Wednesday, December 13 What to do today? A trip to Basel, Switzerland? It’s not too far away. Wait, we can travel anywhere in Germany for free without tickets on the regional and local trains, plus any other public transportation with the D-Tickets were have. Hey, why not go to Baden Baden, in the Black Forest? We took a tram from Strasbourg to Kehl, which is a few miles away and just over the border. From there we took the train. First we went to the famous Baden Baden casino, but it was too early to get past the lobby area. We walked into the old town and checked out what was there. Then I remembered that Gengenbach, a small town i had heard good things about in the Black Forest wasn’t too far away. We wandered through the big Baden Baden Christmas market on our way back to the bus that would take us to the train station. We really liked Gengenbach. We admired the buildings and when it was 5:00 somewhere we had some Glühwein. Right by where we were standing to drink our wine there was a little stand that sold roasted chestnuts. I had been telling Marie that she needed to try them, so why not now? I bought a small packet and it was more than enough to share. When it was time to head back to Strasbourg is when the real adventure began. We had to change trains and I knew the name of the station and how long it would take to get there. At the stop I could see the station name so we got off. Turns out it was a big mistake. There are two stations with that name, but where we got out had an additional name after it. We had to wait quite a while until another train came along that would take us to the next station. When I say we got off at a station, it’s not really a station. No building or indoor space at all, so we were outside on the platform. Luckily there was a bus stop type overhang and a few seats, since it had been raining off and on throughout the day and it started up again. We finally made it back to Strasbourg and the plan was to go to the Christmas market with the good food and get some dinner. But…it was raining and there’s no covered place to eat. We ended up picking sandwiches up at the train station and to them back to our apartment to eat them. We called it a day and are looking forward to our last day in Strasbourg and France. Traveling doesn’t always go as planned, but it always works out.

Tuesday, December 12 we took the train to Colmar, where Jim and I spent 4 days last year in late March. We had a car and were able to see a lot. This time we are using public transportation so it’s more limiting. It snowed when we were there in March, but today it’s a high of 56F and raining. Crazy! Colmar has a wonderful old town and we spent our time there, Christmas markets were scattered about and the entire area is very festive. After spending a few hours there we took a shuttle to the little town of Eguisheim, one of France’s Beautiful Villages. Of course it was decked out for the holidays and we had a nice time wandering the little streets. The storks are gone for the winter, but we did see a couple of their nests perched high on the rooftops. After taking the shuttle back to Colmar we had dinner in the covered market in the old town before taking the train back to Strasbourg. Every day for the last week we have been so much walking. I have over 20,000 steps for today and I’m tired!

Monday, December 11 we took the train to Strasbourg, France. We will spend the next 4 nights here and do some day trips in the region. After arriving around noon we settled into our studio apartment, did a load of laundry and picked up a few provisions at the store. You know, all the fun stuff. Then it was time to see some of Strasbourg. I was here last year so I figured we should head towards the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg. We came upon a Christmas market so we checked it out. It seemed like a good time to have some Vin Chaud, as they call Glühwein in France. It was delicious and we both preferred it to what we had in Belgium and Germany, so far anyway. We will be giving Germany more time to win us over when we return there later this week. Strasbourg is wonderfully festive. They call themselves the Christmas Capital, and I can’t say they are wrong. Walked through a couple more markets We ended up getting dinner at one them. It was very tasty.

Sunday, December 10 Marie and I walked around a bit exploring until we met up with the family. We crossed the Rhine River and went to the top of a tall building for a great view. We then walked on that side of the river with a nice view of the city and crossed the next bridge to the old town. We went to the St. Martins church for a choir performance and then dinner at Peters Brauhaus, a traditional German style restaurant. The food was good and after dinner we had to say goodbye to Danielle and the boys. We stopped at a nice Christmas market with Sascha & Marc for a Glühwein before they walked us back to our hotel. Goodbyes are so hard. I wish we didn’t live so far away from each other. Tomorrow we move on to our next stop.

