There’s been an urgency since we arrived in Germany to do and see as much as we can before the end of September. Why? My oldest son, Joel, is leaving us, moving out, flying back the US to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for two years. We will miss him so much, and he will miss so much of what we get to do and see in Europe while he’s away, although I don’t think he feels bad about that at all. He is really excited to start his mission, and we are excited for him.

We covered a lot of ground in this short weekend. The whole focus was on the Grand Place, but there was more I wanted to see and do with the kids.

When I learned Le Tapis de Fleurs (tapestry of flowers) was on this year in Brussels I knew we had to go. It only happens every two years and combines two things I love so much — flowers and the Grand Place. I lived in Brussels as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 2001-2002 and fell in love with the Grand Place then. It’s one of the most beautiful city squares in all of Europe and I’ve been back four times now. I met my husband, Matt, when I lived in Brussels, too. It feels like it’s my place forever now.

Oh Austria! Please forgive me. I didn’t know you were so beautiful! It wasn’t long after we moved into our apartment in Germany that I started to feel antsy. It’s probably because we were limited to public transportation, didn’t have any of our belongings (still don’t) and were walking everywhere before our car arrived. Life has just been a very different (and kind of wonderful) pace. Feeling a little trapped I hopped on the bus to one of the military bases here and waltzed into the travel office feeling ready to book just about anything for us. I grabbed all of the upcoming day-trip flyers and opened my calendar to see what would fit.