Devils, Romans, Belgian-men...

Do you guys really wanna...read...I mean, wouldn't you rather LOOK AT PICTURES?!?!

Well, just so you're not so confused, last weekend we went for a lovely hike at nearby Tüfelsschlucht (Devil's Canyon), which could have passed easily for a Lord of the Rings set. Beautiful, mystical, full of hikers!

100% real TOADSTOOL....next to a mein Begleiter.

Die Wanderer!.....or The Hikers...!

Descending into the depths of Tüfelsschlucht

Giant pencils! This place is magic!

Trier is the oldest city in Europe - we're talking Assyrian Empire.....remember, Assyria conquered Israel in 722 BC.....yeah, it's an old city....but with all the charm and traffic of modern Europe. In order to enter the plaza, we walk under THIS:

The Portra Nigra - Big ol' gate remaining from the city's wall.

Here, I'll use my 5'6"self for you to see what big blocks Romans built with.

So we walk through the gate and end up here:

Can you see the golden arches?

....where we buy or currywurst and brotchen 

...And tour the Basilika, which is the largest existing Roman-built room (it's not terribly pretty on the outside)

Walk outside and there's the Kurfürstliches Palais (Electoral Palace). Yep, it's pink.

Inside the Cathedral of St. Peter and the Church of Our Lady, where the Seamless Robe of Jesus is housed. I didn't get to see it - I think it comes out of the vault every nine years or so.

And the outside...

Somewhere in Belgium...

We started off with some shopping in a huge department store, everything in French. Hop in the car. 40 minutes later we're at a park called Bokrijk....which is Dutch...ya know. Well, anyway, I've never been to a cooler park in all my life, happily lacking in all the safety features and whistle-blowing playground monitor killjoys more prevalent in the States.

I went down the taller one....twice!

Cute niece, Lauren, diggin'.

I think I hit like 30 mph going down this one.

Sarah and Lauren in a basket swing.

Man, this was cool. A big rope web. A little trepidation.

I hoped to put a couple videos in this post, but until I make peace with my computer and the internet simultaneously, you'll just have to wait. Sorry.

And for those who wonder, the observation is going fine. It's just like physical therapy at home, only everyone wears camo and speaks in nothing but acronyms.