Trip Final Analysis

Now that our trip is over we decided we would analyze and rank different aspects of our trip. Overall, we loved the trip. It was so much fun and was a great educational experience about the world. Plus, it was great seeing mom and Loel and touring the Netherlands/Belgium with them – it was definitely a highlight of the trip.
Since Em and I sometimes have different tastes, we are including top ten lists from both of us. Note that there are many famous/popular museums that we didn't get to, for instance the Tate Modern or the British Museum and etc., so this list is just of the sites that we visited.

Brad’s Top 10 Places
1. Gimmelwald/Interlaken, Switzerland
2. Cinque Terre, Italy
3. Amsterdam, Netherlands
4. Salzburg, Austria
5. Paris, France
6. Rome, Italy
7. Broek in Waterland, Netherlands
8. Bruges, Belgium
9. London, England
10. Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Emily’s Top 10 Places
1. Bruges, Belgium
2. Gimmelwald/Interlaken, Switzerland
3. Salzburg, Austria
4. Amsterdam, Netherlands
5. Cinque Terre, Italy
6. Paris, France
7. Rome, Italy
8. Broek in Waterland, Netherlands
9. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
10. London, England

Brad’s Top 10 Sites
1. St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City
2. St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
3. Centre Court, Wimbledon
4. Coliseum, Rome
5. Eifel Tower, Paris
6. Pantheon, Rome
7. Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
8. Hellbrum Palace, Salzburg
9. Versailles, Paris
10. Arc de Triumphe, Paris

Emily’s Top 10 Sites
1. Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
2. St. Peter’s Basilica, Vaican City
3. Centre Court, Wimbledon
4. Pantheon, Rome
5. Versailles, Paris
6. Coliseum, Rome
7. Eifel Tower, Paris
8. Gazebo (Sound of Music Site), Salzburg
9. St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
10. Duomo, Florence

Brad’s Top 10 Meals
1. Pesto pasta and buffalo cheese pizza, Venice
2. Fruit parfait and fresh squeezed orange juice breakfast, Broek in Waterland
3. Pesto pizza, Corniglia, Cinque Terre
4. Fish Ravioli, Monterosso, Cinque Terre
5. Rijs Toffel, Zootimier (Netherlands)
6. Schnitzel dinner, Delft
7. Tomatoes and Mozzarella, Innsbruck
8. Savory pancakes, Amsterdam
9. Salmon, salad, crème brulee, Paris
10. Sausage dinner, Salzburg

Emily’s Top 10 Meals
1. Pesto pasta and buffalo cheese pizza, Venice
2. Mozzarella and tomatoes, Innsbruck
3. Pesto pizza, Corniglia, Cinque Terre
4. Rijs Toffel, Zootimier (Netherlands)
5. Savory pancakes, Amsterdam
6. Fruit parfait and orange juice breakfast, Broek in Waterland
7. Gyro and Fries, Brussels
8. Ravioli dinner, Monterosso, Cinque Terre
9. Schnitzel dinner, Delft
10. French onion soup, salmon pasta, chocolate mousse, Paris

Brad’s Top 10 Gelato Flavors
1. Coconut
2. Lemon
3. Vanilla
4. Straciotella
5. Mint
6. Ferrero Rocher
7. Grapefruit
8. Mango
9. Bacio (chocolate and hazelnut)
10. Peach

Emily’s Top 10 Gelato Flavors
1. Lemon
2. Coconut
3. Bacio (chocolate and hazelnut)
4. Hazelnut
5. Pineapple
6. Pistachio
7. Mango
8. Strawberry
9. Mint
10. Chocolate

Brad's Top 5 Museums
1. Anne Frank House, Amsterdam
2. Dutch Resistance Museum, Amsterdam
3. D’ Orsay Museum, Paris
4. Louvre, Paris
5. National Gallery, London

Emily's Top 5 Museums
1. Anne Frank House, Amsterdam
2. Louvre, Paris
3. D' Orsay Museum, Paris
4. Dutch Resistance Museum, Amsterdam
5. National Gallery, London

Our Top 5 Least Favorite Sites
1. Baths of Diocletia, Rome
2. Concierge, Paris
3. Mozart House, Salzburg
4. Roman Museum, Rome
5. Choco Story, Bruges

Last day visiting the small towns

We woke up early to drive an hour and a half to Waterland, a small town outside of Amsterdam where the Brubakers were staying to meet them for breakfast. We are so glad we did. Waterland ended up being a highlight of the trip. It was a tiny little town on some lakes and canals and cobblestone streets and it was really nice. Each home had really nice yards and the Brubakers were staying at a bed and breakfast (where we were to meet them).

