Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Chocolate, Family & Cannibas... Oh my!

Last weekend, we had the awesome privilege of being visited by some family from the states! Ray's brother was going to be in London for some work, bringing his wife and new baby, so they said "Hey, we know people in Germany, let's visit them."

So they did. And we are so happy they did!

Jon & Amy flew in on Thursday, so when Ray and I got off work we all went to dinner at the Berg Lichtenburg Castle Restaurant. We had been to the castle before, but never had eaten at the restaurant. I must say, probably the best schnitzel and noodles I've had here in Germany thus far! It was so fun to relax and catch up with them over a delicious meal. We got to do some socializing with our new little niece too. Just look how adorable!




 On Friday, we all piled in the car and drove to Brussels, Belgium. This was quite arguably my favorite excursion in Europe yet. And for one good reason: Belgian Chocolate.

Oh. My. Goodness.

For reals, guys. You don't know what chocolate is until you've had chocolate from a little boutique in Brussels. Not even Toblerone compares. Just, no. You have to put it on your bucket list to get there and gorge yourself on chocolate. We decided to do our own "tour" so each time we passed a chocolate shop we all went in, and each picked out one piece. We'd then stand outside the shop giggling and swooning as we bit into our morsels of heaven. My favorite piece was white chocolate covered fresh cream that was violet (as in the flower) flavored. Sounds bizarre, but seriously, it was the best piece of chocolate I've ever had in my entire life. And that's saying something... I eat a lot of chocolate. 

Here's the little walkway we perused sampling chocolates.

Just one example of the beautiful sweets we tried!


All of our hands look like this because the chocolate melts the second you touch it- no wax preservatives!

Our family chocolate :)
After eating a meal to counterbalance the sugar rush we just had, we meandered over to Brussels' Grand Place to observe some remarkable architecture.. and some human nature comedy passed down for centuries.



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The Mannequin Pis. Apparently little boys peeing into a pool made great subject matter for some sculptor years ago. Today it draws hundreds of tourists for its comedic qualities.
The Mannequin Pis x 3
























Then it was back in the car to get to Antwerp for an overnight stay. Saturday morning we drove to Amsterdam for some sightseeing there. It rained for most of the day, which was a little bit of a wet blanket on our activities, but we still loved being with family and just walking around the city with them. My SIL and I found these fabulous swim caps. I'm so glad she could share my swimming affinity and was more than eager to pose clandestinely with the caps!





Of course you can't go to Amsterdam without seeing some of the classics: Marijuana and Flowers. We visited the lobby of the marijuana museum, but didn't want to pay the 9Euro to get in. We also visited the street Flower market, which was full of tempting bulbs and cute Dutch and flower souvenirs. Made me wish I didn't have such a black thumb! Ray and I also visited the Anne Frank House, which was incredibly powerful. I haven't read the diary in years, but after walking through the 4 small rooms the 8 hiders shared, Ray and I have set a goal to read the book together. If you're ever in Amsterdam, I highly recommend this piece of world history be added to your list of things to see and do.

This flower especially made me wish I had a garden!



When we left the city, we shared one final dinner, and then dropped our family off at the airport. Ray and I then headed to a small hotel outside the city we had booked in honor of our 2 year anniversary! It was nice this year actually having a day to celebrate (technically on Monday) since last year we lost the whole day in an international flight. On our drive to the hotel we saw this absolutely amazing double rainbow. We couldn't get over how bright the first one was and then all the sudden another appeared! Two rainbows, for our two beautiful years of marriage.



Our 2nd anniversary also marked our one year mark living outside of the U.S. This means Ray and I have now spent more time together as a married couple outside of the U.S. than in. What a crazy, blessed life we live.

This weekend was eventful and exciting. We're looking forward to a little down time here at home before our next adventures begin in July when my friend comes to visit. It's a little weird when going to work is a welcome idea as opposed to going on another whirlwind tour of Europe over the weekend!