Auf Wiedersehen to Germany!

Well, there are a lot of windmills in Holland.  These were on display at a living history museum, but there were many as we traveled through southern Holland on our route back. 

I had to buy a pair and did wear them all day long.  Well, actually, I wore them to the end of the block and took them off.  I bet you aren't suprised to hear that wooden shoes hurt your feet!  The farmers often still wear these as they do their chores.  We only saw one person wearing them, and he was in the airport.  We think that he probably wasn't able to get them into his suitcase on the trip home.

Amsterdam had more bikes than you could ever imagine possible.  The traffic and people were thick!  This picture is just a very small portion of the bikes that are everywhere!

Cathedral in Brussels, Belgium.

Cathedral in Metz, France.

Chocolate elephant statue in Brussels...it was delicious, but we weren't very hungry for supper after we snacked on him!

Yet another scenic view in Metz, France.  As we looked over this bridge we saw about 15 trumpeter swans swimming below.  Once again, a breathtaking view.

Jodie isn't sure how she is going to fit these in her suitcase, but she is sure she can do it!

Cathedral at night in Bremerhaven, Germany

As we reached the end of our journey along the Fairy Tale Road, we still had many miles to drive to return to our starting point.  We continued our learning and comparing cultures as we returned to Luxembourg via Holland, Belgium, France, and now here we are trying to pack our treasures and memories into our suitcases.  We realize that the world and its people have much more in common than not.  We have learned that to be able to communicate with others regardless of the language, one must look the other in the eye and patiently listen.  We have 100s of stories to share with our students and can't wait to engage our learners in writing their own stories.

Every town and village that we encountered touched us in many ways.  We are inspired to connect not only the Fairy Tales with our students, but the stories of the many people we met along the way.  Most especially we want to share some of the stories of the WWII veterans and their sacrifices that were made to better not only our country, but the lives of many still grateful Europeans.  What a blessing to have had this learning opportunity!