Europe Travel

A Summer Postcard…

August 9, 2017 By kimwheeler 14 Comments

Sorrento

Hello everyone!. Sorry for the absence. I checked out for a bit. We did a trip to Italy for my husband’s 50th and then met his family in Switzerland where we shared a house. My sons have been home and we have been enjoying a lot of lazy days without schedule and to be honest it’s been very nice. I have been trying to be away from the computer and social media and enjoy an old fashioned summer. Thanks to that I have enjoyed three books and am working on another.

Life has been a bit of a blur and as much as I like things like Facebook and Instagram, I just realized how much time daily is given up to such things. Books stacked on my bedside weren’t going to read themselves if I didn’t find some way to do less yet more meaningful things. This summer I tried to eat more ice cream, sit in the yard more and watch the birds, garden, hang with friends and generally be in the moment.

A hot day in Rome in the Monti area with my sons Griffin and Jackson.

Being in Italy and Switzerland, you notice how adept Europeans are at savoring summer, the good weather and getting out during the warm months. Walking through the narrow streets of the Trastevere neighborhood in Rome on evening, we saw people migrating to the street with their chairs, a glass of wine, food and sometimes a dog. They chatted with their neighbors or just sat and took in the warm night. A roaming string group moved throughout the neighborhood playing Mozart and people meandered by on bikes. It made me feel envious that they really get what it means to enjoy life.

Here in California, with beautiful weather more days than not, it is rare to see people coming outside to socialize with their neighbors in the evenings. I read that in societies where this is common, people have the longest life expectancies. It makes sense. It has to be good for the heart and the soul.

Positano.

Speaking about good for the heart, I have to tell you about the Berner-Oberland, where I stayed in Switzerland. This area is nestled in the heart of the Alps, surrounded by mountains and lovely lakes. There are no cars or roads and the only way to get around is via gondolas, trams and cog-wheeled trains. We stayed in the town of Wengen, which is just lovely and has a charming village with wonderful restaurants and shops and is surrounded by little farms and Swiss homes.

We walked everywhere and most days did over 20,000 steps- most uphill and at high altitudes. Our Air B&B was a walk up a small, steep hill and I struggled too get up there at the end of a the day, but by the end of the week, it became much easier. My husband and I swore we had never seen so many older fit people in our lives. They walked those hills with ease and clearly the diet of Alp cheese, sausages and local beer wasn’t hurting them too much. After a day of adventuring, I slept like a baby each night wrapped up in my down comforter with the sound of faint bells from the nearby goat farm.

Walking in the Berner-Oberland above and below.

In later posts, I’ll share all the details about Italy and Switzerland in case you plan to go. Both are wonderful yet so different. In fact packing was my biggest challenge on this vacation as I brought one carry-on size suitcase. Resort clothes were on my mind when I packed for Italy as we spent most of the time in Positano and Sorrento. Rome however requires a little more city dressing and of course Switzerland requires mountain clothes. That means clothes to hike in and layers. I brought a rain jacket and a ultra light puffer coat (I never travel anywhere without it), but still ended up cold. Fortunately I found a Benetton store in Grindelwald and was able to get a pair of black leggings to sleep in and to wear under jeans in the 40 degree evenings and to the Jungfrau. I never thought I could be so cold in JULY! Turns out it was an exceptionally cold week when we were there.

Griffin with family friend Bill on one of our hikes and the Jungfrau glacier below.

You can walk out on this glacier to a hut. Yes this is July!

In the darling town of Gimmelwald.

Our last day of Switzerland we had warm weather and explored the beautiful city of Zurich. I loved it and wow talk about stylish people. They are turned out with very simple jackets, trenches and pretty tailored pants and cool shoes. These people looked amazing and the Swiss are beautifully groomed- men and women.

Zurich

One trend that was very big in Europe was the Birkenstock! Europeans are obsessed with them. My friend Jeanne told me all the Italians had then last year, especially the silver, gold or white versions. I saw the same in Italy and all over Switzerland. However, one difference is the way they wear them- it’s usually with a tailored sundress, so the look is a little casual dressy and it looks great.

When I got home I pulled out my old Michael Kor’s version of Birks and have been wearing them with my simplest black sundress and feeling cool!

Now we are off to St Louis for a wedding, so I hope I’ll have more from there to share too. If anyone has tips for that area, I’d love to hear them. I know we are going to the arch and I am excited for this wedding!

