October 28th and 29th - Bollezeele - France

28 of October

We woke up after a good night’s sleep and went down to have breakfast. It was a very traditional French breakfast. The people who own the place where we were staying suggested a town to visit because it had a market on that day. We drove to the town which is called Bergues. Once we got to the town we saw that the town was surrounded with a moat! This was very interesting because it was the first town I’ve seen with a moat. We went in and saw the town square with the markets. The fruits and vegetables were cheap and full of colour. We walked around and then found a park. It was fun to play in a park. We went on a roundabout and dad got so dizzy he fell over. It was very funny and he was ok. We then went and mum tried to buy some bananas and the man didn’t speak English so mum was trying to speak French. In the end she got about 2 kg of bananas! We went home to have lunch once we finished we had some down time at home and then we had dinner. Once we had finished dinner we had a game night, it was lots of fun and after all that fun we had to go to bed.

Amelia

29 of October

Today we woke up after a good night sleep and went down for breakfast. It was lovely to meet all the different guests - some of them could speak four different languages! They would go from speaking French to the hosts to then talking in Belgian to each other and then in English to us. It was quite amazing to hear. We then went to a town called St Omer where we got some fresh baked goods from a French bakery. We then went to a pub where we got hot chocolates. It was funny sitting in a pub with people at a bar while we were having hot chocolates. We then went back to the hotel on our way back we stopped and cleaned our car. Once we got back to the hotel we saw that the car was already dirty. Dad wasn’t very happy (note from dad - I was fine).   After having some down time, we went back to the park we were at yesterday. We had fun playing again and we then went and bought some lollies - it was nice to be out. We then went back to the hotel. We had a yummy dinner and went to bed because we had an early start the next day.

Amelia 

October 26th - 27th - driving from Denmark down to France through the Netherlands and Belgium

26 of October

In the morning we woke up and got our selves ready and dad found the kitten again. It was very cute (still). We had to say good bye to the kitten and get on the road because we had a big drive ahead of us. We drove until we got to the Netherlands. Because it was so long we had a stop halfway. We stopped at a petrol station just off an auto bahn which dad called the slowest auto bahn in the world. This is because we were going less than 10km/h for about an hour! When we got to the Netherlands we had to find dinner after a long drive. We went to a restaurant and then to the place where we were going to stay. We went straight to bed after a tiring day.

Amelia

27 of October

Today we woke up and had breakfast which was a traditional breakfast served at our bed and breakfast. Once we finished we drove to our next spot which was in France. On the way we stopped in a world heritage site full of old windmills called Kinderdijk. They were quite impressive to see. We then kept on driving and on our way through Belgium we stopped at a very old castle in the middle of the city of Gent! It was one of the oldest buildings we have been in. It was made in the 11th century. We went back to the car and drove to our next stop where after a long day we went straight to bed.

Amelia

October 25th - Legoland, Billund

25 of October

We woke up really early because we were so excited. Today we were going to LEGOLAND! Once we were ready we drove straight there so that we were there just as the doors opened. Once we got there we went straight in. It was amazing because there was much more than we thought. We went and booked a spot at the driving school for late and then went to have some fun! It difficult to explain the rides because there are so many. One of the rides was called the polar express. It is like a roller coaster. Because  it had a polar theme they had real penguins for you to go and see. This was very cool. Another ride was called the Asgard this was a water ride in a round boat so it was a lot of fun. We then went back to the driving school where we got our own electric car and had real road rules with traffic lights and a roundabout. This was lots of fun and at the end we got our own lego drivers licence. We went on lots more rides. We went on one called pilot school where you chose a sequence of movements on a computer and saved them to a card and then you went inside cockpit on a robot arm which then copied those movements in large movements, throwing you around. It must have been very expensive. We went look at the miniature lego land it was cool to see the different scenes which we have also seen in real life. We went into the lego shop which is the biggest lego shop in the world. When we went home and mum spotted a kitten and it jumped up on mums lap. It was so soft and cute. It was raining outside and I didn't want to leave it out dad let me bring it inside for a little while but we then had to put it out. We had dinner and went to bed.

