We have been blessed with GREAT weather this summer. It hasn't rained much at all, but that also brings it negative results too... one being a lot more wasps! The last month we have decided to use our weekends, when possible, to tour near by. Last weekend we took a long weekend and headed into Germany. Our orignal plan was to go to Whales, but the weather was crap there and the other option (Germany) was forecasted to be beautiful weather. So, we went to the Eifel-Mosel-Rhein region and did some site seeing and camping near the Mosel River. We also went to Frankfurt/Friedrichsdorf for the temple and did some wandering around in a shopping center near by. The one thing that was a bit unhandy was that the lady at our camping site spoke ONLY German. And when it came to finding a restaurant... well TomTom didn't help because the only thing we could recognize was Pizzaria (not so typically German...). We didn't know what kind of restaurant was more than just a pub etc... Unfortunately we missed out on Brautworst this time, and settled for Italian (I know.. not fitting.. heelas.. volgende keer beter). Regardless of the not German food experience, we had a great time and finally got to see some bumps in the landscape. It was a beautiful area, and it is only 3.5 hrs away! There are tons more things to see in the area too, so we will definitely be heading that direction when we need a weekend away in the future, or just need to get some hiking in! Enjoy the pics.
Here I am in the gates of the Pyrmont Castle. It dates back to the 12th century.
There was a really deep well in the castle and if you look closely you can see our reflection in the bottom of it.
Richard inside the castle window to some sort of eating room... but it looks like he is a prisoner :P
Richard wasn't being very nice so I had to put him on the stand and chain him up. His face reads guilty all over it! wahaha
We found a dragon at the Pyrmont Castle!! ok.. it's just a little lizzard, but maybe it's great great great grandpa was a dragon.
In Germany (and Richard says in England too) they have these mini chapels along the side of the roads. The ones I first notices were the size of an outhouse and I actually thought they were until I pointed one out and Richard said, it was a place were people can worship so that they don't have to travel such a long way to go to a church... it may also have had to do with fulfilling one of the many old laws about places of worship in Germany... dunno. Here is one of the roadside chapels. People can burn candles here and/or have a seat inside.
A stop at a view point looking out at the Mosel River and having some dinner.
Richard at the vew point.
The view at sunset with the sky reflecting on the river.
Richard and I at the Frankfurt Temple in Friedrichsdorf, Germany. It was a really charming little neighborhood and beautiful temple.
the side view
From the front walking up the cobblestone-like path to the entrance of the temple.
Good morning Mosel valley! Here we camped on an island on the river. We borrowed a tent from Siebe and an airbed. The bed was way too big for the tent so we ended up sleeping on the hard ground for the 2 nights there which caused some sore hips!
Our first drive up to a little view point to eat just above where we were staying. Here you see our island.
Richard was feeling a little adventurous and decided to climb up this little edge... he realised (again like we all do..)once he got a bit further up that it is always hard to come back down. It was a little funny once he finally got back down safely.
Eltz Burg, Eltz Castle. here we are hiking down one of the hiking paths to Eltz Castle. It is still owned by the Eltz family and was built around the 13th century and took 500 years to build. Off in the distance you see Pyrmont castle. Pyrmont is about a 2.5 hr hike... we chose the relaxed 35 min hike to Eltz Castle.
This is the inside square of the castle. The Castle is split into 4 houses. On the tour we saw 2 of the houses and some other things. It was also cool to see the treasury and stuff.
Of course you have to atleast pick up the speed a little on the autoban!
We have also done some site seeing in the south of Holland. We went to Zeeland to see Neeltje Jans the weekend before last and it was really nice to be on the beach. This was my favorite place we had visited when I came to Holland in 2005. We also went to Vaals to visit 3 countries at where the borders meet. That was a nice and fun trip too! We are gonna have to head up North soon because I haven't seen much past Groningen or Amsterdam and I have heard so much about the cool sites there are and things to do! Anyway... Here are some pictures of our southern Holland adventures.
Driving on top of one of the Neeltje Jans dikes.
The "hightec dike". This is the dike that replaced the one that broke way back in the day. It is super long and controls the sea by hydrolics.
Here we are in front of one section of the dike.
Windy and warm on the beach at Neeltje-Jans.
Richard looking up at a giant windmill at Neeltje Jans.
We also went to "Corpus" with Siebe and Ellie a couple weekends ago. It is a trip through the human body. It was pretty fun. Here is the building and the body you travel through.
We went hiking around the area of the Drielandenpunt (Three borders) 2 weeks ago, and along one of the trails was this fun teeter-totter/springboard thing. You could bounce around four corners. Here is Richard bouncing on it.
Patat. Typical Belgian and Dutch snack/food
The hightest point on the Three Borders point. A tower.
Here we are with Germany/Nederland in the background from on top of the tower.
"Drielandenpunt" monument. Here are where the borders connect. Belgium(right) Nederland(middle) Germany(left)
"You are leaving the Netherlands, goodbye!"
I am actually standing in Germany now, in front of the Dutch flag.
The highest point in Holland! A monument by Three Borders. It's maybe as high as Walter's Hill... Maybe...
Vaals, Netherlands. This is a really pretty place in Holland with nice rolling hills. Some of what we saw as we headed up to the "drielandenpunt".
This is kinda funny. We didn't bring any loose change with us and after we had entered the parking at the Drielandenpunt we realized that we had to pay a €2 coin to get out. So we went in to Drienlandenpunt to see if any of the shops could give us some change if we bought with a debit card, but that just wasn't an option, and there were no ATMs accept for at the bottom of the hill in the town center. So we tried to figure out what to do, and when we were about to just walk down the hill and back for about 5 km, we found a big space in the poles of the parking area that we could fit the car through. I moved a big branch, stood on the opposite side of the road and watched for people coming. I pointed left and right with my thumb to guide Richard between the poles. He made it out on the road and we went down to the ATM to get some money to pay fot the parking we had briefly "stolen". We went back up to the parking and then headed in to the Drielandenpunt to enjoy the attractions. By the end of the day we came back to the parking lot and discovered that all the gates had been opened and parking ended up being free if you stayed long enough/past closing anyway!!! Here is the video of the place we snuck out. We felt like such rebels haha!
I am now on vacation and looking for a new job. My Au pair family is on vacation to Sweden and so that means I am off work too!
I hope to have some more adventures in the weeks to come!
Tot volgende keer!
Kitchen Before. 
Kitchen now
