Spring Break: Keukenhof Garden, The Netherlands

Wednesday, April 11.  After a bit of walking around Bruges one last time we loaded up in the van and headed up to the Netherlands.  The drive took about 3 hours so we got to the famous Keukenhof gardens with plenty of time to walk around and enjoy the flowers.

As you can tell from this photo, some of the fields weren't in bloom quite yet.  

What is a trip to Holland without a photo of your kids in giant wooden shoes?

The daffodils were in full splendor

The boys had fun hopping around these platforms in the middle of the lake

The whole garden smelled so wonderful.  There were so many different types of flowers planted that as you walked around your senses were delighted by every turn.

Token photo of a windmill

The gardens really are spectacular.  It's amazing all the work they put into something that is only open for 2 months every year!

The boys weren't that impressed with the beautiful flower beds in the garden but they sure loved all the fun play areas.

Me and my man

We lucked out with weather once again, it was supposed to be raining.  This was a nice relaxing stop on our trip.  We could enjoy walking around a wonderful garden and the boys could get some wiggles out.  After leaving the garden we headed up to Zandvoort, to our hotel.

Spring Break: Bruges, Belgium

On Monday, April 9, after leaving the sites of Normandy France we headed to the city of Bruges in Belgium.  The drive took us about 6 hours so by the time we got to Bruges we just wanted to have a bite to eat and head off to bed.  The house we reserved in Bruges was wonderful.  There was a full kitchen with a dining table that we could all sit around.  The best part was the washer and dryer so we could do some laundry and get ready for the rest of the trip.  

What is there to see and do in Bruges?  The main attraction for me was the architecture and the city itself. There are no "must see" sights in Bruges so it was relaxing and nice to just enjoy being in a new city.

Tuesday, April 10, we headed out to see what there was to see in Bruges.

We used this window as a marker to help us find the way back to our house.  From the main street, turn right when you see this window;)

Bruges has a main canal running through the town.  It used to be one of the main stops on the cloth trade route and most of the cities money was made this way.

THE attraction in Bruges is this bell tower.  It has been on the square since 1300 and a carillon bell rings each 15 minutes.  We just had to climb the 366 steps to the top for a view of the city.

Emerson waving goodbye as he heads up the stairs.

The inner workings of the bell tower.  We were in this room when the bells rang and it was so neat to see how this machinery runs to make the bells ring out a specific tune.

Belgium chocolate anyone?  No thanks.  I have never liked Belgium chocolate...too waxy.  I thought I would give it a try since I was in Belgium.  Nope, still no good.  They are pretty to look at but they have no real chocolate flavor.

Moving on  to Burg Square.  This is the Basilica of the Holy Blood.  This church was built by a crusader in 1150 to house the drops of Christ's blood he brought back from Jerusalem.

The interior of this church was beautiful!  Unfortunately the phial of blood was not on display the day we visited.

Townsend showing off his monkey skills in front of City Hall

The "Gothic Room" inside City Hall.

There was a carnival on the main Market Square while we were in Bruges.  The boys played a fishing game and won these action figures...

...and this is what the action figures looked like after only about 5 minutes.  Have I mentioned my twins are hard on toys?

Our only attempt at a family photo while in Bruges.  This stone bridge was so cute.

Inside the Church of Our Lady.  This is the only Michelangelo sculpture to leave Italy in Michelangelo's lifetime.

This church was very beautiful.  

The final resting place of the last local rulers of Bruges.  After Mary of Burgundy, and her father Charles the Bold died, Bruges was ruled by the wealthy Hapsburgs of Austria.

We visited two museums while in Bruges.  We found the Bruges city ticket to be quite handy.  For one price you get admission to all the sites in the city.  The Gruuthuse Museum was the 15th century mansion of one of Bruges wealthy merchants.  The neatest part about this house was that they had their own chapel that overlooked the inside of the Church of Our Lady.  So they could wake up on Sunday morning, walk into their own little chapel and observe the service without leaving their house.  The second museum we visited was the Groeninge Museum.  This museum showcases the art of Bruges painters during the 1400 when Bruges was a wealthy and very cultured city.

