Whirlwind Road Trip Part III: Valkenburg Caves

We stayed at a fabulous Airbnb in The Netherlands both nights of our trip.  This is an old renovated bakery (or Bakhaus).  It sits on a centuries old farm which also has a manor house and moat.  It was perfect for our family and even had a playground & trampoline in the backyard.

The inside, downstairs, taken from the kitchen, looking into the living/dining room. There was a bedroom upstairs.

The hosts even provided a lovely cake and breakfast too!  Croissants, fresh bread, fruit, eggs, meat & cheese.

On Saturday, after a relaxed breakfast, we headed into Valkenburg, where we explored the ruins of the Valkenburg castle and the caves beneath the castle.  The caves were created originally by mining the marlstone beneath the castle hill to build additional fortress, beginning as early as 1050. This created several kilometers of tunnels under the castle that were used later for military strategy.  Much later, they were used during WWII to hide local residents, Jewish people, and American soldiers.

The kids loved climbing and exploring all throughout the castle ruins.  This room was the chapel. See the arches?

We felt like we were in Game of Thrones as we looked out over the walls & expected to see John Snow or Tyrian Lannister run by. :)

The cave paintings date back to the late 18th century when the caves were used as secret chapels during the French occupation when Napoleon demanded that Roman Catholic priests swear allegiance to France.  

During December, the caves are decorated for Christmas and a Christmas market is set up in them.  This was the main reason we went to Valkenburg, but I actually would recommend seeing the caves without the extra distractions to better see the paintings & inscriptions.

We also enjoyed exploring the town of Valkenburg, which sits on the river Geul.

Valkenburg has endless sidewalk cafes that are heated with outdoor overhead heaters so that you can still sit outside.  We researched ahead of time and found one that had gluten free options!  For once, Brandtley got to order at a restaurant! 

I don't want to post too many pictures of food, but we all tried new Nederlander dishes that we had never heard of and we all enjoyed our selections.

My Zuurvlees - which was like a cinnamon spiced pot roast

Matthew's bloedworst, or blood sausage, topped with baked apples & served with sliced brown bread & jam

Croquettes with fries

We walked miles & miles.  The kids kept up so well and we had a great time!

Tschüss!

Whirlwind Road Trip Part II: Saying Hi to Charlemagne

A little over an hour from Bonn is the town of Aachen, which is where Charlemagne lived, ruled, died, and where his remains lie within the the Aachen Cathedral. Aachen is not a large city and probably not anywhere I would be able to go if I were coming to Europe for a weeklong trip from the States, but is exactly the type of place I love having time to explore now.

Since Charlemagne's kind of a big deal in history, we made this the first stop on our road trip.  

Within the cathedral, looking into the "Choir" and towards the golden box containing Charlemagne's remains

The ceiling of the original octagonal chapel within the Cathedral.

Looking into the original octagonal chapel, which was constructed under Charlemagne beginning in 793. The columns on the 2nd level were removed during French occupation under Napoleon and taken to the Louvre. Most of them were later returned but some still remain there.

The mosaic ceilings in the walkway surrounding the octagonal chapel.

The mosaics were incredible.

Brandtley wanted me to take his picture in front of the Cathedral.  He's the orange dot. :)

A better picture of the front of the Cathedral.

I really didn't research the city much other than the Cathedral and was so enamored by Aachen's beauty.  

I don't know what these houses are.  I just thought they were so pretty.

The Aachen Christmas Market wasn't on our list of "To-do" but we enjoyed wandering through it for hours.  It was enchanting to walk through the decorated streets and suddenly round a corner to see a statue of Charlemagne in front of a magnificent building like the Rathaus below.

Another view of a different wing of the Rathaus

Aachen Christmas Market with beautiful buildings surrounding it.

After wandering for a few hours, we ducked into a cafe.  This has always been one of our favorite things to do in Europe and I'm so happy that it is something our entire family can enjoy - even Brandtley! I realized recently that since plain milk is naturally gluten free with very low risk of cross contamination, it is easy to order steamed milk for the kids, even speaking in German (!). So while Matthew & I enjoy our Caffe Latte Macchiatos, the kids can have warm milk!  

