The sunrise flight from London to Luxembourg was the shortest international flight we have ever taken. We walked down the frosty street from the airport to our accommodation, trying not to slip. We took a stroll through Luxembourg city, got coffee and ate at the Christmas markets. Luxembourg city has a deep ravine running through it. Part of the city is at the bottom, the rest at the top.
We drove 2 hours from Luxembourg to Ghent, in Belgium, and ate lunch featuring Belgian waffles. From there it was only 1 hour to Bruges and our cute three-story airbnb. We promptly opened the second level window and climbed out onto the frosty rooftops to explore. We had a lovely fireplace too so we made a woodfire to keep the house warm. That evening in Bruges we had Flemish stew and found a super cool candy store that had a sweet vibe!
The next morning our car was frozen like in the movies so we had to scrape the ice off the windscreen and warm up the car before we went on our way. We went to the best cafe in Bruges for a perfect coffee in the morning and then crepes. It was tasty. There was one street that was basically just Belgian chocolate for the whole street. We bought everything.
Next we drove into the Netherlands and stopped by The Hague. We wanted to see the International Criminal Court, but were disappointed that it was just a modern looking building. Not much to see, haha. We kept driving and discovered a beautiful beach with a pier. We ate dinner there as the sun was setting, and then continued our drive toward Amsterdam.In Amsterdam Chris and I ventured out to a cafe for coffee and breakfast. We stumbled upon the perfect place called roasters and bakers… legit perfect breakfast menu. Amsterdam is very beautiful and interesting. There are canals through the city, bike highways and large multilevel parking for bikes as everyone cycles there. Houses are tilted forward with a big hook up the top on a rope that’s how they get big furniture into their houses. Next to the place we were staying was a frozen canal and a Dutch windmill.
We drove 5 hours from Amsterdam to Frankfurt via Cologne (Köln). We have heard all about Germany during Christmas time and oh my word! We legit get out of the car and it smells like cinnamon, caramel and roasting nuts. In Cologne there are Christmas trains that take you to each Christmas market. One of the markets was in the square in front of an beautiful old Gothic cathedral.In Frankfurt it was very foggy, wet and icey. It snowed lightly which was great. We found a big pond that was fully frozen. The ice wasn’t strong enough to hold us, but we spent a fun hour finding whatever we could lay our hands on to throw at the surface. It would make a funny sound as it skidded along the ice. We got so cold we couldn’t feel ourselves any more so we went a thawed out in a German beer hall. We ate a lot of great things like currywurst, and a massive pork knuckle with sauerkraut. It was all delicious.
Our last drive we went from Frankfurt to Luxembourg via Wiesbaden, a cute small city town where we had a breakfast full of meats, cheeses and breads. We drove through the Rhineland, lots of vineyards and through beautiful forested mountains. This was definitely the most beautiful stretch of the trip. We dropped the car off at Metz and took the train back to Luxembourg, but we accidentally got off at the wrong stop, in the middle of nowhere! We made a friend, brought something from a bakery and found our way back.
Keeping Up With The Gillises 