France, Switzerland, Holland, and 1 Oompah Fest

Strasbourg, France

We’ve been before but it was a few days after our sweet Dempsey dog passed so I have always wanted to go back without that black cloud.  Mike was in Budapest for work this week and I have really wanted to better understand the fast train so I hopped our local train down to the main station early in the morning, marched into the ticket office, and bought my very first fast train tickets.   All by myself.  I’m not sure why I was afraid to do this before because it was very easy, although pricey.  I’m not afraid to travel alone but I am sometimes afraid of the getting there part…the parking part….the navigating part. 

The fast train is cool.  And, fast.  I saw it hit 248kph at one point.  Comfortable, too!  

As suspected,  I saw Strasbourg in a new light—without gloom.  It really is a great little city.  With my Kindle in tow, I sat in front of the cathedral, listened to live music, and ordered the exact breakfast Mike and I enjoyed the first time we went.  

I spent the entire day here just wandering around the town and visiting little boutiques.  

This was my greatest find of the day!  The woman who owned this little shop was adorable and very friendly.  She once owned a store down in the French Riviera but in the last few years moved to Strasbourg to open this shop.  She carries beautiful silk scarves and these vintage inspired umbrellas made in Paris.  There was only one and it is now mine.  

Bernese Oberland- Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Mike's mother and John arrived May 8th for a visit.  I love visitors!  We left the following day headed towards Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.  A bit after Zurich is where Switzerland begins to look like.. well, Switzerland.  At least, what we envision. Beautiful in every direction.  They have many places to pull over for pictures or just to sit on a bench and enjoy the scenery. 

 Riding through Interlaken

 Mike and I visited Interlaken last year and I didn't think it could get any prettier than that but it did.  Lauterbrunnen, about 25 minutes from Interlaken, is the home of 72 waterfalls--not necessarily Niagra but beautiful.  We are still experiencing bizarre "spring" weather here so it was a bit cool and even a little rainy but Lauterbrunnen is one of those areas that it just didn't matter.  It's that pretty and peaceful.  We stayed in Hotel Staubbach right in the center of town.  Angie, the British manager, is very friendly and a perfect host.  We both had balcony rooms looking towards one of the waterfalls.  Just perfect.

Hotel Staubbach

Angie made reservations for us.  Table for 4:  "Gorny" Close enough...

These guys are so fun and very vocal

Trummelbachfalle

 A series of glacier waterfalls within the mountain. There is a lift that takes you to the top but it's quite a bit of walking to get back down.

There are several mountain villages you can visit.  This is also the home of Jungfrau:  The top of Europe.  That is a pricey trip up at about $175/pp.  We opted instead to take the Lauterbrunnen cable car up to the mountain train you can catch to several villages.  (I believe around $21/pp) We took the train to Murren.  From here, you can go further to Schilthorn where parts of the 007 movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was filmed.  One cable car in a day is enough for me.  

After the cable car up you jump on this little guy and head to the villages

We didn't have a clear day.  It was a bit rainy and cloudy but it really didn't matter.  It was absolutely beautiful.

 The train made me a little nervous. In several places we were riding on the edge and looking out the window was looking down the mountain...  

Beautiful Murren

 We joked we should photoshop a "SOLD" sign in this photo

 I wasn't enjoying the gondola ride and this guy thought it was funny.

 MmmMmm....fondue

Rosti

Stein-Am-Rhein

A beautifully maintained medieval town in the Lake Constanz area

We stopped here for lunch on a travel forum suggestion- 

Absolutely worth a visit- This place is adorable!

the European Championship of Blasmusik (oompah music)

Our fun little village always has something going on.  This weekend was an Oompah music competition!  The fest tent was up and rocking and we walked down to check it out.  People really get into it!  Clapping and dancing--some on tables.  Great time!

Gunter and our sweet Sigi 

Holland bound!

A few days later we were headed to Holland--specifically, Mike's Mom's hometown of Kinderdijk.  Although I was lucky enough to visit Holland last year for Keukenhof and Amsterdam last year, I was particularly excited about this trip because we were going with a true local and I knew we would see things we would never find as a tourist.  It didn't hurt she also speaks Dutch.  

Cologne, Germany was halfway through our journey so we stopped for lunch in front of the cathedral.  The Cologne cathedral is an UNESCO World Heritage site.  Construction began in 1248,  it's one of the oldest and largest cathedrals in Germany.    

