On Saturday morning (Oct 25th), we got our little pirate ready for the AWCA Halloween party at VondelPark. He did a pretty good job of keeping the bandana on his head, for about 2 seconds. :) The park was beautiful with all of the autumn colors, and it was lots of fun to see all of Ben's friends dressed up.
After the party, we went home for lunch and a quick nap before heading to the airport to pick up Mom and Dad Zabikow. We met them about 4 p.m., and it was hard telling who was more excited - Ben or MeMa and PePa. Lots of hugs and kisses, then back to our apartment for dinner and unpacking...and re-packing. We were leaving bright and early the next morning for Brussels. Thankfully, Europe was 'falling back' with our clocks that night, so at least we got an extra hour of sleep.
On Sunday morning, we took the 8 a.m. train to Brussels, arrived about 11 a.m., dropped bags off at the hotel, grabbed 5 waffles (couldn't resist!), then back to the train station for the 11:45 a.m. train to Mons. Mons is about 30 miles southwest of Brussels and is where Boris was born. He had never been back since his family left when he was about 2 years old, so we were glad to be so close that we could visit Mons while they were here. As we walked out of the station, there was a flower market set up...mums in Mons. (That 'funny' is courtesy of Greg.)
We slowly made our way to St. Waudru Cathedral, a beautiful gothic church. Building started in 1450 and lasted over 200 years. From there, we saw the Belfry Tower, 87 meters tall and built in the 1660's. It replaced an older tower that collapsed in the late 15th century. I read that Victor Hugo (Les Miserables) once wrote his wife about it..."Imagine a giant coffee pot, with under it four smaller tea pots. It would be very ugly if it weren't that big."
We came into the town square, very charming. We ate lunch at a great little restaurant in the square, yummy food and the waiter was very friendly. After lunch, we explored around the square a bit. The gothic town hall dominates the square, and through a small tunnel of the hall, we found a little courtyard with a fountain that I'm pretty sure Ben was not supposed to be sitting on. Grandma helped Ben gather some leaves, his favorite pasttime. He loves fall, just like his mommy.
One of the symbols of Mons is a little monkey statue that sits outside the Town Hall. Legend has it that the monkey brings luck to those who rub his head with their left hand...who doesn't like a bit of luck? :) Apparently even Napoleon and other famous emperors have been there and rubbed too.
The nice waiter from lunch had told us that Saint Joseph hospital, where Boris was born, was a short walk down the street and pointed us in the right direction. We didn't go in or stay too long, but saw a lady walking out with a baby carrier while we were standing out front. It was really wonderful to imagine the joy of his parents as they carried Boris out of there - not too long ago. :) And, with Ben being almost 2 (the age that Boris was when he left Mons), it was fun to watch him running around and think of Boris doing the same.
It was now early evening, so we decided to head back to Brussels. Boris hadn't been sure what to expect of Mons, but I think we all are very glad to have visited. Ben enjoyed lots of 'toe-eating' by Grandpa and singing by Grandma on the train. We briefly walked through the Brussels Grand Place to see the evening lights, and then checked into the hotel. We were still pretty full from lunch, so we found a place to get some coffee and sweets, then to the hotel for sleep.
Ah, sleep. That didn't come for Boris and Sherry. There was an Irish pub playing disco music (we didn't understand the Irish/Disco connection either) until 4 a.m.!! Their window was probably the closest to the pub in the hotel, poor things! So, it was a slower start to the morning, but we're on vacation, so no worries! We walked through the Grand Place square again, did some window shopping, and of course visited the Manneken Pis. Oh, and did I mention the waffles yet? :) We walked to see the St. Michael Cathedral, one of our favorite sights in Brussels. Then, it was time to grab our bags and head home about 1 p.m. for a little R&R before our next travels!
Tuesday morning was swim lessons, and then Mom and Dad Z went to climb the Westerkerk tower for the amazing views of the city. They were the only 2 in their 'tour', so they got a private showing. We spent the afternoon packing (again!), and we had an early dinner once Greg got home from work. We had bathtime and pj's for Ben and left for Central Station about 7:30 p.m. It was a really crisp, beautiful fall evening for a walk - maybe I'm just saying that because I was pushing a stroller and not shlepping bags. Anyhow, we boarded our overnight train and left for Munich at 8:30. We had a 4 person sleeper car, very cozy, but fun. Ben slept with me, how can someone so small take up so much space? :) It was also a little hard to sleep with the train stopping a few times, but it worked out well so that we could start our day in Munich once we arrived.
