Disney Cruise Line

How We Got There 

  Ready for our trip at Fast Park & Relax RDU disney cruise line 3 P I N this to pinterest   Finally sharing details from our Disney Cruise on the Disney Cruise Line this summer. First of all, we used Heather Lawson for our travel agent – follow her on insta here.

2.We had some flight credits so we chose to fly. We flew in the night before so we didn’t have to stress about cancelled flights or missing the ship the next day.

3.We always use Fast Park & Relax at RDU and have always had such a great experience.

Favorite Flying Essentials 

-downloading netflix or other shows to watch on the flight.

-airpods or noise cancelling headphones to watch the shows:)  (I have this brand, Michael has this one) depending on how long the flight is. I like airpods for short flights but the big headphones for long ones.

–pacsafe bookbag (we bought these when we moved to Europe in 2019. They have held up so well and our always our go to when traveling)

–ipads for the kiddos. always a must.

-healthy snacks

-any medicines or things you just don’t want to get lost for the trip

–Kindle – I love my kindle SO SO much, so it’s always in my carry on.

 

La Farm Bakery RDU airport P I N this to pinterest

La Farm Bakery RDU airport                                                                                                                                                                                                                             4. Treats from La Farm Bakery RDU is always a must before/after flying.       

Yes, we checked bags for this trip. We participated in fish extenders so definitely had to check a bag or two.

5.We took a shuttle from orlando to our hotel but might try an uber next time.disney cruise line 2P I N this to pinterest6.Stayed at the Springhill Suites at the port with our Marriott points. It was super nice, breakfast was awesome. Make sure you call and reserve your shuttle time to the port. Their shuttle was on time and awesome. We didn’t go too early and did not wait long to board the ship!

7. Let me know any questions you have about getting to Port Canaveral and planning a Disney cruise!

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Rhine River Cruise

Bacharach to St. Goar 

We really enjoyed this day trip from Heidelberg to Bacharach. We stopped in Worms, another small town along the way with a castle, and then headed to Bacharach. We took a boat ride (see the boat company we used here) down the Rhine River after lunch in Bacharach. At the end of the day, we had dinner in St. Goar by the water. Such a perfect day.As always, I recommend grabbing the Rick Steves Germany book, such a great book with so many recommendations for day trips in Germany.

St Peter’s Cathedral in Worms. Also associated with Martin Luther and the Diet of Worms.

rhine river cruise germany 001P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 002P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 003P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 004P I N this to pinterestNibelungen Bridge rhine river cruise germany 005P I N this to pinterestOur friends put “castle” in Google maps, and we ended up at this sweet town with a well, vineyard, and castle.rhine river cruise germany 006P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 007P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 008P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 010P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 012P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 013P I N this to pinterestBacharach was the absolute cutest town – we had lunch here in this secret spot with a little stream, just like a fairy tale. Then we headed on the Rhine River cruise.rhine river cruise germany 015P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 016P I N this to pinterestThis is the post office – the golden horn was blown to stop traffic and let the mail come through. rhine river cruise germany 017P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 019P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 021P I N this to pinterestWe loved the Rhine River Cruise so much – so relaxing and so many castle to see. We took the route from Bacharach to St. Goar. rhine river cruise germany 049P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 050P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 051P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 052P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 053P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 054P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 055P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 056P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 058P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 059P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 060P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 061P I N this to pinterestThe Altes Haus is the oldest house in Bacharach.rhine river cruise germany 062P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 063P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 064P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 065P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 066P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 067P I N this to pinterestrhine river cruise germany 068P I N this to pinterest

 

 

 

Martin Luther Sightseeing in Germany 

Before we go anywhere, we read books and watch movies so that the boys are already learning before we get there. They really enjoyed learning all of the history about Martin Luther and the Reformation. We went to Wartburg Castle first, on our way to Berlin. And on our way back, we stopped in Wittenberg. martin luther sightseeing photos 027P I N this to pinterestWartburg Castle is where Martin Luther hid when he was considered an outlaw and a heretic. While he was there, he translated the Bible into German. This castle was very, very old and built in 1067. Goethe also stayed in this castle for a little while, and it is an UNESCO world heritage site.

