3rd time in Nederlands

We've got tons of work to do... So we head back to Amsterdam and take care of our clients. While keeping them Happy the weather should be milder at the Scandinavian countries. Reunited with old friends and party (again)!

A European Interface, Koeln

Twenty million people live within one hour's drive from Cologne. The local really take pride in their engineering knowledge esp. Bridges. A huge statue of Alexandra The Great is right along the rail tracks. There are more than 1,200 train arrivals per day under the historical steel and glass canopy roof of Cologne's main railway station. Modern high-speed trains already link Cologne with London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Berlin at hourly intervals.
An award-winning biotechnological pilot region, the BioRegio Rheinland is affiliated to leading institutions conducting research into biotechnology and genetic engineering. The primary foundation of this development is the Cologne-based state initiative BioGenTec NRW.
I also noticed that "T.Mobile" is huge in Koeln, they have their own public-phone booths all over the city.

Hello Paula...,

Paulaner presents the first non-alcoholic yeast-based white beer that really tastes good! The Paulanar brewery is the first German brewery to launch yeast-based white beer on the market, and has now quite literally re-invented it. Paulaner yeast-based white beer is something really special, and well known all over the world to lover so the refreshing Munich lifestyle, and hospitality. Now you can enjoy the refreshingly sparkling flavor with the fine aroma of yeast – without the alcohol content. The new Paulaner aroma protection process guarantees the unmistakable flavor of our Paulaner yeast-based white beer. Brewed as a full beer, the alcohol is removed from the east-based white beer very gently. This means that many of the flavor carriers, valuable trace elements minerals and vitamins are left in the beer. The Palaner aroma protection process ensures that the resulting beer retains the ful-flavoured, finely aromatic white beer taste.

Talk a Walk on both banks, Rhine River

Talk a Walk on both banks, Rhine River. We saw those travelers with mini-wagon, they parked along side of the banks. I peed throught the van and saw pots and pants. Funny! But also, see thousands of people out for a stroll, a bike-ride or even a tour on inline-skates. Cologne's abundance of open green spaces and parks are suddenly teaming with joggers, jugglers, boule players and kite enthusiasts. There's a Queen-Musical in town. Longline up and the crowd is mostly wearing black color clothings.

Koeln, Deutschland

Cologne is located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, along the Rhine river between Dusseldorf and Bonn. Founded by Romans, Cologne is one of Germany's oldest cities.
The Cologne Cathederal - Cologne's Gothic Cathederal is one of its top attractions. It took over 600 years to build and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Conveniently located right next to the train station. But according to their new, they are waiting for the WolrdCup 2006 income money to shine up the Cathedral.
Cologne stands on ground that is steeped in history. Numerous cultural monuments from the past 2000 years, such as the famous Roman Dionysus mosaic, the mediaeval Overstolzenhaus and the Gürzenich hall, or modern structures such as the opera house (1957) and the Media park (from 1989 onwards) are to be found at the foot of the cathedral.
Made new friends on the train with young-german couples. They are studying in Paris, but on holidays and heading home. Believe it or not they hitch-hike all the way. In Europe they promote hitch-hiking and its legal.

St. Willibrord, Echternach

Visited the oldest town in Luxembourg, founded in 698 by St Willibrord, a monk of Irish origin. Situated at 160 meters above sea-level with a population of 5200 inhabitants. Located in the meander and valley of the Sauer and at the centre of the ‘Petite Suisse Luxembourgeoise’, which is part of the German-Luxembourg nature park. 2000 years of prestigious history bear witness to many architectural heritages: the Roman villa with pars urbana, the St. Peter and Paul Church with merovingian, romanesque and gothic styles, the romanesque Basilica with crypt and tomb of St. Willibrord, the Cross of Justice and the gothic Town Hall on the market place, remnants of the ancient town wall with 7 restored medieval towers, the baroque Benedictine Abbey, the Rococo Pavillion in the municipal park, 4 museums, a pedestrian zone, a recreational centre with 60 ha. lake, 70 km of extensive tourist paths for walks through unique wood and rock landscapes. The Spring Procession takes place on Tuesday after Whitsun. The classical music festival has been held in May/June since 1975. 15 hotels, numerous restaurants, youth hostel, 2 camping sites.

Vianden, Ettlebruck

Ettlebruck: A small town at a major road junction lying at the entrance to the Ardennes section of Luxembourg, Ettlebruck has a museum and memorial park to General Patton, the American Third Army commander who redirected his Army into the flanks of the Nazi armies in the Bulge, bringing about their defeat and the end of Hitler.

Vianden: The largest and best restored castle in Luxembourg is here in Vianden. The castle dates back to the 10th century. The castle had degraded to a state of disrepair such that in 1827 it had been classified as a ruin. Not until after the Grand Duke Jean ceded the castle to the state in 1978 did restoration take place. Not only is the castle a great place to visit, but it offers a superb view over the town and the Our Valley - something shared by a chairlift/teleferique which mounts the valley walls to a viewpoint/belvedere above. But we walked up (as usual). Chairlift is not in the working-season yet.

Luxembourg, a country on its own!

Luxembourg flies Dutch flag, but speaks German and French on the street. It has such a diversity of landscapes: the verdant forests of the Ardennes, the sculpted features of the Mullerthal, the fertile meadows of the Centre, the rolling vineyards along the River Moselle and the rugged scenery of the Land of the Red Earth. Walked the entire town, up and down hill. One can really tell this city doesn't need tourism. They are naturally rich (from their old times wealth). Filty rich! They have all the money to restore all these old buildings and roads. Buses and Trains are super clean. Modern, the latest stuffs! Its disgusting (almost). But very beautiful, I would recomment this place for "Honeymoon".

Youth Hostel here is the cleanest, I've ever came across. Buffet style breakfast, filled with variety of cold-cuts, eggs, breads, pastries, yogurts, hot/cold drinks, fruits, cheeses, cereals and buns. We made new friends with a very nice couple from Melbourn, Australia. They have also been on the road for the past 2 months. They are heading to France, next. Cool!

The capital of the Grand Duchy, Luxembourg

www.lcto.lu: Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union) and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area.
Nationality
noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg
Ethnic groups: Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, and European (guest and worker residents)
Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant and Jewish 3%
Languages: Luxembourgian, German, French, English
Government type: constitutional monarchy

Atomium, Bruxells

Our last day in Brussels.
The Atomium is Belgium's equivalent to the Eiffel Tower or Millennium Dome. As the symbol of the city – together with the older Manneken Pis – the Atomium reaches a height of 102 metres and it is surely the biggest “particle” of the world. The spectacular group of spheres represents an iron atom enlarged over 160 thousand millions times and it was built for the International Exposition of 1958. Everybody can enjoy the whole city in a new perspective from the highest among the nine spheres of the Atomium, that can be reach by a fast lift.

Waffles, Chocolates and Whipped-cream

Palais de la nation: This is Belgium’s federal parliament.
Cinquantenaire: Its lovely park and vast car, aircraft and history museums. Raymond is thrilled. Then we headed to Quartier Louise (Louise district): Temple of luxury shops and social graces. On the other side of the Grand-Place, we pay a visit to the mischievous Manneken-Pis, which we find “very cute, but quite small. We tried thier Waffles, its so.... good. But sweet, so I barely finish half. Fountains of chocolates in differnt colors, shapes and packaging.