GerBeNeLux A-Z

GerBenelux = Germany + Benelux the tri-country area consisting of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. These events were recorded in April.
Averting our eyes in the red-light district in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bicycles in Amsterdam

Canal ride in Gent, Belgium

Dizzy climb to the top of Cologne Cathedral Dome, Germany

Exits off highways are sometimes on the left in the Netherlands. Took a few "exits" to figure that one out.
F "(insert explitive) respect" said our neighbor with a a double fist pump to his chest when Amy and I returned from our water bike tour ALL THE WAY AROUND the lake instead of taking the shortcut we didn't know about in Vreeland, Netherlands

Ggggent. Our b&b host teaching us how to pronounce "Gent" in Dutch.
Hold the Chocolate!!!! I'm on overload!

Imagine the flower fields in full bloom, because they're not blooming yet
Jovial Cyclists stopped "us" and snapped our picture with them

Ketchup or Friet sauce with those fries. Both please!

Late night dorm room chats. Some things don't change after twenty years. Traveling with my college roommate Amy.
Muddy tunnels and castle mines in St. Goar Germany

Nice people only in Gent, Belgium

On the Road Again . . . our road trip song
Passionfruit ice cream is the perfect end to a four course meal at the castle.
Queen for the day at said castle

Red rope--a mile of it--leads us through Amsterdam to the relocated Van Gogh museum

St Agnes--the patron saint of single women. For all the single ladies out there this is for you

Trails in the Rhine Valley, Germany

Uno games accompanied by ants
Views

Views

Views

Waffles, of course in Belgium

Xylophone--ok not really , but there was a stylish string trio playing Pachelbel's Cannon on the street in Antwerp, Belgium

Yellow varigated, Blue Flowers, Gold polka dots and Neon stripes. A girl can never have too many scarves

Zero space left in the trunk of the rental car after all our shopping.

The Hills are Alive...

Announcing the world premier of

Look forward to their new single inspired by the sights, sounds and tastes of the Rhine.

Including hilltop performances...

storming the castle and gnomes on phones.

Recorded live on location in St. Goar, Bacharach and Oberwessel Germany.

Bittersweetness in Dresden

Last night I didn't know how good I had it in my "splurge" hotel until I took a stroll around the block after breakfast. What?! I was sleeping right next to this amazing-ness.

I circled back to Frauenkirche to find you can hike to he top of the dome for 8€. Excellent morning excercize.

The view on the way up...

I love the decorator here, pink in abundance.

This church was destroyed in WWII but was recently rebuilt. I imagine the stairs before we're not so easy to navigate.

And the view....the best 8€ I've spent. My hotel room is down on the lower right.

The bitter part is that I am leaving Dresden and this car.

Now for more of the sweet. You know the Storybookland ride at Disneyland where you can take a boat ride or the train to ooh and awe at the the miniature Cinderella's castle or the Three Little Pigs cottages, and the line is always super long or it's closed when you want to go. Well I got to go today! On the train from Dresden to Prague! It follows the Elbe river. I along with several other grown adult passengers were pointing and saying ooh look at as we all stood at the windows. We had seats that we paid for. I tried to get some pictures but gave up because I now have too many pictures featuring electrical posts.

Can you see the bridge connecting the two cliffs?

Proof I'm in the Czech Republic. I chatted with a Czech gentleman on the train for a bit who has seen a lot of years. I asked him what has changed in is lifetime in Prague. He said everything used to be grey. There is more color now.

I'm looking forward to discovering the different colors in Prague and the sweetest part...I'm traveling with my friend Katie for this leg of the journey.

Seiffen in a . . .

For one heart dropping moment I was overcome with sadness when the car rental agent pulled out keys for an Opal. She looked at my ID and said wait that's wrong and pulled out another set of keys. Then my feet did a little happy dance on the other side of the counter and my eyes started to tear up from joy.

I found my little car, yikes it's not an automatic as requested. But I'm still giddy. It's been 10 years since I've driven a manual and longer since I've driven one in the snow. Thank goodness it's like riding a bike and after a practice lap in the parking garage I was off. Here, I need to give props to my sister Christy who was the driver during our London adventure. She did a great job. I on the other hand had a couple close calls and I was on the RIGHT side of the road.

While I don't think I was on an official stretch of the autobahn I was on the freeway reaching 145 km an hour (approx 90 mph). I'm still checking it off my mission possible list. Give me a break it was snowing.

For you soccer fans I followed this bus for a while. They probably thought they had a stalker.

I also need to give a shout out to my sister Melissa for recommending the town, Seiffen. She will recognize this picture.

Everything combined made for a fairy tale vacation day. Driving a BMW (he he) through villages, over scenic hills, through fields stitched together with trees, winding in groves and forests, stunned by copper steepled churches, and stony buildings covered in snow, everything covered in snow. I tried to take a few pictures but there is only so much you can do as the driver and passenger.

I arrived in Seiffen that is so cute and bursting with shopping possibilities. It is the kind of town that is over run at Christmas with everyone trying to nab an authentic nutcracker or pyramid (pyramids are the wood towers with varying levels and carved wood animals or crèche scenes and when the candles are lit the heat causes the little figures to whirl, you know what I'm talking about). I had the stores and the frozen museum all to myself.

Aren't those the most perfect snow flakes stuck to the side of MY car. Oh and I want this to be my next car!

So today was definitely a splurge day: BMW, hotel next door to Frauenkirche, room service, and a large souvenir purchase. But it was the kind of day I needed to wrap up this first month of travel and begin the next one. And tomorrow I'm meeting a friend in Prague!

The view from my window in Dresden. The bells rang for a good 15 minutes tonight after the announcement of the new pope. The church is Protestant now, but was originally built as a Catholic Church.