We arrived in Munich on Wednesday around 7:30 a.m. We went to our hotel expecting to just drop off bags, but thankfully our quad room was ready! So, we had a little time and space to freshen up and get settled. We had breakfast at the hotel, and then ventured out in the cold drizzle for Munich sightseeing. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, behind Berlin and Hamburg, and is probably most well known for Oktoberfest, which ended in early October. We entered Alstadt (old town) through the Karlstor, a 14th century gate that had to be rebuilt after WWII. We walked to Michaelskirche (St. Michael's Church), as you can see was being renovated (see church with big ad in the center, I found this funny). Inside is the crypt of the "mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria, whose fairy tale castle we were going to visit on Thursday.
Nearby is the Frauenkirche, also known as the Dom, which was built in the 15th century and has served as Munich's cathedral since 1821. It's twin towers are regarded as the city's trademark and look (appropriately) like 2 gigantic old-fashioned beer steins.
Past this church is Marienplatz, the large open square is named after the Mariensaule (column in the center dating from 1638 with the Virgin Mary at the top). A tiny casket inside its base allegedly contains a piece of the True Cross. The Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall), built in the late 19th century, has the famous glockenspiel - every day at 11 a.m., it chimes and re-enacts 2 stories from the 16th century. Ben literally was oohing and aahing. :)
We were feeling pretty chilled at this point, so we stopped in a little cafe for some coffee to warm up. Normally, I wouldn't share a photo of my beverages, but my hot chocolate was so cute with the heart on top, and Greg's macchiato was beautifully layered. After coffee, we went back to Marienplatz to see the 15th century Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) and to climb the New Town Hall tower for views of Munich (well, not really climb, they had an elevator). :) All that button-pushing was worth it, I love getting a feel for a city from above it - really amazing!
From there, we walked by Peterskirche, the oldest church in Munich - even predating the founding of the city. By this time, pretzels were calling our name, so we stopped for a quick snack. Then, to the National Theater, home of the Bavarian State Opera (the theater was destroyed in the war and completely reconstructed in 1963). Across the street from the Theater is the Residenz, which was the royal palace from the 16th century until the end of the kingdom in 1918 (and again with the ad in the renovation screen, wacky). There are 3 parts to the Residenz: the Treasury, the Museum, and the Cuvillies Theater. We agreed that we weren't up for visiting all 3, so we chose the Museum - with the royal apartments and art galleries. I didn't get to visit myself, Ben was sleeping and they would not allow personal strollers in the Museum. (??) But, Mom, Dad, and Greg enjoyed it.
After the Residenz, we were ready to sit, relax, and eat. We went to the famous Hofbrauhaus (built in 1896 to provide poorer citizens with a place where they could drink cheaply) for a traditional German meal. Wow, what a party! Music being played, and the beer was flowing. I dipped my fork in my beer and gave Ben his first (and last, right?) taste...yucky (see photo)! We ordered the WeiBwurste (boiled white sausages), served with sweet mustard and a pretzel. Pretty tasty. We'd had quite a day, so we spent the rest of the evening getting settled at the hotel.
On Thursday morning, about 8 a.m., we took a 2 hour train ride to Fussen to visit the Neuschwanstein castle. On the way, we noticed it was snowing, good thing we brought our warm coats and gloves. The countryside was really beautiful with a fresh dusting of snow and the mountains as a backdrop.
We made it to Fussen and took a bus to Hohenschangau. It is a fairly steep climb to the castle, so we rode horse-drawn carriages up most of the way. We walked the rest of the way up to Neuschwanstein. This was "mad" King Ludwig's most spectacular creation and even served as a model for Disneyland - it is the most photographed building in Germany. The cornerstone was laid in 1869, but the castle remained unfinished at the time of the King's death 17 years later. He only lived there for 170 days, and it was from the castle that he was taken into custody after being declared insane (hence the "mad" title, although he was never properly diagnosed, the State Commission wanted him removed from power and claiming mental illness was the only way).
The castle itself is breath-taking - both inside and out. Most of the interior is unfinished, but the rooms we did see were very ornate, no photography allowed. :( Enjoy these many photos of the exterior and landscape, it was almost too perfect with the snow falling...a very memorable day. (And no, I did not make the snowman, he was already there.)
The other impressive castle in this area is the Hohenschwangu Castle, dating back to the 12th century, but heavily reconstructed by Ludwig's father. He spent much of his youth there. We didn't visit this castle, but we did get a great view of the castle and the mountains from up near Neuschwanstein. We had the horses hoof it down the mountain for us and found a delicious and very friendly restaurant for more sausages, kraut, and potato pancakes. As you can see, Greg and Boris really got into the German spirit. We headed back to Munich about 4 p.m., grabbed a quick dinner, and more playing and relaxing at the hotel.