Saturday. December 9 was a long day. We showered and set out to find some breakfast. We ended up at the train station for more options and it’s only a five minute walk away. After that we went to the magnificent Dom, then walked around a huge Christmas market nearby. After a quick trip back to the hotel to grab our warmer scarves we met up with the family to take a day trip to Schloss Duck. We took a train and a taxi to get there. Actually two taxis since there were 7 of us. There was a Christmas market on the expansive grounds and it began to rain as we walked through it. It continued to rain the rest of the time we were there. When it began raining harder we decided it was time to see the inside of the castle. Unfortunately no photos were allowed inside. Everyone was getting hungry and we had to wait about 30 minutes to get a table in the restaurant there. It was worth it to not eat at the market in the rain and the food was good. When we were ready to call it a day we took a taxi back to the train station, but there wasn’t a train. Something was going on with the track. The alternative was a bus, but it never came either. A taxi, or two taxis, back to Cologne would be very expensive. Thankfully a different train option eventually came up and we made it back to Cologne around 11:00 p.m. it was a long, wet, but mostly enjoyable day.

Friday, December 8 Today was a travel day. We left our wonderful B&B in Bruges after our host fed us an early breakfast. We stopped off in Brussels for a few hours and wandered around the Grand Place. The buildings surrounding the Place were beautiful and we got there just in time to see a parade of firemen marching down the street and onto the Place. It seems they were commemorating firefighters. Of course we went to see the Manneken Pis (Dutch for Little Pissing Man) statue. I think it’s a requirement for anyone visiting Brussels. What was unusual was that he was dressed in firefighter turnout’s and a helmet. It was finally time for us to retrieve our luggage from a locker at the train station and continue on to Cologne. We were fortunate that I bought our tickets from the Belgian train company because there was a train strike today in Germany and the trains weren’t running. Cousin Sascha and Marc met us at the train and we took a scenic walk to our hotel. I loved the B&B in Bruges, but our hotel room in Cologne is twice as big with bigger beds. I think they must have upgraded us because when I asked at the front desk if breakfast was included she said it was for the executive rooms. I definitely didn’t reserve an executive room, but I’ll take it! After we settled in we walked to Sascha & Marc’s apartment and she made us a delicious dinner. Cousin Danielle and her 6 year old twins joined us. It was so nice to be together again and we will be doing something fun together tomorrow.

Thursday, December 7 we took the train to Ghent today. We went to the Castle of The Counts, which has a very interesting history. The narrator of the audio guide was really amusing and brought history to life with humor. We wandered around the City Center and checked out the Christmas Market, where I finally had a chance to get some Glühwein, a church and some other things. Marie and I both broke down and bought some warmer scarves. Think of a blanket wrapped around your neck and that’s what it is. As we were walking to the tram that would take us back to the train station we ran into the delightful women from Portugal that we met yesterday in Bruges. It’s a small world. I now have a connection in Lisbon for when we go to Portugal in a couple of years. We had a really nice dinner to wind up our stay in Bruges and almost beat the rain as we walked back to our B&B.

Wednesday, December 5 we spent the day in Bruges.

I had a great nights sleep and woke up ready for the day. No jet lag. We saw a lot of interesting things and did a canal boat ride in the afternoon to rest our feet. We stopped at a small, almost hidden bar that we learned about on our walking tour yesterday. They serve a beer there that you can’t buy anywhere else. It was packed and they were going to turn us away until a lovely woman from Portugal invited us to share a table with her and her sister. She comes to Belgium annually to visit family in Brussels and when she does she always comes to Bruges for this beer. It was her sister’s first trip there. They were delightful to spend time with and it was a real highlight of my day. When we left there was a long line of people waiting to be able to go in. When it came time to find a place for dinner we were having trouble finding something. We ended up at an Irish Pub, as one does when they are in Belgium. We were then going to go on a 3.5 kilometer walk afterwards to see a series of special light installations, but after already walking almost 24,000 steps and 10+ miles we decided against it. We had already seen a couple of them anyway. It was a good day!