This cafe asked if we would like honig (honey) and I said yes, though wasn't sure how they would add it. When it was served, each boy received a glass mug of steamed milk topped by a little saucer which carried a small jar of honey! I didn't think to document this with a picture until half of the honey-milk was gone, but here's what it looked like:

The kids now ask to stop for coffee as a treat instead of stopping for candy or baked goods, which is fine by me!! 

Tschüss!

Whirlwind Road Trip Part I: Siegburg's Medieval Christmas Market

We took our first road trip! We didn't go far, but crammed so much into just a few days that it was worth staying overnight instead of dividing into separate day trips.  Between Thursday and Sunday, we saw 6 new cities and traversed 3 countries, adding Belgium and the Netherlands to our list of countries.

First stop was not planned as part of the trip, but some friends were heading to a nearby town's Christmas market on Thursday night, so we joined them.  This one was fantastic with a medieval theme and some of the best food/beverage we've had at a market (which is saying something since it's all been great).

This one was so charming! The stalls were all lit by candles and even the items sold were medieval themed as well as the dress of all of the people working the market.  There were pigs roasting on spits (delicious!), hot honey mead, wood-carving, large fire pits,  and even a fortune-telling tent!  We didn't want to leave, but Jackson had school the next morning, so we left after only a few hours.

If you are in the area, I'd highly recommend the Siegburg medieval Christmas market.

 All of the festival workers were dressed in medieval garb.  There was a stage with performances including music and juggling.

A stall with animal furs.

A stall selling drinking horns

Pigs roasting on a spit. Brandtley had an awakening when he realized what that was & where his bacon comes from.  He didn't mind when the rest of us ate parts of those pigs, though.

A wooden hand-crank merry-go-round lit by candles in the lanterns above. The kids wanted to ride, and Matthew & I cranked it!

The bell on the merry-go-round which we rung when we started and when we stopped. The crank handles are on the center post next to Matthew.

Fire juggling performance

Fortune teller

Tschüss!

Things that will kill you: a cultural comparison

American children are taught to publicly shame anyone who smokes.  We had many discussions with our kids upon arriving in Europe about not commenting on someone's smoking status.  Comments like "Look at dat smokah!" and "You know, smoking is bad because you will DIE." have been shushed more than once. (If you've met our kids, you'll know which statement came from which child)

Bottom line is that people here smoke. It's Europe.  That's just part of the experience.

However, even Matthew and I chuckled and shook our heads at this:

Yes, it's a cigarette machine on the sidewalk in front of a house down the street from us.  Kind of like how restaurants in the U.S. used to have cigarette machines in the back by the bathrooms, but more convenient.

We have had lively conversations imagining the use, advertisement, and placement of the machine: "Run out of smokes mid-walk home and can't make it to the grocery store 2 blocks away? No worries! Just stop by the machine in front of your friendly neighbor's house!"

"Where should the new cigarette machine be placed for maximum convenience?"  "Well, my yard's empty..." 

Since noticing this one, I've seen a few more in other nearby neighborhood settings too.  And even once saw a man making a purchase. He looked askance...almost as ashamed as you would expect someone to be in the U.S.

On the other hand, in Germany you will be publicly shamed for jaywalking when a "Do Not Walk" sign is illuminated. "You are setting a bad example for the children!"

I kid you not.  That is exactly what is shouted.  After all...it could kill you.  

Tschüss! 

Two Advent Calendars, please...without alcohol

I don't usually post twice in one day, but this just had to be shared. Since December first is two days away, this afternoon we traveled to the magical land of Advent Calendars.  I.e. we walked 10 minutes to the beautiful department store with an entire department devoted to "Adventskalendaren". (Did I correctly make that plural? probably not...).  I have such wonderful memories growing up of opening tiny advent calendar doors every day each December and couldn't wait to share this with our boys.

While Matthew kept the kids occupied elsewhere, I devoted myself to reading ingredient lists to find a gluten-free advent calendar.   After about 10 minutes of looking, I noticed a few had a little speech bubble on the front that said "Ohne Alkohol!"

