When my friends and I began planning this weekend, the weekend after travel break, we hit a bit of a rut. Berlin was too long a bus ride, Dublin was too expensive, and even the most random destinations plugged into Ryanair and Easyjet yielded no viable flights. We were stumped. Then it hit one us: why don’t we rent a car and road trip? I did this last month with my family and it ended up being a great way to do a couple day trips in a weekend.
So we burned some CDs, packed some snacks, and hit the road! We ended up renting a car from an airport across the German border, because none of us meet the age requirement to rent a car in the Netherlands. We took a cab to the airport and from there, drove an hour to Dusseldorf with the intent of going to the Aquazoo there (a much more fun way to say aquarium, if you ask me).
Off we go! Photo credits to Gavin Gronenthal, who was also our very patient driver.
We arrived at Dusseldorf around lunchtime and ended up going to a German Greek restaurant where they spoke little to no English and ordering was a fun surprise. (I ended up with calamari in a salad. Not too shabby.) However, when we finished and headed to the Aquazoo, some very nice German men informed us it was closed…until fall 2015. However, if there’s one thing we’ve learned how to do during these past two months, it’s how to handle a wrench in our plans. We began walking the park surrounding the aquazoo and were not even five minutes in when my friend suggested we go to the Burger’s Zoo, a well-known Dutch zoo about an hour away from Well. So into the car we went again and drove another few hours to the zoo.
Entrance to the aquazoo. For some reason, the deserted parking lot didn’t tip us off. It’s disappointing, because it looked super cool! I guess I’ll just have to try again if I’m ever in Germany after fall 2015.
The zoo was well worth it. We got there a little late and only had about 45 minutes before the outdoor animals were put inside, but we still saw quite a few animals. I grew up not too far from what I would say are some pretty decent zoos, and the Burgers’ Zoo definitely impressed me. There were tons of adorable baby animals, cool, very realistic indoor habitats and even an ocean section where we got our fix of marine life that we missed out on from the aquazoo.
Moms and baby gorillas! Insert Tarzan reference here
Otters in the rainforest. Accurate? Maybe? Adorable? Definitely.
I was highly impressed by the ocean section, even if it did bring flashbacks from the cinematic masterpiece, “Jaws 3”.
So how does one follow up an awesome trip to the zoo? By a trip to Luxembourg, obviously. Originally, we planned on going to Luxembourg City, the capital, but it was a three and a half hour drive. Instead, we opted to go to Clerveaux, a mountain town that’s about two and a half hours away in comparison.
I took advantage of the long drive and caught up on some reading. Check out my Goodreads for my favorite traveling picks!
It’s funny how even in the middle of Europe, there are moments where I feel like I’ve never left America. As we drove through Belgium and up the winding mountains of Luxembourg, I felt like I was driving through upstate New York again, looking at colleges, or up to New Hampshire for a family vacation. When we arrived in Clerveaux though, there was no mistaking that we were in Europe.
Note the tall stone church, the cottage like houses, and the surrounding forests. I felt like I could’ve been in a fairy tale (minus the cars).
First stop was lunch and this time, we ended up in a Portuguese place. Luckily, they spoke French so I was able to get by. From there, we visited Clerveaux Castle. It was built in the 12th century and bombed during World War II. It’s since been restored and turned into a museum, featuring models of other castles. We also visited a photo exhibit which was incredible, as well as an exhibit dedicated to World War II. Apparently, America liberated Luxembourg and a lot of the pieces were from American soldiers. It was a very strange, yet interesting experience seeing an exhibit based around Americans in a foreign country.
This was an interesting sight to see. A little piece of US history abroad.
We finished up the day by visiting a church, walking around a bit, and grabbing snacks before heading back to Well. I was reunited with crepes and bought a Luxembourg baseball hat, because why not buy a random souvenir on a random trip?
If you are ever lucky enough to travel Europe, I would recommend getting a car. I forgot how much I loved driving around with friends, playing music, and singing along. I did not forget how nice it is to travel on your own schedule! It was amazing to also be able to visit a place we wouldn’t have normally. I’m glad I got in one weekend of visiting little, kind of obscure places. It was a nice break from big cities and I’m so pleased I had this experience. I think this weekend will be one of my favorite memories from this trip.
Speaking of this trip, today marks two months since I’ve arrived and one month until I go home. Talk about a lot of mixed emotions. If you want to follow my journey more, be sure to check out my Twitter and Instagram at erin_kayata!
Erin Kayata 