From Germany on to the Netherlands

Hallo ünd Güten Morgan from Germany,

Since my last post we have...well....traveling through Europe....oh wait...that's old news. Ok....moving on.

We ended up in Bonn, Germany...home of Ludwig Van Beethoven and a nice couple that hosted us for 2 nights. Pam is the daughter of Dave's neighbors....it worked out wonderfully. She and her husband, Uli, are both members of the Bonn Symphony orchestra...which we were lucky enough to hear give a pops concert in the city center....a kind of world cup kickoff of sorts. Our hosts fixed us a great German meal....sausages, mashed potatoes, and beer. All the folks who said that Americans don't know how to brew beer.....correctamundo. I am not even a big beer drinker....and have an untrained pallet...but all of the beers I've had since venturing off about 2 weeks ago....grand. In Belgium, Dave and I had Chimay...brewed by Trappist monks. In the states it is usually around $12/bottle....in Belgium.....about $4. It was great...and the beer in this area of Germany is Kölsch...also very good. We have been watching a lot of World Cup action....it is huge over here.....we watched in a cafe with a tv set up outside yesterday....very festive.....neat....and now that I mention it...I had one beer not worth writing home about (although....I guess I kind of am....) is a beer flavored with Tequila....too sweet.....one popular brand is called Desperadoes.....yuck. We are looking forward to the USA's first game tomorrow....but of course will be careful about where and how loudly we cheer. It may be that we are excited on the inside....and calm observers on the outside.

We are now waiting on a train to head up to the Netherlands (the country of my ancestors). We will be spending tonight in Utrecht before moving on to Amsterdam. The final destination for this first half of the trip is a hike that has been called "the most beautiful in the world" before making it back to the mainland and saying goodbye to travelmate Cory.

All have been nice....some folks even see us looking confused and offer to help. I appreciate all the prayers....speaking of prayer....we just visited the cathedral in Cologne (Köln in German)....absolutely huge (biggest I've seen) and beautiful. Check 'er out online.

I am at a rate of checking e-mail and blogging every three to four days. Feel free to send me an e-mail with any interesting life happenings or about nothing at all....I check my gmail when I blog.