Freaking beautiful Highlands

I was trying to think of a better name for this post, but just look at these pictures and you'll understand why I couldn't. It's seriously amazing.

Skye Bridge with Isle of Sky in the background

Drive from Sterling to Mallaig 

Drive from Sterling to Mallaig

Fort William

On the way to Mallaig

on the way to Mallaig

On the way to Mallaig

On the way to Mallaig

the Atlantic Ocean 

Mallaig

Eilean Donan

on the drive home 

Inverness

And this is just the abridged version. Let's just say between Italy, Edinburgh, and the Highlands, I had to buy an extra memory card for my camera.

My new favorite artist

I don't know if you caught this from the last post - but the Vatican has a big Wow-factor to it! And while I was walking around the halls and halls of amazing art, I realized I was kind of in love with Renaissance painter Michelangelo!

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I remembered learning about it when learning about the Renaissance in 8th grade, or maybe just because it's an amazing work of art. But I could have craned my neck all day looking at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. 

Of course, my favorite work of all was nestled in a front corner of St. Peter's Basilica.

If anyone wants to call up the pope and see if he'll give me Michelangelo's Pieta for Christmas, I'd really appreciate that. 

Yes, I do have a favorite Cathedral

Once Matthew woke up from his train naps, our first stop was Aachen. You might recall that I've been to Aachen a few times before (pretty much every time I've ever had visitors), so I know that it's a fantastic little city. But, hands down, my favorite site it offers is the Aachener Dom - or the cathedral, if you will.

 

Cool story: the cathedral is the oldest one in northern Europe and holds the remains of Charlemagne. That's pretty legit, if you ask me. But even beyond the fun facts, this cathedral is absolutely amazing. I've collected my best pictures, but still, none of them really do it justice. It's average, bordering on small in size, but is the most ornate building I've probably ever seen (and I say this even after having been to the Vatican). Even Matthew was gushing about it's awesomeness the entire time he was there. 

Amsterdam: Sex, Drugs, and Bicycles

Way back in the beginning of June, Katharina and I went to Amsterdam for a weekend. I've been there twice before, but only for a combined total of 24 hours - so I was excited to finally get to really visit this city I'd only gotten a glimpse of. 

Of course Amsterdam has a bit of a reputation for sex and drugs - what, with the infamous red light district and well known "coffee shops." Of course, one thing you might notice before the sex and drugs if you ever visit Amsterdam is all the bicycles! Eventually all this led Katharina to proclaim Amsterdam the city of sex, drugs, and bicycles.

I'll touch on all 3 of those subjects. But not today. 

I wanted to start Amsterdam blogging by clarifying that that place is an amazingly beautiful city that has a lot more than just sex, drugs, and bicycles! Of course you should visit the red light district and/or a coffee shop if you want - they're definitely interesting bits of culture. But if you ever go to Amsterdam, make sure to get off the beaten path. Get out side the city center. Walk along the canals until you don't know where you are anymore. And that's where you'll find the most beautiful side of Amsterdam. And you'll understand why I think it's such an amazing city. 

A Brusselian Surprise

Um, what exactly is the adjective form of Brussels? Regardless...

Remember how I mentioned that I had a few Belgian friends in Switzerland? Well, one time, one of my Belgians mentioned to me that Brussels wasn't the nicest city. Upon reflection, I think he might have just been talking about the crime, because Brussels does have a bit of a reputation. But somewhere along the way, I took it to mean that Brussels was just an ugly city. So my expectations for our weekend trip weren't terribly high. 

Well imagine my surprise when this was our very first view when we arrived in the city.

Over the next 3 days I would find out just how severely I had misjudged this city. Brussels was gorgeous - seriously more beautiful than I would have expected even without my preconceived misconceptions. There was so much more to do and see than I would have thought. I could go on and on, but I think the pictures will do it just a little more justice than my OMGs and BEAUTIFULs. 

   

needless to say, I would definitely recommend a trip to Brussels to anyone with sometime to kill in Europe! 

Flowers, pt. 2

So we have this market in Dortmund (The market is awesome and I don't know why haven't blogged about it yet, so expect that soon), and, not to give too much away, they have a lot of flowers at the market. As we all may remember, I'm not the most capable hands to leave flowers in. But those are potted flowers. Fresh cuts - of which the market is plentiful - are pretty much already on their way out, and I'm really good at making sure they have a nice last week. When my mom and grandma where here they hooked me up with my first bouquet from the market. 

  
and that beautiful arrangement cost less than 6€. It lasted easily for a week. And honestly, it probably could have lasted longer, but I was itching to go buy more flowers from the market! So I kept the prettiest flowers from bouquet #1 and got a little creative before throwing out the rest for bouquet #2

This time I got tulips. Tulips at the market usually cost 3€ for ten or 5€ for twenty. I mean, seriously, can you beat that?! I opted for my two favorite colors: yellow and purple. And it worked out really appropriately Eastery too! 

The tulips were gorgeous, but they paid their time and were looking pretty droopy after a week. Also, the purple ones never opened, which I was sad about, because they had a beautiful yellow on the inside (I peaked). I haven't gotten a new bouquet yet, but you better believe that's what I'll be doing on Wednesday!