Switzerland

Our drive into Switzerland started with a 40 Swiss Franc (CHF) road tax, which we thought was high at the time, until we drove through France on our way home and paid almost double that on tolls.  The Swiss money was colorful and a pleasant change from the normal Euro we had been using; it exchanged almost even with the US dollar.  We stopped at McDonalds on our way to our destination and ordered a combo meal, one cheeseburger and one order of fries.  The total came to $19!!!  We knew then that our trip to Switzerland was going to be a little expensive.

We drove to a small village named Lauterbrunnen, which was located at the bottom of a huge gondola that lifted groups of people to the villages located in the nearby mountains.  We braved the gondola, dangling from a cable which only had supports at the very bottom and very top.  Our stop was Mürren, a small village on the edge of a cliff with no roads whose economy was mainly supported by tourism.  The paths were well-paved and bustling with foot traffic.  We wheeled our luggage to our hotel where we found our room to be decorated with cows, lots of cows.  You’ll see the reason for this later in our post.
Gondola coming down the mountain:

Riding the gondola up:

We spent time touring the town, sampling the food, and shopping in the small, family-owned stores.  There was a rustic look in all of the buildings, something about the moist air in the Swiss Alps that made this mountain town picturesque.  The surrounding mountains were snow-capped and had alpine glaciers seeping through the crevasses.
Walking around Mürren:

From our hotel's patio:

Alpine Glaciers:

The next day we headed out for a hike in the mountains, despite the pouring rain which seemed to linger most of the morning.  Equipped with rain gear, we rode a funicular up the mountain to our start-point.  The rain was still coming down hard, but we heard rumors that rain clouds pass quickly at higher altitudes.  About 15 minutes into our hike, the rain stopped and we had beautiful weather the rest of the way.  It turns out that when you’re over a mile above sea level on the side of a mountain, the clouds move around you, not above you! 
Hiking in our rain gear:

Clouds passing around us:

Awesome clouds in the valley:

Remember those cows in the hotel room?  Well, turns out they are all over the mountainsides.  Each one had a cowbell (yes, more cowbell) that we could hear from a great distance away.  We also had a close encounter with a few along the trail.  For some reason, Lindsay wanted to pet one, then it got a little friendly and starting licking her hand, then proceeded to eat her jacket… crazy Swiss cows!  The hungry cow followed another group of hikers while we picked up our pace to gain some distance.  Later, another group of cows blocked the path and we had to go off-road to avoid them; there’s no way I’m “pushing” a cow off the path.
Cow tongue:

Curious cow:

Cowbells decorating a mountainside lodge:

After several hours of amazing scenery, we made it back to Mürren, where we had more Swiss food, including cheese fondue and Toblerones.  We also watched a parade from our balcony, where locals marched while ringing giant cowbells.
The descent back to town:

Plenty of sunshine now!:

Almost back to town:

Cowbell parade:

The next day we descended back to our car and began the long drive back home.  We toured a little on our way out of Switzerland, passing by some beautiful scenery, and then crossed into France.  Not a whole lot to say about French roads; we mainly pushed through to Calais, where we boarded the train to go through the Chunnel.  It was quite nice being back on English roads again.  A few hours later we arrived back home in jolly old Huntingdon.  Our European road trip had concluded.  It was an amazing experience and would do it again in a heartbeat. 

~Blake

Germany

Driving in Germany was a real treat!  All the speed signs said 140 km/h (87mph) but the average speed was around 95mph.  The Mazda 3 handled it like a champ!  The landscape was of rolling mountains, and long sweeping roads and bridges spanned the gaps between them.  We were scanning the radio for good music and found one playing a lot of American music; turns out it was Armed Forces Network (AFN) Germany, The Eagle.  The roads were in perfect condition and the rest stops were immaculately clean.  Who knew that German engineering could make such efficient rest stops?!

When we arrived in the small town of Bacharach, we found narrow cobbled streets lined by tall houses.  The town was parallel with the River Rhine and had a rail track between the town and the river.  We parked in a small car-park near our hotel and found our room to be amazingly quaint.  The hotel even had a pool that we took advantage of as soon as we could. We finished the day walking the streets of Bacharach and had a lovely meal, sitting outside a local restaurant.

Outdoor seating at a medieval restaurant:

The next day we went on a self-guided tour of the town, where we got to climb a watch-tower in the reisling vineyards, see the old cathedral ruins, and view markers showing how high the floodwaters got at one of the gates.  Later in the day, we rented bikes and jumped on a riverboat for a tour of the River Rhine.  After seeing a multitude of old German "robber baron" castles, we disembarked with our bikes and rode back to Bacharach.  On the way home, we got to see a few more towns along the river.  We got a really good workout and needed a nice relaxing evening before heading to Switzerland the next day.  We dined on the patio at a fancy restaurant and watched the trains go by while eating spectacular food.

