Sunday, April 18, 2010

Spring Break 2010: Brussels and the Romantic Road in Germany

For the second week of Spring Break, my parents, Walter and Patty Keyes, flew into Brussels to visit from Dayton, Ohio. They were delayed in Atlanta due to a lightening storm. After spending the night in a hotel in Atlanta they finally took flight to Brussels. They were upgraded to first class. What a nice way to fly! Elisabeth and Kate were so excited to see them when they arrived in Brussels.

Prior to their arrival, we rented a minivan so we were all able to fit (our little Citroen barely sits four comfortably!). We brought them to Auderghem to unload their luggage and freshen up in their apartment. Our neighbor, Mr. Wang, graciously invited my parents to stay in his apartment down the hall while he was in Atlanta for business.

Grand Plaza & Brussels
On our first afternoon in Brussels we took the metro from Hermann Debroux to Park Metro Station. We strolled through the lovely gardens near the Palace with Nana and Papa. The girls especially enjoyed the fountains. It had just rained so there was a rainbow above the fountain. From Park we walked to the Musical Instruments Museum for lunch and a panoramic view of Brussels skyline from the 10th floor restaurant. Later we walked down to the Grand Plaza for chocolates from Elisabeth, delicious waffles across from the Hotel Amigo and a visit to the Mannequin Pis. My parents were tired so rather than walk up the hill to the Park Metro Station we walked to the Central Metro Station. They were tired and almost fell asleep on the train. We went home for dinner around 5:30pm. My parents were exhausted and went straight to bed!

The Romantic Road & Germany
On Sunday morning we woke up and enjoyed a delightful breakfast with Nana and Pap in the apartment. Around 9am we all piled in the mini-van. Rich drove us to Germany for a tour of the castles on the Romantic Road. We visited Wurzburg, Rothenburg and Fussen. My Dad was stationed at Ramstein Air Base 35 years ago. Also, my Mom's ancestors are from that region. We stopped and researched her ancestor who left in 1815 for the United States. It was a special return to Germany for my parents and the girls enjoyed hearing about their travels.

Wurzburg, Germany
We arrived in Wurzburg, Germany after lunch and unloaded our bags at the Hotel Wurzburger Hof. It was a lovely (yet cool) afternoon so we walked to the Würzburg Residenz, an extraordinary example of a Baroque palace. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo painted frescoes in the ceiling above the staircase in 1752 in the Imperial Hall. The Residenz was destroyed in WWII and rebuilt after the war. After our tour, we strolled through the Court Gardens and Residenz Square.

After visiting the Wurzburg Residenz and the Court Gardens, we strolled through historic Wurzburg towards the Main River. We enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant and walked over the famous Old Main Bridge while eating ice cream cones. From the bridge there were lovely views of the Fortress Marienberg.

In the morning, we enjoyed breakfast at the Hotel Wurzburger Hof. It was drizzling. So, after stocking up on umbrellas, we toured the Fortress Marienberg. The most interesting aspect of the fortress was the tower which contained an "elevator" to hide women, children and royalty in case the castle was penetrated.

Rothenburg
After touring the fortress, we drove to Rothenburg, one of Germany's best preserved medieval walled towns. It was a picturesque, charming and quaint village. We parked outside the old city walls and entered in through the main gate. The moat was spectacular to cross. After eating lunch on the main square with Nana and Papa, we toured St. Jacob's church. It contains an impressive 500-year-old Riemenschneider altarpiece, the Michelangelo of German woodcarvers. We climbed the stairs behind the organ to view the woodcarving. After touring St. Jacob's, Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed walking the wall that surrounds the old town. We enjoyed the view of the red-tiled roofs with the green valleys and Tauber river below. We had a hard time coming down! In the afternoon, we toured the Imperial City Museum in Rothenburg, founded in 1258 as a Dominican nunnery convent by the Imperial master cook Lupold of Nordenberg. We enjoyed a hot chocolate and pastry on the main plaza. Elisabeth and I enjoyed shopping in the Friese shop. Anneliese, who runs the shop, gave Elisabeth and Kate a doll for free. Thanks to Rick Steves' for the recommendation! What a magical and friendly medieval town!