We made one more stop before arriving in Kinderdijk.  An old family friend.  He's now 94 but this guy has it together.  He still drives and although he doesn't speak any English, it's obvious he's as spry as a 50 year old.  He served us coffee, formally of course.  

His beautiful garden

Kinderdijk is small with one little hotel.  It looks over the canal in front and faces the windmills in the back. 

FYI:  I do not recommend this hotel.  We had a wonderful trip but I cannot with clear conscience suggest anyone stay here....   It was more a nostalgic stay for us.  Mike's Mom has a picture of Opa standing right where we are!  The restaurant however, was very tasty.

The only childhood home still standing

Will, Mike's cousin who lives in Luxembourg, also joined us for a few days!  Unfortunately, his wife Anita wasn't able to make the trip due to work.

Dinner in the hotel

 After dinner, family stopped by to join us for coffee and dessert

Learning about Holland's water management system was the highlight of this trip segment for me.  I guess I heard about Hollands floods in the 50's but never really gave it much thought as to why or what happened.  It's definitely more real when you're with someone who actually experienced the event.  I knew there was water everywhere in Holland but I suppose I never really considered how they control flooding and have successfully made what was once a marshland into beautiful, livable area.  

Our first outing was to the windmills in Kinderdijk where Wyland (cousin's husband) gave us a private tour of the facility and one of the windmills.  I'll be honest, I didn't know people lived in the windmills. They are actual houses!  Cute, yes...comfortable living?  Hmm...  It's pretty awkward inside-like a dollhouse.  

 The living room

The family who lived in this windmill.  It's hard to believe they all fit....

Est. 1738

The hunt for the pannenkoeken begins.  It's all we wanted which means there were none to be found.  And then....in the little town of Zierikzee we found them.  They are Dutch pancakes--crepes if you will...  Sweet or savory...they're all good.

The restaurant:  ZieZo Pannenkoekenetrij   

Beautiful place on three levels, super friendly staff, and the best lunch we found in Holland

Sadly enough, they are not listed with TripAdvisor but I've submitted a request to add them.

 I can't pronounce the name of this drink but it was delicious!

Delft, Holland

 Of course it's the home of Delft everything-including the original factories- but it's also a really cute little town..  Beautiful little side streets with canals and a great town square with lots of restaurants and shopping.  It's like a mini-Amsterdam.

 Mmm....Poffertjes

Check out my new "wooden clog" slippers.  Impulse buy?  Yup.  Don't laugh though...

A few of you will see these in your Christmas stocking.  How thoughtful of me.  

the Deltaworks

www.neeltjejans.nl/index.php/en/home

The Deltaworks is a series of levees, dykes, locks, and dams built over many years to protect Holland from flooding.  If you're into engineering feats it's definitely a place to visit.  I'm not but I still found it interesting.  They also have a great visitors' center, a hurricane room, a boat ride, a seal show, and a few other little attractions for families with kids.

 Another attraction for the kids :)

The Hague:  Scheveningen

Scheveningen is a beach resort town.  The beach was actually huge but I'm guessing the water very cold.  They have a very developed boardwalk with tons of restaurants and the beach itself is also lined with them.  I bet it's nice during July and August but it was a little chilly and windy the day we visited.  Spring has just forgotten about Europe this year...

                            

Every trip we take is is filled with firsts.  We weren't exactly sure where we were and the GPS told us to take a right where there was no road....but a dock...and it instructed us to board the ferry.  It really caught us off-guard so we immediately left only to feel foolish and turn around to come back when we realized this was the only way to get to our destination.

Our last night in Holland we were treated to an Anniversary dinner at the Lemonade Factory.  It's a glass window, floating restaurant located in a harbor with several pretty sweet yachts.  My favorite part of the meal was the 4-courses of desserts.  Thank you for an awesome dinner!

Views from our table

We left the next day for the 6 hour road trip back to Germany.  Mike's Mom and John were staying another week before flying home from Amsterdam.   It really was a great trip and we are so thankful to them for making the long trip across the ocean.

We are looking forward to more friends headed this way in the next few weeks..  Trying not to jinx it since they will be vying for a hop with Space-A.  Really, super excited--Dreaming of enjoying lots of desserts with my dear friend...