Surprise! My Family Comes to Europe

About three weeks ago, my dad called me and said he wanted to come out for one final visit before Brian and I move home next month.  The original plan was for him to come to England, and then the three of us would head over to Switzerland for a few days.  However, my brother and his wife decided they really wanted to come too, and while they were here, they wanted to see Germany.  So Brian and I went into trip planning crisis mode and somehow pulled together a 9-day European vacation for us and my family in about 2 weeks.  It definitely put our trip planning skills to the test, but I am  happy to say that we succeeded.  =)

Brian and I with my family in front of the Reichstag in Berlin

Our trip started with somewhere my brother has always wanted to go: Berlin.  I traveled there in December with a couple of friends and really wanted to take Brian back there, so it worked out well.  The weather there was horrible, but to our credit, we still got out and saw all the major sites, including the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie (the most famous border crossing between East and West Berlin), and the Brandenburg Gate.  We also visited the largest church in Berlin and the AquaDom, the largest cynlindrical aquarium in the world at the Radisson Blu Hotel.

Me with my family in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

Inside the Berlin Cathedral

The AquaDom in Berlin

At the end of the weekend, Brian flew back to England to work during the week, while my family and I took a 4-hour train southward to Bad Kreuznach, where my mom was born and raised and where she used to take my brother and I when we were children.  It was also where she and my dad met, so it was extra special for me and my brother to go there with our dad who showed us around.  We even went back to my mom's old house and talked to the owners about how things have changed.  It was such an incredible experience to go back there as a family to honor my mom and include her in some way in our trip.


Me with my dad and brother in front of my mom's house in Bad Kreuznach, Germany

The toy store where Daniel and I used to go when we visited BK as kids -
we all bought something there this time too!

After an amazing couple days in this part of Germany, we boarded a train again, this time to head over to Switzerland.  More on that part of the adventure tomorrow!