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