Tuesday, December 5

Marie and I flew out of Sacramento early Monday morning and we arrived in Brussels around 9:00 a.m. this morning. We took the train directly from the airport to Bruges. The flights were okay considering we were in economy and space is tight, and we were able to spend most of our 5 hour layover in Chicago in the United Club. They had food and drinks included, which was really nice considering how expensive airport food is. We get 2 free United Club passes every year and this is the first time I’ve been able to take advantage of them. After arriving in Bruges we took a taxi to Huis Koning, a really nice little 4 room B&B on a canal that a friend recommended. He and his family stayed here last year. Lynn is the owner and she gave us something to drink and a snack as she told us about things to see and do here. We went back out and walked around a bit before taking a very informative walking tour. After that we retraced our steps a bit and then got an early dinner. We hadn’t eaten all day since Marie had a breakfast sandwich on the plane this morning and I had a little 3”Belgian waffle that Lynn had put out for us. Neither of us ate dinner on the plane. We are making it an early night so we can get our things organized and get some sleep. It’s cold here, but we will hopefully stay warmer tomorrow.We arrived in Brussels this morning and took a train straight to Bruges. The flights were okay considering we were in economy and space is tight, and we were able to spend most of our 5 hour layover in Chicago in the United Club. They had food and drinks included, which was really nice considering how expensive airport food is. We get 2 free United Club passes every year and this is the first time I’ve been able to take advantage of them. After arriving in Bruges we took a taxi to Huis Koning, a really nice little 4 room B&B on a canal that a friend recommended. He and his family stayed here last year. Lynn is the owner and she gave us something to drink and a snack as she told us about things to see and do here. We went back out and walked around a bit before taking a very informative walking tour. After that we retraced our steps a bit and then got an early dinner. We hadn’t eaten all day since Marie had a breakfast sandwich on the plane this month and I had a little 3”Belgian waffle that Lynn had put out for us. Neither of us ate dinner on the plane. We are making it an early night so we can get our things organized and get some sleep. It’s cold here, but we will hopefully stay warmer tomorrow.set off on our girls trip. After a long travel day we arrived in Brussels at 9:00 a.m. and took a train straight to Bruges. The flights were okay considering we were in economy and space is tight, and we were able to spend most of our 5 hour layover in Chicago in the United Club. They had food and drinks included, which was really nice considering how expensive airport food is. We get 2 free United Club passes every year and this is the first time I’ve been able to take advantage of them. After arriving in Bruges we took a taxi to Huis Koning, a really nice little 4 room B&B on a canal that a friend recommended. He and his family stayed here last year. Lynn is the owner and she gave us something to drink and a snack as she told us about things to see and do here. We went back out and walked around a bit before taking a very informative walking tour. After that we retraced our steps a bit and then got an early dinner. We hadn’t eaten all day since Marie had a breakfast sandwich on the plane this month and I had a little 3”Belgian waffle that Lynn had put out for us. Neither of us ate dinner on the plane. We are making it an early night so we can get our things organized and get some sleep. It’s cold here, but we will hopefully stay warmer tomorrow.

We didn’t have any plans to travel internationally this year because we had so many other things going on. I really didn’t expect my friend, Marie, to suggest a girls trip. Interesting…where would I want to go? Jim and I have big trips planned for 2024 & 2025 and I didn’t want to go to any of those places, nor did I want to go anywhere that he would feel like he was missing out on something. I began thinking of something that I’ve been wanting to do but he wouldn’t be interested in, Christmas Markets! Not just markets of course, but enjoying the festivities of the season. So here we go. I’m struggling a bit with what to pack since I just take a carry on bag and it’s winter. 🥶 It is the extra things to keep me warm and dry that are going to be the biggest challenge. We leave on December 4th, so I only have a few more days to figure it out.

Stay tuned…