The vineyard tower we climbed:

 View of Bacharach and the Rhine from the top of the tower:

 Our paddle wheel river cruise:

 Us on the river cruise:

 A castle built to resemble a ship on the river:

 Biking along the Rhine:

~Blake

Amsterdam

Our European road trip began with a short (2 hour) drive to England’s east coast city of Harwich, where we boarded a ferry destined for the Netherlands.  It was nice to see other cars with steering wheels on the left side, many with license plates with the abbreviations NL, D, and F.  The Mazda 3 fit nicely on the lower deck of the ferry, and all the people got out of their cars and began climbing the stairs towards the passenger deck.  This reminded us of our cruise because it had most of the same amenities as our cruise ship.  We spent the time reading, playing games on the iPad, and saw a movie in the ship theater.  After half the day, we arrived in the province of South Holland, which is of course in the country of the Netherlands, where the people are Dutch.  Confused? Watch this video for more information.

Mazda on the ferry:

Driving on the right was awkward for the first few minutes, add that with driving in a foreign country, and you can see why I was a little stressed behind the wheel.  I was thankful to pull into a “Park and Ride” center on the outskirts of Amsterdam (which is in North Holland).  We rode the train from the car park to Amsterdam’s main rail station.  We timed our arrival to the rental apartment perfectly as we met the owner.  He showed us a much modernized, shared apartment.  The layout had the bathroom and shower near the entrance, kitchen near the middle, and a bedroom at each end of the apartment.  Just outside was a church with bells that rang multiple times per hour.  Once, they played the bells for the whole hour, making for some lovely music.

Our excursions started from the apartment and led outwards, in all directions.  Our days were filled with lots of walking, sight-seeing, and soaking-up European life.  We had Dutch pancakes, Dutch chocolate, Gouda cheese (from the Gouda region of the Netherlands), and threw in some Chinese food from the Asian part of town.  One of the highlights of the city was our boat ride through the canals of Amsterdam.  We got to see where Anne Frank was in hiding, numerous bridges, and the famous Flower Market where you could buy your weight of tulips!  We were very close to the Red Light District where we got to see “employees” working in the front windows, hehe!  We also went into a shop that sold a particular recreational plant that you can now find legally in Colorado and Washington.  In the store the clerk was giving a group of Americans explicit directions, while being very polite and very direct, not to smoke it all at once, to be sure take 30 minute breaks, and to stay hydrated.  It was very interesting being in a culture where that kind of thing legal and quite common.

Crooked architecture:

 Dutch pancakes:

Gouda wheels:

Us on the canal boat:

Boating through a wide canal:

Boating through a narrow canal:

Flower market:

Amsterdam was a blast and we were sad to leave, but we knew that more of Europe was ahead and had to press on.  After the train ride back to the car, we started driving towards our next destination, Germany!

Us on a canal bridge:

~Blake

Summertime at Wicken Fen

Over the summer, we returned to Wicken Fen nature reserve.  Blake was writing a physical geography report on the location, I wanted to take some photos, and Cooper was itching for an adventure.  The weather was perfect, and everyone was out enjoying the weather.  Some people had even parked their houseboats and were enjoying a picnic. How quaint!

We paid more attention to the landscape this time since Blake was doing field research. The fens are very soggy; a type of wetland unique to this area of England.  You can easily see the standing water, and the windpump is designed to drain some of that water for agricultural purposes.  Needless to say, we wore our tall hiking boots and Cooper spent the day with a soaked underbelly.

My camera found a lot more wildlife this time than it did when we visited in the winter.  The highland cattle and konik ponies let me get some close-ups, as well as some ducks and insects.

Cooper found some wildlife too.  He caught the scent of something near the river, but the reeds were so thick that none of us could see what it was.  Being a hound, he followed the scent through the reeds until he literally ran headfirst into a roosting pheasant!  The huge bird immediately made a loud whooshing noise and took flight.  All of us were startled, but none more than Cooper, who jumped about a foot in the air at his discovery!  What a fun day.

~Lindsay

London with Parents

After returning from Spain, the four of us took the train down to London for a day.  We bought tickets for the tour bus, which drove us all over the city with a tour guide.  It was nice to sit back and relax after all of our walking in Spain... not to mention that the red double-decker bus is very iconic to London!

