Amsterdam from Above

We were fortunate that our hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands, had incredible views of the city from its rooftop lounge. Seeing the labyrinth of buildings from above is always a wonderful way to get a true sense of a city. We have mentioned previously that we almost always try to see the places that we visit from both the street level as well as from a tall building, tower, hill, or even cable car. This was definitely true of the places that we visited while we were in Europe, so when this week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge came out with Atop, we had plenty of cities to choose from. Hopefully you’ll enjoy these views as much as we did.

IMGP2177
View of the Harbour
IMGP2190
The City Divided by Canals
IMGP2182
Cathedral Towers
IMGP2179
The Skyline Explained with the Actual Skyline in the Background
IMGP2191
Across from the Train Station
IMGP2176
Industrial Center

 

What a Long Strange Trip it Has Been

Now that our European adventure is over (for now), we thought that we would take the time to trace our steps and truly acknowledge how many wonderful places we were able to visit. In chronological order, here was our trip in a snapshot, it certainly makes our heads spin.

    1. Frankfurt, Germany – It may have been our home, but it was still a wonderful city and we have a lot of incredible memories of our time there.

      DSC_0985
      Old Town Frankfurt
    2. Kassel, Germany – It was the first place that we visited once we found an apartment and is the home of the Brother’s Grimm Museum and is part of the Fairy Tale Road.

      IMGP9819
      Lowenbrau Castle
    3. Heidelberg, Germany – Truly one of the idyllic cities that we visited while in Germany.

      IMGP9968
      Heidelberg Castle
    4. Koblenz, Germany – One of the most amazing train rides that we have ever taken and an amazing city on the Rhine.

      IMGP0107
      Suburbs of Koblenz
    5. Hochheim, Germany – A truly small hamlet experience.IMGP0369
    6. Vienna, Austria – Our first trip outside of Germany and truly a center for the arts.DSC_1186
    7. Cologne, Germany – Amazing Dom and a wonderful old-world city. We had been told that it was a place that we had to visit while we were in Germany and we would definitely agree.IMG_2967
    8. Wurzburg, Germany – Another small town experience that we had been hoping for and one of the best of Christmas Markets that we had visited.

      IMGP0723
      Statue in Wurzburg
    9. Strasbourg, France – Wine, medieval villages, and some of the friendliest people that we had the opportunity to meet, and that is saying a lot.DSC_1486
    10. Prague, Czech Republic – One of the places in Europe that everyone should visit at some point in time. We were there over Christmas and it was spectacular.

      IMGP0807
      View of Prague Castle
    11. Athens, Greece – There are few places in the world as historically important as Athens.

      IMGP1117
      Amazing History
    12. Bucharest/Brasov, Romania – Definitely one of those special places where the experience far surpasses anything that you might read.

      IMG_4077
      Dracula’s Castle
    13. Nuremberg, Germany – An unexpected surprise, so much history, both new and old that it became one of our favorite memories of our time in Europe.

      IMGP1474
      Medieval City with Current History
    14. Paris, France – Not our first visit there, but it is still one of our favorite cities that we have ever visited, even if it was rainy the weekend that we were there.

      DSC_1798
      Eiffel Tower
    15. Dublin, Ireland – A special trip for personal reasons as we flew our mother over to see us and it will hold a special place in our hearts.

      IMGP1828
      The Irish Countryside
    16. Amsterdam, Netherlands – One of our last adventures while we were in Europe and definitely an interesting city full of history and art.

      IMGP2066
      Canal Upon Canal
    17. Florence, Italy – Part of our farewell tour, this is an incredible city that will fulfill any romantic visions of Europe that you could ever dream of.

      IMG_5159
      What an Amazing City
    18. Rome, Italy – So much to see, the history, the arts, the Vatican City, and for us a very special meeting with a fellow blogger.

      DSC_2365
      The Roman Forum is Amazing
    19. Lucca/Pisa, Italy – A quick day trip from Florence, but it rounded out our trip to Italy perfectly.

      DSC_2652
      Pisa is All About the Leaning Tower

So, as you can see, we had about twenty-five weeks in Europe, part of that time finding an apartment as well as working every week, but we definitely made the most of our time. It will be the trip of a lifetime, perhaps several lifetimes, and we are extremely thankful for every moment. Expect details of these wondrous adventures in the coming days and weeks as we plan our next crazy experience.

Making the Most of a Few Days in Amsterdam

Once again we took advantage of the opportunity to travel from Frankfurt and took a four-hour train ride to Amsterdam. We were lucky that the weather cooperated for the most part, although we did have one really rainy day. There was a lot to see and absorb in the few days that we had and we felt that we were able to truly gain a sense of the history and culture of the fascinating city. We want to share everything that we learned and talk about the highlights of the trip, but we are already planning our final trip for our stay in Frankfurt. We apologize for the brevity of our posts in recent weeks, so we want to assure everyone that we will be providing much greater details in the coming weeks and months when we are no longer traveling every weekend while working every weekday. With that in mind, here are a few photos from our visit to Amsterdam.

img_4378
One of the Many Canals
imgp2095
Dominating the Skyline
imgp2117
Beautiful Architecture
imgp2123
There are a lot of Bridges
imgp2079
There are a lot of Canal Tours
img_4386
There is Wonderful Architecture all over Amsterdam