Fall Break Part 1

Well we've been living in Lux for 3 months now, and we are finally settled in. We moved into our house, got some new lighting and furniture, we bought a car. So what do we do? Head out of town for a week. The kids had a week off for Fall break, so on another road trip we went.

We drove north to Holland stopping first in Maastricht, one of its oldest cities. We stayed at the Kruisherenhotel, an old church converted into a super cool boutique hotel. Think original stained glass and ceiling frescos meet Philippe Starck. Highly recommend if you ever find yourself in Maastricht. Highly recommend Maastricht in general. My crappy iPhone photos don't do justice to this beautiful little city.

One of the things Maastricht is best known for is its casemates, underground tunnels built to house guns and canons. We spent one morning on a tour of the Caves of St. Pieter, a labyrinth of over 20,000 tunnels. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring all the little cobblestones alleyways, historic buildings, and cute shops. Again, my photos don't do justice.

                

Jackson and Sophia trying to blend in with the street art

Next stop...The Hague where we stayed with Rachel, one of our closest friends from Penn. She is a kick ass attorney locking up bad guys with the International Court Tribunal.

With Rachel!

Paleis Noordeinde

Park at Paleis Noordeinde

Vredespaleis (Peace Palace)

Biking on the streets of Den Haag

Day trip into Amsterdam...

Night Watch at the Rijks

iamsterdam

And we couldn't leave Holland without eating raw herring! The car smelled really great after...

From Holland, we drove to Dusseldorf, Germany. What fun Dan had on the Autobahn. He only wished he was driving his BMW rather than our family SUV. Unfortunately for him, we left it in Seattle.

Dusseldorf was another lovely city full of beauty and charm. Dan had to spend the day at the local office, so the kids and I walked along the Rhine from our hotel to Alstadt, the city's old town.

On the Rhine River

Silliness on the streets of Alstadt

I've heard strangers pay kids 1euro per cartwheel at this park.
We had no takers.

Sophia on the Rhine

For lunch, we enjoyed local dishes of Französische Maispoulardenbrust (grilled chicken breast with herbs, creamy mushroom sauce, and noodles), Knusprige Fischstäbchen (fried fish), and Bratwürstchen with Kartoffelpü (fried sausages with mashed potatoes) at Brauerei Zum Schiffchen. If you ever find yourself in Dusseldorf, this restaurant is worth the visit...delicious authentic German food and kid-friendly too! I'm not really a beer drinker, but I had to try the Altbier, a dark fermented beer made according to ancient Dusseldorf recipes. Dark and creamy but surprisingly clean and refreshing.

Yum

That evening, we drove 3 hours back home to Lux to rest up for a day before heading out on our next adventure...Paris! Stay tuned...