We started with canals, so it seems only fitting to end with them.

Apologies for the lateness of this, our final post, but jet lag and coming down with a cold on the flight back home made for some exceedingly unproductive days following our return. 

We were unable to photograph our journey home because we were too busy hunting down tissue in the airport and feeling sorry for ourselves. (Word of advice to the traveler: bring your own tissue. Airport Tissue is simply another name for sheets of thinly-sliced asphalt.) By way of apology, please enjoy some extra photos of our last city, Amsterdam.

The constant stream of bicycles scares Shrek, so Edgar holds his hand while pointing out the canal boats.

Rembrandt Square

Our guide high-stepping across the street car tracks to avoid twisting his delicate ankles.

The canals here are much bigger than those in Venice. Also with more greenery ...

Heineken Brewery Tour: Photo Board Edition

Heineken Brewery Tour: Hipster Pose Edition, Version Colin.0

Heineken Brewery Tour: Hipster Pose Edition, Version Erin.0

Chocolate and Waffles. Check.

Less than desirable weather meant that Shrek and Edgar stayed tucked away a bit more than usual, but they still got to come out and enjoy several Belgian classics!

Tübingen, Germany

Shrek and Edgar admire the forest view from their guide's dorm room window. Pretty decent for a college town!

Yodel-ay-ee-hoo!!

Wilkommen to Schloss Neuschwanstein, Walt's inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland! We didn't have time to tour the castle itself (see previous post about ALL THE TRAINS), so the next best thing was this view from the bridge. It was super windy up there, so we had Colin make sure we didn't plummet into the waterfall below. Then a lovely Bavarian man posed with us for a sense of authenticity. Sadly, our request to hear him yodel yielded only confusion from this gentleman and shame from our guide.

Where are we now?

At this point (and especially after today), all the train rides kind of blend together. We think this view is most likely Stuttgart, but it could really be anywhere in between Vienna and Tübingen ... The rolling greenery inspires Edgar to write poetry, and Shrek to want lunch.


Yesterday was our travelling day, but due to some confusion regarding timetables and our guide's inability to ask a simple question, we ended up spending another 6-7 hours on the trains today. We can safely say that we can sleep just about anywhere, now.

So far no sighting of Maria or the children ...

Shrek and Edgar, much to the chagrin of their guide, pause to play patty-cake in front of the Austrian National Library/Habsburg Palace.

"We're down here!" 

The Zebra Suit People scared Shrek and Edgar away.

On a bus to St. Cloud, Minnesota Vienna, Austria

Shrek and Edgar admire the Alps through the top window of a double-decker bus. The trip from Venice to Vienna was on the nicest transportation yet. The train even had individual compartments like the ones in Harry Potter!