Road Trip Through Europe
In the 1990s, I was active duty U.S. Army and was stationed for several years in Brunsuum, the Netherlands. I was on a NATO base and part of Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT). The military shipped my car to The Netherlands so I had an easy way of seeing countries all over Europe.
My brother, Jay, came over to the Netherlands to visit and spent a month with me in October of 1995. Jay and I had been planning his visit for over a year and I was excited to travel all over Europe with him. Our route took us through eight countries. This time with Jay would turn out to be even more special because he passed away five years later.
We went to a lot of places around Brunsuum, where I was stationed, as well as taking a long road trip through Europe. Jay flew into Frankfurt, Germany, which was about a three hour drive from my base. I lived in a dormitory for single soldiers and we all had single rooms. One of my friends was temporarily stationed in Germany so Jay stayed in his room.
The Netherlands
The first place I took Jay was to Heerlen in The Netherlands, which was about a fifteen minute drive, to see the Hoensbroek Castle (Kasteel Hoensbroek). Hoensbroek Castle is one of the largest castles in The Netherlands.
Our next day trip, took us about two hours away to The Vaalserberg, which is the tripoint between Germany, Belgium, and The Netherlands, located in the province of Limburg.
The tripoint is located on a hill with a height of over 1,000 feet and is the highest point in The Netherlands. From the top of the hill is a beautiful view of the Drielanden Labyrinth (Three Country Labyrinth). The Three Country Labyrinth is a beautiful maze that marks where the three countries meet.
We also went to Maastricht, which was about half an hour away. Maastricht is one of the oldest cities in The Netherlands and is full of history and culture. Maastricht is located on the southern tip of The Netherlands and is adjacent to the Belgium border. It’s a beautiful city and we enjoyed checking out the sights and also sitting at a cafe, talking, and people watching.
We spent a day in Amsterdam, which was a little over a two hour drive.
We saw the Royal Palace.
Nothing beats the beautiful canals in Amsterdam. We did not get a chance to go to the Anne Frank House, but I highly recommend going. Missing out on going to the Anne Frank House is a big regret for me.
After spending a couple of weeks in The Netherlands with me, Jay, my good friend Gene, and I hit the road for our big trip. We drove three hours from The Netherlands to Calais, France to take the ferry to Dover, England. Our drive to Calais took us through Brussels, Belgium and Dunkirk, France.
We took the P&O ferry, The Pride of Kent, from Calais to Dover. The ship was beautiful and it was great to have our car on board the vehicle deck. The crossing took around ninety minutes. On board, the Pride of Kent has a restaurant called Club Lounge, a Food Market for grab and go items, a coffee shop that serves Starbucks, a World Duty Free store, and a video arcade room for kids.
As we got close to Dover, the white cliffs of Dover appeared and were absolutely gorgeous!
London, England
When we disembarked the ferry, we drove two hours to London. We stayed just outside London in a Bed and Breakfast and spent our first evening checking out some sights.
We went to Westminster Abbey.
The next day we started out in Piccadilly Square. I found a shop where I bought my mom a beautiful English tea set.
While we were walking around, we found the Great London Fire Monument that was erected on the spot where the fire started. The Great Fire of London started in a bakery in September 1666 and swept through central London.
We did some shopping and ate fish and chips. We went to Buckingham Palace and watched the changing of the guard.
We saw the London Tower Bridge.
And we saw the London Tower, which was once a prison.
No trip to London is complete without seeing Big Ben.
The next day we drove an hour to visit Windsor Castle. A fire had swept through Windsor Castle in 1992 and renovations weren’t completed until 1997. We visited in 1995 and a lot of the castle was under construction. It still was beautiful and I’m glad we went, but someone keyed my car while it was parked in a public parking lot.
The next day it was time to head back to Dover to get on the ferry and go back to Calais, France. Once back in Calais, we drove three hours to Paris. We stayed in a hotel in the heart of Paris and our room was disgusting! We had a water leak and bugs, but it was about all we could afford. We took the Paris Metro to the Eiffel Tower.
Paris, France
We took the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower just before sunset. The views were stunning and Jay got some beautiful pictures. We could see the River Seine, The Invalides (where Napoleon’s ashes are kept), the Arc De Triomphe, the Palais de Chaillot, and the Ecole Militaire (the French Military Headquarters). I had been to the top of the Eiffel Tower previously and it was awesome watching Jay get to experience the views for the first time.
The next day we went to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica (The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris) which is built on the highest hill in Paris. The Sacre-Coeur is a beautiful Roman Catholic Church.
The next day we were planning on seeing the Notre Dame and the Arc De Triomphe, but Paris metro workers went on strike so the metro was out of service and, because our hotel room was so awful, we decided to leave Paris a day early. We drove six and a half hours from Paris to Zurich, Switzerland. The Swiss Alps were amazing!
Zurich, Switzerland
We stayed in a hotel just outside the city where hotels were much cheaper. It was a nice, comfortable hotel and we loved it, especially after the Paris hotel fiasco. The next morning we drove into Zurich, found public parking, and headed out to see the city.
We walked around Zurich and saw the sights. We saw the Wasserkirche (Water Church), which is on a small island between the Grossmunster Church and the Fraumunster Church.
We saw St. Peter’s Church, which is the oldest parish church in Zurich. It also has the largest clock face in Europe on its tower.
We saw the Zurich Royal Palace.
We walked through the central Altstadt (Old Town) which is surrounded by the Limmat River. The river leads from the northern end of Lake Zurich and then flows through the center of Zurich. The Limmat River divides Zurich into new and old towns.
