Europe, Day 3 - Amsterdam

8/8/16

Amsterdam 

Hello and welcome to Amsterdam! Welllll... almost. We actually ended our night in Cologne by buying train tickets to  Amsterdam. We didn't want to mess up and get kicked off a train this time so we bought reserved seats-- early!

We got to the train station, bought starbucks (I KNOW), found our seats and were on our way. I slept almost the whole way, which was great. Except I'm coming down with a cold and I keep waking myself up with very loud snores.. almost snort sounding. So I give up. Journal, drink and music here I come.

PS. My sweet coworker gave me this travel journal for my birthday. I LOVE it! And I bought my fancy Little Rock pen in the airport before leaving. It even has a light :) 

The train wasn't as fast and I thought it would be, since we took an express and all. What was interesteing-- right as we crossed over from Germany to the Netherlands, two young guys who looked a little, well.... rough... were basically profiling and checking passports. I was scared until I saw their badges and vests. Lots of questions about travel, etc. We weren't questioned, whew. 

We made it to Amsterdam! Trying to grab the tram to our hotel wasn't as easy as it looked. So confusing. I swear it took us 30 mins to figure out how to purchase a ticket. So many people, everywhere. It was really overwhelming. 

The tram took us straight through town. So many shops and cool stores, everywhere! I wanted to buy everything-- but oh yeah, backpacks! 

We dropped our bags at the hotel and took off to sight-see. Scott and Holly weren't going to make it to town until a few hours after us, they were coming from Berlin. 

These were our first two pictures in Amsterdam. This place is so amazingly beautiful. 

We found a bakery around the corner from our hotel and grabbed a sandwich. Do you know they use butter on their sandwiches here? I thought it was really weird, until I ate it. And then I decided that I love it. 

Next stop: The Van Gogh Museum. The line was SO long. We outsmarted the system, bought tickets on my phone and then skipped the line! We also did this because I was .10 euro short of the admission fee and we couldn't find an ATM. 

We had an hour between the time we bought the tickets and entered the museum so we walked the museum park/lawn and laid in the grass like all the locals. The only difference with us, we weren't smoking grass. It was like nothing I've every seen before-- people everywhere.. napping, making out, eating, drinking. 

So back to the museum we go and now we got to skip the line! It was an awesome museum. A little different than I expected but still great. The history of his life, works that inspired him by other painters and then plenty of originals by Van Gogh. 

A couple interesting facts- he did the majority of his work in 5-6 years and painted 70 works of art in the last 75 days of his life. 

As we left the museum, we got a text from Scott and Holly that they arrived. So we rushed back to the hotel and met them on the hotel patio, caught each other up on our separate Germany trips. 

We booked our trip though Gate 1 Travel and we had a welcome receiption at 6 this day, followed by dinner. I thought we were on a trip with about 12 people. I think there were actually 34 with us? Shows how much reading I did prior to departure. We met our guide, Robert, an older chap from England. Very nice accent. We very much enjoy and love this about him. 

We did the whole getting to know you thing, going around the room to introduce ourselves, where we're from, etc. Everyone was from the US except 2 ladies from Canada. Lots from Florida, a few from Texas. 

After dinner we planned to walk to a nearby park. Inside this park was kind of a bizarre bar pavilion. We grabbed drinks and it started to rain.. so we hung out for a while. Scott actually got a little bit of Pokemon go action in... supposedly there were lots to catch?  

After the rain cleared we left the park, we really wanted to get out by dark. You know, just in case. We had a nice walk back to the hotel, this place is so extreme beautiful! It's perfect. AND now, it's bedtime. Can't wait to explore Amsterdam tomorrow. 

XOXO

Europe, Day 2 - Cologne, Germany

7/7/16

Cologne 

We had a slow morning, which was nice. This included breakfast at the hotel-- I loved every single bit of it! Beautiful, perfect, delicious, can I have this every single day? Fresh meats and cheeses and my very favorite- nutella! So many different breads for me to lather with nutella, so little time. The big surprise of this breakfast? It was included! And check out the little chicken at the bottom-- there's a hard boiled egg underneath. So adorable. 

The same woman who checked us in and served us dinner, also served us breakfast. We later found out she is the owner. I love everything about Oberwesel! 

After breakfast we walked around the town . It's adorable. There is a wall that surrounds the town, which I assume was used for protection in the old days. You could walk on top of it, so we did and saw the most beautiful sights the Rhine had to offer. 

 Our hotel to the left 

Notice the vineyards in the background.  

After our tour by foot, we grabbed our bags at the hotel and took off for the train station. I wish I could say the train ride was easy. What a headache, more probably for Brian. We got on and off so many times. We even got on the wrong train and nicely got kicked off at the next stop. But we finally made it to Cologne. Our hotel was so close to the train station. Our room was ready early, so we checked in, refreshed and took off, again! 

We toured the Cologne Cathedral. So old! Brian loved it. We actually had to look pretty quick because a service started at 5pm. 

After a quick rest, shower, get dressed for dinner hotel run-- we set out to find a place to eat and drink. We watched an Anthony Bourdain special on Cologne that basically showcased the beer-- because let's be honest-- how many times can you eat sausage and potatoes in Germany?! So we were on a mission-- drink beer! 

So we walk to dinner along the Rhine. There was so much going on. People everywhere. So much going on, outdoor seating, pretty buildings, cool alley ways-- really amazing.

We make it to our dinner stop, of which I forgot the name, was very German. They served Kolsch (the beer) and Clinton ate there once... so it couldn't been too bad.. right? **Sidenote-- a not so quick google search turned up our restaurant-- Brauhaus zur Malzmuehle. 

