Rhine River Cruise

We are working on our bucket list as we count down our last year here in Germany.  There is so much to see, so we are seeing as much as we can!  One thing on my bucket list was to take a Rhine River Cruise starting in Koblenz, a city almost two hours south of Dusseldorf.  The Rhine River connects to the Mosel River in Koblenz and there are many wineries, castles, and villages set along the banks of these two rivers.  The cruise we took was a UNESCO World Heritage sight that goes from Rudesheim to Koblenz and takes four hours going downstream.  I wish you could have been here with us as it was one of my favorite sightseeing adventures.  I will share pictures to give you a taste of what we saw.  It was a beautiful, sunny day - great for a boat ride.

We took a train down to Rudesheim and then hopped on the boat.

Every town had a nice church or two!

This was one of our favorite castles!  It is amazing how they build them up on the side of the hill.

Naked kayaking!  Wouldn't you get thrown in jail for this in the states?

Charlie checking out the sights and thinking he should be in one of those castles!

But he was quite content with us!

Jack is still not used to the fact that Europeans are good at cutting in line.

He waited patiently for his soda!

This is fun, but how long are we on this boat?  My soda is gone.

The famous Loreley Rock

He was so happy to go for a boat ride.

Another beautiful church!

Beautiful Hotels!

Vineyards all along the Rhine.

Castles on top of hills

There was always a castle or a cute town along the way to look at.  We could hardly put the camera down.  It was nice, relaxing day.  We hope to be able to visit some of those castles while we are here.

flowers in Belgium and beach fun in Holland

We headed west to the shore, not Holland State Park beach this time, but Holland beach!  We went to a beach in the region of Zeeland in the Netherlands.

But, first we stopped along the way to Brussels, Belgium to the rug carpet display that is held every couple of years.  It is a carpet of Begonias laid out in the Grand-Place which is where the town square is located.   This year's display was showing the beauty of Africa which recalls designs from the tribes of Ethiopia, Congo, Nigeria, Botswana, and Cameroun.

The Brussels Town Hall

Viewing was allowed on one of the balconies of the Town Hall, so I went up to catch the view!

The detail on the Town Hall were amazing close up!

Some more beautiful architecture in the town square! 

After visiting downtown Brussels, we stopped in the north of Brussels to visit Atomium.  

This is a modern structure and famous landmark known to Brussels.  

We took an elevator ride to the top ball to see the view.

We stayed overnight in Zelzate, Belgium in order to be closer to the shore.  

It was right on the the border of the Netherlands.  

We discovered a carnival and fireworks in town after dinner which was a nice surprise.

Then, after surviving the extremely hot temperatures in Belgium, we finally made it to the beach!  We heard that the beaches in this area are known for finding fossilized shark teeth.  We went on a hunt and this is what we found.  We are not sure all of these are shark teeth, but some of them appear to be!

 I could have taken some indecent beach pictures.  I don't think I will ever get used to the European standards.  Let's just say that there are no dressing rooms needed at the beach!
So, here are some nice pictures of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen nostalgia instead...

 This bike picture is for you, Mom!

A Home Visit!

This was our first time coming back to West Michigan in a whole year!  That is, everyone except Mark, who has come home for business trips throughout the year.  We had a great time in the US visiting family and friends, feeling the warmer temps, speaking English, and enjoying the many conveniences of living in America.

Here are some of the highlights we captured of our trip...

Silver Lake Sunsets

Fishing

Sewing lessons with Nana

Blueberry picking with Papa

Boating on Torch Lake with Baumanns

Enjoying the beauty of northern Michigan

Another fun year at Camp Genava

Enjoying a Whitecaps Baseball game along with Fireworks 

(that was nice since we missed the 4th of July!)

Catching up with good friends!

Visser Family Reunion

Holland State Park

Hanging out with some friends at the lake

 water sports!

And, we had fun seeing our cousins!

We are excited to go back to Germany to finish the second half of this adventure.  And, we are anxious to see our dog, Charlie, who we have missed while we were here.  But, it is also hard to say good bye for another year.  Please keep us in your prayers as we head back to live in Germany for our second year.  Thanks to all of you who have welcomed us back!  We appreciate the time that you took to get together with us while we were home.  Thank you Mom and Dad for letting us stay with you for a whole month!  We loved being out at the lake with you!