Hope you are enjoying summer and the simple things.

Kim

I Heart Amsterdam

August 25, 2013 By kimwheeler No Comments

Hello friends! I apologize for this last installment of my Europe trip being so late. Things got crazy there at the end of summer and then school started and everything else took a backseat for a while! I was dying to find time to write these last trip posts!

If you are interested in the preceding parts of this trip, my travel posts from England are here in part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 and Belgium in part 5.

Making our way from Belgium to the Netherlands, I just had to share the beauty of the Antwerp train station, which was our transfer point.

Amazing! ( Sorry phone photo here.) This does not even show the gorgeous ceilings or the outside of this beauty. This station, built in 1895, was slated for demolition. After WWII, many of Europe’s rail stations fell into disrepair and neglect with the advent of the evil car and lack of money. I cannot even imagine taking such a lovely place down. Luckily, it was saved and restored in the 1980s. On a related note, a fabulous flash mob of doing some Sound of Music was filmed here! If you haven’t seen it, you can here. It gives me those warm fuzzies. I know I’m kind of a nerd like that.

Our itinerary was Bruges to Amsterdam by rail, but as we were checking our tickets booked online, we noticed we were given a 7 minute window to transfer trains in Antwerp. Hmm, probably not going to happen I thought.

First of all, the Antwerp train station is four stories of trains! Secondly, Northern European trains are on time. (This is not Italy people. Just saying.) There was no way we were going to make that connection! We actually hit the ground running with all of our stuff, kids backpacks, earphones, biscuits packages and jackets flying and got there just as the train pulled out… Lol.

Another bummer was this was the first day, (a Saturday) of the European summer vacation for schools. Madness! Everyone was off somewhere and all trains were previously booked….So, the train folks admitted their scheduling error and sympathetically let us ride in the bar car! Not so horrible for an hour.. A nice gentleman thought we were funny and took a photo of us..

Well, we made it there and it was worth all the hassle!

The boys and I in front of the Rijkmuseum.

Did I mention this trip was cold? It was freezing cold by wimpy Californian standards. I packed at home in 95 degree heat and though my brain knew I should pack warmer clothes for late June, I didn’t pack much- hence me wearing my pashmina/blanket thingy I usually keep for the airplane. I was happy to have it and wore it most days on top of my jacket. We only got warmer weather the last 2 days of the trip. It stayed in the 50s cool and windy and damp most of this trip. Let this be a tip if you go here in summer! Pack for warmth!

Basically wearing a blanket. Not sure how chic that was, but I hate being cold!

Amsterdam is the land of the bicycle and don’t you know it the second you hit town. We were first astounded at the 4-story parking structure at the train station that was just for bikes!! Bikes are everywhere and they have a sophisticated bike infrastructure with bike traffic lights and designated paths as well as many streets that are mainly for bikes.

Amsterdam train station- google images.

If you forgot where you parked your bike you may never find it. This is just the train station and they are building more bike spots here.

We were amazed by all the kids and families on bikes. Look how they fit the kids in these fun wheelbarrow contraptions or the Dutch call them, bakfiets! My kids would have loved these when they were small. Of course most Americans will cringe at the thought of their child not being strapped or sealed in!

Loved this guy and their little dog!

Cute couples seemed to be everywhere.

Most people had these generic black bikes and a milk crate wired to it. There are no fancy bikes anywhere and no helmets ever! People are amazing bikers here. They are fast and so used to it that couples even hold hands and bike side by side.

Don’t you love both the men’s bright pants here? People dressed beautifully in Amsterdam. It’s a very stylish city.

Families share bikes like this mother and her daughters going into the tunnels that run under the Rijksmuseum.

This was a grandmother with her daughter and granddaughter .

Amsterdam has 800,000 people and 880,000 bikes. It is estimated that 70% of all trips or errands are done on bicycle. It wasn’t always this way. In the 1970s the country began to invest in biking. There was a really interesting article about how biking became so popular in the Netherlands here on BBC news magazine. The Dutch also believe there is safety in numbers, which I am sure is true.

If they aren’t on wheels than they are pushing them. I loved this stylish little gal and her dolly.

On every gate or fence or space a bike is chained to it. I’m not kidding about that.

As a bike rider myself, I would be quite intimidated to ride here as a tourist! Dutch biker speed is fast! You should see the corners they take, with kids as well! I saw quite a few near misses and you have to be careful not to walk on the bike paths.