Amelia

October 24th - driving to Jutland (West Coast of Denmark - Legoland)

24 of October

Today we woke up and I had a bad back because I slept on it funny. We said good bye to Peter, Anja and Valdemar as they  left very early. Once we were all packed up we said good bye to William and we went to Amalienborg Castle. This is where the Queen lives and Princess Mary also has a residence. We then stayed and saw the changing of the guard. We then went back to the car and drove to where we were going to stay for the next couple of nights on the west coast of Denmark near Billund. It was nice because it was on a farm with cows and sheep. We went into the town and bought our dinner when we got back home we went out and played soccer. Dad touched an electric fence and got electrocuted. This was only the second time he got electrocuted and both times he was in Denmark, only 25 years apart! We then went inside and had dinner and went to bed.

Amelia  

October 22nd and 23rd - Denmark (east coast)

22 of October   

We woke up after a good night with the pitter patter of feet because Valdemar was walking into his mum and dads bed room. This was a very cute thing to wake up to. We had breakfast and William and Valdemar went to school and preschool. We then went with Anja to Fredensborg Castle where Princess Mary lives. It was amazing to see what a different place they live in and how they have such a big house. We then went on a walk through some lovely trees and because it is Autumn here the trees are full of colour. We then went back home for lunch. It was delicious to have some fresh bread and tomatoes for lunch. We then went to pick up William from school it was fun to see how different the schools are to ours. At his school they finish at one pm and then have an after school club where they could play on computers, do sewing and craft. They also had a spider web rope climb and a skate park. As soon as we saw all of this we want to move straight to Denmark for the schools and Anja’s family. We then went home where William and his dad had to get ready for Karate. We were allowed to go and watch them too. It was amazing to see their concentration and determination. It looked very difficult and hard. We then went to see Anja in her gospel choir. It was great to hear how amazing all of their voices were and how enthusiastic they all - were especially the conductor. They were also very kind and welcoming. It was then very late so when we got home I went straight to bed.

Amelia

23 of October

We woke up after a good night and Valdemar had a great time playing with me. He found it hard to say good bye to his mum and this reminded him of me when I was little. William stayed at home so he could be with us. We went to Rosenborg castle where the crown jewels are kept. I have never seen so much precious things in my life. The crown jewels especially looked amazing with all the diamonds, rubies and many more all creating a story or represent something. We then went and looked at a tower which king Christian the 4th had built. At the top there was a great view of the city and we could see the grand church where Anja and Peter got married. In the tower there was no steps because the king would have his horse and carriage carry him up to the top! Once we got back out the bottom we went for a walk to get to a canal tour. It was fun because we went under many bridges and saw many things from angles which you wouldn't see on land. Once we got off the boat we made our way to a place could the Tivoli. On the way we went into a shop full of medieval armour and weapons. This reminded us of the Mann's who we thought would be very jealous. We also went into a comic book store which reminded us of big bang theory. Then we ended up at the Tivoli! This is an amazing theme park with great rides. The rides were much better than any of the rides we have in Australia. I can’t explain how amazing and big the rides were. We stayed there till eight at night. We then caught a train back home and went straight to bed after a big day. 

Amelia 

October 21st - driving from Berlin to Denmark

October 21st
Today we drove very early in the morning to Denmark. We had some traffic on our way out of Berlin so Dad was stressed until we got out of the city. Once we were out of the city we drove for four hours until we got to the ferry. We got onto the ferry and then it started to move. We thought this was very strange because it wasn't supposed to go for an hour! We asked someone and we were on a different ferry but to the right place.  This was a huge relief because we thought we were on the wrong ferry. Once we were off the ferry we were really early for our next place so we decided to go to Sweden because they are the creators of Ikea. So we went on a very long bridge to Sweden. Once we were off the bridge we had to pay a toll. We didn't know how big the toll would be. It was 70 dollars each way. Mum and dad got depressed because it was so much. We went to Ikea and mum was happy because she loves it. Once we were done we went back over the bridge and went to the place we were going to stay at. The place where we stayed was at a friend of dads which he met on his travels in Europe. Once we were there we met dad’s friend Anja and her kids William and Valdemar who they said to call Voldemort. We also met her husband Peter. We had dinner and went to bed.

