Backpack through Europe...Check!

Bucket List:

Backpack through Europe...check!!

Well, it happened. I can officially check backpacking through Europe off the bucket list! 

It seems almost surreal that it happened. But it did!

Well, since a picture is worth a thousand words. 

I thought I'd share my spring break in mostly pictures with a few comments. Enjoy the journey through Montpellier, Nice, Monaco, Paris, Haarlem, Fussen, and Salzburg!

Day 1: 

10 hour train ride from 
Alicante to Montpellier, France.

Proof we actually "backpacked" through Europe. 

 Day 2: Montpellier, France

 Unfortunately, our first French meal only involved "French" fries at McDonald's the first night after we arrived on the train. We redeemed ourselves the next morning with our first visit to a boulangerie.

The real Quiche Lorraine! Check out that crust!

Aquaduct

The coolest trams

We took a train from Montpellier to Nice this night.

Day 3: Nice, France

(Pronounced "niece")

Flower market

Rocky beach with beautiful blue water!

Nice from the top

Nice icon

This day was Easter Sunday. We were blessed to be able attend an international church while we were in Nice. The service and worship were in English! It was SO nice (no pun intended :) ) to able to worship in English and understand fully the message. We also meet a sweet Irish family there with two older sons who said if we ever came to Ireland we could stay at their house. haha And we kept running into this family throughout the rest of our time in Nice and Monaco the next day!

Day 4: Monte Carlo, Monaco 

(not France, Monaco is it's own country. So I'm adding it to the country list! :)

The Palace

The Punk Monk-
supposedly the royal family came to be because a  "monk"/Italian pirate
took over the palace and  started the Grimaldi family. 

Cactus Garden

In front of the Monte Carlo Casino. Yes that's a Ferrari.

Funny story of this day: For lunch this day, we just ate pizza and order some cokes. Somehow we missed the price of the coke until it showed up on our bill. 5.50 euros each...aka 8 dollars!! Most expensive coke I've ever bought! haha

Day 5:

Nice, France...Train...PARIS, FRANCE

Woke up early to rent rollerblades, but they were closed. Super bummer. So we meandered about the market again and then ate a nicose lunch. We ate Socca, which is basically a chickpea crepe. Sounds weird, but surprisingly tasty. Then, we hopped on another train and went to PARIS! Enjoyed the beautiful French-countryside scenery along the way. Arrived in Paris and ate at the "Amelie cafe" or at least the restaurant where the Amelie movie was filmed. We were trying to be save a little money this night, so I only ordered an appetizer of salad and toast with goat cheese and honey. I wish I had ordered more because it was SO good! After dinner we accidentally walked along the Moulin Rouge street. I didn't exactly know what this street was until it was too late-we didn't revisit this area again. haha and then FINALLY, we went up the Sacre Cour/Sacred Heart church and saw all of Paris from above. It was here that we had our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. Yes, there were squeals. :)

"Amelie Cafe"

Sacre Cour Church

First Eiffel Tower Sighting

Day 6: Paris, France

Hostel Breakfast of bread, croissant, jam, coffee, and juice- so French!

No big deal, just this way to THE Notre Dame

Notre Dame! 850 years old!

Inside Notre Dame

Laduree- the best macaroons in Paris

At the Louvre Museum 

Mona Lisa- the most popular girl in Paris

Super cool dinner restaurant

Waiter wrote our orders on the tablecloth!

This is what I call dessert! 

 Day 7: Paris, France

Not my best picture- but the Chateau of Versailles!

Huge fireplace! Thought of you, Dad.  The "logs" are basically tree trunks.

ceiling

Hall of Mirrors

Marie Antoinette's bedroom

Museum Orsay- one of my favorites!

Eiffel Tower sparkling

Day 8: 

Paris, France...Train...Haarlem, Netherlands

Europe's Best Kept Secret!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

I say it was "The best of times and it was the worst of times..." because of this next picture. Ellen and I had heard and read that travelling Europe is easy and flexible with a Eurail pass. Well, unfortunately that wasn't true for us. We had our whole first week planned in France, but we thought we'd "wing it" for the second week. Dumbest idea I've ever had in my life... So, we arrived in Haarlem and for at least 5-6 hours we sat on these beds and planned and cried and planned some more and finally figured our the rest of our trip. It turned out ok. It would just involve a 3 day train journey back to Alicante, more on that later. However, despite this setback, Haarlem turned out to be our favorite part of the trip!

FYI: Haarlem is a little Dutch town about a 20 minute train ride from Amsterdam. 

Here just a little bit of what Haarlem looks like...

The center square

the church

#sodutch

The historic bridge between Amsterdam and Haarlem

Day 9: Haarlem, The Netherlands

Started this day on the right foot! ha ha ha

Corrie Ten Boom house!! Now, it's a museum. 