For breakfast we sat out on a table on the grass a couple yards from the pond. The temperature was perfect and setting was great. We had a yogurt parfait with kiwi, mango, passionfruit, pineapple, and bananas and then fresh squeezed orange juice (real fresh squeezed orange juice), hot chocolate, and about five different breads with

three different cheeses and a couple meats. It was great. Plus, it was fun to visit with mom and Loel and the Brubakers and there was a really cute black dog that sat and played near us.

After breakfast, we spent the entire day up in the northern part of the Netherlands, above Amsterdam. Our first stop was Edam a small town known for its cheese. It was a pleasant little town and for two months during the summer on Wednesdays it has a cheese festival from 10:00 to 12:00 noon. They had a group of people in the center of

town reenacting the cheese market from years ago, it was fun to watch. We walked around town tasting different cheeses (pesto cheese was a favorite), got some gelato, and then left for our next town.

The next place we stopped was Volendam, a small fishing village on the ocean. There were more people than expected but it was fun port town with a rocky beachfront. There were lots of small fishing boats in the harbor. We walked around the main part of town peaking in and out of shops – eventually Em bought a Holland apron (surprisingly she doesn’t have one) that has pictures of windmills on it.
The last town that we wanted to see was Markum. It was across the bay (I think) from Volendam and also was a small fishing village. An interesting aspect of Markum is

that all the houses are a darker green color with white trim. It was fun walking through the town and peaking in different people’s yards. Of course there were some pretty canals lining the streets and the center of the town was the harbor with various fishing boats and small café’s and shops. It was a really fun place to visit.

Our last stop on our way home was not a town but a series of 19 windmills along a canal. The place is called Kinderdijk and many people visit to get a picture of the windmills. We were glad we went as it was by far our best view of windmills. We


didn’t stay to long – mainly walked along the canal snapping pictures of the windmills – kind of fitting for our last day in the Netherlands.
Overall it was a really fun day. We loved how each of the towns we went to the past
couple days had their own unique feel. They each were really old towns with small


houses and gardens – we had never seen anything like them before.

Haarlem and Delft

For our last two days in Belgium/Netherlands, we decided to see some of the smaller cities that many people visiting don’t see. There is an empty apartment in Rotterdam (somewhere between Brussels and Amsterdam) so our plan was to spend both days in the Netherlands and stay overnight in Rotterdam so we don’t have to come back to Brussels each night. So we went with mom and Loel to the Rotterdam apartment where we helped the Pankratz (another senior couple in the mission) move out. We then left for Haarlem.

Haarlem is a small town outside of Amsterdam that has a similar feel to it. We spent a couple hours there wandering around and souvenir shopping. Our first site (and only) that we wanted to see was Corrie Ten Boom’s house. It is the house where ‘The Hiding Place’ took place. Corrie Ten Boom was part of a family that hid Jews in her house during the period when the Nazi’s overran the Netherlands. Unfortunately they were eventually discovered so Corrie and her family were sent to concentration camps where everyone but Corrie died.

The happy part is that the Jews she was hiding weren’t found and survived. So touring the house was interesting – especially seeing the actual hiding place. It was a small space behind a wall that could barely fit six people (pictured).


After the tour we got some Gelato and then got in the car and headed towards Delft. We thought that ‘The Hiding Place’ tour was great but the rest of Haarlem was just ok – a smaller not as nice version of Amsterdam.
Delft is another small town in the Netherlands that houses a university and is famous for its Delft blue and white pottery.

We all loved the place. It is pretty small, yet very clean, and has a large main plaza with a pretty grand church in the center. There are tons of little restaurants and pottery shops scattered throughout. Also, there are many canals - but they weren’t like other canals we have seen because they were very green. They had tons of water lilies floating on the surface. It also seemed like there were lots of flowers and swans scattered along the canals.