Amelia

October 19th and 20th - Berlin

19 of October
Today we saw a lot to do with the Berlin Wall. This was interesting because I have heard about it but I
got a full understanding in this trip. We went to a memorial for all of the people who died because of the
Berlin Wall. When we looked at this I still didn't understand why this all happened. We then went to a film
which told us all about the history of the wall. This made the whole thing much more clear now. So when
we then went on to other things we understood what happened. We then went to Nordbahnhoff Station
also known as the ghost station because it was in east Berlin where the train wasn't allowed to stop. No
one was in the station except for the soldiers making sure no one got on or off. It seemed like a very sad
and not very fair place to live. Being just overnight not being able to see family or friends ever again. We
then walked to a Jewish memorial. This was for all the jews killed in world war 2. The memorial was made
of concrete blocks of different sizes. As they got bigger it became a big maze. After that we then went
to Brandenburg Gate which is a big gate it was very grand. We then went to check point Charlie. This is
where my dad crossed the border when the wall was still up. He said it looks very different now without
all the guards and the wall. From there we went home for a little while. Then we went to wash our clothes
because it was a while since the got wash after that we stayed out and had dinner at a restaurant. On the
menu they had an Australian menu which consisted of kangaroo and crocodile. We found this very funny.
At the end of dinner it was very late so when we got home we went straight to bed.
Amelia

20 of October
Today we went to the Berlin TV Tower. This is a massive tower much like Centre Point Tower in Sydney.
We went up to the top. It was an amazing view at the top we could see most of the city. I did find it hard to
breath up the top but this didn't take way from the view. When we got to the bottom I went and bought
a bag which was a good buy. We then went to a fountain which you could walk through. This was on the
way to a museum which was very interesting. It was full of artifacts from when Jesus was around. It was
amazing to see the different temples and buildings. Then to think about how Jesus was around when this
was around which is amazing. We also saw parts of the temple where king Nebuchadnezzar lived and ruled!
This is the same king which through David into the lion pit. This was inspiring to see how big the arches
and gates were and these were the little ones! It just makes you have a different perspective on the bible
and how real it all was. We then went home and had an amazing dinner (prepared by mum and me). We then went to bed after a big and amazing day.
Amelia

October 17th - 18th - Prague

17 of October

Today we drove to Prague, or Praha in the local language. This took three hours which felt like much longer. On the way into the city we could get a sense that it was much more dangerous to drive on the roads. Once we were in the city the roads seemed like a mess of cars. In a way it was like a herd of cows. Once we had found our hotel we put our stuff down and went for a walk. It was really pretty because we went for a walk across a bridge but as we were walking we saw a man following us. This made mum and I feel uncomfortable. Once we got back to the hotel mum and dad were thinking of maybe going to Berlin that night. Dad went out for a walk to see how safe he felt. They decided to stay but we still didn’t feel completely safe that night.

Amelia

18 of October

Today we went on a tour of Prague. It was amazing to hear about the history of the place and to see different things we didn’t know were there. The different legends were interesting. My favourite was one which said that there were giants which roamed to streets of Prague at night. This seemed just too ridiculous so that it may be true (maybe). We then came back and I bought some souvenirs. I bought a mole, this might sound strange but the little mole is a very popular creature in the Czech Republic.  We then got lunch. I got something called a chicken pita. It was delicious but hard to eat. We then went and got into the car and drove to Berlin.  It was a long drive. When we arrived we were all tired so it was good that we found our hotel easily. It is nice here. But it is our first time being in a place with a shared bathroom and kitchen. We had dinner and went straight to bed.

  

October 15th - 16th - Cesky Krumlov

15 of October
Today we drove to the Czech Republic to stay in Cesky Krumlov. We were going to go on a bobsled but it
was closed so we went to a park instead. It was the best park in the world. It had a giant swing which was
awesome. To start off it was scary but it got better and better.



We then drove for three hours to our next stop in Cesky Krumlov. We went into the town square where we looked at the different shops around. We decided to have dinner next to the river.



It was one of the best dinners I have had in Europe. On our way home we found it a bit scary because the town was a bit rough and mum and I were easy targets. We were very happy to get home and go to bed.
Amelia

16 of October
Today we went to the town square again but this time it was to go to the castle. It was amazing to see how
big and grand it was. When it was used as a castle it had a moat and it was also protected by bears! In the
castle there was a tower which we went up. It had 264 stairs but there was an amazing view at the top.
We then had lunch which was the same as what we had every day since we have been in Europe. Which
is bread with cheese and ham. We then went on a guided tour in the castle. This was really interesting
because we were told about the history of the people who lived there. We were also told about different
legends. We then went back into the town where I bought a scarf. We then went and bought a drink and
shared an apple strudel. It was delicious. Then went home and had dinner. We had a great sleep because of
our big day.
Amelia