European Travels (P. II): Dinslaken + Osterspai, Germany

One of the main reasons why we chose to explore Germany was to visit family.  I was so happy for Justin to meet my German side, since they were unable to make it to our wedding.  Walking around Dinslaken with my fam, I fell in love with the tile at the subway station and the typography in apartment buildings.  A moment that I will cherish involves my step-grandmother showing me some old photographs of my father growing up. When I came to Germany as a seven year old, I remember just focusing my attention on ice cream.  This time, I was able to explore the city that my dad grew up in and actually appreciate it.

Another reason Germany was on our list to visit was for the castles.  Since we are big Game of Throne fans, we were so excited to explore Burg Eltz - one of only two castles in Germany that were never attacked.  Burg Eltz was stunning, and we took a tour to learn about the generations of families that lived in this remote medieval castle.  Since our time here was also limited, we opted to sail the Rhine River, see other 20 other castles, and visit the small town of Rüdesheim am Rhein.  

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European Travels (P. I): Amsterdam, Netherlands

The first stop for our European travels was the Netherlands. Justin had already been to Amsterdam back in his youth; however I had not been and really wanted to go to the Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, and the Anne Frank House

We had the best accommodations in our air bnb.  The host made sure to put peonies in my room and it was amazing to see them bloom each day.  Justin really wanted to take me to Vondelpark and eat at his favorite falafel place. That day, we came across this home store, The Frozen Fountain, which had these cool lights to spell interesting words.  Of course, we would love to spell out Eye Love You Co! Although I am lactose intolerant, I had to eat cheese! I had the best fried cheese balls of my life at Foodhallen (we need these in Los Angeles!).  We definitely made it a point to eat pancakes at Mook Pancakes too!

We were only there for three days, so we had to make the best of our time. I could have easily been there for an entire week.  Next time, I would like to go to some flower festivals. I really wanted to shop at Cos before departing, but opted for a boat ride and shared a kiss in the canals.

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