After a full day of site seeing we let Oma and Andrea continue their adventures (they went to another museum and then on a boat ride through the canals) while Hyrum and I took the boys to the playground.  They had a lot of fun climbing and sliding and jumping and digging.  We spent the night again in Bruges and walked around a bit the next morning before heading out of town.

Of course the sun decided to come out on the morning we left!

Bruges was a nice relaxing stop to break up our road trip.  Just being able to stay in the same place for more than one night helps make you feel less rushed.  I really enjoyed this cute little city, I hope to visit again some day.

Off to the Netherlands...

Spring Break: Normandy Beaches, France

From Mont St. Michel we headed over to the town of Arromanches, about 2 hours away.  Our hotel was right on the beach of what became Port Winston during WWII.  The allies, after storming the beaches of Normandy, and gaining a foot hold in France needed a port to bring supplies to the soldiers fighting their way through France and on to Berlin.  Using old ships (sunk purposefully in strategic places), football field sized cement blocks and floating steel piers the allies built a temporary harbor.

Our first stop was the bluff overlooking the beach.  There was a theater with a film about the war and how the small French towns were affected.  The film had no speaking, just footage from the war and music.  It was pretty powerful to see the faces of soldiers right before they got off the boats to head to the beach.  You just knew some of those faces were of men that never made it home to their families.

A photo from the bluff overlooking the beach.  Off in the distance you can still see remains of the temporary harbor.

We walked up to the theater but then opted to ride the free tourist train back down the hill.  Anything to keep the kids happy and willing to trudge to yet another site.

Townsend exploring the old pier on the beach

Oma and Julian.  You can see in the distance some of the sunken ships used as a breakwater for the temporary harbor.

Quick, take a photo, the sun came out!!!

Exploring an old US Army vehicle that was on display

We stayed the night in Arromanches, not the best hotel experience but we survived for just one night.  The next morning we went to visit the Longues-sur-Mer Gun Battery.  Four German bunkers with guns intact are the only original guns remaining in the D-Day region.  Even though it was raining a bit and the wind was bitterly cold, I'm so glad we got out of the car and walked around this site.  What a chilling reminder for what happened 60 years ago.  I have to admit, as I walked around, I felt a bit sorry for the poor German soldiers that were sent to this post.  It was pretty secluded and the bunkers seemed so cold and dark.  

One of the hilltop bunkers.  These giant guns could shoot 13 miles out to sea and pounded the boats as they attempted to land on D-Day.

The boys didn't really understand the gravity of what happened at all these sites we were taking them to.  For 8 year olds, this was just a cool place to climb around and explore.

After the bunkers we headed over to Omaha beach.  It's such a quiet, peaceful stretch of beach.  There is a special feeling you get as you walk around.  You feel almost as though you are in a church or a cemetery, some place sacred.  It was a bit eerie.  Maybe it was the cloudy, cold day.  Maybe it was because we were the only people on the beach and it was very quiet and you could reflect on the events on June 6, 1944.  I'm not sure what it was about the beach but I felt something very strong and powerful.  I kept thinking "why?"  Why is there war in the world?  I couldn't help contrasting the images in my mind of death and life.  Death because of the events of D-Day and life because my three boys were running on the beach jumping and playing in the waves.  

Oma looking out over the ocean on Omaha beach

Our last stop was the WWII American cemetery and memorial.  The final resting spot of over 9,000 American soldiers that lost their lives bringing freedom to the people of Europe.

Another amazing and awe inspiring site.  

The cemetery is in a beautiful location, overlooking Omaha beach.

I'm so glad we spent some time exploring the sites from a piece of American and European history.  I feel so lucky and blessed to live in a time of peace and plenty and I know I owe much to the men and women that have served in the military and are still serving today.

Next stop, Belgium...stay tuned!

