Mom in Germany

For Mom's last full day in the Netherlands we decided to have a little day trip to Aachen. It was Mom's first visit to Germany and a special day for us. The last outing for the Pardo girls all together. 

Mom in front of the Rathaus

I feel very fortunate to have had all this quality time with my mother. It was the first time that we ever vacationed together without the rest of the family. I thought that adding an extra trip outside Maastricht following Amsterdam would be too much, but Flora was extra cooperative that day. She had a record number of naps and Mom and I got to explore Aachen "peacefully." :)

Aachen Cathedral 

What's cuter than this?

I was really hoping that Mom and I could experience something that was typically "German". Mom had some good German beer at an outdoor cafe and for a nice late lunch we had flammkuchen. This was surprisingly delicious!

Then it was Flora's time to eat, so we headed to Starbucks. Not very German, but I still enjoy drinking coffee in a to-go cup. It's a shame that it's still such a novelty here in Europe. (I sound very American now).

Thanks for a great visit Mom and for passing on all your great Mommy wisdom. These two weeks were very special for us. Flora's already looking forward to her first Christmas in NY!

Monschau

When my friends from Boston were visiting us this summer we went to Monschau, Germany for a day. Maastricht is so close to Germany and being only 1.5 hours away, Monschau was the perfect little day trip for us. One of my German friends from Maastricht recommended it and it turned out to be everything that we were a hoping for. Monschau is what Americans picture quaint, little, German villages to be.

Michele strolling the path

We strolled through town, visited some cute little shops, drank German beer and wine, and ate some schnitzel. All with some of my best and dearest friends. What more could you ask for you?

Visitors, Boston does Europe

Michele, me & Debbie

We've had a whirlwind of  fun over the past two weeks. Some of my closest friends from Boston came to visit. Together we traveled to Amsterdam, Bruges, several amazing days in Paris, a quick day trip to Monschau, Germany, an airport drop-off in Brussels (complete with waffels & beer) and of course, Maastricht.

I'm lucky to have to such great friends that travel across an ocean to see you and come with an adventurous spirit! There were so many times that I wanted to freeze time and hold on to the moment because we were having so much fun. Lots of great memories were made over the last two weeks.

There's too much to write about and too many pictures to choose from, but here are some of the highlights of their trip.

Drinking lots of beer...

 A bike trip to Eijsden & Eijsden Castle...

Celebrating Deb's birthday at one of our favorite restaurants on Rechtstraat in Maastricht, Eetcafé Ceramique and some drinks at a new wine bar...

 Day trip to Bruges...

An amazing four days in Paris...

We were inspired to visit the Musée de Rodin after watching Woody Allen's, Midnight in Paris the night before our trip. :)

Jardin du Luxembourg...

 Notre Dame...

 The Louvre...

 Exploring Montmartre...

 A day trip to Monschau, Germany...

 Last stop...Brussels, to drop Michele off at the airport.

What a great two weeks!

Berlin with the Band Geeks

Our Berlin trip was about month ago, so this story is getting to you quite late. Now that life is slowing down again I have some time to share about our musical Berlin adventures. My last trip to Berlin was 11 years ago when I was a student in Vienna. I was happy to return with Jaap, but I only wish we had more time there. We've decided that we will return at some point in the future to give this city the time it deserves. It's such an interesting place. 

Exploring the Tierpark

Our getaway was a band trip for a wind festival in Berlin. Jaap's hometown band, Arti,  has a good concert band. Jaap began playing with them when he was just 10 and now plays with them when they are in need of a horn player.  They needed a flute player and french horn player for their festival in Berlin. I was super excited when I found out I got to go on the trip with Jaap. It was so great to reconnect with my band roots again. Oh how I miss playing in band! We're such geeks and I love it. This trip reminded me of high school and college all over again. It also made me realize how much I miss playing in a proper wind band.

Arti youth band

The majority of our time was spent either in rehearsals, playing concerts, or on the bus. We literally had 5 hours of free time, so we went out exploring on our own. Here are some of the places we got to visit:

Checkpoint Charlie

Topography of Terror & part of the Wall

Reichstag

Another random place where Jaap has fallen asleep

Brandenburg Gate

No good band festival would be complete without a little party at the end. Good German food, beer, and "interesting" music. After seeing the Dutchies party to oom-pah-pah music, I now understand why they love band so much.

conga line

I loved our weekend of music, singing, and travel. There's one thing that I learned on this trip. Band geeks have no bounds. We are worldwide and we're all the same. We sing silly songs on the bus, can turn any random object into a percussion instrument at any time, and love good wind music. I felt like I was home. 

Here's one example of band lovers keep themselves entertained. It became the anthem of this trip.