Visit from Moeder en Vader

As some of you may know, my lovely parents came across the Atlantic last week for 9 days of fun filled Netherlands adventures!
It was so much fun to turn the corner in the city square and see my parents sitting at a table waiting for me to come sit down.  They looked like locals and we had such a fun time exploring the city and surrounding areas.  Having friends and family in town gives me a great excuse to go tour the city myself and find surprises I even I have never seen before!
It is convenient that I only have class three days per week, especially when I was trying to spend time with my family that of which I hadn't seen in months!  The first few days we spent exploring my town of Maastricht.  I have said it before, but Maastricht is a much bigger city than it appears!  Tours of the Catholic church in town, boat trips, tours through caves, and exploring the old town wall kept us busy.  Of course, we still had time to grab some great meals and sip on some refreshing brews.  Favorites were Bavaria Beir and Leffe Beer accompanied by a nice plate of frites (french fries) and mayonnaise.

We got so lucky with the great weather!  Photo credit:  Dad

Lunch outside in November.

In the Roman River Lookout Tower.

Mama and I in the park

Daddy and I in our new scarves.

The delicious bakery at the market.

Strolling in the charming city park.

Maastricht, being such a hub for traveling allowed us to take a day trip to Bastogne Belgium to see the area where the Battle of the Bulge was fought.  Of course, dad enjoyed the WWII history and feel of the entire town.  We searched around town and took a minute to remember that the entire town was in ruin when the American's liberated Belgium.  We found a fabulous museum with incredibly lifelike wax figure dioramas as well as touching photographs from the war.  It was interesting to compare pictures that the museum had on display and pictures of how the town looks now.  There was certainly a lot of clean up and reconstruction that occurred!

Mom and I enjoying Belgium beer, ham and chocolates.

It was a little confusing getting there...

Dad and I in Bastogne.

 

Overall, it was an amazing 9 days and it was so magical having my parents here in Europe experiencing the city and country I have been living in.  They made friends with bartenders and hotel managers and all raved, "how different they were than most Americans".  What a nice compliment!  It was also a plus to get to eat 'real' food for some time.  Pasta, chicken and bell peppers gets a little old after a while.  Thanks mom and dad!  I was definitely proud to say that that English speaking couple were my parents :)