My sister Chelsey was able to come visit us for about a week. We had such a fun week together!
The night she got here we went to a local pub for the first Germany World Cup game. It was fun to be around lots of Germans cheering while eating delicious food.
Tuesday was spent at the Rhine Park doing paddle boats (and getting a great leg workout concurrently). Then visiting Paul at Museum Koenig and eating lunch at the BBQ in the gardens there.
Wednesday we went to Cologne (or Köln). The cathedral there is massive (it was the tallest building in the world until the Washington Monument in DC was built!). It is a special church and has been visited since the 1600s because it houses the relics of the Three Wise Men. Amazingly, the glass windows were preserved during WWII (buried in a bunker during the war years) and the cathedral wasn't destroyed (they think the ally pilots liked to use it's steeples as a useful landmark).
The city had a lot of other pretty sights and places to eat. We visited a museum that is in the building the Gestapo worked out of and held and tortured prisoners in. It was a moving experience to see the notes the prisoners of WWII had written on the walls of their cells.
Because of my work schedule, a lot of afternoons were spent at our place. This was probably good news for Chelsey's jet lag. Lots of chances for naps!
Thursday was a holiday, and we spent the day in Bonn. The streets were quiet because most shops are closed on holidays, but it was really fun to show Chelsey around my new town! We went to the Beethoven House (the home where Beethoven was born, now a museum), the Rathaus/Old Town Hall (which I made her pose on the steps of) and a few other Bonn highlights. That night for dinner we rode our bikes, got pizza, had a picnic, and even got caught in a bit of rain.
Sometimes... pictures taken by strangers on the street are... less than perfect.
Friday was our Castle Day. We picked up our rental car for the weekend a few hours early and drove to Bad Godesburg to check out castle #1. It gave us such a neat view of Bonn, it was so fun to see my city from that new perspective and put pieces together of how neighborhoods/landmarks were in relation to each other. Totally worth the 1 Euro and leg power to climb to the top. So many stairs! We also stopped at a cafe for breakfast in Bad Godesburg and I got my FIRST EVER HEART in a cup. I'm always jealous of fancy coffee and finally it happened for my hot chocolate.
This stranger photographer did a much better photography job.
Castle #2 was Schloss Drachenburg! (Translation: DRAGON CASTLE)
It was built around the same time as Neuschwanstein Castle.
It was really pretty and the grounds were amazing too.
When no strangers are around to take a picture, self timer apps are helpful. Take two was much better but take one was so so much funnier.
The view of the Rhine was so pretty from the castle!
Saturday and Sunday were spent in the Netherlands!!!!
We drove to Amsterdam and were blown away. We rented bikes and explored the city for two days. Paul was in heaven with the bike infrastruture and culture. I don't think he stopped smiling the whole time.
We took a canal boat ride, visited the Rijkmuseum (Van Gogh's and Rembrandts!), ate some delicious Dutch Pancakes, went to the Flower market, and tried on some Wooden Shoes. WHAT ELSE COULD YOU WANT. On our drive home Sunday we stopped in Kinderdijk to see the beautiful 300 year old Windmills.
We LOVED Holland.
The first place we rented bikes from only had 2, but they told us their other location where we could get another - just a short ride away. I felt kind of silly sidesaddling it up but we actually saw a ton of people hitching rides on the back of bikes over the next two days.
My dream is to someday live on a houseboat in Amsterdam. Paul's in.
During our canal cruise we saw this fun wedding on the drawbridge! I couldn't believe the picture I was able to get and wish I knew the couple so I could send it to them.
This was the cutest sight! A little boy in a little boat behind a big real boat. They were pulling him in when I pulled out the camera, but it was really the best.
This dance crew was SO funny and actually pretty talented!
"We are very professional! That's why we work on the street"
Kinderdijk!
Monday morning we had to say goodbye (thumbs down).
Thanks again for coming to visit Chelly!
