Armed with a chocolate croissant and rudimentary understanding of German trains, we’re empowered to begin a new battle. The curious case of how to pay for a bus ticket… and where the heck is the bus depot? A long walk and muddled conversation with the bus driver later, and we successfully depart via the only available route for our rather niche destination. Monschau.
The monotonous rhythm of the winding roads might have put us to sleep if not for the fact that we were driving on the opposite side of the road! Turning each corner to see an oncoming car was slightly unnerving. Luckily we have something to distract us! Small clumps of white fluffy goodness: snow. Our first European snow sighting to boot! In addition, the road straddles the German/Belgium border criss crossing into each country, providing even further entertainment to us Aussies… “Germany!”, “Belgium!”, “Germany!”, “Belgium!”… and so on and so forth… until we pull into the Monschau Bus stop.
On arrival, we’re greeted with the most charming strip of buildings, one of which is a grand half timbered medieval hotel. “Damn, I wish we were staying there!” We both laugh. The thought echoes in our head as we continue up a kilometer long uneven hillside staircase to our accommodation. My slow ascent is not pretty… and as I make it to the deck I promptly fling my backpack to the ground and unflatteringly flop onto the first thing resembling a chair.
Perhaps, after being alerted to our presence by way of audibly heavy breathing, a seemingly gruff Inn keeper poke’s his head out the front door to remind us we can check in at 2pm (a full 4 hours away). I’m not worried. We’re mainly here to deposit my bag. Maybe it’s this nonchalance that encourages the man to pop back out again and keep us company for over an hour. He entertains us with food tips, local secrets and the totally random but unbelievably interesting logistics of international diesel storage.
Loaded up with more information than we’ll reasonably ever use and sufficiently rested we’re ready to check out the local 13th century castle. The first thing we see is a turret! As we carefully balance our already weak ankles along the slippery cobblestone path, inching closer, I notice something. “Excuse me… did that car just drive through the turret?” I ask an equally flabbergasted Jesse. Then with a smirk forming in the corner of his mouth, without missing a beat he deadpans, “Yes, of course it did… This is just a normal road.” And in that moment we share an unspoken agreement that this is epic and that it’s all worth it.
After thorough exploration of our newest favourite castle we find our way down to the bustling town centre and It’s like our eyes have been opened for the first time. “How can a place like this exist?”, “How do people actually get to live here?”, “Why am I not living here?” We ask each other as we run around taking it all in like gleefully energetic Labrador puppies!
But enough of being complete tourists! That morning the Inn keeper had told us about a hidden Christmas Market for locals. Later in the evening we grab our torches and prepare for a short trek across the German border into Belgium. Everything else is dark, the path is mostly paved but not entirely free from mud and animal droppings… I need to watch my step. In the distance we can see a glow and hear faint chatter on the wind. Following the lights and sounds, we find an understatedly warm and welcoming gathering with nary a kitschy keyring in sight. Keen to fit in, we order a waffle and it’s not too long before we’ve made friends with the vendor.
All this time though, we’ve been holding out for more snow! We haven’t seen any since the clumps earlier in the day. So as we tucked in for the night, we made a Christmas wish for snowfall and guess what… Monschau delivers! Everything that we experienced yesterday, we experience again, but better! And as I near the end of the road, I keep looking over my shoulder “one last time”. Eventually though, it really must be the last time.
6 Responses
Ken & I love your stories of your travels … keep them coming. We al ways get a giggle and are green with envy 😉 . The travel bug has infected you … there is no cure. We are 70 this year & still have a burning need to travel. Love to you both … throw a snowball for me ⛄️
Thank you for your continued support! 💕 It’s everyone’s comments that keep me going writing these ahahah. This day was definitely a special one – an inspiration for further travels.
To travel see such wonders…amazing!
Travel with wide hearts 🥰
I never imagined it would be as awesome as it has been ❤️❤️
Hi Bethany & Jesse,
Love your travelogues and love reading about your adventures. Keep posting.
Thank you so much! 😍 So happy to be able to share.
Also, “travelouges” – I love that 😂❤️