Spring Break: Mont St. Michel, France

On Saturday April 7th, after our look around Chartres Cathedral we drove to Mont St. Michel.  I had heard nothing of this island until someone mentioned it on their blog as the "island castle" that Disney used as inspiration for their movie Tangled.  I did a bit of research on the internet and fell in love with the idea of visiting this place.  For over a thousand years pilgrims have flocked to this site.  It was originally used as a secluded abbey for monks wanting to leave the world behind.  Now 3.5 million tourists visit each year and wind their way up the one street on the island to the top of the hill and the abbey.

We got to the site around 5:00 PM and were not allowed to park close to the island because the tide was going to come in so we parked 2 miles away and walked the long causeway to the island.  The boys were very excited to play on the mud flats while we watched the tide come in.  This island has the most dangerous tide in Europe because it rises 50 feet in about an hour.

On our long walk to the island

The boys playing in the water as the tide rolled in.  They went out to take a photo on this rock and within 10 minutes this rock was completely under water!

This picture was taken around 6 PM.  This is the only road through the town and was basically deserted while we walked around.  We saw a few people but we really had the place to ourselves.  (Take note of this photo...you will see this same scene later)

Crepes with nutella for dinner?  Yes please:)

Can you see the floating van?  Some poor tourist didn't understand the many, many, many announcements warning that the tide was coming in and you needed to move your vehicles from the lower parking lots.

We headed to our hotel for the night, only about 5 miles down the road.  We stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast and it was the perfect location because we were close enough to visit the island once more the next morning.

Mont St. Michel the next morning.  Can you see the wave of water rushing in with the tide?  

The abbey at the top of the hill.  Simply amazing and beautiful to walk around.

Easter Sunday service in the abbey of Mont St. Michel?  Yes please:)

It wasn't hard to imagine robed monks walking these halls in silence.

A statue of St. Michel (Saint Michael)

OK, remember the picture from earlier showing just a few people wandering this street?  Now look at it at 11:00 AM.  It was so packed you seriously couldn't even stop to look in the store windows, you would get trampled.  My advice, come early or late, miss the crowds and enjoy the quaint beauty of this island town.

After escaping the chaos of that crowd we got in our car and headed for the beaches of Normandy...but more on that in the next post:)

Spring Break: French Cathedrals

We began our long road trip on the morning of Friday, April 6th.  The next 10 days we would be traveling in the van with our three boys, Oma and Aunt Andrea.  We loaded up the van and were on our way by 9:30 AM...not a bad start time when you have that many people traveling along.

After driving 7 hours we made our first stop in Reims, France.  You can bet the boys were ready to run around and get some wiggles out after such a long drive but instead we hopped on a train from our hotel and headed to the center of town to catch a peek at the Cathedral.  Construction started in 1211 AD and this church was the site of 26 coronations of French Kings and Queens.  I love Gothic architecture so this church was well worth the stop!

With so many people in the car this roof top carrier was a life-saver!

Guess who was super excited about the train ride?  No matter how tired and grumpy Julian could have been after sitting in the car all day, as soon as we told him we were going for a train ride he got all happy and excited:)

The boys getting a bit of energy out on the steps of the Cathedral.  At least they weren't running inside the church!

The rose window inside the church...my little camera does not do this justice

I loved this peaceful candle-lit altar 

Our little family outside the church

After a good nights sleep we headed off to Chartres, about 2 1/2 hours away.  We had heard there was an English tour guide that has been showing Chartres Cathedral to tourists for the last 50 years.  He gives a 75 minute tour and explains the history and the meaning behind each of the beautiful stained glass windows.  Because the boys don't do so well with tours I opted to hit the playground with a picnic lunch while Hyrum, Oma and Andrea went for the tour.  After we met back together again it turns out the guide wasn't doing tours that day so they just wandered around the church.  It was a bummer that we missed out on this tour but it was still a Cathedral worth seeing.  Hyrum and I walked around the Cathedral while Oma and Andrea took a turn with the kids.  Man, it was nice to have even a 30 minute break from the crazy kids:)

Chartres Cathedral

One of the decorated portals into the church

The windows are truly amazing

Andrea and Oma with the Cathedral in the background

When we were done in Chartres we packed back into the van and headed to Mount St. Michel, about 3 1/2 hours away...but we'll save that for another post:)