Griffin running from under the Rijksmuseum tunnels. Sadly we did not get to the Rijksmuseum on this trip, but we stayed in this area called the museum district and it was a terrific location, close to the canals, shopping district and all the museums in this vicinity.

In front of the museum there are huge letters spelling Amsterdam that people love to pose on.

Much of Amsterdam reminded me of New York with it’s leafy streets and tall brick houses.

It was just beautiful. I loved wandering here.

Flowers are grown where you least expect it.

Flower boxes are on most of the bridges!

So much to do here, but we only had two full days. We wandered the city and checked out the flower market, shops and restaurants.

The front of the Rijkmuseum. This and the Van Gogh Museum are about a block apart.

The Amsterdam flower market was interesting and was huge. Fun shopping here. Grif was intrigued by the solar butterflies. They have Delftware for sale in the stands and nearby on the main shopping street, Kalverstraat, which is for pedestrians only.

They sell tiny pygmy orange trees in canisters here. Orange is the official color of the Netherlands and it makes a good little souvenir. You can bring it home and plant it. (Okay, mine’s still in the can.)

This hammock store was pretty cool.

The cheese shops also line the flower market. Don’t skip stopping here and sampling! We brought home a wonderful wheel of gouda.

These antique dealers enjoying the sun and some wine. We loved their vintage steam liner chairs!

The bathroom is a store. That’s right. Hilarious to us.

Can you read this sign? Sure he did. :/

One of the best meals we had on this trip was here at Cafe Loetje. It’s near the museum district and is a favorite of the locals. Salads were huge and food was very good. Wonderful outdoor dining and fun bar. People were so nice!

They also have a cat. I think his name was Arthur. This family was trying to snap his photo as he sat on the chair with them He also sat next to me on the bar. Great fries here. Don’t forget to have fries. I ate them every day – also beer. And waffles! Food is just a huge part of the fun experience here!!

Speaking of food, on the Kalverstraat shopping street, we stumbled across this gem just about lunch time. It’s not far from the flower markets.

Behold the best grocery store I have ever entered, La Place. Just some of the samplings in the prepared food area. . .

The foods you could bring home or eat there were amazing. They had soup stations, bread stations, an Asian wok station, and I could go on and on!

Focaccia by the foot!

Grab and go juices made in house.

We all picked something delicious and sat upstairs where it feels like you are in someone’s home.
The lunch area has beautiful marble tables and furniture.

My lunch was this olive focaccia and a citron presse soda. If I could only have this near my home!

Something that’s a must in Amsterdam is the Anne Frank House. I have wanted to go since I was young. Make sure you go online and make an appointment if you plan to do this. Booking online before, you can go to a special door and walk right in. The lines go around the block and you may have to wait several hours if you don’t make an appointment.

Visiting the Anne Frank House was one of the highlights of this trip. Words can’t describe the impression it leaves on you. I think it’s something everyone should do. For my boys, ages 15 and 11, this was the right age to do this. I was hoping they would get some perspective and better understanding about what happened during the war from this. My oldest said that he felt this made it (in his words), really, real- seeing her experience from her room.

You do climb into the real rooms Anne and the others hid in and they are in their original shape, untouched after all this time. Anne’s wall is still decorated with movie stars photos and other things that a young 15 year old girl would be obsessed with at the time. That really got to me as did seeing her diaries. The museum does a good job of keeping the dialogue going as you move through and eventually end up in a place where you can ask yourself if people in the world today are suffering the same way.

The one thing I did buy was a postcard of Anne at 15, her last photo. I keep this on my bulletin board so I will not forget.

Another must do is a canal ride. It’s a great way to see more of Amsterdam. If you go on a Saturday or Friday afternoon and it’s sunny, it’s even more fun. When the sun shines here, everyone comes outdoors. I mean everyone. If they aren’t on the canals in some floating form, then they are on every doorstep or canal edge with their own chairs and bottles of wine and food. It’s a city-wide party when the sun is out and crazier still on the water!

Some interesting sightings….

Bridal shower boat?

Loved their wicker chairs! Looked like an after work float.

This cute couple rigged up their hammock near the canal edge.

You can see above the block party atmosphere starting. I wish I took a photo when we were trapped in boat gridlock so you could see all the watercraft and rafts! It was fun though. Everyone had music playing and it was like a huge party. I have to say, people here know how to enjoy life. It’s also a great city to be young in. The water is like one big cruising area.