Ten Boom Living Room

Mr. Ten Boom

This triangle was the signal to the Jews if it
 was safe to enter the house or not. 

Alarm system to alert the house guests to go into hiding.

This is THE hiding place and Corrie Ten Boom's bedroom. 

This is our tour guide and she became a Christian
through reading Corrie Ten Boom's books.
Also, through this door on the bottom shelf
is the entrance of the hiding place. 

The house guests could grab all their belongings
and enter the hiding place in only 70 seconds!

Ellen and I IN the hiding place. 

Hiding spot of the extra crackers for the
 guests in the hiding place. This was ultimately what
the Nazis found that conformed their beliefs that
the Ten Boom's were helping the Jews. 

 Corrie and her family suffered a great deal to help God's chosen people. Before the hiding place was even found, every family member suffered a beating by the Nazi's to get them to tell information. Corrie's sister was beaten so hard one time that she lost hearing in one of her ears permanently. When the hiding place was found, all of the Ten Booms went to concentration camps. The father was around 80 years old when they were taken away and he died in prison after only 10 days. Corrie and her sister went to a labor concentration camp for women. If I remember correctly, Corrie's sister died in the gas chamber. And Corrie was released by mistake. However, if there hadn't been a mix-up in her "serial number" she would have died in the gas chamber only one week later. At the age of 52, Corrie went on to be a missionary. She traveled around the world for 33 years and visited 65 countries. Her platform was "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." She knew people would listen to her because she had been in the one of the deepest of pits...a concentration camp.

100 year old Ten Boom Family Bible.

The back of Corrie's handkerchief represented what we see of our lives.

BUT the front is what God sees and is working to create. 

Needless to say, the Ten Boom Museum was very inspiring and in my top 5 highlights of my spring break. 

We ate dinner here a couple nights.
They only served french fries.
 BUT...really good french fries. 

Day 10: Haarlem, The Netherlands

Well since everyone in Haarlem had bikes, we decided to rent a couple for the day! 

Our charming little lunch spot. 

 Dutch meatball sandwich...AMAZING! 

Ready, Set, Bike to the North Sea!

6 miles later...we arrived!

Nothing like being on the beach in boots and a heavy scarf!

Next adventure...Night train from Amsterdam to Munich. 

About to board night train- a little skeptical but excited

On the night train- one word...YIKES! 

Day 11: Neuschwanstein Castle

Fussen, Germany

Survived the night train and got ready in a bathroom in the Munich train station. The joys of traveling! :)

One of Ludwig II's castle. Only lived here 120ish day before his death. 

Rode these farting musical instruments up to the castle! haha!

My sneaky picture of the ceiling. 

Sneaky throne room picture. 

Ludwig knew how to pick the views! 

German Bratwurst

After this little excursion, hop on ANOTHER train and arrived four hours later in beautiful Salzburg, Austria!

Day 12: Salzburg, Austria
Homeland of Mozart and the Sound of Music

Sitting on the "Do-Re-Mi" wall overlooking Salzburg

Mozart's birthplace.

Bike Ride #2

Pictures don't do it justice!

Sound of Music Pavilion!

Front of the VonTrapp House in Sound of Music.

Back of the VonTrapp House.
Yes, they used two completely different houses for the movie. 

Day 13, 14, and 15...On a train. 

Our journey back totaled about 30 hours on a train and one super unfortunate 60 euro reservation fee. However, it was an UNFORGETTABLE spring break to say the least! 

We arrived back in Alicante Friday afternoon exhausted and glad to be back!

Since coming back from our European adventure, Alicante has felt more like home. It is not home and will probably never be home. However, it's been nice to be familiar with our surroundings. 

Well... this month is my last month of classes! It's an intensive course so I have class for five hours a day, everyday! (I know some of you reading this are shocked that I even have class over here. ;) )But, right after class the friends and I go to the beach to work on Mission Moreno. (Spanish version of Operation Get Tan.) So, the beach everyday helps to soften the blow of long class days. :)

And the countdown has begun! 18 days until I'm back on United States soil! I can't wait to smell the fresh American air, drive a car, sleep in my bed, eat Chic-fil-A, and see my family and friends!! Yet, the closer the date draws near the more it becomes bittersweet. I will miss my Spanish classes here because they have been some of the best I've ever had! I will miss the beach. I will miss speaking Spanish everyday. I will miss my Spanish family. But, probably most of all I will miss our Japanese friends, who are already planning our "Hasta Luego" party! (Hasta Luego means "see you later", they said it is NOT a "good-bye" party. :) ) 

Sigh, what a semester this has been! Growing and testing at times, but so so good! More sentiments to come in another post. Again, thanks again for reading my blog! Please continue to pray for our Japanese friends to know Christ. They are interested!! 

Un beso!