We hopped on and off the bus throughout the day to explore some of the sights.  We saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, ate lunch at the oldest surviving pub in London, and took pictures of St. Paul's Cathedral.  After driving across Tower Bridge, we walked around the Tower of London, and then hopped on a river boat cruise.  The tour guide told us all about the buildings full of history on either side as we made our way up the river toward Big Ben, which just so happened to be chiming for us as we approached.  My parents then went up in the Eye ferris wheel before we made our way back to the bus.

Our final part of the route took us through the neighborhoods of west London, where we got to see such places as Westminster, Paddington Station and Notting Hill.  The streets were all decked out in 'bunting' (streamers with the union jack) to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and it was quite a sight!

Changing of the Guard:

Eating meat pies at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese:

St. Paul's Cathedral:

Tower Bridge:

Tower of London:

The family getting ready for a river cruise:

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament:

Bunting on every street:

London never disappoints, and we had a great day showing it off to my mom and dad!

~Lindsay

Spain

The highlight of Chuck and Lisa’s visit this summer was our trip to Spain.  We took the early flight from Stansted to Barcelona and arrived early afternoon.  After Lindsay impressed us with her Spanish skills by speaking with the ticket-master, we boarded a train which took us deep inside the city towards our rental apartment. The apartment was perfect for the four of us and very close to Las Ramblas, one of Barcelona’s main traffic arteries and a tourist center.  That evening, we walked down to the harbor and ordered the first of many tapas meals on the waterfront.  

Las Ramblas:

The next day, we took to the streets and navigated to the Cathedral of Barcelona.  This was a beautiful gothic cathedral, complete with a courtyard with a garden, cool burial markers, and roof access to view the city from above.  Later we went to the Picasso Museum where we saw the progression of Picasso’s art across his lifetime.  We ended the day with a long stroll down to the high-side of Las Ramblas.
Inside the Cathedral of Barcelona:

Burial Markers in the Cathedral courtyard:

Us on the Cathedral roof:

Day three was all things Gaudi.  If the city of Barcelona had an interior decorator, the artist Gaudi would be him.  We started with Park Guell, a neighborhood park designed by Gaudi to provide Barcelona’s turn-of-the-century upper-class with an artsy gated community, but it is now a park enjoyed by tourists marveling at his genius.
Park Guell entry plaza:

The family inside a pathway resembling the inside of a surfer's barrel wave:

Us sitting on the mosaic tiled benches that line the park's plaza:

Speaking of his genius, we went to Gaudi's unfinished Sagrada Familia, the most elaborate cathedral I have ever seen.  Words cannot express its beauty, so we took tons of pictures!
Nativity Facade of Sagrada Familia:

Sagrada Familia interior columns resembling a forrest:

Sagrada Familia Altar:

Us in Sagrada Familia:

Later that day, we went to Casa Mila, an apartment building that was designed by Guadi, from base to roof.  His style was to incorporate naturally occurring shapes into his architecture and art, and that gave his designs a very curvy and fluid look.

Front of Casa Mila:

Modernist chimneys and ventilation towers on Casa Mila's rooftop:

Inside a Casa Mila apartment (wooden double-chair designed by Gaudi):

The next day we explored Barcelona even further!  First we wandered La Boqueria market, where we picked up bits of fresh fruit, pastries, and tapas for breakfast.  Then we took a cable car up to Montjuic where we visited the castle where many political battles and executions took place.  We visited a museum dedicated to surrealist artist Miro, and the Catalan art museum.  That night, we slept well from all the walking, and prepared ourselves for our next destination, Sitges.
Fruit at La Boqueria:

Montjuic Castle gardens:

Us at the top of Montjuic:

Us in front of the National Art Museum of Catalonia:

Sitges was a town that attracted tourists and locals to their sandy beaches.  It was located about an hour away from Barcelona, by train, and was small enough that walking was a viable mode of transportation.  That day we spent time lounging on the beach, which was right next to our hotel where we got awesome upgraded suites.  Speaking of the beach, we were surprised to see many of the beach-goers tanning “European-style”, if you know what I mean!  That night, we headed down the beach for some amazing paella. 
View of the Sitges from the water:

Sitges's beachside boardwalk, leading to the church:

Us about to eat some paella:

For the rest of the trip, we spent as much time as possible relaxing on the beach, chilling by the pool, or strolling around the lively town of Sitges.  We went swimming in the Mediterranean ocean, but the pool water was a little warmer!  On the day of our departure, we took the train from Sitges back to the airport and began our journey back to England.  We had an amazing time and wouldn’t hesitate to go back. 
Our beach:

Relaxing poolside:

~Blake

p.s. Lindsay would like to add that there are lots more Spain photos available on her Flickr site, which you can see by clicking on the photos under "Lindsay's Photography" at the top right of this page.