martin luther sightseeing photos 028P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 029P I N this to pinterestThe view was just so pretty!martin luther sightseeing photos 030P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 031P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 032P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 033P I N this to pinterestSt. Elizabeth’s Chapel martin luther sightseeing photos 035P I N this to pinterestMartin Luther’s roommartin luther sightseeing photos 036P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 037P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 038P I N this to pinterestThe Castle Church where Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church doors. The University Wittenberg used these doors to put up important announcements. Martin Luther is also buried in this church. It is also connected to Schloss Wittenberg.martin luther sightseeing photos 039P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 040P I N this to pinterestYou can see the top of St. Mary’s church, which was where Martin Luther preached. They also had the first mass in German and communion was given to everyone in this church. This town also has the densest concentration of World Heritage sites in one area.

martin luther sightseeing photos 041P I N this to pinterestThe first Protestant church service was held at St. Mary’s church in 1521. martin luther sightseeing photos 042P I N this to pinterestOld Market Square in Wittenberg with a statue of Luther.martin luther sightseeing photos 043P I N this to pinterestThis little town also had canals. The other image is the front of St. Mary’s church.martin luther sightseeing photos 044P I N this to pinterestAltarpiece in St. Mary’s church.martin luther sightseeing photos 045P I N this to pinterestStudents scratched their names on the back of the alterpiece, depending on whether they thought they were going to – the river of knowledge, if they were good at their studies, or Hell, if they were not. Luther’s son Johannes scratched his name on the right, but ended up doing better in school later.martin luther sightseeing photos 046P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 048P I N this to pinterestThis is Lutherhaus, which was an amazing museum of his life. It was pretty incredible.martin luther sightseeing photos 049P I N this to pinterestThis was his pulpit, and he also established the first community chest.martin luther sightseeing photos 050P I N this to pinterestThis tree marks the spot where Luther burned the Papal Bull and Extermination in December of 1520.martin luther sightseeing photos 051P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 052P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 053P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 054P I N this to pinterestAnother view of the Castle Church.martin luther sightseeing photos 055P I N this to pinterest

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Our Trip to Berlin

Berlin was our first overnight trip since London in February, so we were really excited for this trip. We planned some Martin Luther sights along the way and on the way back, which I’ll share those when I get them edited:)I cannot even imagine the grand number of photos I have taken since moving to Europe. We planned a walking tour in Berlin since we would not be there long. I really like to research, read reviews, and always, look in my guide books for recommendations when planning trips. Another travel tip is to use google maps. When I’m planning a trip, I like to save a list in google maps that includes our hotel and all of the places we want to see and then maybe want to see if there’s time. We can organize our days by location and then also if you have extra time, you can bring up your list and see what’s nearby. With all the researching I do, we ended up booking Nick Jackson for a walking tour of Berlin, and it was the best use of our time. It was such a great tour, and the kids loved that Nick is a real archaeologist. We ended up recommending this tour to friends who just went recently and they also loved this tour so much. Of course, there is so much history in Berlin and no way to do it all in one trip, but we thoroughly enjoyed what we got to see and the added bonus of so much yummy food. It was also a neat time to visit because we were surprised at what a ghost town Berlin was. The sidewalks were empty and we really didn’t see many people. Another highlight of our trip was our brief stop into the Bonhoeffer house. Owen really loved learning about Dietrich Bonhoeffer after reading this book, and it was truly memorable for him to visit the Bonhoeffer house.