We spent time looking in different pottery shops which contained real delft pottery and imitation pottery. We weren’t really tempted to buy any of the real stuff as it was pretty outrageously priced. But we are still considering ordering a plate with a windmill and all the eight countries we have visited on this trip.

Mom also found a thicker Netherlands table cloth that she had been trying to find for a while and Emily liked it so much that we got one too.

The best part was having dinner on a boat on the canal. We found a small restaurant right on the canal that had an extension of itself on a boat that was pretty much connected to the dock.


On the boat where numerous tables and hanging lights for people to eat. The food was nothing spectacular (we all got an eight euro schnitzel deal) but they did give us tap water (a rarity here) with ice! It was the first drink Em and I had with ice in over a month. It was really fun talking with mom and Loel on the boat with a slight breeze and not being in any sort of rush to get to another place.

Spending time in Belgium

Sunday and Monday we stayed mostly in the Brussels area with Mom and Loel and took it easy. They turned out to be two really enjoyable days. On Sunday we went to church with them and met lots of the nice members there (pictured is mom and Em with Julie, a really nice member who is good friends with mom). We also went to a baptism that afternoon and met more really nice people. The rest of the evening Loel made some chicken (very tasty – reminded us of home) and we took a walk around the neighborhoods.

On Monday Em and I went running again and in the afternoon we had lunch with mom and Loel’s mission office. There were ten of us total and the night (and morning) before Em made her famous sweet rolls (pictured with mom helping) – they were a huge hit. Everyone had multiple servings and the missionaries were thrilled (and bragged to other missionaries on the phone) to take home the couple rolls that were left over. It was a fun lunch. Mom and Loel really do have a great mission family here in Belgium.

That afternoon we went out to Breendock, the only concentration camp in Belgium. I was the only one that hadn’t gone to a concentration camp before and was a little nervous that it might be really hard to see. Overall it actually wasn’t as hard as I imagined – there were less pictures than I would have thought. We spent about an hour and a half there and had an audio guide which told us what all the rooms where. The whole place had a really somber feeling to it. The rooms had low ceilings and hardly any windows. There were rooms with over 40 beds crammed together and bathrooms that looked nothing like a bathroom.

This, along with the Dutch Resistance Museum and Anne Frank House, really made us think about what Jews really went through during World War 2. It still puzzles us how Hitler did what he did – I still don’t really get it, it just seems to extreme. Overall we were really glad we went to Breendock.
We finished off the day by going to a favorite dinner location of the missionaries around the area. It had really cheap Gyro type sandwich wraps that were delicious. Of course we also got Frits.

Bruges

Saturday morning Em and I went running (not the best picture - it is hard to take a picture while running, plus Em wants everyone to forgive her for disgracing her body with a BYU t-shirt - she wanted to bring a shirt that could be thrown away) at a park near mom and Loel’s house. It is only about a mile away and is huge and really nice. It felt really good running and the temperature was perfect.

After breakfast we headed off towards Bruges. On our way we stopped at a local farmers market near mom and Loel's that had tons of fresh fruits and vegetables and various spices. Mom and Loel bought tons of fresh vegetables to make some salads and Em bought some spices.

Bruges, like Amsterdam, has its own unique feel. It had canals running through it also yet it is older and feels more medieval. Most of the buildings are stone and it isn’t the best biking city as there aren’t really bike paths – just cobblestone streets. There were a couple sites we wanted to see but for the most part we just wanted to wander the city.

After orienting ourselves on a map, we realized that we were really close to the Choco Story museum. We had wanted to go there so we decided to do that first. It is a museum about the history of chocolate and they give out samples. It actually turned out to be pretty boring as it explained – in great detail – the origins of chocolate

and every tool and plant that was involved. We kind of skimmed through that to get the end where there was a live demo. That part was interesting as a man made chocolate in front of us and then gave us a sample – the chocolate tasted so good, Em and I’s favorite.

