Macy and Carly's Visit to Europe

In mid-June, my cousins, Macy and Carly, came to visit for a jam-packed week of European travels. Trying to find an open week between their busy summer schedule and mine was difficult, but I'm so glad it worked out for them to come! This was Macy's second visit to Europe, as she visited me in Wiesbaden two years ago, and Carly's first. 

Biking around Sittard

Although the time was short, I wanted them to experience as much of Europe as possible during their visit. Luckily, living in the tri-border region provides them an opportunity to visit three countries quite easily. We took a day trip to Aachen to visit the beautiful Dom, have a schnitzel lunch and shop for gummi bears. Afterward, we stopped by the Dreilandenpunt where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet. 

Aachen Dom

Standing in three countries at once at the Dreilandenpunt

After two days in the local area, we hopped a train for an overnight stay in Amsterdam. We stayed in a hotel that was a canal house from the 1600s in the Jordaan neighborhood. We did a city walk, visited the Anne Frank house and even toured through the Red Light District on our way to the Our Lady in the Attic Museum - a remarkable museum where a hidden Catholic church was built in the attic of a merchant's house during the Reformation, when Catholics could not worship in public.

Enjoying waffles along the Amsterdam canal

Amsterdam 

After our whirlwind trip to Amsterdam, we had one day to recover in Sittard, where we explored the shops and rode our bikes around the beautiful city park.

The next morning, we boarded the Eurostar to London where we would spend the next two nights. Immediately after arriving, we ventured to the nearby King's Cross station where the 9 3/4 platform is located from the Harry Potter movies. Macy and Carly are huge Harry Potter fans and I had arranged for us to take the Muggle walking tour the next day. 

Macy, on her way to Hogwarts

After dropping our bags at our hotel, we changed into our "fancy" clothes for an outing to Harrods. After wandering through this massive department store, we enjoyed afternoon tea in the Georgian Restaurant on the top floor. It was so much fun and surprisingly, was incredibly filling!

Afternoon Tea at Harrods Georgian Restaurant

After tea, we made our way to the West End theatre district to see Les Miserables. This was my third time to see it, though this performance was the best! It was so incredibly moving and the smaller more intimate theatre, provided an unbelievable spectator experience. This is my favorite musical of all time and the by the end of the performance, I had to restrain myself from joining the cast on stage when they sang "Will you join in our crusade, who will be strong and stand with me?" It was an unforgettable performance and night. 

After our Muggle walking tour around London the following day, we visited the Tower of London, and walked from Big Ben and Parliament to Buckingham Palace along St. James Park. There is so much to do in this large, bustling city, two days is simply not enough time. However, we packed a great deal in and I feel we definitely saw the highlights of this magnificent city. 

Parliament and Big Ben

The iconic London pic

I loved sharing a week of my life with Macy and Carly and tour-guiding them around Europe. What an opportunity they've had to visit Europe as teenagers, and I hope this helps to instill a passion for travel and experiencing new cultures throughout their life. Thanks for visiting!