Upon arriving in the northern port-town of Dieppe on Thursday, Sept. 4th we headed straight for the tourism office and quickly discovered an annual International Kite Festival was to take place that weekend… And accommodations were sparse. I guess that’s the down side of spur-of-the-moment visits to northern France.

This small town in size and population (around 35,000 inhabitants), is located along the French coast, overlooking the English Channel. We managed to find a tiny room, with a tiny bed, and a tiny shower for one night only. Once our backpacks were finally off our backs again we headed out to explore Dieppe, with not only it’s abundance of French history, but strong Canadian connections as well.

Avenue des Canadiens

The weather could have been better as it drizzled only briefly as we drank beer across the street from an old church still sporting bullet holes from WWII. We then grabbed some kebabs and wandered towards the beach. And that’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks.

66 years ago on this very beach, along with many others along this coast, our Canadian boys and men stormed the beaches, risking their lives and losing many to liberate France and rid the city of Nazi power. The beach is marked with several monuments to commemorate their efforts… It was surreal to see. You read about it in textbooks in school, but to be able to get up close, see the spot and touch the monuments along this rocky shore was an experience I will never forget.

The city is peppered with Canadian spirit. Our flags hang side-by-side with the French and British flags on numerous buildings, there’s even an Avenue des Canadiens. We spent our one night in Dieppe drinking at the Cambridge Pub, then across the street at the Curling Pub, with the welcoming locals who fed us green shots.

Friday we awoke with headaches knowing there was little chance of finding a room that night, and satisfied with the sights we had seen the day prior, we hopped on the train to Rouen, located half-way between Dieppe and Paris.

Rouen

Rouen is an absolute gem. Again, it wasn’t in our travel plans, but this city of 106,000 people was the perfect stop-over. You can wander and see most all sights within a few hours. Their own Cathedrale de Notre Dame boasts the highest tower in France, at 151 meters. We also saw the very site where Joan of Arc was put on trial and tortured in front of her judges, before being burned at the stake in 1431.

Paris

Finally on Saturday we arrived in the City of Lights. One word to describe Paris? Busy. Ridiculously so. We found an inexpensive, dingy little hotel very shortly after arriving in the Gare de St. Lezare station. And dingy is the nicest way to describe our room, but we took it on the advice of many others (and our handy “Let’s Go: Western Europe” guide) and stayed cheap, avoided the museums, but dined like Royalty!

The food? To die for! I could go on and on about the food there, but I won’t… Instead- while on the topic of death- the first site we saw took us over 25 meters beneath the streets of Paris, twice as deep as their intricate Metro system. We took a tour of the Catacombs. Too eerie.

You enter from a practically unnoticeable door street-level and begin the descent down a spiral staircase into what was first an excavation site for stones to build the city in the early 1700′s. Apparently far too many people in 1785 found the smell of the many grave yards truly unbearable and over-crowded. What are city officials to do in such a case? Dig them all up and move them of course! So we toured the dozens of windy tunnels for about an hour, lined with a few tombs, and thousands upon thousands of skulls and bones. Highly recommended, though not for those with weak stomachs.

I can’t fail to mention the larger-than-expected, and breath-taking upon first site, Eiffel Tower. Packed with people we clearly opted not to go up it… Instead we made our way down the Ave. Des Champs-Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe, before enjoying another incredible meal.

After dinner, as the sun was setting and the hordes of people departed, we scoped out the city center, on the Ile de la Cite, saw the Notre Dame de Paris and the incredible Louvre. Oh, and ate a bit more! But come on, you can’t NOT try the crepes in Paris!

And once again I am blogging on the train, we’re on board the Thalys after leaving fast-paced Paris for a more laid-back Amsterdam for the next 4, oh maybe 5 days. Anything to wind down after that whirl-wind French experience!

We touched down in Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday around 4:30pm local time. Upon arriving at the airport we quickly regained our strength at one of the many airport cafes, dinning on tomato soup (or more so, delicious tomato paste), frankfurters and cold beer. Much to my dismay Frankfurt was a practically unbearable 30 degrees… Didn’t much help to have 16 kilos of clothing strapped to my back!