The guidebook we have contains a ‘sites’ section and for Bruges it also had an ‘Experiences’ section which was all about the different foods to ‘experience’ there. So we ended up spending a lot of time eating different foods which we loved! We had another Belgium waffle because the first one I had (the first day we got in Belgium) I didn’t love because I was fairly full and I am glad I gave them a second shot. It was so good – it was lighter and more flavorful than the one I had gotten before. We also

got ‘The Best Hot Chocolate in the World’ which mom and Loel’s mission president had recommended and it lived up to its name. Most of us agreed that we had never had better hot chocolate. We then got some chocolates at a Leonidas shop (one of the many shops on pretty much every street) and in the evening we got Gelato – getting a new Ferraro Rochur flavor that was great.
Aside from eating…we did tour the Church of Our Lady which housed one of Michelangelo’s only sculptures outside of Italy, it was pretty cool. And we also did a boat tour that let us see more of Bruges.

Em and I really loved Bruges – it was really pretty and nice and had a great historic feel to it. We would both love to come back to it and Amsterdam.

Amsterdam

Em and I went with mom and Loel in the morning to one of the mission chapels to drop off some materials for the missionaries. It was fun meeting everyone and seeing how much the missionaries love and appreciate mom and Loel. The chapel was in Amsterdam so we left the car there and used public transportation to get to downtown Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is a very interesting city.




Probably about half of the streets have canals running through them with trees and bike paths lining the canals. Apparently there are more canals in Amsterdam than Venice. All the buildings are different colors but have similar architecture which gives the city its own unique feeling. Also, there are more bikes here than cars – and we definitely witnessed that.

We have never seen this many bikes in our lives – there were thousands. Every corner and fence had bikes chained up in stacks.
Our first site was the Anne Frank house. Before this trip Em and I hadn’t learned very much about Anne Frank or her diary but when we got to Belgium mom and Loel let us borrow ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ so we read lots of it before we went to the Anne Frank house. This made it one of our favorite museums of the trip.

It actually isn’t Anne Franks house but it is the ‘Secret Annex’ – where her and her family lived for two years when the Nazi’s occupied Belgium during the second world war. Overall the place had a somber feeling to it as it was very small and dark and made you wonder how a family could live there for two years without ever going outside. There were quotes from Anne Frank in all of the rooms that gave you a sense for what she was feeling. Of course it is also very sad that everyone in the house was eventually found and taken to a concentration camp where only the father survived. But we left feeling really glad we went there.

Our next stop was lunch at a famous pancake house in the area. Rick Steves recommended it and we loved it. We split three pancakes between the four of us – bacon and onion, chicken and cheese, and blueberry ice cream. There were all delicious.

For the next couple hours we mostly walked around the city and stopped in a few shops. Em and I both really love the city – it is such a unique and pretty place. We stopped at big candy shop where we tried tons of different candies then went across town to the Dutch Resistance Museum. This museum was all about the different ways in which the Dutch people resisted the Nazi’s.

It explained groups that made homemade radios, forged identity cards (Hitler’s way of keeping track of the Jews), and some that found ways to escape the city. It was a

fascinating museum and more uplifting than the Anne Frank house.
On our way home we stopped at the temple in Zoetermeer and walked around the grounds. It is a pretty small temple but really pretty. We then finished off the evening at a Chinese restaurant that mom and Loel had been to before. We got these dishes that gave us about 12 different foods that we could put on our rice – really fun and good.

We especially enjoyed the music (we were there about an hour and a half because the service was a little slow) that was like retro Nintendo music that you would have your kids listen to in time out as cruel and unusual punishment.

Antwerpen

Mom and Loel had to go to Zone Conference in Antwerpen, so while they went, Em and I explored the city. We actually didn’t explore too much of it as we only had about 6 hours and there was a huge outdoor mall with lots of good deals. We mostly stayed around the main square; got some pasteries, a truffle, and I got a haircut.
It was a pretty city that was well kept and historic.

The main Cathedral in the city was very tall and ornate. Nearby was a really big fountain with multiple sculptures spouting water. We got kind of tired (as we didn’t

get lots of sleep – despite the great accommodations at Mom and Loel’s) so we spent a lot of time relaxing on a bench reading our books and dosing off – it was nice.

After zone conference, we went to a great Italian place where a newly baptized member is a chef.

