A little country hopping for ya!

I've been all over the U.S.  Crossed so many state borders, I've lost track.  I live half an hour away from a state border for heaven's sake!

So imagine my surprise when crossing country borders....was kind of the same thing.  Except maybe even more anticlimactic because we didn't even cheer as we crossed.

See, over in Europe a lot of the countries are all part of the European Union.  Because of this union, there isn't any border control whatsoever.  Going from Germany to France to Luxembourg to Belgium was very similar to going from Utah to Idaho to Wyoming to Colorado.

Downside?  No passport stamps.

The first day we stop in Trier, the oldest city in Germany.  It's home to a Roman Gate (yes, as in bajillion years old Romans) that is nicknamed 'The Black Gate' because, well, it's black.

There were all of these kids everywhere on a field trip...and I wonder what type of life they live.  I mean, who goes on a school field trip to a Roman gate...in Germany.  Don't mind me, I just went to the Kingman Power House year after year after year.  (Kingmanites, you know what I'm talking about). 

Keep in mind it was 90 degrees over here.  Yes, 90 degrees and so humid it felt like a permanent sauna.  That is why my face felt like it was melting off.  This is when we vowed to never put any effort in our appearance in Europe ever again.  (That lasted until the next day).  We also visited some Roman Baths, a beautiful cathedral, and had the most amazing gelato ever.  I had blood orange and, oh my, it was heavenly.  Helped my craving for something cold.  Fun fact about Germany: they have no ice.  Anywhere.  They probably don't even know what ice is.  And their drinks?  Cool, not cold, at best.  

We then stopped at a U.S. military cemetery in Luxembourg.  This was amazing.  It was sobering to look at all of those white crosses in row after perfect row of people who died so I could live in a free country.  

 Luxembourg was gorgeous.  It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world (I guess their big income is banking? Who knew!), and you could tell.  Everything was clean and nice. Seriously, I would probably move there in heartbeat...actually, I would move there in a heartbeat.

Belgium was only about a half an hour away...so why not?  We tried some French fries from a little roadside stand.  Fun fact number 2: French fries are from Belgium. World War II soldiers were given some from soldiers that spoke French so they assumed they were from France, but they were actually from Belgium.  These fries were heavenly...fresh and hot.  We also had an assortment of sauces to taste test.  (Curried ketch-up?  Thumbs down.)

Our last stop was a war memorial, Battle of the Bulge to be exact.  This was an amazing experience for me because I had just learned about this battle, the history behind the name, and the significance of it.  The memorial was huge, and I would highly recommend looking up the story.  Again, it made me so proud to be an American.  It also reminded me of the great world we live in, at risk of sounding corny, it was a great reminder that there are good people out there.

('Scuse the appearance...it was a long day and as mentioned, I basically melted).

Sorry this was so long...when you do three countries in one day, it takes a while.

xo. Elise