Euro Trip Part I: The Burgs not the ‘Berg

After finally making it through the craziness that was July, Jon and I enjoyed our incredible adventure of traveling through 4 different countries within 2 weeks to see family, friends, and more family. Some people thought we were crazy for trying to cram so much travel into such a short time, but boy was it worth it! We spent nearly a week with both my family and Jon’s, had a short weekend in Paris with great friends, and spent two long layovers exploring Vietnam. It was full, and it was wonderful. I plan to split the two weeks into 3-4 different blog posts to keep the clutter down, but we took a LOT of pictures and have a LOT of stories to tell, so consider yourself warned. 😉

Part 1: Germany Week 1
Our first week of vacation was spent in Gindorf, with Jon’s sister, brother-in-law, and their two precious children. Mike and Elana have lived in Germany for 2 years now, so it’s been a while since we’ve seen this beautiful family, but even before that, they lived in Oklahoma while we were in St. Louis. Needless to say, we greatly cherished our time with this family.

Day 1: After a sky-view sunrise on the airplane, we arrived in Frankfurt and took our two-hour drive with Mike, Elana, and the kids to their home in Gindorf. We spent the first day lounging and exploring the small town.

The sunrise to greet us on the airplane.

Abbie was quite the little helper.

We made a quick stop at this vineyard to look over the valley

We made it home and took a walk around Ginsdorf.

We then ended the evening relaxing together at home.

Day number 2: Reichsburg Castle in Cochem overlooking the Mosel Valley.

The view overlooking the valley.

So, the castle’s kind of cool.

Up to the castle we go!

Lo and Behold, a renaissance festival at the castle.

We made it inside!

Knights of all sizes…

The view from the castle. Also, that’s a lion in a knight’s helmet, not a frog.

Day 3: Mike had to work, so the rest of us took a day trip to Burg Eltz, a castle secluded by the surrounding forest. The not-so-sunny day ended in a torrential downpour, but we sure had a great time exploring this BEAUTIFUL castle. We couldn’t take pictures inside, but trust me, this place was awesome.

I loved this one of William and Abby exploring the castle’s treasury.

That torrential downpour…

After sprinting the LONG distance through the woods to make it back to the car, we were fairly soaked.

We ended the evening with Mike, Elana, and the kids at a quiet restaurant overlooking the river and valley.

Day 4: Up and out early to head to Belgium. First stop: Carrefour to get speculoos. Second stop: Brussels!

Our first teaser view of the ‘Grand Place’ in Brussels.

My favorite.

‘Manneken Pis’ and ‘Jeanneke Pis’. Male and female versions of children peeing. Notice the crowds surrounding Manneken Pis, while Jeanneke gets hardly any love…

When in Belgium…. get chocolates and waffles. obviously.

Any day you eat speculoos is a good day.

William’s impression of Hollister models.

The breakfast room at our B&B just outside Brussels. This place was incredible. And check out those pictures!

The kids had a trampoline to play on, and Mr. Paul even let them feed the fish!

He also offered us all free drinks! Us adults had an enjoyable evening chatting, drinking, and enjoying some Belgium chocolates while the kids played. Such a relaxing evening!

Day 5: Driving into Reims! First up on the list was our Lanson Champagne tour! Jon and I have both toured wineries and bourbon distilleries, but this was a first for all of us as we learned the magic behind champagne. None of us are big champagne drinkers, but we were pretty impressed with the tour and the tasting!

Into the cellars.

At our tasting!

We also explored downtown Reims and the beautiful (albeit under-construction) Notre Dame Cathedral.

Beautiful streets of Reims

Notre Dame Cathedral …and construction…

They had history and pictures of the cathedral set up inside. This was a picture of German soldiers camping out in front of the cathedral (before they attacked and burned it in the days to follow). This picture was taken September 1914. Almost exactly 100 years ago.

We found this thing. No idea what it is, but it’s cool.

🙂

Jon and I even made it back to the cathedral that night for the light show.

A fraction of the images from the 20 minute light show.

Day 6: Last, but not least, we made it to Paris and the Palace of Versailles. I’ve been here once before back in high school, but I was glad to experience it again with a little more interest and with Jon seeing it for the first time.

It’s important to note that this is Louis XIV, the namesake of St. Louis.

The Hall of Mirrors

Sisters!

Unfortunately, this was also our last day with Mike and Elana. The time with them was so precious as we got to know our niece and nephew a bit more and share love and laughter with such sweet family. Leaving them was one of the hardest parts of the trip, but we are so grateful for the week we had with these loved ones.