Many of the boats are houseboats and have their own gardens! Love the boxwood and black paint here.

Boxwood is popular all over the city.

I also adored the lacquered doors that are everywhere.

Another boxwood adorned and more modern canal home below.

Unique to Amsterdam is the very narrow canal houses. A long time ago, homeowners were taxed according to the width of their homes, so home were built as narrow and tall as possible.

The narrowness of these homes is the reason you will see that all houses have a hook on the top to pull furniture through the windows! Many of the canal houses were built in the 17th century and the canal house area is now a Unesco World Heritage site.

I hated leaving Amsterdam. There was so much to still see. I feel like we barely scratched the surface. I also adored the Dutch people who were so kind and friendly.

Getting this far across the world, I like to take a few things home with me to remember my trip. One thing I bought that I really love was this Delftware tile. The blue and white pottery that is original to the Delft region of Holland is everywhere. So beautiful.

It sits in my kitchen window now and it makes me think of our trip.

The shop where I bought it tied these tiny Dutch shoes on my package and I love these!

I popped into H&M while I was there and I couldn’t help being attracted to this tunic. It so reminded me of all the beautiful Delft all over the city. I had to buy it.

Of course we also brought home stroopwaffles and Dutch cookies. A wonderful place to get these is right at their own grocery, Albert Heijn. They are less expensive plus I just love browsing foreign grocery stores. Always interesting to see what they have.

Next door to our hotel was a fancy designer end shopping district, PC Hooftstraat. My husband and I went one afternoon to check it out. It was disappointing to see Cartier, Gucci, Tiffany, LV and the like. The last thing I want to buy on my travels is something from the mall at home.

It’s so much more fun to scope out things original to the area you are visiting. We were just about to leave the street when I spied a cute store called Lifestyles. It was like a Pottery Barn with a Dutch flair. I loved it! They had wonderful candles, woven accessories, table linens and even tunics and scarves and totes. I bought a pretty candle and another tunic at the summer sale. I was thrilled to get items that were totally unique for me. Do you not agree about that when shopping abroad?

Thanks for patiently sticking with this blog during my slow month! I’m back up to speed and my final trip installment with Germany is still to come! Thanks for reading!

Kim

Belgium and the Charm of Bruges

August 6, 2013 By kimwheeler No Comments

After five days of London we made our way to the continent, or mainland Europe and particularly Belgium. If you read my previous posts you may remember we had booked plane tickets that had us arriving in London and leaving from Frankfurt. Being the main planner, I tried to find the most charm in between those two spaces and Bruges, Belgium was the top of the list.

Here my eldest is awaiting a pain du chocolate before we board the train at London’s very beautiful St Pancras station. This lovely rail station was built in 1868 and was almost demolished in the 1960s before it was restored and opened as the main Eurostar hub. Lots of good restaurants and shops to wait your time out in too.

The Victorian architecture is very pretty. The 243 foot arched span, designed by W.H. Barlow, was an engineering marvel at the time and the largest enclosed space in the world in 1863!

It’s quite easy to get over to Belgium on the Eurostar. In just around 2 hours or so you arrive in Brussels and from there you can take another quick train North to Bruges. The Eurostar is very comfy and traveling as four you can share a table. These two were spending the time watching a movie. They are into Game of Thrones right now.

If you think travel on the Eurostar is going underground it’s actually not so much. You are in a tunnel for maybe 15 minutes. Most of the time you are passing the French and Belgium countryside and all the little villages built around churches. Travel by rail is unique because you can say you have really seen a country.

I also find it so romantic. I love to look out my window, daydream and listen to one of my iPod travel mixes.

Yes it was cool the whole time we were in Europe. This photo is in the last week of June. I have on a jacket, two scarves, along with long pants, thick socks and tennis shoes! My four pairs of sandals did not see the light of day. Duh.

Bruges exceeded our expectations in so many ways. It was beautiful, quaint, fun and not crowded at all. Our stay was made even better by our Hotel Adornes, which was a Rick Steve’s website suggestion. The people at Adornes, especially Rik, were so welcoming and had some great recommendations.

Bruges is part of the Flanders region of Belgium where Dutch is spoken. In the south of Belgium is the French-speaking Wallonia region.

This was the view from our family room!

Out front of the hotel on the canal.

