Brussles and now Ireland... the final place of our trip

We left Amsterdam on Tuesday around 11 and got into Brussels around two or three... sometime around there :) It was a very nice day in Brussels which was very nice because I got a really bad head cold in Amsterdam.... I'm sure it was from the cold weather. Brussels is a business capital and is very pretty and is full of Belgium chocolate. There are chocolate shops all over and of course who knows when we will be in Belgium again so we had to eat as much as possible. And the Belgium waffles with chocolate are so good that we had some of those too. As I said before we are eating our way through Europe. Today we left the hotel around seven thirty and went to the airport and headed out to Dublin Ireland. Ann has a lot of friends here that used to live in Peru when she was down there. Right now the weather is nice but I hear that it will be cold. Good good. The plane right mixed with my head cold was not a good mixture whatsoever so I have been laying low today. We really don't have any plans for Ireland but the days seem to be filling up as everyone wants us to stay with them and wants to take us here or there. So each day will be a surprise. We only have one more week and then we will back in Wisconsin and compared to this weather Wisconsin is going to feel like the tropics!!!!

Last days in Paris and Amsterdam

So the day after my shoe broke we got up and then we went to the Effel Tower but we did not climb it because we had a dinner date with ken Neuman and his family at noon and if we waited in those lines we would never get out of there. It was beautiful day so we got some perfect pictures!!! We then had lunch at Ken's and it was nice meeting his family. They are from Texas but had lived in paris in 1990 til 1993 and now were here for three months this summer. After that we went to a museum that had everything in it and I mean everything! We ended the day by going to where all the artists are painting. That was the hot spot and we just had fun people watching and listening to little bands along the way.... oh and eating crepes. :) On Sunday we went to meeting with Ken and then we went to the train station to get a train to amsterdam. We waited in line forever because we had to get a reservation and we got one then for like a little over an hour so we just killed some time and then we took the train first to brussels and then Amsterdam. We got in around eight and our hotel was recommended to us and we had no idea how to get there. After walking around for i don't know maybe 25 minutes we finally found out we just needed to take tram 2. We got on tram 2 and the people kept piling in and before long we were just crammed in there. So you can imagine getting off. We had to lift our suitcases above everyone's head hoping that we would not knock them out. If we did who knows if they would even know. We did find our hotel and it is very nice and is located in a good spot once you find it. We walked around til about 11:00 last night and then I was dead tired so I made ann call it a night:). Today we got up and first went to the Anne Frank house. It was very sobering and it was very interesting to see everything from that portion of history. After that we went to the Van Gogh museum and even though I'm not big on art museums this one was good.  Then we just strolled around and since it was in the afternoon and not night we took a walk down the red light district. Very interesting to say the least. You can do anything in Amsterdam I am pretty sure. We also did a boat tour of the city which was about an hour and then came back to the hotel just to rest for a bit and I am sure we will be going back out tonight. We have to check out tomorrow at 11 and then will probably get a train to Brussels. We have a hotel there for tomorrow night and then a flight out of Brussels to Dublin Wednesday morning. 

