Traveling

As I made the previous post, I realized that not a single one of those pictures was taken in the US. That reminded me of some of the places that I have opportunity to visit in the last few years. Here are five of my favorites.

New York City: Growing up I often found myself in big cities, and I have grown to enjoy them. I had the opportunity to go to New York on my high school senior class trip. It was a lot of fun. I enjoy all the museums and concert halls. I will warn you, however, that New York is not a place to go if you want to save money.

The Netherlands: I had the opportunity to visit the Netherlands with the Faith Chorale last year. It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed staying with a Dutch family during my stay there. One place I particularly enjoyed was Kinderdijk. It is a village with 19 windmills, which is pretty rare, since most villages only have one. It makes for some excellent picture taking. Zaanse Schans was also a lot of fun. It is a traditional Dutch town geared towards tourists. We got a tour of a windmill (very interesting) and free cheese samples (very delicious) and our share of traditional Dutch games in the main square (very invigorating).

The Rhine River Valley, Germany: There were many different parts of Germany I enjoyed, but as far as scenery, this part was my favorite. We stayed in a town called Rüdesheim. It was my first experience in a youth hostel, which was interesting, involving, as it did, dozens of screaming German junior-highers. The scenery involved terraced grapevines as far as the eye can see on both sides of the river (I did not partake of the fruit of the vine). We took a cruise on it and were able to see many small towns nestled against its banks, along with castles at the top of nearly every hill. It was an amazing experience.

Alps, Austria: I was only in Austria for a day, so I was not able to see too much, but what I did see was the view from the top of an Alp. 'Nough said.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany: This was another place I only saw briefly. I think we were only there for about 2 hours, but it was probably my favorite town in all of Germany. It is a small medieval town that still has a wall which goes all the way around it. The atmosphere was just amazing as I walked around. My favorite part was when I walked through a gate in the wall to suddenly be in a garden that had a view of the surrounding forests that stretched for miles. Breathtaking.

What are some of your favorite places that you have visited?

Soli Deo Gloria