Day 8: A travel day for us. Fortunately it was through beautiful country. We finished packing in the morning then met all the Astlings for a breakfast off of the coast of Belgium, near the English Channel.
Before we left the apartment, we took a few pictures to help us remember. This is the view from apartment.
The living room area and all of our baggage (physical and some emotional).
Mark snapped a few pictures of the coast line in Oostende, Belgium.
Priscilla, Stephen, David and Lieve stayed in these apartment complexes, right off the beach! We had breakfast at a nearby cafe. The owner was a little overwhelmed with a party of nine, but came through for us with waffles for the kids and a variety of eggs and meats for the adults.
On our way out of Belgium, we tried to stop by a card shop, for two reasons: 1) Of all the possible souveniers available, Spencer said he really wanted foreign Magic the Gathering cards, and 2) He lost his English Magic the Gathering cards on the train to Paris (the lost luggage attendant was not helpful when we asked about them, claiming that he didn't know what a "lost and found" was). So we made a valiant effort to find a card shop, but alas, we were not able to.
20 minutes into our drive to Frankfurt, Mark snapped his head toward me and said, "I forgot the camera!" This is the brand-new camera he bought especially for this trip, since our last one was, of course, out-dated. And then came the kicker: "And I think I left my Utah hat!" Mark was sure he left it at the cafe, so with a pit in our stomachs, we discussed what to do and determined we would just have to return to get the camera and forgo the little sight-seeing we were planning. But before we turned around, Mark asked Spencer to check in the trunk for his back pack. Spencer reported that the back pack was indeed there with the camera inside. We had to do some deep-breathing to get our heart beats back to normal and just face the fact that some lucky person will get to own the Utah hat.
We drove toward Cologne then headed south to drive along the Rhine River on the West side of Germany. We were not disappointed with our choice. In fact, we wished we could spend a little more time there. It was a beautiful day, with no rain, and we were treated to the sight of many castles along the Rhine. If we were to do it again, we would plan time to take a cruise on the Rhine river to listen to information about the castles and see more than we saw on our drive.
This castle was turned into a hotel, what a fun stay that would be!
We decided to stop in a town called Oberwesel, Germany to hike along the city wall built in 1200.
Looking Northward by the Rhine River.
On the hill above Oberwesel is the Schonberg castle, which was built in 911, but burned down in 1689. It was rebuilt in the 19th century and is now a restaurant and hotel.
One of the streets of Oberwesel.
This would be a fun backyard for boys to play in!
Is this not the cutest little house?
This is the Church of St. Martin's Parish Church which was undergoing renovations, where DJ was grateful to find an unlocked port-a-potty, "with a clean seat." The potty saga continues.
This renovation has a special message of religious freedom.
This is an actual drawbridge on the town wall!
Along the banks and hills of the Rhine river there were not only many castles, but many vineyards, that struck the fancy of those who like symmetry (us).
After seeing this last castle we made our way to the Frankfurt airport to return our white Volkswagon wagon, and get there in time to board our gigantic plane to Johannesburg.
How wonderful it was to educate ourselves and the boys about different parts of the world and the history behind it all. We left with a greater appreciation of all people and places and the part they all play in the history of human kind and as well as in our present.
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