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After leaving Ireland, we spent about a week crossing through Wales and England to get to our next ferry. Along the way, we saw Snowdonia National Park and the White Cliffs of Dover. Very neat to think of all the people who began or ended their journeys with the sight of those cliffs.
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Along the way, we stopped in Brugge, Gent, and Brussels in Belgium, but Brugge was our favorite, because of it's beautiful cityscape, the central square, and the delicious hand-made chocolates and dessert waffles. Yes, we think with our stomachs.
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Continuing our northward migration, we crossed back into Germany, and then into Denmark for a short visit to Copenhagen, which was also beautiful and bike-friendly. The coolest part of Denmark had to be the huge bridges they have between islands, including the bridge to Sweden.
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PS. The best part of the drive to the Arctic Circle was a brief stop at Lillehammer, Norway (home of the 1994 Winter Olympics). They still use their bobsled run for winter training, but in the summer, one of the athletes will take you on a bobsled run in a special wheeled-sled. It was the most ridiculous experience of my life - 100km/hour down a bobsled run, pulling 3.5 G forces. You have to wear a helmet and a back brace to avoid throwing your spine out of alignment. We made the run in 67 seconds. In the olympics, the 15th place finisher made the run in 53 seconds. I don't know how they managed to live through the experience! Here's a video showing about half the run, before the motion got too violent for me to record without being killed.
Oh I love your updates! Dustin has decided he wants to be an oceanographer, so you and Chris have additional street (ocean?) cred with him when you get back. We go to the aquarium weekly and talk about you diving with the sea lions (pretty sure that is accurate...) and how he wants to work with Dr. Ballard when he grows up.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you bobsled-ed in something that made you wear a back brace - but glad you made it out safely. Can't wait to see you both in less than a year!
I had to watch the bobsled video at least five times before I could believe what I was seeing. Dad reminded me , you are your mother's daughter:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) This leg of your trip looks amazing. Belgium chocolate yum......mine is in the mail right lol!. Thanks for sharing the blog, pictures are spectacular. Love & miss you guys!
ReplyDeleteI had to watch the bobsled video at least five times before I could believe what I was seeing. Dad reminded me , you are your mother's daughter:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) This leg of your trip looks amazing. Belgium chocolate yum......mine is in the mail right lol!. Thanks for sharing the blog, pictures are spectacular. Love & miss you guys!
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