Fussen
After an afternoon hot chocolate and pastry, we left Rothenburg and drove to Fussen. We arrived in Fussen in time for dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Elisabeth enjoyed her pizza with black olives, Kate enjoyed her spaghetti bolognese. We stayed at the Hotel Seespitz, just outside of Fussen. There were incredible views of the Forggensee with Füssen and the snow-capped Swiss Alps in the distance (The Forggensee is a man-made lake which was built to prevent flooding. It is the catchment area for all the melting snow in the spring. After the middle of October the lake is drained ready for the next spring melt - glad we went in the Spring!). After dinner Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed a swim in the indoor pool with Nana and Papa. The pool had floor to ceiling windows with picturesque views of the snow-capped mountains. Breathtakingly beautiful.

The next morning we enjoyed delicious German pastries before touring the famous castles of Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Füssen is the highest town in Bavaria (808 m above sea level). I felt like we could touch the mountains. First, we took a horse and carriage up the hill and visited the Hohenschwangau castle. We enjoyed walking down from the castle after the tour. After a quick lunch, we took another horse and carriage up the hill to visit the Neuschwanstein castle.

Nana and Papa remembered visiting castles when they were stationed in Germany at Ramstein Air Base approximately 35 years ago. Nana and Papa met my Uncle Joe and my Uncle Dan in Germany and touring the castles. Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed hearing stories of my parents adventures and of my Mom skiing moguls on Mont Blanc. What fun!

Lake Constance & Baden Baden
We arrived in Baden Baden shortly before dinner and checked into our hotel along the Oos River in the western foothills of the Black Forest. After a lovely dinner at an Italian bistro, we enjoyed a lovely stroll and retired for the evening (we were exhausted!). The next morning, after a delicious breakfast, we walked along a stream before our long drive back to Brussels.

Brugges, Belgium
Nana and Papa left on Thursday by train for an overnight in Brugges. I made a reservation for them at the Hotel Erasmus because it was centrally located near the Grand Plaza in Brugges. They enjoyed touring the Grand Plaza, riding in a carriage and eating dinner on the Grand Plaza before retiring for the evening. The next day they enjoyed the museums in Brugges and went on a boat cruise prior to catching the train back to Brussels.

Keukenhoff, Holland
On Saturday, April 17 we drove to Holland to view the tulips. We arrived at Keukenhof in the morning and enjoyed strolling around the gardens before lunch. We enjoyed climbing to the top of the windmill, gazing out over the big open fields of tulips, and listening to a troop of Hungarian singers and dancers.

We had wooden shoes made for Elisabeth and Kate. The girls picked their designs and a shoemaker, Nicole, made their shoes (Nicole is the only female shoemaker in Europe). Elisabeth and Kate wore their shoes for the remainder of the day! Nicole was quite an artist (I even had a pair made for me!). We'll put the shoes out for St. Nicholas in early December next year.

Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed the play ground at Keukenhof, especially the zip line and maze. They also enjoyed walking across a pond on "lily pads" made of stone. Rich and I helped them. Quite fun.

Petit Sablon & Brussels
On Sunday, April 18th we had a leisurely morning. After breakfast we took the 94 Tram from Herrmann Debroux to the Petit Sablon. We ate lunch at Pan Quotidien. After lunch we sampled chocolates from Whitamer and strolled through the gardens in the Petit Sablon.

They were scheduled to depart on Monday, April 19th. However, their flight was canceled due to the erupting volcano in Iceland and the volcanic ash covering Europe.

Leuven & Amsterdam
Nana and Papa's flight was rescheduled to depart on Thursday, April 22nd. In the meantime, they kept busy and enjoyed their extended stay in Europe. On Monday they took the train to Leuven to visit Erasmus University. On Tuesday, they took the train to Amsterdam for an overnight at the Hotel Rembrandt. They enjoyed visiting the Anne Frank museum and strolling through Amsterdam.