Real Info on Switzerland and Italy

Ok first of all i forgot to mention that on our way to Switzerland we stopped in Freiburg Germany because we just wanted a break from the train and to our luck there was an international festival there and guess what? There were students from Madison Wisconsin. Now how unreal is that. We actually spent a lot of the day there so we got to Switzerland, the relatives, around six. Well Ann has not been there for twenty years so to find their house was fun. We started headed towards the ski resort but then realized that was not right. We were lucky there was a sign with their name on it so I am so glad otherwise we would have headed right up a hill which would have not been necessary. We stayed with luzi and his wife and their two kids. They were very nice and we enjoyed our stay. On Sunday we went to luz and ruth's house which is luzi's parents for tea. We met a bunch of the other family too. On Monday Luz took us on our own personal tour of Switzerland and I must say i got car sick and I never get car sick. It was nice though and we saw a lot of eastern Switzerland. It is very beautiful and clean and the only thing that would have been better is if we had sun. Then Tuesday we headed out towards Venice. We left at seven thirty, took a couple of buses and then got two trains. Our first train took us to Milano and we got off and had about fifteen minutes to burn until the next train and were walking around and then Ann goes MY BAG. Lets just say she left our life on the train. So she went running towards this train which was like the one we were one but not the one and I watched her with the luggage and I saw her head that way and then that was it. Then the train took off. Here I thought, oh great here she hopped on the train thinking that was the train we were on and it took off and here i sit with the luggage. My game plan was to sit there and wait for her to come back because first of all she had everything. BUT come to find out she had went to the help desk and was working with them so I was happy to see her. It took about two hours until we left because they found the bag and then sent it on another train back and then we got it. Now this was no ordinary bag. This had all the reservations for the rest of our trip and all Ann's summer reservations, her dissertation, the computer, her camera, and all our money. And get this.... all of it was in there when we got it. We must say we love the Italians. So a little delayed we got to Venice but it was like six thirty so not bad. We just toured a little that night and then went to bed. The next tour days we walked the whole city of venice. It was so nice and beautiful and we saw everything. The second day we then had a night train to Paris which is where we are now. We thought our hotel said we could check out late, like around four but turns out they were not very happy with us and we left quick at one. We stored our luggage at the station and then walked around until about seven and then just waited for our train with left around eight. This, as we were told was a special train... for special people I suppose :) Our sleeper car was very nice but very small. It was just the two of us so that was nice but they are made for three and I can't imagine if we had another person in there. Of course Ann entertained me by trying to wash her feet in this little sink and getting herself all tangled up so the ride went fast. We got into Paris about ten on Friday and went to our hotel and left our luggage and then of course had to see EVERYTHING possible :) We first went to the Louvre and were there for a couple of hours. It is huge so we just hit the highlights, such as the mona lisa and micheal angelos sculptures, napolean's rooms etc. Oh let me mention that we really figured out the metro system. The first time we got our tickets we got took... paid for a day pass but got a one time pass because some guy who we thought was really helping us out was not being honest but oh well. Then we continued our art gallery tour by going to the Musee d'Orsay. On the way there this lady claimed to have found a ring right in front of us and wanted to give it to us as a gift. We of course did not want it but she gave it to us and then took off. Well it wasn't long until she was back wanting coffee money so we gave her a couple of Euros because she would not take the ring back. Then across the street, another man found a ring just like the one the lady found. Funny. Although it was funny when ann showed him the ring and said oh i already have one. After that art museam we went to Notre Dame and we climbed the towers. It was a hike but beautiful at the top. We had to wait awhile to get in but it was def. worth it. Then we came back and showered but our night was not over. We then headed towards the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysess. That again was another huge set of stairs to climb but we had no problem whatsoever UNTIL my shoe broke. And it was broke so here I had to walk all the way back barefoot in one of the most fancy parts of Paris. My feet were disgustingly dirty. Anyways we got back around 11 and called it a night as it was just getting dark. Our battery is dying but that gets you caught up til yesterday. We are getting pictures so just wait a lil bit more. Hope you all are doing well!!!!

Germany, Switzerland, Litchenstein, and now Italy

Well we have not had access to the computer lately which is why i have not posted. So lets see if i can catch you up. We left luxembourg Friday morning and took a train to Frankfurt Germany. We actually decided to get off in Tier... or something like that :), and we just walked around there for a couple of hours and then got back on the train. Tier was more of a historical town with cobblestone streets and little shops. The markets were just opening up when we got there so that was fun to see. We got into Frankfurt around mid afternoon and of course decided to take a walk and see what was around. It turned into a three hour walk but no fear i swear we stopped every half an hour to buy something to eat. I honestly think we are eating our way through Europe. We of course had a german pretzel, bratwarst, and i cant even remember what else but a lot of good food. We got a little lost because we thought things looked familiar so we kept walking towards them and then we realized we were walking in a circle. That night we got back to the hotel around six and took a little nap which was five hours. I guess we were tired and for ann to sleep that long is simply amazing. We then just went to bed for the night but people were up and about til five in the morning. Then on Saturday morning we got up early, since we slept so much it was no problem, and got a train to switzerland to be with the relatives. We got there around five i think. They live way up in the Alps so it was beautiful but cold and raining. Well we got to go now so thats all you get :) I am in Italy now until tomorrow, venice and its beautiful and the sun is out!!!!