We didn’t get to meet the member (Mom and Loel know him) but the food was great. And we topped it off by making homemade nutella-ice cream-strawberry crepes when we got home!

Luxembourg

Em and I only had a couple days left on our Eurail Global Pass so we decided to use Wednesday to go out to see one more area out of Mom and Loel’s mission. We decided on Luxembourg. We didn’t know too much about it but we had heard it was a neat place. Mom and Loel dropped us off at the train station where we said goodbye to Mike and Tiffany and took the train to Luxembourg.
It was a pretty neat city. Even though it spoke mostly French and it is such a tiny country (I think it’s width is a little over 10 miles) it definitely felt like its own unique place. We only had about 8 hours there so we walked around the city and found a bike shop to get bikes for the day. One of the coolest parts of the city is a lush green valley that goes throughout the city. All the buildings and streets are on the main level but running throughout the town is a valley with a river running through it and lots of trees and parks. Also, near the center is a picturesque castle/church that can be seen from pretty much everywhere.

We thought we were doing a 10 to 12 kilometer bike ride (self guided, we got directions before we left) but it turned out to be a little over 26 kilometers! (about 17 or 18 miles). It was definitely the hardest bike ride we had been on yet but still completely doable. It took us through the city and around the country side. We passed along pretty striking hay fields (where all you could see was hay for miles) and corn fields.

The last 8 miles or so was mostly shaded and went along a river passing through a couple small villages. We were pretty tired by the end but we both enjoyed the workout and great scenery.
After our ride we decided we deserved a cold treat and luckily we stumbled upon Gelato! And I am glad we did as it was the cheapest Gelato we have had thus far (lots of things in Luxembourg were cheaper than most places, not sure why as it is per capita the richest country on earth) and our favorite. It was very similar to the ‘best gelato in Rome’ we had earlier but we got much better flavors than we had gotten at the Rome one. Because it was so good, we went back for seconds…

As we were walking back to the train station it started getting really windy. We liked it because it cooled us off – not knowing that eventually it would turn into a huge windstorm uprooting many trees. On our train ride back to Brussels we ended up getting delayed about 2 hours because the huge windstorm blew trees over onto the tracks. As we were stopped, we looked out the window and an entire roof of a barn was off, many trees where snapped in half, and a powerline was on top of a crushed car. Luckily, a very nice man (we we became friends with) let us call Mom and Loel so they wouldn’t have to wait at the station all night. We eventually made it home around midnight.

Belgium

Coming to Belgium was exciting. Traveling around Europe with Mike and Tiffany was an incredible experience – one we will remember the rest of our lives. Yet it was also fairly stressful. We always had to find our hostel, find our way around town, ask multiple people for directions, find places to eat, etc. We knew Belgium would be different as it would be a week where Em and I could mostly just enjoy a reunion with Mom and Loel. When we got off the train we couldn’t see Mom or Loel as planned. So we walked around for about 10 minutes and finally Em said ‘There’s Paula!’ I looked over and saw them and Mom came running (and crying) over to give us hugs. It was great seeing them again. For the most part they didn’t seem so far away the past couple months because we really didn’t see them a ton in Provo and we can talk to them whenever we want. But it was still great hugging them and telling them in more detail lots of our experiences on the trip thus far.
This was Mike and Tiffany’s last day of their trip (as Em and are staying for one more week) so we went shopping in the area for some suits because missionaries in Mom and Loel’s mission said July was filled with sales on suits. We didn’t find suits but got some other great deals on clothes and then we headed over the the Grand Platz – Brussels’ main square. It was cool. It was lined with four buildings – each with their own distinct color and architecture. Some of them had flowers in each windowsill and others where comprised of multiple tall thin spires. We ate dinner at a greek place where we got great fritas (fries) and Gyros. The main site in the area (aside from the Grand Platz itself) was the Mannekin Pis – a strange small statue of a little naked boy peeing. Not sure why it is so famous, but it had a crowd – kind of funny. We then topped off the evening with true Belgian waffles. I was stuffed (I ate a ton at dinner) so I couldn’t enjoy mine as much but Em loved hers. I got ice cream on mine while Em got chocolate sauce and whipped cream – she loved it.