Zaanse Schans, a picturesque neighborhood in Zaandam best known for its windmills and quaint houses. Located 25 minutes from the center of Amsterdam, it made an ideal day trip.
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Zaanse Schans, a picturesque neighborhood in Zaandam best known for its windmills and quaint houses. Located 25 minutes from the center of Amsterdam, it made an ideal day trip.
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Amsterdam is a unique city filled with bikes and peaceful canals. We spent a full day as tourists visiting the Jordan neighborhood, the floating flower market, Rijksmuseum and finally, the I Amsterdam sign.
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Although one of the largest gardens in the world, Keukenhof in Holland is best known as the garden of Europe. An average of 7 million bulbs are planted each year for this 8 week flower festival. By visiting while the tulips were blooming, a dream of mine has been fulfilled! The following photos are just a minute portion of what can be viewed on these 79 acres of land. What I can’t share is the heavenly scent that engulfs this garden.
After exploring the festival grounds, we drove through the town and discovered numerous farmers with their own gorgeous tulip fields. Could you imagine this as your backyard garden???
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Last on the Germany itinerary is Neuschwanstein Castle. This is perhaps the most well known in Germany and the inspiration for Disney’s Cinderella castle. The foundation is from 1869 and the towers completed in 1892. The construction was delayed considerably because of the difficulty of working on a precipice. Personally I believe this was my steepest hike ever, but the view was extremely rewarding!
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Venturing four hours from Bruges into Germany, we encountered my most favorite site of the trip Eltz Castle. Years ago, this was one of my first travel destinations pinned on Pinterest. During the Spring in Europe, the sun sets around 8:30 pm and remains light till almost 9:00 pm. How awesome is that! We arrived around 7:00 pm to an empty car park (closed at 5:00 pm) and started our hike. Castles can typically be viewed from a distance but up to 30 minutes into the hike, it still was completely obstructed. However, the moment we turned around the last bend, we spied the most glorious picture. Peacefully perched on the hill was this 850 year old medieval castle still owned by members of the same family that resided here in the 12th century. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed this magical creation.
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Just completed a 5 country whirlwind trip. Thats right, 5 countries in 8 days. I’ll post individually for each country, then include a separate post with full itinerary for those desiring to duplicate my adventures.
First up, Bruges, Belgium!
This was the second international road trip with my brother. We arrived in Amsterdam late Saturday evening and drove to Bruges early the next day. We added this destination to our itinerary after hearing it was a favorite of our father. Knowing he has traveled extensively, his choice intrigued us. We were not disappointed. Bruges is a small, quant city with cobblestone roads, curving canals, medieval architecture and delicious sweets. Hard to focus on anything but Belgium chocolate and waffles though. Eating an authentic fresh Belgium waffle is an incredible experience. Such a tasty creation unlike those in the states. Within 8 days, I consumed 4 Belgium waffles and a Dutch waffle (half covered in chocolate and whip cream) with no regrets!!
I recommend the following sites:
Tip: Be sure to bring Euro currency for the small sweet shops and boat rentals.
Next up GERMANY!!!!!!
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