Europe = RAIN

Ann and I had a very adventurous day today. Sheila told us that we should take the train to this town that is about an hour north so we could see some exhibit. So we went to the train station and had a hard time because nothing is in English. Its either Luxembougish, French, German or some other language. With my spanish though I can give a good guess what the French is saying. People just talk to us too like we know what they are saying and we just nod and smile. What tourists! Well we found our train but had about an hour til we left so we walked around and the bakeries here are simply amazing!!! So of course we had some baked goods, all healthy for us of course! We then got on our train and once we got there it was raining and we were just wanting to buy an umbrella but guess what. Everything closes at noon for lunch and I mean everything, even the restaurants!!! So here we are walking the streets of Clerviox getting soaking wet and nothing is open. We looked for this exhibit we were suppose to go to but after 45 minutes we said forget it and went back to the train station and got back on the train to come back home. Wait til Sheila hears that we didn't even do the lists of things she wanted us to see! Once we got back here we found a restaurant to have soup and then we took a bus back to Sheila's. We are little chilled but warming up. It stopped but the weather changes so fast here that I think we will wait to do anymore exploring today! So lesson of the day is always take an umbrella with you even if it is blue skies and sun in the morning and don't get stuck somewhere around lunch time because everything is closed.

Made It!

Surprisingly I made it here with no problems what so ever. I made all my flights and got my luggage. Well the only thing that was a little wierd was that I got pulled over for a security check in Amsterdam and in front of everyone they really patted my down. They certainly did not miss anything but I was so tired I was just like whatever. I got in into Luxembough at 10:00 am time here which would be like 4:00 am back home and of course no sleeping allowed now. I have managed to stay up for pretty much most of the day. I did get a thirty minute nap while Ann worked on her paper for school but unfortunately she finished it fast so that ended my nap pretty fast. We did some touring of the town. We are staying with Ann's friend Sheila so she gave us directions to where to walk and we didn't even get lost. It is really peaceful and quiet here but just a little chilly. The country is actually really small. I think its like fifty miles wide and seventy miles long or something close to that. We took a little tour on a train and got a history lecture, walked around a bunch of the shops and then visited some of the parks. We are going to stay here tonight and let me tell you, I am ready for bed, and then tour again tomorrow. Friday we will head on the Eurorail to Frankfurt. We should get there around noon so we will stay the rest of the day there and then on Saturday we head to Switzerland to stay with the relatives until Tuesday. We finally talked to them today and Ruthie knew we were coming but Lutsi had no idea so I guess that was his surprise for the day. So that is what is in the agenda for the next couple of days!

Europe!!!!

Well tomorrow I head for Europe which crept on me really fast. I just started my laundry tonight at 11 so tonight is going to be a late night but I figure I'm just adjusting to the new time zone a little early right? I leave tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 from Madison and will be in Luxembough in like 13 hours I think. Once I actually looked at my itinery, like at 12 tonight, I was surprised how fast the trip will be!

Things have been very interesting over here in Wisconsin. Lets just say that we have gotten way too much rain. We had some wicked storms Sat. and Sun. and today the flooding began. Lake Delton which is a big lake where a lot of Dells attractions are on like Tommy Bartlett and where the Dells Ducks go actually does not exist no more. The dam broke this afternoon and the whole lake drained out into the Wisconsin River. I went up there this afternoon and could not believe it. Some of the condos even floated away right down the Wisconsin River. The engineers cannot figure out a way to stop it so it will basically be absolutely no water by tomorrow or the next couple of days. And it will take years to fill up............... like lots and lots of years so Lake Delton/Wisconsin Dells changed forever today! Dams are breaking left and and right and towns by the rivers are getting stuff out of their houses fast. It is a sight that I can't even explain. I actually went out and walked in the middle of the lake, empty lake and was standing in piles of dead fish! Soooooo............... on that note hopefully the rain doesn' t follow me to Europe.

Mom, dad, Angela and Travis left for Canada on Sunday. They left a little later than they had liked, they wanted to leave on Sat., but they are up there now and hopefully will enjoy the week up there!! Michael will be holding down the fort while they are gone and he does an impressive job at that so they should have no fears.

Well I am thinking I really should take a two hour nap because I just can't think straight anymore :) Then I will get up and finish packing! Keep tuned to updates on my travels over the next three weeks and here are some pictures of the lake draining.