Friday was our last day in Munich, and we split up for a bit. Mom and Dad Z stayed near the city center, shopping and taking things a bit slower than the previous few days (we have been running them ragged!). Greg, Ben, and I went to Olympic Park, built for the 1972 Olympics. We saw the Olympic tower and took a peek inside the swimming hall to see the pool where Mark Spitz one his 7 gold medals. Our little fishy thought the water looked fun, so it was hard to walk away. The rest of the park was really beautiful - again, I'm a sucker for autumn! And, the Olympic stadium architecture was very impressive. Also in the area are the BMW headquarters and museum, which we unfortunately didn't have time to visit.
We made our way back to the hotel to meet Mom and Dad Z. They were resting after a day of shopping and exploring the fabulous Viktualienmarkt, an open-air market selling lots of food delicacies since 1807. We went together for a glimpse of the market and for dinner. We stopped by the Maypole and had a glass of honey wine - wow, that is strong stuff! We had a tasty dinner near Marienplatz. What did we have, you ask? More sausages (Ben loves them!), potatoes, kraut. I think I have gained at least 5 pounds by now, all in sausage eating.
Our train that night didn't leave until 10:30 p.m., so we stayed at the hotel that evening until about 9:45, then made our way to the overnight train. I think we all slept better on the way home, sheer exhaustion had set in. :) We arrived a little later than expected on Saturday morning, but we had plenty of time to relax a bit at home before lunch at the Pancake Bakery! It was funny, Nick and Megan had looked at the "agenda" and were very disappointed that we were waiting a week to share this treat with Mom and Dad. Well worth the wait, as always! Where Megan loves the pannekoeken, I think Mom Z has fallen in love with the poffertjes - like son, like mother. :) A visit to the open air market (no herring this time), and then home to just relax, nap, and watch movies the rest of the day.
Sunday was also nice and relaxing - church, Mom and Dad Z did some sightseeing, and then MeMa and PePa watched Ben for the evening while Greg and I went to Hostaria for a wonderful Italian dinner and then a long walk around the city. We don't get to wander through the city too much after dark with Ben, so it was great getting to see Amsterdam at night.Monday means more travel! We took the train to Delft, about an hour away. Our first stop was De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles (The Royal Porcelain Bottle) factory, founded in 1653. We were able to take a self-guided tour of the factory, watching how they make and paint the Delftware. And of course, they have a showroom at the end of the tour where you can purchase Delftware - and we did, and not because Ben broke anything, he was quite good at keeping his hands to himself! Thank goodness, some of the pieces can get quite expensive. :)
We went downtown Delft - really charming square. We saw the Stadhuis (1618) town hall, the Nieuwe Kerk (started in 1383), and the Delft blue heart. We also saw our friends Kristen and her son Ryan exploring the town with her mother. What a small world! We stopped for a pannekoeken/poffertje lunch at a small cafe in the square, got to see some of the picturesque canals that Delft is famous for, and even a windmill. In the last photo is a building with McCain and Obama campaign signs in the window. There was a lot of interest here in the U.S. election, but to this point, I had really only seen Obama stuff. Just thought it was funny that some Dutchman must have been undecided. :) After Delft, it was time to come home for packing and Dad Z's famous omelettes. I have been craving one of those for over 7 months!
After dinner, MeMa blew her last Amsterdam ivory soap bubbles for Ben at bathtime. Poor MeMa worked so hard...Ben just loved popping them as quickly as she could make them.
Tuesday morning was sad - and foggy. We went to Schipol airport, and the flight to London had been delayed over 2 hours. This meant that they were going to miss their flight from London to Chicago, so there was some time spent with the British Airways folks to figure it all out. We said our goodbyes - sad to see them going, but we are so glad that we will get to see everyone in about a month! We had a wonderful time during our visit, and obviously saw a lot! I think Mom and Dad Z will need a vacation after this vacation. :)
We spent the rest of the week settling back into our routine...laundry, napping in a crib instead of a stroller, Little Gym, bookshop story time. We even got a bit of Christmas shopping done yesterday! Today we went to church, and now Greg is at an Ajax soccer game with some friends. Once Ben wakes up, we are going over to meet the other mommies and kiddos for playtime, then we'll all get together post-game for a taco fiesta. And tomorrow, I am hoping to finalize our Milan agenda - we leave on Saturday the 15th for 5 days (2 days are Greg work days). Can you tell that we are really taking advantage of European travel? I will need to hire some ladies to help me scrapbook all these pictures we're taking!Tot ziens!
PS - Met a very nice man who lives in our building yesterday named Kurt. We was an American ex-pat on a 2 year contract - that was 15 years ago! Don't worry grandparents, we promise we are coming back before 2023!
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