Rouen / Caen

Bonjour!!

We visited Rouen yesterday mainly to see the Jeanne d`Arc sights. It was a little disappointing... people in Rouen aren`t as excited about her as us North American folks are I guess. But we managed to see the place where she was imprisoned, as well as her burn site. Then we ditched town and headed to Caen.

Caen has been our home for two nights. Today we saw Juno beach (originally named Jelly beach but the soldiers thought that was chessy so they changed it). Juno beach is the site where the Canadian troops landed when they came to France in WWII. The museum there was quite impressive, and it was cool to stand in the very spot that Canadians fought in 1944. There are still German bunkers right on the beach!!

Tomorrow we are headed to Omaha beach - I think that is the one that the movie "Saving Private Ryan" is about. Looking forward to seeing some more history and some awesome scenery. And then soon we will be checking out Mont St Michel.

Bon Nuit.

Even More Paris.....

Today we made our attempt to go to Vimy Ridge and learn more about what contributions Canada made in WW1. It turns out that the Vimy monument is very difficult to get to, so we had to be creative. We took the train from Dehli (Paris), to Arras which is a small city in Northern France close to the Belium border. It then became difficult to travel the remaining 26km to Vimy. With no trains, no busses, and no bike rentals available, we wandered around the city untill we found the tourist office for some much needed help. The lady was very helpfull as she phoned a under the table taxi guy who offered to take us to and from the monument for cheap. The monument is a must see: actual trenches that the Canadians and Germans fought in were preserved, as are the 14km of underground tunnels which the Canadians secretly built to move 10,000 soilders toward the German front line the day of the attack. We learned all about how the Canadians captured Vimy, which had been a German stronghold for the previous 4 years. The entire area is land given to Canada by France, so it was neat to be on home soil and see our flag; it made us proud to be Canadian.

Some other updates......

1 Brad ended his 48 hour streak of being it at fart tag

2 It is nearly impossible to buy a loaf of bread in this area of Paris; samosa and naan are the otherwise popular choices

3 Our apartment is being invaded by those renting it after us. They say they come to paint, really they just smoke weed and think they are painting

4 We have eaten at the same East Indian restaraunt three times since Tuesday

Hi Everyone!

More Paris

What the NE is to Calgary, that is where we live in Paris. I'm not talking so much about location, but more about the fact that sometimes I forget I'm in Paris and think I'm in Deli.

Today we saw Versailles - it was totally awesome!! The Louis's were wild men - they liked things fancy. It was very nifty to see the Chapel Royal and the Opera House. (for you music buffs, this is where Lully stabbed himself in the foot and died of gangrene) As if Versailles wasn't enough, we tackled the Louvre right after. Mona was hot. The Louvre is big. REALLY BIG. But, at a good pace we managed to see a fair share. The nice part is that Greg and I didn't have to pay to get in. It was Friday night, free for young people.

Tomorrow we are going to be good Canadians and check out Vimy Ridge. It should be quite an adventure - we need to find the right train, then rent bikes and find our way.

If you're looking for more on what we've been up to, check out Anne Marie's blog...

I know pictures are popular but we are in the biggest shit-hole computer place - I think they use Atari or something to make these computers work. So, as soon as I have the chance, I'll load a bunch of pictures.

Going to piss in the street like a ture Parisian.

Paris

We met up with our friend Anne Marie yesterday and found our appartment. It is very small and kind of stinky but I think that we will grow to love it. We saw the Eiffel Tower yesterday qnd it was great. We are going to see it a few more times in the next week that we are here.

Today we plan to drink wine, see the cemetary that Jim Morriosn, Chopin, and others are buried in, and take in some other French sights.

By the way, French keyboards are a huge pain in the ass. Ok I think I just changed it. Ahhh yes that is much better!

Other things on the agenda: the Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, more wine, Moulin Rouge and more.

Ok time to go.

Koblenz, Germany

I never thought I'd be here in Koblenz. I think it would be a cool place if everything wasn't closed (Sundays are still holy here).

We went on a cruise up the Rhine river today and it was totally awesome. We saw tons of old castles and cute German villages AND we had a good German meal.

Places we've been since the last post - Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne, Bonn, Bingen (yay Hildegard!!) and now Koblenz. Tomorrow we are headed for Luxembourg city and then we'll be off to Paris.

Greg and I have been going hard, sightseeing every minute of the day. We went to another musical instrument museum in Brussels which was pretty cool, and we say the Beethoven House in Bonn. I saw Beethoven's last piano, and his viola amongst other things.

Well that is it for now - sorry no pictures today, I'm pooped and don't feel like screwing with a German computer with a screwed up keyboard.

Cheers!

Heineken Brewery

Greg and I visited the Hieneken Brewery today. We had a blast... Nothing like drinking beer while wandering around an old brewery. We saw all kinds of beer related goodness!

I left the tour a little dazed, and mostly drunk. I think Greg was the same. More later.

