor in 1907, and it is incredible! It's tucked into a quiet little side street, and we loved staying there. That evening we walked over to the Moulin Rouge, and then on to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre. The basilica is young by European standards, built in the late 1800s, but it is truly beautiful inside and out and the view of the city is unmatched! 

Saturday we had a day packed with seeing Paris. We started off early with a tour of the Catacombs, which is pretty interesting and very well done.

Then headed over to the Eiffel Tower. Tickets had been sold out online, but once we got there, we were able to get tickets all the way to the summit, so we were super excited. We checked out the 2nd and 3rd stories, then rode the elevator to the top where the view is amazing. It was pretty windy and rainy that day, but once we got the the summit we didn't even notice it. It wasn't very crowded, and we had the best time seeing what landmarks we could see and recognize. I loved seeing Eiffel's office, and I even used the bathroom up there, just to say I did! My only regret is that we didn't have the chance to see the light show at night when it sparkles. 

From the tower, we crossed the street to an outdoor market for lunch. Then we crossed the river and walked over to Place Diana, which is a memorial to Princess Diana. We made our way back to the hotel for a quick nap before heading back toward the river for dinner. We stopped at Notre Dame just in time to hear the bells chiming, but we didn't have a chance to go inside. 

Dinner that evening was a cruise on the Seine River, and since it was still rainy, we loved the glass top boat and the chance to see so many landmarks. After dinner, we hopped in a rickshaw to get over to the Louvre. It was closed for the night, but the building itself and the glass pyramids were beautiful at night. 

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. 

Happy Birthday!

We celebrated Brinley's Sweet 16 this year, and it's crazy to think that our little caboose is almost an adult! She had a great time celebrating with an early family dinner and gifts yesterday, then I took her and several friends downtown tonight for a photoshoot and dinner. They all looked beautiful, and they had a blast!