Pics finally

 Our castle in Luxembourg

 DRIED HOPS! De Halve Maan Brewery

 Correspondence

 

  FRIES

 

yummmmmmmmmmm

 In Brugge

 kwaks

Brugge

 

 Bush beer and our calendar on a coaster

 The only Dutch/Moroccan Patriots fan in Amsterdam

Canal & Bikes in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

  This one is for Brooke!

Planning

 Berlin Wall

 Breakfast in Berlin

Meghan cooking up a storm in Praha

Two weeks in...

And we are still alive.

Sunday we arrived in Amsterdam- a whole new city, and a wholeeee new language. We discovered the New Europe tours, which are free walking tours of major European cities- and apparently Australians are the best tour guides! (We had Aussies for our guides in Amsterdam and Berlin.) We visited the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, and walked the canals for a whileeee (with a few stops in between.....).

We made friends with another two guys from Tennessee, one of which taught in South Korea. We also came across a couple from Tenn. in Brugge. They taught abroad as well. Too much of a coincidence. If we meet another Tennessee native teaching abroad we've decided to jump on board!

Biking in Amsterdam is not a hobby. People do so aggressively and without concern for others (especially les deux tres belles Americannes!). We were not impressed. Regardless, Meghan feels the need to purchase a bike for the Newport summer.


Dutch and German are not the same language. Around 3am our first night in Amsterdam Alana realized this as she tried to thank the kind front desk man at our hostel after he helped her make an "important" international phone call. After "Danke" and "Danke schon" (the extent of Alana's high school German) the man told her that the Dutch do not speak German. She quickly replied with "Auf Wiedersehen!" Ooops! Timeeee for bed!  Little did he know Alana was just getting ready for Berlin.

Tonight is our second and last night in Berlin. A great city to experience and lots of interesting history. We did another New Europe walking tour, the Topography of Terror museum, and tried to find Wilhelm. Not too sad to see Berlin go though...on to Prague tomorrow, where we PROMISE we will post lots more pics (Couldn't do it on this computer!) Auf Wiedersehen!

MD&AB

In Brugge

Today is our third day In Brugge. No sign of Colin Farrel but we are loving it!

Before we ramble on about our new favorite city, let us tell you a little tale:

Vianden, Luxembourg was like walking through a fairytale. We kept waiting for Hansel and Grettel to pop out of the forested hillside...but no one popped out. Of anywhere. The town was deserted. We were the only ones staying in our hostel, and the only ones touring the castle the next day. It was a little eerie. But still we enjoyed our stay.

We arrived in Brugge on St. Patrick's day. We found a perfect little Irish pub for a Guiness. No surprise there! So far here's what we know about Belgian cuisine:
- It is socially acceptable to eat fries topped with mayonaise. Actually it's quite delicious.
- Belgian chocolate mousse is to die for. (Literally Alana probably would, as would Meghan for the fries)
- Mussels with wine and frites is their national dish, and rightfully so.
- Waffels are served streetside, sans maple syrup but with lots of chocolate and fruit.

Now on to the BEER. Yesterday we toured the De Halve Maan brewery, the last one standing in Brugge. They make a great one called Straffe Heindrik, or Strong Henry :)  Since it rained all day yesterday we spent all day inside researching local beer (and oddly enough found another Irish pub). Last night we posted up at a local Belgian beer house, where we had quite a few Kwaks. In fact, the place serves over 250 varieties of beer...we've got some work left to do tonight!

Amsterdam for 3/20! Wooohoo!

MD&AB

Still in Paris...

Bonjour again!

After our last post, we spent our last planned day in Paris seeing the quaint but touristy Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur. That morning we toured Ile Saint Louis and Sainte Chappelle, where we had to go through airport-like security. Of course, Meghan was fully-armed with her favorite picnic set and wine key, which were quickly apprehended. After exiting the chapel, Meghan was convinced she would be able to talk her way into getting her stuff back. However, les deux belles americannes couldn't get themselves out of this one! Meghan is never allowed back to Sainte Chappelle.

Sunday, we headed north to Normandy. Being in the French countryside was a welcome change after our crazy days in Paris. We got off the train in a very small town called Bayeux. Though it is small, we spent our first two hours walking around in the cold rain trying to find our hostel- oddly enough called Family Home. When  no one was home, we were ready for home! Eventually found our way to Hotel Mogador in the town square with a very friendly host. "Welcome to Normandy!" he said with a grin as we walked in soaking wet and looking like hell."Do you like our sun?" We took the night off, enjoyed a nice long shower, baguettes in bed, and French TV.

We spent the next two days stuck in 1945. We visited Omaha Beach where Americans landed in 1944, the American Cemetary, and a very extensive WWII museum in Caen. We even met a 91-year-old WWII vet from San Francisco at our hotel. His interesting stories made the trip more meaningful.

We planned to leave for Luxembourg today, but France just wasn't ready to let us go. Apparently, Luxembourg is an international hotspot and we couldn't be penciled in until tomorrow!

Au revoir for now!

MD&AB

ps. Here are a few pics so far!

Sweeet floral sweater!

so. much. cheese!

Rest stop.

Bonjour!

Bonjour mes amis! We've arrived safe and sound in Europe.... Who would have thought that was possible! Flew in yesterday afternoon via Icelandair- would NOT recommend (no food served in two flights!!). Needless to say we were not happy backpackers when we arrived in the city of lights. PS yes we both each successfully packed ONE backpack (which we've discovered we cannot carry!). Meghan's bag almost got stuck in the subway door on our first ride. Despite our lack of the French language (sorry Mme. Pacquin- it's been a while!) we've managed to get the hang of the Paris metro and our neighborhood around the Three Ducks Hostel.

A funny airport story: When Alana was asked by the "nice" customs agent how long our stay in Paris would be, she decided to chat it up with the fine gentelman. "Well we're backpacking," she responded, and proceeded to share our entire itinerary with the man. He quickly lost his patience. "Non madame. When are you going home?!"

A few things we've learned about Paris thus far:
- Men dress like women (i.e. handbags, flowered sweaters, decorative scarves.)
- The French are actually friendly. Everyone here has been nice to us. Maybe because we are deux tres belles americans! Oui, oui!
- News of the dangers of cigarette spoke hasn't reached Paris yet.
- Smart people invest in European crane companies. (Henry hope you're reading this!)
- What's so great about the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo? Ok, yes they're great art. However, they are famous and popular because others have decided they should be. Some say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We've seen some other really impressive art in our non-stop touristy past two days (love Le Musee d'Orsay!).
- It is very possible to live on des baguettes et du fromage.
- Some French people learn their English by rapping along with Eminem (something we learned around 2am our first night).

So, we heard it was fashion week here in Paris. Of course that meant that the first tent we saw (on the Champes Elysses) sent Alana sprinting down the street in hopes of catching a glimpse of her former co-workers. Turns out the tent was up for Paris's version of the Antiques Roadshow! (Tim, hope you caught that one!) Oops!

One more day in Paris (So far we've seen: the Eiffel Tower, L'Arch de Triomphe, La Seine, Notre Dame, Le Louvre, Le Musee D'Orsay, Le Musee de l'Orangerie, Champs-Elysses, Deportation Memorial). Off to Normandy to see the D-Day beaches, Memorial, and Museum. Check you later from Luxembourg!

Au Revoir

MD&AB