The Netherlands

We had an ICE Train reservation for 7pm to the small Dutch town of Arnhem, a couple hours west of Frankfurt. The train system here is incredible. We moved at a speed of 250 Km+ at times through south-west German rolling plains into the Netherlands.

We were greeted at the Arnhem Central Station by an old family friend of Dylan’s, Stijn. We were then fortunate enough to spend the next few days getting accustomed to the European lifestyle at the home of Stijn, Mim, and their two beautiful young girls, Mirre and Evie in Elst, the Netherlands.

The Horse Market

On Monday, Sept. 1st, we awoke sans jet lag and attended a horse market that has been going on annually in Elst, since 1200. Horse breeders from all across Europe lined the cobble-stoned streets with hundreds of their horses. If you want the best deal on the most impressive horse you’re there at 5am… Luckily we were not. We biked in by 8am, and had a beer in hand by 9am.

Seated next to a table of 4 local gentlemen, I was offered a horse for a mere €40! Unfortunately I don’t believe my landlady Opal would allow it in my tiny flat.

Kinderdijk

The next few days were spent wide-eyed touring the southern Netherlands. We wandered the modern markets and shopping areas of Rotterdam, visited the oldest city in the Netherlands, Nijmegen (an ancient Roman settlement), took a tour of Mim’s coffee factory, and drank a lot of beer- which goes without saying. The highlight was definitely the 250 year old windmills in Kinderdiijk.

Antwerp, Belgium

Wednesday we reluctantly left our incredibly accommodating tour guide, Stijn, behind, as well as the comfort of their home in Elst and hopped on a train headed west.

Our destination was an unexpected one, we spent the night in Antwerp, Belgium last night. A decision I’m most happy we made. This was the first Hostel experience for both Dylan and I. We used his handy Let’s Go: Western Europe book and located the New International Youth Hostel about a 15 min. walk from the Antwerp Central Station. As the book states, it is a well-worn place, but it was most enjoyable and we met folks from all across Europe.

Antwerp itself is stunning, a melting pot of cultures, amazing architecture and world famous fries (to die for, especially with garlic sauce!).

At the moment we’re south-bound on the Thalys to Paris, then we will head north straight-away. Our official plan is to spend a night or two in the northern sea-side town of Dieppe, France, and get our Paris sight-seeing in most likely on Saturday. Dylan’s not big on the French culture, something to do with the French Immersion kids clashing with his English classmates back in his Elementary School days- so we’ll see how he fares with all the berets and croissants…

We’re flying into Frankfurt, Germany, the 8th largest airport in the world, and the 3rd busiest airport as far as passenger traffic goes in all Europe, behind London’s ‘Heathrow’ and Paris’s ‘Charles de Gaulle’. From there we’re traveling counter-clockwise through Western Europe: From Frankfurt to Amsterdam, the Netherlands for a while, then through Belgium & France down to Italy. There’s a possibility of a Greecian get-a-way in there, if we feel up to it (through a last-minute, inexpensive flight). Then before flying out of Frankfurt we’ll stop by Munich, for the 175th Oktoberfest. Only 101 days until it’s commencement date! Fitting way to end the trip, I’d say.

Oktoberfest began in 1810, a wedding celebration for the masses from crowned Prince Ludwig and his Princess Therese. The 16-day event sees around 6.2 million people each year at the Theresienwiese, from all over the world.

So, I now know from various sources to cross the busy roads with confidence, when in Rome. Coffee is less expensive in Venice when ordered standing up as opposed to seated at a table. To not use the convenient on-the-street toilet “pods” in Paris, pour des raisons de propreté (or, for cleanliness purposes, thank you cousin Ali). Tipping isn’t necessary, as it’s included on most restaurant bills. And Amsterdam is best experienced on bike… among many other tricks of the trade that will come to me only when faced with the journey.

Any other tips and advice are most welcome, even your own European (or non-European) vacation recollections, as I’m sure any information I can get will be of some use!