I've just returned from the best trip of my life... filled with beautiful cities, good food, great beer, and awesome friends. As described in my previous post, I went to Dusseldorf & Aachen, Germany; Maastricht, Holland; Bruges, Belgium; and Paris, France. It was absolutely wonderful and eye-opening. I met some incredibly friendly, intelligent, and well-traveled friends, tried life changing beer, saw some famous sites, and realized German and Dutch peoples' language skills are far faar superior to mine. While I could write a book on all of my experiences, I'm going to write the abridged version. The following are the descriptions of the cities, as written on a coaster over a beer in Bruges.
- Dusseldorf - Modern, multicultural city along the Rhine river. There are still very traditional structures, (for example a bar with a window facing the street, from when passerby's could grab a shot without having to get off their horses) the local beer is delicious, there is a huge rivalry between them and Cologne. Very huge city, although there are no skyscrapers, the buildings tend to be quite tall compared to the rest of Europe.
- Aachen - The perfect mix of traditional and modern Germany. It's a very small, quaint, relaxed town with the best Christmas market we've seen.
- Maastricht - It's a trendy, hip, commercial town with still a touch of traditional architecture. The Dutch are incredibly intelligent and open. The city is both modern and upscale, but has a very cozy feel.
- Bruges - A medieval town filled with canals, fountains, and statues. Each corner you turn is more beautiful than the last. Meant to be experienced during Christmas time. Extremely quiet and quaint.
- Paris - Well, what can be said about Paris that hasn't already been said a thousand times? Beautiful, historical, stylish, and full of famous sites. You need days and days to see everything.
I started my trip in Dusseldorf. We spent our first night couch surfing, and ended up becoming friends with our host, who joined us the next day in Aachen. We spent most of our time in Germany walking through the Christmas markets and just exploring the city. In Aachen we warmed up by spending some time in a bar from the 1500's, and met some great people from Holland and London. The next day we went to Maastricht. Wow, everyone in Holland speaks PERFECT English.. from shop keepers to homeless people. We basically did the same thing there - wandered around the city and visited the Christmas market. I had enough bratwurst and gluwein (warm spiced wine) to last me a lifetime. We stayed in the most awesome hotel in Maastricht!! Next city was Bruges. Like I said above, it was a medieval town filled with really old buildings and beautiful canals. We couldn't spend much time there because we had a 6AM train to Paris the next morning. What can I say about Paris? We saw it all... the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc d' Triomphe, University of Paris, Sacre Coure, Montemartre, Moulin Rouge, and probably a number of other famous sites that I didn't even realize I was seeing (or that I can't remember). And that was my trip... the very abridged version. It was absolutely amazing, probably one of my favorite trips of all time!! Here are some photo highlights:
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| Christmas Market in Aachen, Germany |
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| Us under the Eiffel Tower, Paris |
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| Notre Dame, Paris |
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| Main Square in Bruges, Belgium |
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| Canal in Bruges, Belgium |
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| Awesome hotel in Maastricht, Holland |
