Monschau, Germany

We'd been told this city was a cool place to visit. Quaint, quiet, and cute!! So...we made it a day trip! We took the scenic route (not necessarily on purpose) and ended up going through the "Eifel's," a National Forest in Belgium. We didn't even know it existed, but will definitely have to go back. There were trails, open ranges, hiking spots, biking trails...and an awesome view while the leaves are changing. Once we got to Monschau, we decided to find a place to eat lunch. I had no idea it would be as cold as it was, and the city is in a deep valley, so it was FREEZING!! We

stopped into a few little shops on the way to the main markt, kind of like you do in NY when it's freezing...just stop into a tourist shop every so often--they are sooo warm :) We found a cute little restaurant overlooking the river. It was very good, and they had heaters (very good for me, since Stephen wanted to be on the porch to enjoy the river). After lunch, we decided to hike up this hill/mountain/cliff thing to see the castle. We were sort of disappointed at the size/shape of the castle...it was more or less ruins. But we were able to see a panoramic view of the city, and it was gorgeous! In the main markt, they were already setting up for some of the Christmas markets, so we (I) looked at some of the Christmas decorations, Santa Clause center-pieces, and angels. I'm really getting excited for the Season--the markets are going to be soo cool! It was a great weekend trip, and a very cool city!