Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Highlights of Kyle and Nathan's Visit, June-July 2013



Under the dome of Kurhaus, Wiesbaden

Two great-nephews, recent high school graduates, from Seattle visited me in Germany this past summer.  Their visit was for 3+ weeks.  I had planned to show both a good sampling of what western Europe is like.  I will probably provide additional details on a few of the specific places we visited in future posts, but for now will provide a few photos from the sights we saw.

During weekdays, I took them to locations that were near where I live in Wiesbaden.  We stopped in Frankfurt a couple of times; visited Rudesheim and its scenic viewpoint of the Rhine and surrounding vineyards; took a day trip to Cologne and Koblenz; hiked around Bacharach; and showed them the sights of Wiesbaden.  During long 4-day weekends, we took the train to Paris; a short flight hop to Madrid, including a day trip to Toledo; and drove to Ghent and Bruges in Belgium, and Amsterdam in Netherlands.

All in all, they enjoyed their visit.  I believe they saw enough of western Europe that they will want to visit again.  I've started to post the countless photos of our trips in my flickr account.  The following are some pictures from their visit:


Ruedesheim, Germany with a view of the Rhine River

Ruedesheim w/ the Germania statue
In front of the State Theater, Wiesbaden




Wiesbaden


Roemerplatz in Frankfurt


Frankfurt, Germany over the Main River

At a train station in Frankfurt, headed for Paris
Paris

Late afternoon shadows in the Tuileries Gardens, Paris

Pyramid Main Entrance of the Louvre Museum, Paris

Pyramid main entrance of the Louvre Museum, Paris

Sacre Couer Basilica in Montmartre neighborhood of Paris

Arc de Triomphe

Inside the catacombs of Paris


Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris



Cologne Cathedral

Bacharach, Germany with the Rhine River in the background

Cologne
Palacio Real, Madrid

Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Madrid



Almudena Cathedral, Madrid



Plaza de Espana, Madrid
Madrid



In front of Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid
Toledo, Spain
Toledo, Spain
Toledo, Spain
Ghent, Belgium
Ghent, Belgium
Bruges, Belgium
Bruges, Belgium
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Heineken Brewery tour, Amsterdam