A summary of the first four days of my June 2015 trip west, from my departure in Michigan all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the stops in between.

A summary of the statistics from my recent month-long trip around the American West.

The Old Man is me, and I’m going West. It’s still 26 days away, and the anticipation is killing me. Usually, when I’ve announced trips in the past, I have a pretty well-designed itinerary to detail. This trip is quite different, and that is quite a departure for me. My inherent OCD combined with my love […]

15 years later, I return for an nostalgic afternoon in Munich.

My cruise on the Rhine from St. Goar to Koblenz, alongside Castles and vineyards.

I arrived in Cologne, Germany late in the evening. After dropping my bags at my hotel, I took a brief walk in the are around the massive Cologne Cathedral and Train Station since I had planned on leaving early in the morning for my Rhine River Cruise.   Europe 2013 Posts- Europe by the Numbers […]

And, it was off to Germany, at 237 kilometers per hour. An advantage to traveling on a mid-afternoon, off-peak train is that I had the entire first class car to myself. I arrived in Cologne last in the evening, and, after dropping my bags off at the hotel, I strolled around the city. The city’s […]

Belgium’s Hopmuseum, located in the town of Poperinge, is a real treat for any beer lover who ventures to the region on a pilgrimage. It thoroughly covers the history of hop  farming in Belgium, as well as the methods used in the process. When I was there in April of 2013, they had an excellent […]

I sprang to life early on the morning of my 10th day, despite having drank Belgian beers long into the night. This was a day I had planned much of the trip around. It was time to cross an item off my bucket list. I’d planned to bike the 6km to The Abbey of Saint Sixtus […]

I went into my visit to the Frites Museum in Bruges expecting a small, cute, kitschy museum, but found it to be excellent- both fun and informative. Europe 2013 Posts- Europe by the Numbers Eurail Pass- A Great Deal Iceland- Day 1- Golden Circle & a Reykjavik Walk The Golden Circle, Iceland Photo Essay- Þingvellir […]

Bruges, Belgium has one of the best reputations in all of Europe. Despite having visited Belgium a number of times in the past, I’d never visited Bruges. A visit there was one of this trip’s priorities, and after a great day and a half in Brussles, I caught an early morning train to Bruges. My first […]

Bonding with Brussels through its iconic structures, waffles, and, of course, its beer.

This is the next in a series of the “By the Numbers” posts. The others are New Zealand 2012 by the Numbers, Europe 2013 by the Numbers, and East 2014 by the Numbers. Driving Stats: Total Miles Driven: 1976 mi. Daily Average: 179 mi. Most in a day: 417 miles (Iron Mountain to Mount Pleasant via […]

After spending half the day sightseeing in the Netherlands’ National Gardens, The Keukenhof, it was time to head south to Belgium. I I’d been to Brussels four other times. I’d liked Brussels, but after discovering Belgian beers a few years early, a revisit to Brussels had become a must. In my pre-trip planning, I had been shocked at […]

As I stated in my Day Seven post- We weren’t able to see very many tulips outside on our visit to the Keukenhof. The long winter in Northern Europe meant they were not yet in bloom. Fortunately, we were able to see many of the different varieties in the Willem-Alexander Pavilion, conveniently located in the […]