More Netherlands

The Nederlands is pretty cool. We've had a great time with family and new friends. Only a couple more days and then we're off to Brussels. But, here are the Dutch highlights. We've been very blessed to have family here - all of the Spruijts have been so kind and welcoming. We have enjoyed their company so much that it is going to be difficult to leave here. This is my great Aunt Rita, second cousin Monique, and Leon her husband:

Greg and I have done quite a bit of sight seeing. Since it was National Windmill Day on Saturday, we got to see this windmill, and go inside and watch how it worked. There are six floors in this windmill, each of which has gears, ropes and pulleys that do various things. This mill is for grinding grain, others are for pumping water and sawing wood.

We took a trip to Den Haag to see the Escher museum. In case you don't know who Escher is, take a look at the picture on the building and you might have some sort of clue. Anyways, we both enjoyed it very much.

Lunch in Den Haag from a grocery store:

Today we went to the Keukenhof Gardens. Keukenhof means 'Kitchen Garden'. It was used for getting herbs for a nearby castle. Now it is famous for its tulips. This place was very similar to the Buschart Garden on Vancouver Isaldn. Tulips were out of season when we went, but we managed to see some:

Very cool, a hedge maze:

So that is the update. Tomorrow we are going to see some more of Amsterdam. We've already seen Anne Frank's house (which was pretty cool, but pretty heavy) but now we are going to explore the city in depth.

Cheers!

The Netherlands

Well, we finally made it. We are here at our second cousin's house in Zeist, which is very close to Utrecht. The flight was hell - we were delayed three hours and then waited for almost 2 more at the airport in Edmonton. But we got here in one piece and our bags made it with us (after only a small problem finding them in the huge Amsterdam airport).

We've only been here 3 nights, but Canada seems like it is worlds away. We are adapting quite well to things here - at first it was tough to get used to asking people to speak Englsih, but much to our delight, all but one person so far as been able to communicate with us in English. Still, things are different. Here is a list:

1. Dutch
2. streets are all made of brick and stone
3. stairs in houses are very narrow and very steep and very scarey
4. bike riding... ok, now when Greg and I were asked if we could ride bikes we natually answered OH YA. What we didn't realize is how diferent the bikes are here. First of all, you need a key to allow the bike to work - kind of like a car. Greg and I had a BIG problem trying to figure this out. There are special bike paths here but we didn't know that and proceeded to piss off many drivers while we were in their way on the road. Signaling is different too. And a driving circle is hard enough in a car, nevermind on a bike. Greg and I have had countless wobbles, spills, and near-crashes. I bit the dust hard today. These Dutch people ride bikes everywhere. My last name may be Middelkoop, but I certainly do not have a Dutch ass.
5. dry bread for every meal
6. no shower doors
7. pissing in the street
8. liberalism (if you know what I mean)

Our great aunt Rita has been awesome. She as told us many stories, showed us many pictures, and taken us on some incredible family oriented outings. Here are some family members of the past:

The most exciting thing so far, is probably finding something that my dad has been missing for a long time. It turns out dad, that you were only born in Utrecht. You lived in Zeist for the first part of your life. How do we know this? Well, a few reasons. First, Rita showed us all the houses of your parents and Grandparents. Second, it turns out that St. Joseph's church in Zeist knows about you. Check out this picture:

So we've done some family stuff, ate some new food, drank some new beer, learned a Dutch word or two, and are having a great time. Here is a view from our room:

One more thing, check this out. We went to the National Museum from Musical Clock to Street Organ in Utrecht and it was so cool. I have never seen such cool instruments in my life. Player pianos all over the place, but also organs, complete bands, and violins that played by themselves too!!! Check out the website!!

TODAY

It is 4am, Greg and I are still doing last minute packing, cleaning, etc. We leave tomorrow at 5pm. We are both exhausted, but excited - our second cousin, Mark, is meeting us at the train station in Amsterdam tomorrow (well actually it is tomorrow for him, and in two days for us). He seems like an awesome dude: his car broke down so he is going to take the train from Zeist to Amsterdam to pick us up, and then we're going to take the train back to Zeist.

So, destination: The Netherlands. We're thankful that we have a place to crash for a few days to get over jet lag and to figure things out a bit in Europe before we start getting adventurous.

Don't know when the next post will be, but I do know that it wont be from Canada!! So, have a good one, see ya soon, and in the meantime, brush up on your geography. Here you go:

3 days left

Greg and I went on a shopping extravaganza today... ipod accessories, clothes, shampoo, Canada paraphernalia, backpacks, shoelaces, underwear, journals, Vector bars, hand sanitizer, and more... Greg still says he has "tons to do" and suffers from acute anxiety, panic attacks, and quick but severe temper tantrums; he says he needs to clean his room. I am calm, cool, clean, and collected.

We both went to the doctor today. He said we're in tip top shape for a backpacking adventure (except for my recent gut issues... let's just say travelers diarrhea may come as a blessing).

Mom and I went over our packing list today. These were her concerns:

1. Travellers diarrhea (please refer to paragraph #2)
2. What we are going to do with our stuff while we are swimming
3. That since the French language doesn't use the letter 'W', their keyboards won't have that key, and then we won't be able to get to any websites (because websites start with www. ), and thus not be able to check our email

I really didn't have any good responses to these concerns.

Three days until departure.