berlin photos367P I N this to pinterestCheckpoint Charlie – crossing point between West and East Berlinberlin photos368P I N this to pinterestOn one side there is an American soldier (you can read about him here) and on the other is a Soviet soldier.berlin photos369P I N this to pinterestYou gotta love that there is a KFC here.berlin photos370P I N this to pinterestberlin photos371P I N this to pinterestberlin photos372P I N this to pinterestWe have to take a photo when we see Keller somewhere. Also, in front of the Reichstag. berlin photos373P I N this to pinterestBrandenburg Gate – so much history here and Napoleon was the first to use the gate for a triumphant procession.berlin photos374P I N this to pinterestberlin photos375P I N this to pinterestThis was a powerful memorial to the Sinit and Roma – you can see the Reichstag right behind it. berlin photos376P I N this to pinterestberlin photos377P I N this to pinterestThe East Berlin Rabbits 

berlin photos378P I N this to pinterestberlin photos379P I N this to pinterestSoviet memorial to the 2,000 soldiers that died when fighting to liberate Berlin in 1945. The marble is from Hitler’s Chancellery and you can see the bullet holes.berlin photos380P I N this to pinterestberlin photos381P I N this to pinterestThe Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was just so powerful. berlin photos382P I N this to pinterestUnderneath this parking lot was where the Fuhrerbunker was where Hitler killed himself. Our tour guide helped write the information and was listed on this sign.berlin photos383P I N this to pinterestThis profile is a tribute to George Elser who planted a bomb to try to kill Hitler. This is one of the remaining buildings with Nazi architecture in Berlin – it was the Ministry of Aviation and is now the German Finance Ministry.berlin photos384P I N this to pinterestWe learned so many daring stories of those who crossed the Berlin Wall.berlin photos385P I N this to pinterestberlin photos386P I N this to pinterestberlin photos387P I N this to pinterestberlin photos388P I N this to pinterestberlin photos389P I N this to pinterestberlin photos390P I N this to pinterestNo summer day in Germany is complete without ice cream.berlin photos391P I N this to pinterestberlin photos392P I N this to pinterestberlin photos393P I N this to pinterestberlin photos394P I N this to pinterestberlin photos395P I N this to pinterestberlin photos396P I N this to pinterestberlin photos397P I N this to pinterestberlin photos398P I N this to pinterestThe top of this building had one of the remaining Nazi eagles. We also had some tasty cinnamon rolls in Berlin.berlin photos399P I N this to pinterestTrip to the Bonhoeffer House.berlin photos400P I N this to pinterestberlin photos401P I N this to pinterestberlin photos402P I N this to pinterestberlin photos403P I N this to pinterestberlin photos404P I N this to pinterestThis was Dietrich’s room – where he wrote part of Ethics and they also found a Resistance manuscript he was working on. Dietrich was arrested by the Gestapo in this house.


 

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Day Trip to Trier, Germany

Trier is known as Germany’s oldest city and it’s right at the border of Luxembourg. The kids are loving learning so much history over here in Europe,and so, of course, they loved the huge Roman Gate we encountered when we walked up to the downtown area of the city. It’s so impressive, and we ate lunch at the Hans Im Gluck right there with a view of the gate. Trier also has the oldest Christian church in Germany, Roman Baths, Constantine’s Throne Room, and a Roman amphitheater. It was a full day that ended with ice cream, of course.

trier germany photos 143P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 144P I N this to pinterestThe Roman Gate trier germany photos 145P I N this to pinterestLunch at Hans Im Glucktrier germany photos 146P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 147P I N this to pinterestThe House of the Three Magi – the door on the second floor was originally the only door and they used a ladder to get in and out of the house. This was to prevent thieves from breaking in.trier germany photos 148P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 149P I N this to pinterestIf we see a sign with Keller, we have to snap a photo.trier germany photos 150P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 151P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 152P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 153P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 154P I N this to pinterestThe oldest Christian church in Germany.trier germany photos 155P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 156P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 157P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 158P I N this to pinterestWhite asparagus known as spargel is in season. Right photo is of Constantine’s Throne Room.trier germany photos 159P I N this to pinterestThe Electoral Palacetrier germany photos 160P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 161P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 162P I N this to pinterestThe Roman Imperial Bathstrier germany photos 163P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 164P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 165P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 166P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 167P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 168P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 169P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 170P I N this to pinterestThe Roman Amphitheatertrier germany photos 171P I N this to pinteresttrier germany photos 172P I N this to pinterest

 

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