I got married!!!

Blogspot is now at www.lifewiththesampsons.blogspot.com

Cant wait for my first post!

Three Days in PARIS

So it is my last day in the Netherlands and it has once again been too long since I have updated this thing. My next adventure after Berlin was going to Paris with a couple of girl friends. We had the most amazing time; I dont care who you are Paris IS a magical place. I think the reason it was so good was because the weather was incredible. My favorite time was probably just hanging out in the Tuileries Garden. It was so nice to relax and enjoy the sun around an amazing reflection pond and statues that were placed there in the 1400's. The Arch de Triumph at night was amazing as well because at the top the view of Paris night life was breathtaking. Climbing the Eiffel Tower was a three hour adventure but well worth the wait in line. Catholic Mass in Notre Dame was really interesting too, and the Cathedral is fantastic. It was fun also to go to Moulin Rouge although when I am rich......someday... I want to go to an actual show there! One of the other great things in Paris besides all of the amazing museums and sites was when Clare and I went out for real Fondue. It was so so good and the environment was amazing. The place actually had us drinking wine (coke for me) out of baby bottles. It was hilarious almost as hilarious as the look on the guys face as Clare attempted to explain to the non English speaking owner that I didnt like wine. He was so confused. There were also some slightly interesting unexpected happenings like a middle aged woman on the metro acting out some sort of scene about how her life is so difficult trying to afford somewhere to sleep and something to eat. It was a bit strange but at least she was attempting to entertain than just sitting on her but shaking a can. The metro was constantly full of musical acts and interesting people. That is Europe for you though. Needless to say this was the perfect finale to an amazing three months.

Brandenburg Gate!!!!

So this was obviously my favorite part of Berlin. The Brandenburg Gate was amazing. Trying to visualize what actually happened there just a few decades ago was crazy. It really was amazing and I am glad that we saw it when we did because there weren't that many tourists. I cant tell you how cool it was to actually be there. I think I will win when it comes to the coolest place you have ever kissed someone. You can't beat under the Brandenburg gate. I made Ben walk back at night because I really wanted pictures of it at night. It really is so breath taking. And it was totally worth the walk back, even though I know he wasn't all that enthused about it, but luckily the rain was lite so no big deal

Dont judge... I know I kinda look prego in this picture, but I promise it is just the coat. haha

Random Berlin Stuff

So Berlin was amazing and we had such a good time there. So far it is my favorite European city to visit because there is always so much to do and see.
I don't even feel like we made a dent into what there is to do there. Still, we did get to see a lot.


Berlin Bears are all over the place so this is me with one of them!! Its too bad I couldn't afford to buy one :( Oh well.




I am not sure if you can tell but the walking light up close is an appelman sign that in East Berlin and this street is right along where the wall was so the far side the walking sign is just normal. This was way cool!




Okay okay family I lowered my picky meat eating habits for a second and ate German sausages.... What can I say, it was strictly a cultural thing.

This was a way cool government building I forgot what it is called but it is really famous because the public can walk up this dome and look down on there government at work.

Lastly would be Ben with the worlds biggest rubber ducky! haha we thought it was pretty sweet! Hopefully I'll finish my blogging about Germany before I head off to Paris in 6 days! Woohoo!!

Our little hotel and the Cars of our dreams

So it ended up being cheaper and a whole lot nicer to spend the night in a hotel two of the nights instead of hostels. So this little place was so cute. The beds... Yes two of them... were basically just on the ground and the TV was on what looked like a stool. Furniture was super old and there was a random picture of a cowboy on a horse above the beds, strange. It was the best place though. It had a little kitchen which was nice because we cooked in one night instead of trying to find something cheap else where. It was really like a one bedroom apartment. It was so fun and a lot more relaxed than the hostels we had been staying in. The elevator was a little interesting. As you can see it only fit two people and it looks a bit dodgy but at least it worked. It was the old fashioned ones that you manually open the door when it stops at your floor.

So we went to a Pugeot store in Berlin and it was so awesome. There were lots of car shops like Ferrari, BMW, and Mini Cooper but this is where we both liked cars and were wishing we were millionaires.....maybe someday?? Anyway this is the one Ben liked best.


This is the one I liked best. You cant see it very well but trust me it was sweet!

LEGO at the Sony Center

We actually did a lot more in Munich but I am skipping ahead to Berlin. The first day there we walked around a lot.... wait we did that everyday...anyway one of the places we went to was the Sony Center and right next door was a LEGO store and mini museum. First thing that popped into my head was Trey and Toby would love this. Then I remembered Ben's little obsession with Legos. He's an engineer I guess we will let this slide without too much ridicule. But first I had to take some pics of him next to the lego statues.

Einstein... okay that is kinda cool

This is Ben's I hate being ridiculed face...sorry babe I had to.

This was the last one, and I had to beg him to let me take it. This was the best statue though. It was ginormous! Actually really impressive. I think somewhere deep down he was secretly glad I was taking the pics. Haha, or maybe not but I had fun.

Castles in Fussen

So after our day of being tourists and walking around Munich we went to bed early because the next morning we were going to the Castles in Fussen


This is the Hohenshwangau Castle which means something like High Swan Castle. Swans were definitely the motif in this castle. This was my favorite because it was built truely like a romantic fairytale. It seemed so surreal that Maximilian II actually lived there and it was where Ludwig II grew up. I thought I would like the Sleeping Beauty castle better but this won was a million times better, its a shame its not more famous. This will probably always be my favorite place in the whole world and it was definitely a highlight of our travels



This is Neuschwanstein. Yes the one that Disney modeled Sleeping Beauty's Castle after. It was amazing completely breathtaking from the outside. The inside had rediculous decorations but we couldn't see very much of it because of the 60+ rooms in the castle only about 20 of them were finished and Ludwig died before it was finished so no one has ever really lived there. You could tell the difference in that sense between the two castles; Nueschwanstein felt a little mor like a museum than a castle. Still amazing though. Sorry the picture isn't that great because Ben had the best pics of this castle.


After a long day at the castles we finally got around to eating our lunch around 4:30 when we got on the bus back to Munich. The cheese and bread we got at the station was so so good. I think that is what I am going to miss most about Europe besides my bike of course, the amazing cheese and bread!