Brugges, and Cologne, and Berlin, oh my!

Hello All!!!!


So, its time for another edition of, "Where in the World are Eric and Laura?" Today, we are in Berlin, but we have also visited Bruges, in Belgium, and Cologne, which is also in Germany. Its been quite a tour of food, sights, and great beer.
In Bruges, we took the town by storm. The city is beautiful because it has stuck to its original medieval architecture. Each of the houses, storefronts, and town buildings looked like they came out of a storybook. We also toured a belgian brewery and a couple of churches, one of which was from the 11th century, and another later church, the Basillica of the Holy Blood, which holds a vial of what is purportedly the Blood of Christ.
In Cologne, we took a look at the massive cathedral downtown, then strolled through the city, before having a nice dinner of wurst, potatoes, salad, pizza, and a local brew on the banks of the Rhine river. This was a nice easy day, and our first in Deutschland.

In Berlin, we hit it hard, checking out Checkpoint Charlie, the remains of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery, the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag building on the first day, ending it with a nice german meal (more wurst and potatoes!) in a small pub. That night, there was a big football (soccer) match, between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Apparently, we were staying at the HQ of the fans of Barcelona in Berlin, because there were theaters full of people watching the game. Barcelona won, and we all ran out into the streets singing songs and shouting in victory!
We spent most of the second day at the wondeful Berlin Zoo, which claims to have more species of animals than any other zoo in the world. We hung out with elephants, bears, monkey, tigers, lions, and even a giant panda. After that, we headed over to Museum Island, and toured the Pergamon Museum, which holds some pretty impressive ancient antiquities, including a lot of islamic, roman, greek, and mesopotamian artifacts. The Pergamon Altar, and Ishtar gate from Babylon were the best. Both are huge, but beautiful structures which are thousands of years old.

Anyways, Laura and I are having a blast. We are enjoying the food and the people of Europe, as well as its sights and activities. From walking through the streets of age-old Bruges and Edinburgh, to strolling through ultra-modern Berlin, our honeymoon has been fascinating and a dream comne true for both of us.
Tomorrow, we leave for Prague, and we are very excited. Dont forget to give us a call at our US number, 714-656-4151, or drop us an email. We love to hear from home!

See you all soon!!
Until next time, enjoy the pictures!

Eric and Laura Sieckmann





Laura outside the infamous "Befort" of Bruges.




Laura and Eric in the Market of Bruges.



Laura in front of the Basillica of the Holy Blood.






Eric at the Belgian Brewery tour.



Laura on the Brewery tour


Laura on top of the Brewery.




Eric on a canal bridge in Bruges, near Jan Van Eck Square.

Laura in front of a big church in Cologne.


Eric at the Labor Day festivities in Cologne



Laura at Checkpoint Charlie. Yeah, we are now in the American Sector!!!

Laura and Eric at the Berlin Wall.





Eating Wurst (Sausage!) and potatoes.



Laura in front of a Lion at the Zoo.

Eric in front of Museum Island, on the river Spree.


Laura in front of the Pergamon Alter at the Museum.




Sorry, the dang website wont let me upload any more pics or videos. More from Cologne and Berlin next time!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Friends, and Friendly Faces We've Met Along the Way

Image
So far on our trip we have met many wonderful people. Unfortunately, we make friends best when we are drunk. So, please forgive us, as we have excluded all names to protect the innocent, but we have included locations, Enjoy! Our drinking buddies from Vienna, 4:00 a.m. never came so quick! Thanks for the good times! Our English friends we met in Vienna that we played Euchre with in the bar Our Budapest BBQ crowd! Another Budapest pic from the BBQ Good times and Good friends in the Buda part of Budapest. Our German friend we met at a bar in Bruges, Belgium More German pals- Bruges, Belgium Goo Germany! Foose Ball Champions in Bruges Our Brewery Tour pals from America- (congrats on the engagement!) Bruges, Belgium Late night laundry mat friendship was made in Amsterdam! (Our friends from Spain studying architecture) Oban, Scotland (I cant wait to get home to buy a bottle of Glenmoranje!) Too many Scotches that night... Hello to our friends from Glospie, Scotland! London, Britis...
Read more

Life is what happens while your making other plans...

Picture this: Husband and wife, driving across the country in a rented SUV, packed with everything the two of them own, apart for a few things left with Grandma. Two pullovers, one doctors visit, and 3000 miles later, they end up in Keene New Hampshire, holed up for a few days so the new wife can get over her well deserved ear infection before embarking on the trip of a lifetime. Fast forward to the present, we are now in Ireland, trucking around Dublin, meeting Irish people at every turn, throwing back a few Guinness. Well, not the beer yet, its only 11:30 AM. So far, we have seen the Irish Post Office, O'Connolly Street, Trinity College, Dublin Castle, Bank of Ireland, and are heading to Christ Church and the National Museum. Next stop, Scotland! The adventure has begun, stay tuned for pictures and videos. They are coming soon! Eric and Laura
Read more

Rome - Another Day, Another Gellato Flavor

Image
Rome was a very enchanting city. With quite a history, there was lots to see and do, and by the third day of exploring the city, we were pooped. To start from the beginning, we departed Florence in the afternoon, and enjoyed the short trip to Rome. We got to see a bit more of the Italian countryside, which looks a lot like southern California. It is covered with red tile buildings, vineyards, and olive groves though, with of course, the occasional castle. No more mountains though...we left those in northern Italy. That night, we had arranged to stay in a small private bed and breakfast. The owner was late though, so Laura ran out for some pizza and coke. Turned out to be some of the best pizza of the trip. No tomato sauce, just cheese spinach, sausage and dough. So good though. Eric caught up with the bed and breakfast owner, and we were led inside to a place with marble floors and antique furnishings. They provided Espresso every morning and croissants, but no internet. There was a re...
Read more