WOW Europe ------ Wedding------Netherlands-------Germany-------Italy

We went traveling to say the least.   Rick and Claudia picked June 30 for their Wedding Day.  Yes!! We would be going!!

There isn't enough room on this blog to write all the happenings nor to put all the pictures-----so this will be a small writing of some of the  happenings.  We have so many stories to tell and about 600 pictures to look at.   Some of the pictures, of course, are ....."what did I take that for...where is that?!?!....oh - bad!......" and so on.  But I will try to pick out some nice ones.    In time I will be putting together a (probably very large) photo album with the help of Shutterfly.    But for now.....enjoy.

We arrived in beautiful Nijmegen, Netherlands after being picked up at the airport by Rick and Claudia.

 The streets of Nijmegen are all brick.....with a bicycle path along every street.   Bicycles are EVERYWHERE!!!!

The "rail" on the right is for bicycles to get up and down the steps......

A bicycle parking garage!!!!!!  and this picture is only a small part of it!!!

We went immediately to a Flower Supermarket......every plant you can imagine is available and every container you might want.  And compared to the United States prices----Roses are almost a dime a dozen -- and OH! so beautiful.   Rick and Claudia were picking out flowers for their wedding.

The 1st ceremony took place outside at Fort Lent in Nijmegen......with a vegan meal and dancing and celebrating following.

Parents of the couple.

The 2nd ceremony took place at the Government office and is required by law. 

To be honest, I enjoyed the 2nd ceremony the most.   It was so much fun walking through the open market watching the people smiling at the good looking couple just married.  And then it happened......     I had my singing debut in a pub in Nijmegen.    I expect to be famous any day now.....HAHA.     Actually, Gary said to me "I think you should sing that song "A little less of Me" (by Glen Campbell).   So I had Rick find it on the internet and Claudia's Uncle had his guitar along and let me use it......and I had people crying.     :)  :)     Yes! it was fun!!!

The Pub where I sang....and toasts were made.

Saturday - the day after the 1st ceremony -  was not a good one for me.  My Meneres (ear problem) which makes me very dizzy at times --- hit me full force.   I laid in bed for the entire day --- except for the trip they made me take to the clinic....   I used the bucket way too many times.   We had hoped to go to the Cologne Cathedral the following day but put it off until I was more steady on my feet.  So we went on Monday late in the afternoon.

We arrived to late to make the climb up the tower -- but the Cathedral is just an amazing site!!!  It took 600 years to build and was almost destroyed in WWII.

Then it was on to Rome!!!

 My first night in Rome and this young man found a "sucker".  Well - it was a nice wooden bowl and he was such a good salesman and we had a lot of fun with him.   Shucks !! it was only 20 Euro ($).

First stop - Vatican Museum......this is the wall that surrounds it.   (Claudia forgive me for probably getting lots of things wrong --- no one knows but you !!!    :)   :)

 This hall was full of "busts" of anyone and everyone in Roman History.......

 This was a hall with statues of the "gods"....

Painting on the walls and ceilings were unbelievable....

Many many huge tapestries (perhaps 12' x 12') depicting Bible stories.....

And it all ended in the Sistine Chapel --- where no photos were allowed and the guards tried to demand silence.

Well -- I can see that this is getting way too much.........    So - - - - - the following will not be what we saw but some fun shots.......

 Espresso is THE drink..........Rick doing it right....

 Our bathroom in our hotel was compact to say the least -- but it served the purpose it was made for.

We had a meal in Koln (Cologne) Germany.......   Claudia knew what she was ordering --- we were the ones who were totally wowed!!!!   Check out that ham....bone and all!!

Jan (Claudia's nephew) and Janeka came with us to Rome -- what a fun couple!!!

 Our next stop was Pompei.....

I don't dare to start putting in pictures....... there are so many good ones.    This city was built in (according to our booklet) in the 6th century B.C.  A violent earthquake struck in 62 A.D. and damaged many parts of the city and then on August 24, 79 A.D. the volcano - Vesuvius - erupted and buried the city under ash and rock fragments.

 People were buried alive----dying due to asphyxiation and high temperatures.... and casts were made of the "air pockets" that were found - revealing the position of the bodies.

Notice the huge rocks that make up the streets.

 A panoramic view.....

The Grand Theatre......    so much more to show you.......  but that will have to be in the Photo Album to come later.   

 Our last stop in Rome was the Colosseum - where Gladiators fought and Christians were killed.....

These square pieces were at the very top of the structure ---- How in the world did they get them up so high?!?!

 It was a VERY hot day when we were at the Colosseum ---- so a trip to the Mediterranean Sea was a MUST!!!    What a great way to end our time in Italy and our trip to Rick and Claudia!!!!

Our last meal at a very fine Ristorante.......

Yup!   Gary got to liking the Espresso!! - Get that pinky up!

We had such a fun time !!   Claudia is the best tour guide we could have asked for.....  We kept an eye on her hat and followed like sheep.  It was great getting to meet Claudia's family and also to get to know her better.   She is a keeper  :)

We thank God for safety throughout the whole adventure and now are just hoping our bodies will get back to Central Time!!!!

Gary and Barb