October 24

For you Aunt Susie!

In Brussels today...heading home tomorrow! Woohoo!!!!

October 23

Laura took me over to a neat castle in the Netherlands today. I didn't go all the way in so I don't have many pictures of the inside. Not much planned for the rest of the day but we will head to Brussels tomorrow afternoon to explore. And then, I head home on Thursday. I miss my family! Can. Not. Wait!

October 22

We are having yet another gorgeous day here in Germany. I feel so blessed to get to experience some of Europe this way. Bradley and I took Dathan on a bike ride from Laura's village over to the Netherlands and back. I mean really, how cool is it that I can easily be in two countries in a matter of minutes?! We then came back and Laura took us over to the NATO base so she and Bradley could take care of some errands. Once Dathan woke up from his nap we drove back over to the windmill I showed y'all the other day. Today was much prettier and fun to explore the grounds.

I'm so glad I got to see my brother and so thankful for Laura's hospitality! Brad is heading out soon so it will probably be March before we see him again. Boo! Enjoy the pics!

October 21

Bradley and I headed over to Köln (We call it Cologne in the states) today. It was another old gorgeous city sitting on the Rhine River. Besides the river flowing directly through town, the Kölner Dom is probably the biggest attraction. The architecture, detail and size are breathtaking. Bradley and I climbed to the top of one of the towers; 533 steps that are in a circular staircase. Ouch! The view up top was spectacular, though! Köln might be my favorite city so far! Oh and I also had my first döner, a Turkish style sandwich. Delicious!

October 20

Hi there! Another warm day yet overcast here in western Germany. Bradley and I drove over to Heerlen, Netherlands to visit Ikea, about 10 min from Laura's house. I'd never been and talked Brad in to taking me. Wow. All I can say is wow!

After Ikea we headed over to Maastricht, Netherlands. That drive was only 15 minutes or so from Heerlen. What a beautiful historic European city. If I I was rich, I would have shopped nonstop in all of the wonderful stores around there.

October 19

What a beautiful day!! It was sunny and 75 today. We took a gorgeous bike ride throughout Germany and Netherlands this morning. There is an amazing trail system all through Europe that connects all of these countries. Europe is so cool!

The most exciting part of today came in the afternoon! My brother, Bradley, came to visit! He is in the army and stationed in Heidelberg, about 3 hours away. It's been so fun visiting with him. I think it's been nearly two years since I've seen him. Dang! We ate at a little German/Turkish restaurant in Gangelt tonight. We couldn't figure out which type of food it actually was! Either way, I ordered a very German style meal. Schnitzel and Frittes. Pretty good! I had always heard of schnitzel but never knew what it was. Turns out its nothing more than a flattened out, lightly battered pork chop. I think it's their version of our chicken fried steak. Try it sometime if it's ever available!

October 18

Today we drove to Roermond in the Netherlands. They have a huge outlet mall there. I didn't know Europeans loved a good outlet mall! It was packed! We then came back to Gangelt and walked to Il Genio's, a little Italian restaurant in downtown. It was sooo good!

On another note, I'm missing my babies and husband like crazzzzy! If you run into any of them, give them a big hug for me. Tschüss!