Editor's Note: Kaitlin and Thomas Gertz of San Diego are on a 16-month around-the-world trip in which they plan to visit 50 countries. They are sharing the experience with North County Times readers every month. Visit their stories online at http://www.nctimes.com/travel/.

Denmark -- Day 98-102: After coming down from the natural high that is Norway, we hadn't thought much past our arduous 48-hour train ride into Denmark. We were pleasantly surprised with Copenhagen as we walked around enjoying its voluminous parks and canals, including a waterfront called Nyhavn which offered a great cafe scene. Kastellet, a 17th-century fortress near the waterfront that was turned into a park, also made for a great stroll. Since we were in the land of Hans Christian Andersen, we had to visit the harbor to see the statue of the Little Mermaid, based on one of his children's stories.

Our final stop in Copenhagen was the Tivoli Gardens, built in 1843. It is the world's oldest amusement park complete with an original roller coaster, Rutsjebanen. Imagine the excitement for a 19th-century kid riding this around the time that cars were invented. We had a great time on the world's tallest carousel and were lucky enough to be there on the park's 164th anniversary to enjoy live bands, performances, and fireworks.

Next we headed to the Island of Mon. Although our first impression was not that good, things turned around when we grabbed two bikes and headed off to an area called Mons Klint. As we passed rolling hills green from recent rains and farms with ocean views, we realized that this was the ideal way to see the island. At Mons Klint, we discovered a string of blindingly white chalk cliffs perched high above the iridescent blue-green waters of the Baltic Sea. We hiked the top of the cliffs, then went down to the beach, which was peppered with fossils that had been preserved in the soft white chalk for millions of years before frequent rockslides had unearthed the past.

As we headed out of Denmark to Germany, we saw that our train went through Odense. We decided to plan a lengthy stop, stow our packs in a train-station locker and head into the town for the day. Odense is Hans Christian Andersen's birthplace and full of fairy-tale memorabilia. We decided to head to his birthplace and the adjacent museum, where we enjoyed a live performance of some of his tales. Though the world has changed a lot since the 1800s, his stories are still enjoyed over generations by countless children and adults. As we wandered around the house, we noted a quote by Andersen: "To travel is to live." We felt as though we understood him just a little bit better.

Germany -- Day 103-107: We were certainly glad we had seat reservations for the night train from Denmark to West Germany when we saw people sleeping atop each other in the aisles. After that, we welcomed the warm greeting we got from Gisela, Gero and Heiko, family friends we stayed with in Bonn, the capital of the former West Germany. Their beautiful home and their garden in the Rhine Valley immediately captivated us. Even more impressive was Gisela's excellent cooking, especially after our budget-induced famine in Scandinavia. They even took us on a local hike up to a fantastic viewpoint of the Rhine River. Through many wonderful conversations over several days, it became evident that everyday life in Germany and the U.S. are more similar than not.

The advantages of a home stay were always obvious to us -- getting a much better idea of what daily life is like, saving a lot of money, and learning inside tips from locals on what to see. Our hosts enjoyed the time as much as we did. Interesting conversations and stories about our home country and travels were a welcome enhancement to their routine.

It was hard to leave the hospitality of the Schlomkas each day, but we did take a couple of side trips. One day we went to Cologne and its extraordinary Dom, the largest cathedral in Germany, which amazingly survived 14 bombings during World War II. We also checked out Burg Eltz, a castle outside the nearby town of Koblenz. We enjoyed the scenic train ride through the Rhine Valley and walked the beautiful trail to the castle. Our reward at the end of the trail was a view of the striking Burg Eltz perched atop granite and surrounded by a river that naturally created a moat on three sides.

Our last stop in Germany was Aachen, the small town where the family of Thomas's father immigrated from. The streets were truly captivating to wander. We even found a shoe store named "Gortz 17," which was the original name of Thomas's family before it was altered at Ellis Island. However, our delight quickly turned to frustration when we later reached the train station and realized that we had missed the last train to Brussels. We learned another important lesson: Always check what the time of the last train is leaving town, even if it seems impossible you will stay that long in the city. We subsequently took a late train to a small town across the Belgian border. The area surrounding the station didn't look too great, so we persuaded a couple of station workers to let us stay there while it was closed between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. We then caught the first train to Brussels at 6 a.m., looking forward to a comfortable bed.