They hand us the menu, in German. I pulled out my phone to start googling, our waiter showed up, took one look at us and then simply said, English? Relieved, we said yes and immediately got English menus! 

I had the wiener schnitzel with a mountain of fries-- Brian, another brat! We had 10 Kolsch between the two of us. This really wasn't our fault. They just keep them coming. As soon as you're low, another beer arrives. They don't stop bringing them until you put the coaster over your cup. So you see, not our fault. 

So we finish dinner and take a nice walk back to the hotel.   We finally found what I had been looking for-- nail clippers!! So we buy these probably 5 euro clipped and leave... the man from inside comes running after us. I immediately thought my card was declined or he thinks we stole.. I DON'T KNOW. Then I see this shiny little rose gold wallet waiving in the air. You know that would have ruined the trip! haha. I am so. so. so thankful he found it and gave it back to us. 

Back to the room we went, packed and got ready for our journey to Amsterdam..... 

Europe, Day 1 - Oberwesel, Germany

8/5/16 - 8/6/16

LIT ---> FRA  to Oberwesel 

*If you aren't into massive amount of pictures and lovely stories about our Europe trip... you should X out of this page right now. 

Hello to anyone who stayed! It's taken me so long to sit down and blog our trip. I am so excited to finally do it! Not so much for you ;) but for me! I love looking back on our travel posts, stories and pictures. I DID journal the whole trip so I'll be taking some of that and incorporating it into my posts. SOOOO, if I switch up tenses... it's because I'm typing directly from my journal. So, here we go!!  

What was nice about this departure-- it wasn't super early! We actually called our uber around 10AM. I can't believe how easy our trip to Europe has been. We had a few delays in LR and with those, I got worried. Then we were delayed an hour in Charlotte because they let someone on the plane that wasn't ticketed (how does this happen?!) and they had to get their luggage off. So weird. 

The flight was long and slightly uncomfortable. We did have awesome seats, we upgraded, but still... 8 hours in one seat is hard no matter where you sit. 

We breezed through customs and with no luggage to pick up we were out in no time. Wait... did I mention we carried backpacks? OK, no.. yeah, we carried backpacks. That's all. Everything we needed for 12 days, on our backs. 

I really can't believe how easy and stress free it was. We took a bus to the train station and 30 minutes later we were off to Bingen, Germany. From the train we walked back about 300 yards and there was the KD Rhine boat which basically takes you up and down the Rhine River. We decided to take this to our overnight stop to take in all the sights.

I can't tell you how amazing it was stepping off the boat in Oberwesel. The whole boat ride was awesome. Castle here, castle there, castles everywhere. Vineyards? EVERYWHERE!!!!! 

So we're in Oberwesel, this adorable town along the Rhine. A super short walk from stepping off the boat. We found our adorable hotel with no problems. Our room was ready and we hit the jackpot! I'm not really sure how we got this room. I actually found the hotel by searching pinterest. The owner checked us in and then actually carried our things to the 3rd floor. She opened the door and I tried not to freak out (in front of her). We had the most awesome terrace overlooking the Rhine. 

We dropped our bags, resisted the urge to nap and hopped back on the boat. Brian wanted to tour Rhinefels Castle, a town down in St. Goar. We were starving! So we stopped at the first place we saw to eat and I will never forget the look on Brian's face. I even captured it below... 

So happy. We had brats, fried potatoes and sauerkraut. It was actually delicious. Best potatoes. So good. AND BTW, did I mention we ate along the Rhine River?! 

I had an amazing glass of Oberwesel Reisling and was ready to pass out. After all, we were on hour probably 32?! I actually fell asleep sitting at the lunch table. I left my sunglasses on all day for this reason. 

BUT no rest of the us, we were off to sight-see. We get about 100 yards from the restaurant, I admit to Brian that I fell asleep at lunch. We stop and get coffee for me. The climb was like Pinnacle Mountain on steroids. I'm shedding my cardigan, drinking hot coffee, hair in pony, disgusting. But I made it! Beautiful. So worth it! The sights....

This castle was so old. There wasn't a lot left standing. Brian loved it and thanked me for indulging him. The views from the top made the whole climb worth it. And I was energized again and ready to take on Germany! 

We went back to Oberwesel, showered and got ready for dinner. We decided to stay at the hotel and eat there for the night. Oh yes, let me share the hotel.. so adorable. 

Dinner at the hotel was amazing. We had a reserved table on the side patio, covered by beautiful plants, herbs and flowers. It was so perfect. 

I loved how you order wine. See below. We loved the local Riesling. Not sweet like it is in the states.

The bread basket came first, paired with the most amazing butter, ever. Every pound added while in Europe was worth it. I had the salmon for dinner, I don't remember what it was called but assume it was smoked, with fresh dill and parsley. The salad was amazing, again no idea what it was. AND the most amazing potatoes of my life. They were covered in some sort of sauce that was equally amazing. 

One thing I love about meals in Europe is they sit. They sit and enjoy, there is not rush or hurrying through. There are breaks between service. Eat slowly, drink slowly (yet often) and they are really in no rush to hurry off. So different for these Americans but a welcome change. OH and the water. WHY does anyone want to drink sparkling water. No thank you! 

After dinner we sat by the Rhine. We took in the day and the beautiful things we saw and did. It was a perfect day. Day one. I can only imagine what the rest of the trip holds. So we went back to the room, packed, uploaded photos and fell asleep in .2 seconds. 

Cologne, you're up next!