Westward Part 3: To the Ocean and Home Again

We left Amsterdam and headed west again, and guess where we ended up? That's right, in a scrapbook store, the only one I've seen since I left the states. The owner was just starting to receive CHA orders, so the store was full of all kinds of new things.

I wanted to stay all day and just wander around and soak up all that creative mojo, but we had promised the kids the North Sea, so we kind of had to go. I did get some cardstock and paint and I've got a little bit of art started around here now.

Then we drove to the edge of Europe. My kids are always happy at the beach, no matter the weather, and the weather really sucked. Rain and wind and coldness. But they ran around joyfully digging in the sand and looking for shells. I liked this beach because it sported a restaurant where Mark and I could watch the kids play while sipping a piping-hot Latte Macchiato, sheltered from the wind.

Now, remember we're still in Holland. And in Holland, it's all about the windmills.

This one was especially beautiful, located at the center of a town called Leiden, home of the pilgrims before they set sail to America on the Mayflower. We stopped for awhile to stretch our legs and take in the sights. Then we drove and drove to make some time, but our highway was detoured and we ended up having a Twilight Zone-like experience on some back roads of Holland. We exited the autobahn as instructed and followed the signs toward the place we wanted to go. Then the detour put us back on the autobahn, took us off at the next exit, turned us 180 degrees and put us back on the autobahn, took us back to the previous exit, then had us exit and take another route that could not be seen the first time we exited. I'm not kidding. I think some highway workers were having a good laugh at our expense, because I know we laughed ourselves silly about it later.

We finally got to our town and it was this gem, Maastrict. We spent the night at a hotel by the airport and then headed into the city center bright and early the next morning. It was completely deserted and so magnificent to weave through the empty city streets looking in the shop windows.

This shop was some sort of wanna-be hip clothing store. It was just bizarre and I love how the square is reflected in the background of the photo. After eating some breakfast, we headed back on the highway and made some time through the wondrous Belgian countryside and into Luxembourg.

Luxembourg was amazing. The city, and the stone wall which encircles it, was built in the mid-900's right on the Alzette River. The whole atmosphere was so regal and stoic. I claim little knowledge of the country of Luxembourg, but I imagine that the people who lived here took great pride in their surroundings. It was stunning.

And did I mention that the sun was shining?

We finally pulled ourselves away and started making the trek toward home via the Mosel River.

Here we met Sammy Swan, who loved bread hand-outs and made for great conversation between the kids for the next hour's drive. They talked at length about the possibility of Sammy making it to America and how maybe we could get a swan too if we only had some water in our yard. They both cited this encounter as the highlight of their day.

Then we meandered many miles along the river and through German wine country, and I have already decided to return when the leaves on the grapes are green. These folks grow their grapes terraced straight up the sides of the river canyon, with their picturesque little towns nestled at the bottom, and the grape grower's names prominently displayed on their homes.

Can you imagine it all greened up?

This is a real castle. And it was just as majestic in person as it appears in the photo. We passed this one by with high hopes of finding a "better" one that was purported to be a little farther down the road (which it wasn't, by the way), but we'll catch it on the wine tour.