Belgium -- Day 108-111: We crawled bleary-eyed into our Brussels hotel around 8 a.m. for a slightly late check-in. A trip of this length is very different from a vacation. On a two-week vacation, you can bring clothes that last the entire trip, spend more money, and see more things because you have enough energy. However, on this kind of a journey, clothes only last a week, your budget is of supreme importance, and you can't sightsee daily because you would wear out far too quickly.

With this in mind, we have narrowed our traveling time to three types of days -- sightseeing, travel and down days. Every day varies among fatigue, challenges and setbacks, and the exhilarating feeling of experiencing something new.

We had heard that the best things in Belgium were beer and chocolate. We found this to be rather shallow -- they also have great mussels, fries and waffles. It was a day with no real separation between meals, just constant snacking. First we had a breakfast of fresh Belgian waffles covered in ice cream, chocolate and fresh strawberries. We later moved on to some of their fresh-cut fries, some of the tastiest we've ever had. Next was a sampling of chocolates, which Thomas had to literally drag Kaitlin away from. Our final culinary find was a small area of wall-to-wall restaurants creating a spectacular cafe scene off Rue des Bouchers, where street performers, musicians and many opportunities for local seafood made for a perfect evening. Here we completed our research on the big five foods with a giant bowl full of mussels and homebrewed Belgian beer.

Of course, there is more to Brussels than the food. After all, it is the headquarters for NATO and the EU. The main square, called the Grand Place, was one of our favorites so far and was an architectural highlight. It was undeniably the heart of the city and had been largely untouched for centuries. Nearby, La Maison du Roi (The King's House) contained an interesting museum. We also sniffed out a chocolate museum and got free samples. Finally, we checked out the touristy Manequin Pis, a small fountain statue of a little naked boy peeing continuously, and its sister statue Jeanneken, who squats and pees continuously as well.

Luxembourg -- Day 112-113: Each European country has found a special place in our hearts and has had something different to offer -- so we spent longer than we planned in many areas. Thus, a few things on our itinerary had to be cut. We chose Luxembourg over Leichtenstein because it was a bit more accessible. Luxembourg City stands out as an island of capitalism amidst more socialistic countries. It has actually been taken over several times over the centuries and ceded parts of its land to bigger countries, yet managed to retain its independent status.

In Luxembourg, we decided to spend our time wandering in and out of the Casemates, an intricate 23-kilometer network of tunnels through the city's fortress walls more than 1,000 years old. We took an inexpensive guided tour down into the Petrusse Casemates, which led down 250 steps to the bottom of the Petrusse Valley. We also went to visit the Bock Casemates, which were very intricate and built on the sides of cliffs and into bridges. The views into the Petrusse Valley on one side and the more modern city center on the other were beautiful.

Switzerland and the French Alps -- Day 114-120: We eagerly anticipated again seeing our favorite mountain range, the Alps, and found Switzerland to be quite interesting with three major languages -- German, French, and Italian. Upon reaching our first stop of Interlaken, we found clear blue lakes and staggeringly high mountain ranges covered in snow. Nearby Trummelbach Falls were a series of 10 waterfalls that cascaded from glaciers down hundreds of meters to the valley floor through countless caves. The Swiss engineered a very impressive system of tunnels, walkways, and even an elevator to give perfect views of the sheer power of these falls. We then took a hike and were rewarded with views of giant glacially carved valley with waterfalls going straight down.

