Learning Day

We have affectionately dubbed today "A Learning Day." Does anyone see where this is going? Seriously though, it was a good day.  It was just a little different from what we thought it would be.  Originally, our plan was to get up super early, check out of the hotel and be ON the train at around 6 am so that we could get to Koblenz, Germany in time for an 11 am river boat that would take us to Bacharach, Germany by 3:30 pm.  But while in Bruges at about 10 pm, it occurred to us that the front desk of our hotel isn't staffed until 8:30 am.  So we totally had to ditch our river boat idea.  Combine that with a minor mishap in which we got off at the wrong station today in Koln (it was bound to happen, right?), and it was 6:30 pm before we got to Bacharach.  But all in all a very good day, especially because train travel is so awesome and you can hop off at each transfer station to take pictures.  And to makes things better, we'll be doing a short river boat cruise tomorrow to St. Goar.

Once we got to Bacharach though....I was smitten.  Bacharach...wow.  We immediately hiked (and I mean HIKED) up to a castle turned hostel where we had an all you can eat buffet dinner for 7.5 euros per person.  Then we walked around the streets, which look like a Christmas story book.  I didn't take many pictures (we have more pictures on our big camera), but here's what I took of the castle on my phone:

Bruges, Belgium

Hi everyone!

We are finishing up our last night in Bruges. Yesterday was exhausting with the plane trip and the time change, so we didn't think about blogging but today we felt restored after a good night's rest and really got to appreciate what Bruges is all about.  The first thing we did this morning was climb the 366 stairs to the top of the Belfort (Bell tower). It was pretty intense...very steep and very narrow! But also very worth it, especially when we got to hear the bells ringing while in the top of the tower!

After that we went inside the Church of Our Lady which was breathtaking.  We got to see "The Madonna and Child" a sculpture which is one of the few works of Michelangelo outside of Italy.

We also saw the Basilica of the Holy Blood which is said to have a relic of Christ's blood.  We weren't allowed to take pictures of the basilica, but we did snap this shot of the chest which holds the relic.

For lunch we went to the supermarket and got supplies for a picnic, which we enjoyed sitting in the grass beside a windmill.  We rented bikes and rode out there, so it didn't take much time to get there at all.

In fact, it didn't take much time to get anywhere while riding bikes.  That freed us up to see a lot that we wouldn't have seen otherwise.  Most of our afternoon was spent aimlessly riding around the narrow roads on the outskirts of Bruges, turning down roads whenever they caught our eye.  You can't get lost in Bruges...at least, it's all so beautiful that if you are lost, you're convinced that you're right where you want to be so its not really being lost at all.

Tomorrow we're going to wake up and do it all over again, except this time it will be in Bacharach, Germany. Good night!

Sally

Getting closer!

We're in Philadelphia now waiting for our flight to Brussels, Belgium.  It's been a smooth day of travel so far, so let's pray it stays that way!

 also, we took Samantha to eric's parent's house last night and she made herself right at home! Cab you find the cat?

Next stop, Brussels!

-sally

Three days to go...

Well, after over a year of planning, we are only three days away from our trip!  Our little vacation will consist of 3 nights in Belgium, 4 nights in Germany, 6 nights in Italy and 3 nights in Switzerland.  For you mathematicians out there, that makes 17 nights (including the plane ride over), and if you have any interest in tracking our progress as we attempt to fumble our way through Europe, continue to check back (or subscribe) to our blog!

So what is our day looking like so far?

Now you see it...

 

Now you don't!

We'll be taking just two packs, a day pack, and a purse for me, all of which we'll be able to carry onto the plane.  We'll be packing extremely light (we're talking 3-pairs-of-underwear-light) and washing clothes as we go.  Why?  Other than giving us the opportunity to practice for The Amazing Race (I'll get there someday!), it gives us the ability to be more mobile and spontaneous. 

As for our blog itself, we were about to name it something basic like, "Warrens in Europe 2013" but life has gotten very interesting lately, and it might be something worth sharing.  Because of this, we decided to give our blog a name that could last even after Europe, so stay tuned!  Spoiler alert:  I'm not pregnant. 

It's off to bed for us, we still have to work this week on Monday and Tuesday before we leave on Wednesday.  Check back in soon!

-Sally