Oh!

That ingredient wasn't even on my radar!

This raises several important questions, such as: Are these intended for children? Or are adults continuing their childhood nostalgia with the purchase of a colorful cardboard box filled with treats? And if so, how many of them really open only one door each day?

This newfound knowledge narrowed down my search considerably. I still read the back of probably 50 or more different calendars.  And possibly even reached a point where I was willing to make sacrifices...rum doesn't have any gluten in it, so it's safe, right??  Thankfully, I found ONE single calendar that met both criteria of being gluten-und-alkoholfrei.  And bonus -- it has a beautiful picture of a train on the front!

A few adult advent calendars came close to slipping into my bag too, but I settled on these for us instead.  

Frohe Weihnachten! Tschüs!

Merry Christmas!

Yesterday we decorated our tree! It fits so perfectly in our living room in front of our windows.  Our agent told us that it's popular to walk down the streets of our part of town to see the Christmas decorations, so we felt obligated to put our tree in front of the windows that face the street instead of in a larger, more accomodating corner.  But it looks perfect. :)

Our living room.

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to plug it in yet, which is a bit of a downer.  It was a little anticlimactic to finish decorating and not to see it light up.  However, we brought our artificial tree from the States (my nose just can't handle a live tree) and so it has a US plug.  We have ordered 2 voltage converters from Amazon and they should be here later this week.  This will allow us to plug in our tree and our TV, which are nearly the only items with US plugs that we brought with us.

This is what we need for the TV & Christmas tree.  While small items can be plugged into travel-sized adapters that will allow them to connect to the wall, those don't actually transform /convert the electricity to the level necessary for larger items.  Anything large or that has lightbulbs needs a true converter to prevent it from frying.

I also hope to make a trip to OBI in the next few days to buy lighted garlands...which will have the correct plugs!

After decorating the tree, we all enjoyed hot cocoa. :) The grocery near our house had a cocoa mix safe for B to drink, and he enjoyed it greatly, despite the expression he made in anticipation of a hot drink. haha!

Frohe Weihnachten aus Deutschland! Tschüss!

Driving and Other Adventures

Today I tackled either the bravest or dumbest adventure yet.  I took two children 3.5 hours north via 2 trains, 1 U-Bahn, and 1 Bus to another town to pick up our new-to-us, manual-transmission car and drive it back solo (with two children) via both the autobahn & downtown driving...in Europe. Did I mention that it's a manual transmission?

My study materials this morning. 

Side Note: If you look closely in this picture, under "Special Signs", you see the first one means "Danger! Rabies!" ...What? This is actually a road sign? Does "Rabies" have an alternate meaning or did something get lost in translation?

The manual transmission actually turned out to be the least of my concerns and the autobahn was great!  I discovered our second train had been cancelled when we arrived at the transfer station 1.5 hours after initial departure.  We found an alternate route and continued on!  However, the 2nd train was 7 minutes late, so we missed our U-bahn connection.  But there was another 10 minutes later. And then our bus was delayed too, so we ended up taking a different bus.  BUT the end result was arriving prior to the dealership closing! Success!

The kids enjoying riding on the 1st train. This was B's first train ride in Germany!

On the U-bahn. I didn't get a pic of the 2nd train or the bus. Just imagine a city bus. They're pretty much the same. But cleaner here. :)

And here's our car!!  Safe & sound at home on Poppelsdorfer Allee!

Altogether, it wasn't a bad trip. We made it home a little around 8:30pm after a half-hour search for parking and one of the worst parallel parking jobs of my life.  Hopefully we can find a spot to rent nearby before too long. I am terrified of parking in the wrong place (either a no-parking zone or a zone other than our permit allows).  I double-checked this one.  And *may* have run out to check again after the kids were in bed, at which point I discovered the car behind me had left & now I would have had all the room in the world to park!  

Now we can venture out further than just the surrounding few km on foot and not be strictly tied to the train schedule.  Let the adventures begin!

Tschüss!