How to choose among canyoneering, skydiving, bungee jumping, and every other possible option around? We finally settled on hang-gliding. Our experience started from the top of a 4,000-foot mountain with views of the giant snow-covered peaks in the background and descended 2,000 feet. We were a little nervous, and it didn't help that while we were getting ready, a paraglider eagerly ran across the ground, launched into the air, and promptly flew into a tree. Taking off was a little scary as we ran a few steps until our feet no longer touched the ground, but in no time we were 100 feet in the air and felt like birds. The feeling of lying flat on our stomachs cruising at 30mph with nothing below us for hundreds of feet was fabulous. What really made the 20-minute flights special were the invigorating midair stalls, dips, and turns. Back in town, we went for a dessert fondue -- eight different fruits and marshmallows surrounding a massive pot of hot melted chocolate.

We next squeezed in a one-night run to a beautiful town called Zermatt. It's the home of the Matterhorn, one of the most breathtaking peaks in the world. All cars were banned to prevent any noise or air pollution, and the air seemed unbelievably clean and crisp.

Taking the classic Swiss train ride up to Gornergrot at 10,000 feet, as people have done for more than 100 years, was amazing. At the top we enjoyed a 360-degree view of giant mountains more than 14,500 feet high, glistening with fresh August snow and unfathomably large glaciers. We then hiked down the mountain and soon found ourselves alone on the trail with ibex, mountain goats, and marmots. The highlight had to be finding a protected oasis by a lake.

The train ride to Chamonix in the French Alps was ridiculously scenic, as deep gorges lined with log cabins were gradually replaced by sun-drenched vineyards with mountains towering overhead. In town, we were greeted with a view of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in mainland Europe at just shy of 16,000 feet. We checked into a great hotel with a full kitchen for a grand total of $33 per night -- an amazing deal during the off season.

The next day we hopped on a remarkably steep gondola ride to the peak of Aiguille du Midi -- more than 12,500 feet in only about 45 minutes. The top was breathtaking in terms of what we saw and how tough it was to walk in the thin air. Adjectives don't exist to properly describe our next gondola ride to Helbronner, Italy -- being propelled thousands of feet above enormous glaciers for an additional 45 minutes can only be equated to floating on top of the world. Below us lay an impossibly large skiable glacier whose tongue extended 10,000 feet down and almost reached Chamonix. We even walked around a little on the fresh snow before concluding one of our most unforgettable days of the past four months.

We hiked the next day along a path about 6,000 feet high in the mountains on the opposite side of the Chamonix valley from Mount Blanc. Although our eyes were mostly drawn across the valley to the biggest mountains, the scenery was also quite impressive on our side. After the long hike down, we came into town at sunset as Mont Blanc took on a pinkish glow.

It was especially difficult to say goodbye to Chamonix because it was our last experience in the Alps on this trip, but next we were traveling all the way to Spain. We briefly stopped in the Swiss town of Geneva to break up our train traveling. Although it was quite nice, with lakes and a mountainous backdrop, we didn't find it overly impressive, and our hearts were still in Chamonix. We headed back to the train station after a few hours and climbed on board our night train to Madrid to see what Southern Europe had in store for us.

For more photos, visit the Gertzes' Web site: www.mytripjournal.com/gertzaroundtheworld.

Hints:

- Best Places to Stay: Hotel Banhof, Zermatt, Switzerland -- beautiful rooms with views of the Matterhorn. Bathrooms in the hallway, but worth it for the price. Just two blocks from the train station. Phone # 54 027 967 2406; www.hotelbanhof.com

- Most Unique Opportunities: Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen -- admission 75Kr or about $13 (rides cost extra); Phone # 35 33 15 1001; www.tivoligardens.com

Aigullie de Midi Telepherique and the extension to Helbronner -- amazing cable car ride up to 12,500 feet, very close to the peak of Mont Blanc. Don't forget to bring your passports if you want to go down the Italian side. Phone # 08 92 68 0067 -- roundtrip 35 euros to Aigullie and 54 euros to go all the way to Helbronner

- Best Food: Walliserkanne -- traditional Swiss food, good prices, excellent cuisine. Bahnefstr. 32, Zermatt

- Best Hidden Treasure: Burg Eltz, nestled outside of the town of Koblenz -- beautiful castle in an unparalleled setting.