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Day 53 – 54: Zurich (Switzerland)
We decided to stop in Zurich for a couple of nights and see my childhood best friend (Adi), who lives there with his wife and their son. Zurich is Switzerland’s largest city and sits at the end of the beautiful Zurichsee or Lake Zurich. It’s located in the German speaking region of the country (with Zurich German being the main language).
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Day 49 – 52: Baden-Baden and Frankfurt (Germany)
The next stop on the Germany leg of our trip was the Southwest region where we stayed with family (the Schwarzwald or Black Forest region to be exact). We were welcomed by Mirela and Nicu who were overly hospitable and made sure we didn’t go hungry even for a mere half hour. On our first day Nicu and Mirela drove us to the nearby town of Baden-Baden for a visit.
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Day 46 – 48 : Berlin (Germany)
We had high hopes that Berlin would give us a break from the rain that seemed to follow us for about a week, so we were happy when we landed at Schoenefeld Airport on a sunny evening. We took it easy that evening and walked around the area near our hotel (Mitte) and grabbed a bite at Altberliner Weißbierstube (an authentic German restaurant) where it was all about a hardy meal consisting of meat, cabbage and potatoes – washed down with a glass of Riesling and one of the local pilsners.
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Day 43 – 45: Amsterdam (Holland)
Ah, Amsterdam.. a city I had heard so much about and always wanted to see. We planned to stay for two and a half days and take city by storm, literally! It actually rained every day and night while we were there (at times with ferocity). But again, we didn’t let this affect us too much so we made the best of it thanks in part to our friends Hind and Edwin.
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Day 40 – 42: Delft and The Hague (Holland)
Our next destination was Holland so we continued north by train (from Brussels) to The Hague where one of Brigitte’s good friends (Hind) lives. We had arranged to stay with Hind for 3 days to catch up, see the city and its nearby areas. The first day, we had planned to go visit The Hague but unfortunately torrential rain (for the entire day) kept us at home.
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Day 39: Brussels (Belgium) – Part 2
Day 2 in Brussels looked very promising for more sightseeing with a forecast of 79 degrees and sunny skies. So we decided to continue with the Art Nouveau circuit we had started a couple of days earlier. But unfortunately about an hour into our walk the weather turned cloudy and cool with that dreaded feel of imminent rain – still, we remained undeterred and got a couple of hours in before it actually started to rain.
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Day 38: Bruges (Belgium)
We decided on a day trip to Bruges on our second day in Belgium (about an hour away by train going west from Brussels). Bruges is the largest city in the region of West Flanders (within Belgium) and is inhabited by over 110,000+ people. It is also called “The Venice of The North” and for good reasons!
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Day 37: Brussels (Belgium) – Part 1
We started our first day in Brussels on a dreary and very quiet Sunday, or so it seemed on our 20 minute walk to the Metro. We got off near the La Grande-Place which was our main starting point as it’s the main square and the heart of Brussels (and the place was packed!). Some of the oldest and most beautiful buildings surrounding the square date back to the 11th century at least.
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Day 32 – 36: Paris (France)
Ah, Paris.. It’s always been a pleasure to visit this city regardless of what we ended up doing. So this time around was no different. Since Brigitte’s been here a hundred times (and about half dozen for me), we opted to skip the touristy stuff. We had 4.5 days here during which we mainly put in time to see and hang out with friends. We also had the good fortune of shacking up with them since 31 Rue Duret (Brigitte’s dad’s old place) was no longer an option (as they moved out of Paris).
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Day 29 – 31: Marseille (France)
Our last few days in Marseille are coming to an end and there are still a few things we’d like to do/see before we leave. We started our morning with the typical breakfast we’ve been enjoying for the past few weeks – crispy chocolate croissants, fresh baguette with butter and fruit jam plus tea or coffee. France has really spoiled us with its simplest of foods which in my mind are the tastiest.
