On March 31st, my mom came to visit us in Germany for a week. While here, we drug her across Belgium to spend the night on a boat in Ghent, up into Holland to see the world famous Keukenhof Tulip Festival, and then back to Germany to partake in the many shopping opportunities and cafes. It seemed like a whirlwind of a visit, but we thoroughly enjoyed every minute we got to spend together. As always, we found numerous unforgettable restaurants along our journeys and managed to take lots of memorable photos as well.
For our night in Belgium, Matt surprised us with our hotel. When we pulled up top the hotel, both my mom and I laughed and said 'you're kidding, right?' Well, he wasn't. The '
hotel' was actually a large barge called the BOATel that was converted into a 9 room hotel that sat along the edge of one of the main canals that ran through Ghent. We laughed and laughed at the thought of sleeping on the boat, but it ended up being one of the best experiences--so great that 
Matt and I have actually decided to stay there again this summer with some friends. The rooms were nice and the view out of the port holes was really neat. Afterall, how many people can say that they've spent the night in a 
BOATel? And, as you an see to the right, Matt has come to find yet another public urinal. Apparently to men, the European public urinals are so fascinating! 
After our night in Ghent, we loaded back into the old faithful 7-series BMW 
and headed north to Holland to experience the sights of the Keukenhof. On our way to the Keukenhof, we stopped at Den Haague for a few hours to see what the hype was all about, and then kept heading north. The Keukenhof is located a few miles south of Amsterdam and is supposedly one of the 'must see' attractions in Holland. It is only 
open for about 6 weeks each spring and boasts thousands of acres of tulips and other flowers. When we got there, all you could see for miles were tulips, so this year's weather did not disappoint (last year was horrible, as we had a long winter and
none of the tulips bloomed). The gardens were really beautiful, although once you've seen a few yards of flowers, all the rest seem to look the same! The best part of the Keukenhof (or so I thought) was the petting zoo. They had all sorts of baby animals to pet and play with and I thought it was a great break from all the acres of flowers. We are glad that we were able to visit the Keukenhof before leaving Europe, as it was incredibly beautiful, but we wouldn't specifically fly to Europe like some of the people had to see the festival.
After the Keukenhof, we headed back to Germany, as Mom had to leave to go back to the States on Easter Sunday. We had a wonderful time (as always) with her here and hope that more family will get to come see us before our European Vacation comes to an end.
and headed north to Holland to experience the sights of the Keukenhof. On our way to the Keukenhof, we stopped at Den Haague for a few hours to see what the hype was all about, and then kept heading north. The Keukenhof is located a few miles south of Amsterdam and is supposedly one of the 'must see' attractions in Holland. It is only 
open for about 6 weeks each spring and boasts thousands of acres of tulips and other flowers. When we got there, all you could see for miles were tulips, so this year's weather did not disappoint (last year was horrible, as we had a long winter and
none of the tulips bloomed). The gardens were really beautiful, although once you've seen a few yards of flowers, all the rest seem to look the same! The best part of the Keukenhof (or so I thought) was the petting zoo. They had all sorts of baby animals to pet and play with and I thought it was a great break from all the acres of flowers. We are glad that we were able to visit the Keukenhof before leaving Europe, as it was incredibly beautiful, but we wouldn't specifically fly to Europe like some of the people had to see the festival.After the Keukenhof, we headed back to Germany, as Mom had to leave to go back to the States on Easter Sunday. We had a wonderful time (as always) with her here and hope that more family will get to come see us before our European Vacation comes to an end.
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