Jonas' Birthday Week.

Jonas just turned 29! I tried my best to make it special but I was confused about life after spending a couple weeks in Europe. haha. We still managed a wonderful dinner at Das Gasthaus with potato soup that I am still dreaming about, I finally got his GPS -that was a Christmas gift- installed in his car and my family had a dinner for him with a Black Forest Cake. I did pick up a cheesy German Birthday card for him while we were there AND went to see the new Avengers movie. Maybe I wasn't that horrible. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

germany.

Most of our time in Germany was spent hanging out with family and friends. We also got to go to a wedding reception for Torben & Lorena, Jonas' friends from Germany. It was very good to see everyone...I didn't take a whole lot of photos while we were there. I didn't feel so great, so it just didn't happen. Not pictured is our visit to Arriba with the whole family, it is an indoor swimming pool. So fun, even if it was cold: Manicures with my niece, it felt so good after all the walking we had done: Our visits with friends, Nils and Anika: and lots of good food, we know where to go in Hamburg.

I really miss living in Germany. I can't believe how familiar it still is. I feel like I could just jump right back into living there. I still feel pretty guilty that Jonas is missing out on living in his home country and seeing his family regularly. It sucks either way, but that's life.

Here is our rental car before we dropped it off. We had a Hybrid. I really liked it, but wish we had had a place to plug it in because gasoline is expensive over there! ::

German parks are pretty sweet. We took family photos one morning and then played in the park::

 You can't visit Germany without having Doner::

 We spent some time in the city and found them::

 These are from a dinner we had at a restaurant we always visit while in Hamburg::

We all visited the Stadtpark one afternoon. We were engaged here::

 German houses. SO charming. I miss seeing them all the time::

 Her first time on a bus::

Amsterdam.

Amsterdam was my favorite place. I knew it would be, I have wanted to visit for so long. I could live there, just saying. Here are some highlights and photos:

• Trying cheese in some of the shops. I even got Asha to try some and she hates cheese. It was so awesome.
• Anne Frank House. 
• Staying at Hotel Not Hotel. 
• Accidently walking into the Red Light District with my 12 year old niece (it is actually really easy to do) and teaching her what pot smells like because we walked by that smell a whole lot. haha.
• Eating at the Foodhallen. An indoor food market.
• The canals!! The architecture!
• Driving the car was hilarious. At one point, Jonas accidentally drove down a bike lane in front of the Rijksmuseum. LOL. Also, this place is not car friendly at all. If you haven't noticed, there is kind of this bike situation going on :)
• Van Gogh Museum. Gorgeous and so interesting!
• Trying Stamppot, the hilariously plated dish below. It was pretty delish though!
• Spending a morning at the market with fresh fruit, fruit smoothies and the stereotypical apple pie. Must say, it may be the best apple pie. 

Brussels, Belgium.

We actually took the metro in London and Paris but rented a car to road trip from Paris to Hamburg. When we got to Hamburg, we took the metro again, but I don't mind. I love it.

Brussels was the shortest stop on our trip. We walked around looking at/ trying chocolate. Eating those famous waffles. Finding some Art Nouveau. Seeing Mannekin Piss- the most famous attraction in Brussels for some reason. Visiting the town square and the Atomium (their Eiffel).

Versailles.

oh my word. versailles. i was not expecting this place to be so amazing! We explored the massive gardens for half the day and we could have kept going. I loved thinking about all the people who used to live here and in the area. Walking around just makes it so easy to imagine another time. I am still reading about this place. It was definitely a highlight :)