We've finally reached the end of our month chock full o' visitors, and boy, was it a good time. It started with my college friends Megan and Claire visiting for a week with their significant others. We rented a "van" (I use that term loosely - it was basically a glorified hatchback that was far too small for 6.5 people) and travelled to Maastricht...

...took our second trip to Amsterdam (you can see a recap of the first one here), where we ate pancakes (a must!), visited Rembrandt's House and the Rijksmuseum, tried Indonesian food, took a canal cruise, and finally toured the Anne Frank House...

...and took a day trip to Burg Eltz - our first visit to a German castle! ...

...before they headed back to the good old U.S.A. One week simply wasn't long enough.

Next up were our pals Jas and Jennie from the U.K. We visited them in London last summer, and they came to Aachen the first weekend of this month. We partook of wine fest, endured the scorching heat, and enjoyed some good food and even better company, before they boarded the train to spend time in Bruges.

Last but not least was my dad's visit. This was super exciting because, a. he's my dad and 2. it was his first trip to Europe. It was so much fun showing him around.

We also took him to Maastricht...

Then, I got brave and kept the car for a couple of days and drove on the Autobahn (my first time without following Josh). Things I learned: I have the need for speed; a highway is a highway pretty much anywhere you go; people in Germany are MUCH better drivers than in America (they actually use the left lane only for passing... WHAT A NOVEL IDEA!)

Driving through wine country en route to Koblenz.

We drove to Koblenz to meet up with my dad's friend John, from our hometown of Laurel, Mississippi, as he's currently stationed in Germany as a chaplain in the military. We enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch and a walk along the river...

The next day, we went to Monschau, where we walked about the town, partook of a delicious lunch, and picked up some more of their infamous mustard.

Josh took off from work on Thursday, and we took a trip to Bastogne, Belgium. I'll do an entire post on this one since I actually took a decent camera with me and got lots of photos. For now, I'll just say that it was an incredible experience. Hubs got this great shot of the U.S. memorial...

And on dad's last day in town, we hung out in Aachen, lingered over a delicious breakfast spread, and took Miles on his first trip to a zoo. His favorites seemed to be the goats, ducks, and the ostrich!

Aachener Cafe is one of our favorites for breakfast and a great cup of coffee.

We're so thankful to have friends and family that are willing to travel far and wide to join us on our adventures! We don't have any more visitors planned until the beginning of next year, so we'll be exploring on our own over the next few weeks before we return to Nashville and High Point for Thanksgiving!

Blog

looking back at 2017

summer visitors

Elizabeth Glessner | Embracing the Good