Neuschwanstein Castle

Be jealous - I spent three days with these handsome fellows. 

Chris and I booked a pair of spendy tickets to Munich, and met up with Reece on the other end.  The three of us have seen quite a lot of Europe together this past year: Krk, Croatia – Vienna, Austria  - Cologne, Germany – Weltenburg Monk Brewery, Germany – Various German beer festivals – and Venice, Italy, just to hit a few highlights. I typically book a suite or a room with a roll away bed for Reece, but this trip was an entirely new way of traveling for me! I threw my controlling tendencies to the wind and didn't plan a thing (and it was one of the best trips), and as you can tell from the picture above, rather than a travel group of three, we were a, won’t-all-fit-into-one-car, pack of six!

Five guys + one girl = I totally crashed guy’s weekend, and subsequently stayed in my first European hostel! Guy’s weekend was awesome. . . . the hostel . . . well, I guess it was everything I had expected. I had not expected very much. I will leave the details up to your imagination. 

Chris and Reece graduated from the University of Kentucky and three of their (awesome) classmates flew out to Europe for a week of city blitzing (seeing as many sights as possible in a very short period of time).  We effortlessly picked Stu, Kirk and Ben up at the Munich airport, piled into a borrowed “mom-van,” told the guys they could drink in the car (as long as they weren’t driving - sorry Reece), and set out to see the first sight on their blitz: Neuschwanstein Castle. 

Where to Eat in Rome

I simply adore Rome! 

(You can read about past lovely trips here and here) One of the things you must find when visiting such a nostalgic city is good food. Well good food and of course, a cozy little cafe where you can slip in unnoticed, blend in with the locals, and sip on a glass of house wine or chilled limoncello. Trust me, you want to get away from restaurants that beckon you to come in and offer "tourist menus." Find that little hole in the wall with creaky doors and dusty, exposed brick ceilings. Or, if you happen to know someone who has been living in Rome, follow them around for the weekend! That's what we did, and Ben introduced us to some wonderful restaurants and local bars. 

Here are my food notes from our February trip to Rome:

We had breakfast twice at the Bakery House ROMA. Their food was so fresh and it was reasonably priced! We each paid under 10Euros for coffee and a sizable breakfast. My favorite meal at the Bakery House was their eggs benedict with ham and asparagus. I couldn't leave without trying one of their homemade cupcakes too. I know, I know, breakfast of champions! It was totally worth it! 

"When in Rome"

Perhaps I should rename this post "Ben in Rome" because our fantastic guide, Ben, treated us to two days of non-stop sightseeing, limoncello, coffee and Italian pizzas! After working in Rome for a couple years, Ben sort of owns the city! I have to say that it was refreshing to walk around and actually see the sights as opposed to having my nose buried in a map. Rather than pick a restaurant based on a random recommendation, we confidently followed Ben into his favorite cafes and hole in the wall trattoria's. On this trip, we were followers, and Ben made sure that we saw as much as possible on our short weekend in Rome. 

 I had visited Rome in July with a couple of our friends from Kentucky, but unfortunately Chris' job kept him home. Boo. This time around, I was not about to take the trip without my hardworking Hubby! I knew that all of the books and shows surrounding ancient Roman civilization would spring to life once Chris saw it all in person. It took two short hours to fly from Brussels to Rome and since I was familiar with the route from the airport to Termini Station, we had no problems finding Ben's metro stop. 

Me and the Babas.

English = Grandmother or Grandma (or whatever nickname your family uses)

Russian = Bubushka (or "Baba" for short)

Serbian = Baka (or Baba can also be used)

Dutch = Grootmoeder (or "Oma" for short)

Chris and I are three weeks into our Dutch lessons which means that we can now have very elementary conversations.Now we know very important facts about our classmates:

Where are you from?

Where do you live? 

How do you get to this Dutch class? Auto, bus, by foot, by plane?

Are you married? 

Do you drink beer?

Do you have children?

Please repeat the question. . . . 

I am sorry, I don't understand. (Important to know.)

I am sorry, I only speak a little Dutch. 

What language(s) do you speak?

Amsterdam in the Snow

Lucky for us, Chris and I did quite a lot of pre-trip planning before our wintry weekend in Amsterdam. Last year, I learned my lesson when my dreamy Prague trip turned into more of a frustrating nightmare (for lack of planning on my part). 

Feel free to read about that lesson learned, but now, onto our successful Amsterdam trip. 

After an easy drive from Belgium, we parked our car at the Sloterdijk Park and Ride, and took a five minute train ride into Amsterdam Central Station. Just a little trip-planning note: it is super expensive to park your car in Amsterdam (our hosts said you could expect to pay around 100 Euros a day), so the most economical option is to find one of the several Park and Ride locations on the perimeter of the city. We parked our car for a day and a half and received free train transfer into the city center all for a whopping 10 Euros!

Spreek je Nederlands?

Wat is jouw voornaam en familienamm? 

{Lana McCoy}

Dag Lana. Hoe gaat het (met jou)?

. . . 

Begrijp jij het?

{Huh?!}

Begrijp jij het?

. . . . 

2013 - We Welcome You!

From our (Oregon) family to yours - HAPPY NEW YEAR! Enjoy every adventure that 2013 brings your way!
 Thanks for the awesome picture, David! 

After almost a month of holiday hopping around Kentucky, West Virginia and Oregon, we're back in Europe. What a wonderful whirlwind it was to see so many loving and familiar faces. It was a breath of fresh air, although, I have to say that I despise living out of a suitcase! Being in the States was life-giving, but for the first time since moving to Belgium, we felt at home as soon as we walked into our apartment here. We were jet lagged and flu(ish) for the first week or so, but excited to get back into the swing of life in Europe. As we welcome a new year, we're excited to embrace new friendships, exciting opportunities and unforeseen adventures. We always remind each other that we want to live this life like a bestseller and love people that we meet along the way. I could not imagine doing life with anyone besides Chris; he is my absolute best friend and my perfect complement. Thanks for reading and have a blessed new year!

Just a few of my thoughts on the new year: