The Great Dase Road-Trip Across Europe: Amsterdam, Cologne, Bautzen, Krakow, and Prague

Happy New Year everyone! We’ve been away for a while and a lot has happened! We finished up the exam period here in Leuven (It runs from January 8^th to 25^th here) and took a few days to recharge our batteries before we started the next semester! Sorry for taking so long to post but we have been across Europe and back again. We certainly missed our families during Christmas but those pangs of homesickness were alleviated somewhat as we spent Christmas Eve having dinner and drinks with the ever-generous Barbara Bordalejo and Peter Robinson, and we attended a midnight Christmas mass at St. Kwintenskerk. The boys (my brother Paul and Andy, cousin James, and friend Mike) arrived in Amsterdam a few days later and we took the train to meet them. Amsterdam is a beautiful city that seems to have a bit of a schizophrenic build that divvies itself up between a party scene and the calmer, if still just as touristy, style of a town like Bruges. Admittedly, we were only there for the evening and since it was already dark we didn’t get to see much of the city-scape nor have the chance to do much sight-seeing. Megan would like to go back for a day-trip to visit the art museums for which the city is famous.

The next day we piled into the party wagon, a nine-seater van (Ford, just like the Festiva), and started a long drive through rolling green hills to Cologne, where we saw the city’s famed cathedral. Meg and I have seen a lot of these buildings now and I have to say, although the cathedrals of France create a celestial atmosphere in the way they let in the light, and the history of the English minsters speak to me, the architecture of the Cologne cathedral and its high-Gothic style is more decadent and visually stunning than its Anglo and Franco counterparts.

There are few things to see in Cologne apart from the cathedral, so the next day we were headed east on the road to Krakow, finding rest in the small town of Bautzen. Bautzen was the most pleasant surprise of the whole trip. We stayed at an inn with a small pub and microbrewery attached that made delicious beer with a hint of honey, cherries, and the like slipped into their different brews. The inn sat in the shadow of an old stone bridge, which in turn sat in the shadow of an even older castle fortification. The language barrier was noticeable, and the general mantra of ‘Slower, Louder’ was of little aid to us here.

Finally, Poland!

Krakow is a beautiful city and the atmosphere there conveyed a real sense of history and celebration. The amount of effort that went into Christmas stalls and the New Year’s celebration were amazing and the best way to describe these seasonal festivities might be a sort of winter fair. The castle was impressive and people were touring the grounds in abundance despite the cold. The sheer size of these structures dwarf the fortresses we traveled to in Southern France just a few months earlier.

We don’t have any pictures, but Paul and James split off from the group for a day and were able to see Schindler’s factory and the old Jewish quarter of the city.

Before we left Poland, we stopped in Auschwitz. We were unable to enter the grounds themselves as the line stretched back with over a hundred people and the museum had already reached capacity. We waited in the cold for what seemed like hours before giving up. It is uplifting to see how many people showed up to that place on such a cold day to pay homage to the terrible history that took place there.

We made our way to Prague, a beautiful city with a bit more of a touristy vibe. We spent a day touring the old quarter and the castle, the seat of the Bohemian kings in the Middle Ages.

After a long drive, we arrived back in Leuven and the boys spent a few days in our neck of the woods, touring the only slightly more modest sights and making a day trip to Vimy Ridge. It was awesome to have them just hang out around home for a bit and get to see the city that we live in.

After the boys left for back home, exams set in and we were back to being studious hermits. Then Brendan took off to the Great White North and Meg and I enjoyed some time to relax a little, enjoy each other’s company, and slowly but surely chip away at some work that needed doing.

The weekend before the new semester began I got terribly, dreadfully ill with a flu the likes of which I had never experienced. I was thankful to have Meg there to look after me when I could barely spend more than a half hour out of bed sometimes. Luckily I recovered just before classes started again and we’ve been busy this week trying to settle into a more productive, early-to-bed early-to-rise routine, which has been refreshing. Meg and I are both excited about our new classes and what this year will bring.

P.S. Meg wrote all of the captions for the photos, so if there is a surplus of exclamation marks and/or Disney-esque terminology, you know why.

A charming windmill we encountered on one of our pit-stops in the Netherlands. Dating from the 16th century! 

The fantastic Gothic facade of Cologne Cathedral in Germany. With some restoration scaffolding on the left tower, of course. Cathedrals need band-aids too.  

Unfortunately the chapel holding the relics of the Three Magi (for which the cathedral is famous) was closed for the evening, but its hard to complain, having the opportunity seeing such a gorgeous piece of architecture. 

Aha! St. Christopher again! We also spotted him in the medieval wall-paintings that adorn the Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark. I highly recommend reading the Legend of St. Christopher! 

had to.

The adorable towers of Bautzen, Germany.

In front of a very noble-looking building in Krakow, on our way to the medieval city-centre.  

The Old Market Square! Krakow has one of the largest, fully-intact medieval market squares in Europe. 

This building is the 15th-century Cloth Hall where the citizens would purchase and trade textiles. 

Andy, Kyle, and Mike looking a bit chilled. It was quite cold in Poland! 

Inside of a colourful, baroque-style chapel near the market square.

The Krakow Castle Portcullis! 

Buildings at the centre of the castle-hill.

Back in the boys' flat... Yes that is me trying to cut a piece off of a giant wheel of bread we bought at the Christmas market so that I can TOAST it. 

Kyle in front of the Gunpowder Tower in Prague, thus named because it was used to store gunpowder in the 16th century. 

You can climb up the spiral staircase of the Gunpowder tower, which has two or three levels. One of the rooms had these delightful late-medieval carvings on the wall. 

View from the top of the Gunpowder Tower. Later that day, as you will see, we walked to and climbed to the top of one of the towers of the cathedral you can just see in the far distance of this photo. 

Down we go.

The famous Astronomical Clock of Prague! The third-oldest clock in the world and still tickin'

Gorgeous door right next to the astronomical clock. The entire market-square of Prague was stunning. 

The colours! 

This is the famous historic bridge in Prague called the Charles Bridge. The bridge's construction was begun in 1357 and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. It is beautiful!!!!

The gate to the bridge! And a picture of Andy taking a picture. 

Music on the bridge! 

Many tourists on the bridge, including us. Kyle and Andy were punching each other for every selfie-stick spotted. There were many bruises inflicted.

St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, which is situated at the centre of the Prague Castle complex. 

*Sigh*

I LOVE the mosaic here on the facade. 

At the top of the cathedral tower overlooking the city!

Please enjoy these last two photos and the only photos we were able to capture of the elusive Paul and James. These were taken at a hotel in Amsterdam.














We had a great time with these goofballs and can't wait to see them all again back in the wild and free country.






Love, K & M