During my trip to visit Ben in March, my parents and I not only got to see his home in Germany, we took side trips to Brugg Belgium {chocolate & waffles}, Belgian Belgium {beer at the monastery called Westvleteren brewery}, Interlaken Switzerland {best base jumping}, Milan Italy {fashion capital} & Colmar France {for the wineries}.
I'll post several times with pictures and notes on the places we went, starting with Colmar France.
We spent the day driving in the wine country, stopping for a tasting at a family owned winery called Andre Blanck and bought several bottles of wine, took a tour of the winery {family owned 7 generations} and walked the small City of Alsace, just outside the walls of where the wine was barreled. It was so beautiful - a day I will never forget!
Highlight: eating breakfast with everyone in the morning at the hotel before venturing out. My mom and brother ended up going back to the room and my dad and I stayed to drink more coffee (shocking). He told me stories about his childhood and about my grandma Janine Hall (whom I idolize). I learned that she often took him and my two uncles to a park Saturday mornings and build a fire to cook breakfast before fishing or playing baseball, on weekends my grandpa was busy. Just hearing my dad retell the story made it so special. I could tell he looks back on his childhood with fond memories - and thanks to him, so do I.