Breakfast was in this cozy room each morning. How can you not appreciate a day begun with a basket of homemade breads and croissants? European breakfasts are the best.

Hotel Adornes has a terrace full of free bikes for guests so we took advantage to see more of Bruges.

Bruges is totally walkable. We spent all 3 days on foot, a little biking and a boat ride and never needed a cab or car to get anywhere. The town has a great path that goes around the city that takes you past some of the best canals. It’s a joy to putter along here and we did that a lot. It feels uncrowded compared to other European cities.

The first day we were cold and hungry and we happened upon this divine tea room, Patisserie Servaas Van Mullem. It was so amazing we went twice!

No words needed right?

I am enchanted when my tea is served like this. It’s all in the details.

My husband loved the cookies here too. Food outstanding. Cozy, warm and lovely people. This pastery shop was opened again in 2004, in it’s original spot, after being closed for 40 years. The chef’s grandfather and brother were famous bakers who ran this place from the late 1800s. Pretty cool.

Our kids took this. I wanted to show you the 18th century decor of this place behind us and we matched! Loved the wallpaper, mouldings and chandelier.

Bruges is a Unesco World Heritage Site and has most of it’s medieval architecture intact. In fact, if you see a building with a stepped roofline (like the grey and peach homes above) it dates from the 1600s. It’s very cool how much is exactly like it was, and that they had had the foresight not to modernize everything.

Buildings also have the dates they were built in many cases. Love this one above from 1676, which is still being used as a storefront and an apartment.

Little cafes are jammed in every corner and yes you can sit outside even if they have 5 feet of space! This one across from our hotel was closed, but I loved how they fit in this corner.

The charm is everywhere!

The Markt (or market square) in Bruges is lined with more spots to enjoy the cafe lifestyle.

Bikes are everywhere with stylish riders.

Jan Van Eyck a very famous 15th century Flemish painter who lived in Bruges and he is honored in many places.

Most all the streets are cobblestone which are lovingly restored and replaced as they wear out.

Here they are repairing one.

Some seriously adorable shops.

They take every chance they get to pretty things up with blooms in this city.

A gate to a shared yard that many homes have here.

Most homes open right onto the street, but they find ways to add some curb appeal.

These are just a few of the window boxes as you walk along the residential streets.

Boxwood is everywhere too.

Another one of my favorite things is wicker and woven furniture and you also see it in so many cafes, and everywhere.

Some of the best times were just meandering through the town. As you turn each corner there are hidden squares and sweet little spots of the city.

Walking down this very quiet street we came upon some painters and they were blasting, Der Kommissar by Falco. Funky! I know it was German, but it was just one of those strange happenings you can’t forget. A Northern European moment I guess. (If you have forgotten this, so bad, it’s good song, check out my link to the original video.)

A canal ride is a must when you are here and our captain was the Sean Connery of Belgium. (Or so he said!)

What a charmer.

Many hidden gardens along the canals.

Lots of bird lovers here.

These folks had a landing spot for this duck family!

Some homes have private entrances from the canals.

One of the highlight of the canal tour was seeing this cute dog. This pampered pooch was on his special pillow watching the boats float by!

There are numerous canal restaurants you can’t see on the city streets like this one called The Sixties!

There is a lovely park in the center of town that is quite large and beautiful. Bruges boasts some impressive museums, churches and cathedrals as well.

One day we walked to the other side of town where you can see the windmills and it’s an even quieter part of town.

There are two cute restaurants out this way as well.

We ate at this one, De Verloren Hoek which was excellent and popular with locals, usually a good sign.

Around the corner literally from our hotel and down this tiny street, was Bruges oldest pub, Herberg Vlissinghe, built in 1515.

Indoors is authentic and you could swear you were back in the 16th century.

It was a nice day so we sat in the beer garden.

Kids and adults can play games like boules and there is a little Jack Russell running about. The beer from the Half Moon (De Halve Maan) brewery in town is unbelievably good and also I tried a rose beer, which is very light from Hoegarden which I quite liked. You can also visit the Half Moon brewery in Bruges and they have a restaurant as well. We didn’t get there this time.

Yes, all the Belgian beers were as good as this looks and I’m not even a beer drinker, but when in Rome. . .

Just loved, loved, loved Bruges and I am now intrigued to see more of Belgium. The wonderful people here are so welcoming and kind. I hope you get a chance to stop here if you are in Europe. Belgium is one of those places not everyone goes, but you shouldn’t miss it.