Tricia's Travel Blog

Once again we were up early, this time we were planning to go on a boat trip down the Rhine River. As we were going to take a train from Koblenz down to Rudeshiem we had to leave the apartment by 7:30 AM. I didn’t actually feel very well so I tried to sleep in the back of the car while Nate drove. As we got to Koblenz we had to decide which of the several train stations we actually wanted to go to. After driving in circles a few times we found the correct one and parked. When we bought our tickets the lady told us it was cheaper to buy round trip train tickets instead of a one way, with it only costing us 35 euros for all 4 of us. We had about 45 minutes to kill before our train was supposed to leave, so we went to McDonalds for a quick snack. When the train conductor came by he told pointed to the signature line on the ticket to let us know we needed to sign it. Nate tried to ask if only he was supposed to sign but the guy didn't speak any English. He laughed and said som...

After getting Nate off to work we headed south into Belgium to the town of Ghent. We made our way down the narrow one way streets until we found the Castle Gravensteen. We arrived with perfect timing as they were just opening for the day. Castle Gravensteen in Ghent, Belgium This is the street just outside the castle. It's located in the middle of the city. The castle is marked with numbered signs and arrows to take you on a tour. There are brief explanations of the rooms in English, Dutch, and Flemish. The sign above is for this room. The Great Hall. Most of the stairways were circular and lit with small windows. I was surprised that there was really nothing for furniture in the castle, however it does house an extensive amount of torture devices including a guillotine that were historically used in Ghent. Had to take pictures of the armory for Nate This sword was over 6' in length, you would have to be a giant to wield th...