We found Hedwig Fountain in the Lindenhof hill, which is a public square in the historic center of Zurich. There is a statue of a woman wearing a helmet beside the fountain in honor of the women who defended the city during Germany’s siege of Zurich in 1292. The women duped Duke Albert I of Germany’s army by dressing in full battle gear in order to trick the Habsburg army into thinking that the city was well protected while their men were fighting elsewhere.
We browsed the storefronts of Bahnhofstrasse and walked down to the Limmat River waterfront and enjoyed the stunning views.
Innsbruck, Austria
We left Zurich and drove three hours to Innsbruck, Austria. Before Jay came over to The Netherlands, I suggested he get a Fodor’s travel guide and pick where he wanted to go on our trip. In Fodor’s, he found that the only known portrait of Count Dracula was located within Ambras Castle in Innsbruck, Austria so we added Innsbruck to our trip. We stayed at Bistro’s Bed and Breakfast which was a budget 2 star hotel, but the accommodations were fine.
Innsbruck is a beautiful, colorful city surrounded by the Tyrolean Alps.
We saw the Innsbruck Town Hall and then went to the Olympic Museum. The Olympics were held in Innsbruck in 1964 and 1976. Dorothy Hamill won gold in figure skating in Innsbruck in 1976. After visiting the Olympic Museum, we headed for Ambras Castle.
Ambras Castle is located in the hills above Innsbruck, was built in the 16th century and became the family residence of Archduke Ferdinand II. Ferdinand was one of history’s most prominent art collectors and we could have spent days seeing all of the art collections within the castle.
And of course, we saw the only known portrait of Count Dracula. It is actually a painting of Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, also known as Dracula. The name of the vampire Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” was inspired by Prince Vlad.
Vicenza, Italy
We left Innsbruck and drove three and a half hours to Vicenza, Italy, going through Bolzano and Verona on the way. I had a friend named Paul who was TDY (temporary duty) and staying in an apartment in Vicenza so we thought we would go visit him, see a little of Vicenza, and then head to Venice. My friend’s apartment was directly across from the Arco Delle Scalette (the arch of the little stairs). The arch marks the beginning of one of the routes climbing to the sanctuary of St. Mary of Monte Berico.
Vicenza was a colorful city with lots of history.
We had about a five minute walk from Paul’s apartment to the Vicenza train station and then about forty five minutes on the train to Venice. We were absolutely stunned when we exited the train station and saw the Grand Canal.
Venice, Italy
We spent all day walking around Venice. I bought a beautiful piece of art and the artist signed it for me. We spent some time in St. Mark’s square and ate delicious food.
At sunset, we took a gondola tour of Venice. We drank a bottle of wine, laughed and sang in the gondola. It is one of my sweetest memories from our trip.
Later that night, we took the train back to Vicenza and spent another night at Paul’s. The next morning we left Vicenza and drove five hours to Salzburg, Austria.
Salzburg, Austria
Salzburg is one of my favorite cities and I’ve been there several times. Salzburg is on the border with Germany and the city is full of beautiful views of the Eastern Alps. The city is divided by the Salzach River with Altstadt (Old City) on its left bank and Neustadt (New City) on its right.
We went to several locations where the Sound of Music was filmed including Mirabell Palace and Gardens, Karajan Square and the “Horse Pond”, St. Peter’s Monastery, and Residenzplatz Square and Residence Fountain. We also saw the Hohensalzburg Fortress, the Salzburg Cathedral and St. Mark’ Church.
Salzburg is home to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We visited Mozart’s birthplace in the “Hagenauer Haus” in the Getreidegasse as well as the Mozart Museum that is also located there.
After sightseeing all over Salzburg, we went to a beer house called Augustiner Brau. The “Braustubl” is rich in character and tradition and is Austria’s largest beer inn where beer is sold in stoneware mugs drawn directly from wooden barrels. We had a great time there!
Munich, Germany
We left Salzburg and drove two hours to Munich. We went to the Olympiastadion, the Olympic Stadium in northern Munich that was the site of the 1972 Summer Olympics. Munich was the place where a terrorist attack was carried out during the 1972 Olympic Games by members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two members of the Israeli Olympic team and took nine others hostage. When the West German police tried to rescue the hostages, all the hostages were killed.
The stadium complex was built for the 1972 Summer Olympics. The “tent” of glass tiles covering the stadium keeps the sun from shining directly on the playing field, making the stadium one of the most remarkable structures in Europe.
We went to the swimming complex, Olympia Schwimmhalle, where American swimmer Mark Spitz won seven gold medals. Spitz held the record for most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games until Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
We went up in the Olympic Tower where we had a view of almost all of Munich.
We left Munich, hopped on the Autobahn and headed for Hohenschwangau, where the Neuschwanstein Castle is located. Hohenschwangau was about a one and a half hour drive from Munich. The Neuschwanstein Castle is located in southwest Bavaria, Germany, near the border with Austria.
From the parking lot, it’s about a forty minute walk up to the castle. About 3/4ths of the way up, we stopped at the Marienbrucke Bridge. This bridge offers stunning views of the castle. The Neuschwanstein Castle was the inspiration for the Disney Cinderella castle.
Directly across from the Neuschwanstein Castle is the Hohenschwangau Castle. It is also worth seeing!
We left Bavaria and started our six and a half hour drive back to The Netherlands. What a trip! We had planned on going to Berlin before heading back, but we were road weary and short on money. This was the trip of a lifetime for me and Jay. We couldn’t have done this trip without my dear friend, Gene Bruseau, and I am forever grateful for his friendship and kindness.
