BabsB

If it’s Wednesday it must be Ghent

We enjoyed the delicious breakfast buffet at our hotel then took the tram to the train station. Ghent is a short 32 minute train ride so we arrived quickly. You walk out the front of the train station and make an immediate left to the end the building where you will find the trams to the Korenmarkt. We caught #1 and rode it all the way to the Gravensteen, the Castle of the Counts.

I love castles which is why we came to Ghent. Well that and the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb at St. Bavo’s. The Gravensteen was no disappointment. It was grim and foreboding and looked just the way I hoped it would. It is perched up with a view over the city, all the better to control the unwashed masses back in the 1100's. Much of it has been renovated and there is an interesting “torture museum”. We grimaced at the pitchfork used to keep people being burned at the stake, in the flames. WOW.

From there we walked to the Graslei and I tried to talk my son into going on a boat tour. For some unknown reason, he didn’t want to go, and I decided it was too expensive to force him to do something he didn’t want to do. I gently reminded him that he was breaking one of our rules though. We did enjoy looking at the beautiful gabled guild houses though.

We ended up at St. Michael’s Bridge for the picture perfect view of the famous three towers of Ghent; St. Nicholas Church, the Belfort en Lakenhalle, and St. Bavo’s Cathedral. They line up beautifully and it is stunning.

We went inside all three starting with St. Bavo’s Cathedral. It is huge and beautiful but the star attraction was Jan van Eyck’s The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb 24 panel altarpiece. It was so great I bought the biggest postcard they had of it because I knew my photography would not do it justice.

The Belfort en Lakenhalle was a stair climbers delight. It had lots of them and my son climbed on up. I on the other hand chose to take the delightful elevator and I waited for him at the top. The bells work like a player piano with the turning pins that make the bells ring. I enjoyed the great view while waiting for the elevator to take me down while Mr. Athlete tried to beat me down. Ha Ha.

We had worked up an appetite by now so stopped at a little café called Twilight at Korenmarkt 36. We had a wonderful meal. I ordered Waterzooi which is a chicken stew with vegetable, potatoes, and a thick creamy sauce. Yum. We shared a salad and my son had lasagne. We also shared a vanilla ice-cream sundae with strawberries on it. We voted it the best meal of the trip thus far! We struck up a conversation with a couple sitting next to us who live in Brugge. They gave us a recommendation to try a fondue restaurant in Brugge.

A quick trip through St. Nicholas church and a window shopping at the Korenmarkt and we had seen Ghent. We backtracked by taking tram 1 to the train station and then back to Brussels.

We don’t remember where we ate dinner so it was obviously not very memorable. We packed our bags and relaxed the rest of the evening. Tomorrow we head to Brugge.

HappyCheesehead

You are amazing! Still reading and throughly enjoying.

BabsB

If it’s Thursday this must be Bruges

I became a bit lax on keeping up with my micro-cassette daily journal and am afraid some of the finer details of Brugge have been lost. We took the taxi from the hotel to the train station, quickly bought our tickets, caught the train to Bruges then took a taxi to Koen and Annemie Dieltiens B&B. I kind of like the ease of taxi’s. I will allow a bigger taxi budget on our next trip. We rang the door bell and Annemie welcomed us into her home/B&B. We carried our suitcases up the staircase to the third floor and checked out our room. It was tidy and roomy with two twin beds, chair, table, TV and spacious bathroom. More more could you want. Breakfast was served at a community table in the dining room and was tasty. The Dieltiens daughter was preparing for a singing contest so we enjoyed her beautiful operatic voice quite a bit over the next few days.

We dropped off our bags and grabbed the section out of Rick Steve’s guide book for the city walk. We never follow it exactly but we enjoy his tongue in cheek dialogue. We started at Market Square and decided we were hungry. We grabbed a table at De Vier Winden and had a nice lunch. Notice, I don’t mention what we ate because I don’t remember. I just know it cost 39,75 because I have the receipt.

We climbed the Belfort and waited and waited and waited for the bells to ring. They never did. I didn’t know time could stand still like that. Down the stairs we went laughing with the other tourists that we wished there was an elevator.

Burg Square was just a short stroll away. They were setting up a grand stand for a concert that evening. We visited the Basilica of the Holy Blood, both the upper and lower chapels. Checked out the City Hall and its Gothic room with beautiful ceiling and painted wall murals. We walked through the little park with interesting metal bridge over the small pond. We continued our tour by wandering by pretty canals and shops.

We felt the need to go to a museum so decided the Gruuthuse was the one. It is a 15th century mansion that reportedly holds about 2500 “antiquities” belonging to a rich merchant. It took us about an hour to see it all, or approximately 42 “antiquities” per minutes. Phew, makes me tired just thinking about it. It was rather interesting as it displayed period furniture, tapestries, coins, musical instruments, and more implements of torture including a huge guillotine. How many people do you know have guillotine’s in their homes? Please don’t invite me for dinner.

We stopped by the Church of Our Lady just to see Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child. It was terrific. More wandering the streets and taking in the sites, we eventually arrived at the Begijnhof and quietly enjoyed it’s peaceful lawn, which you could not walk on. All I wanted to do was stretch out and nap. There were many artists painting along the Minnewater which is a pretty park with swans doing laps.

We stopped by the Straffe Hendrik Brewery to go on the tour but decided to head back to the B&B for a rest instead. Once back, I started a new book and finished it before we left the room again, it was an easy read. My son also read and listened to his IPOD. We needed the down time. We did go for an evening stroll and were amazed that the streets were virtually empty. All the day trippers had gone home so the locals, and a few tourists, had this lovely city all to themselves. Tomorrow a tour to Flanders Fields.

jazzyred

Babs
Your trip report is great. You have brought back many memories from my 1st trip to Europe (with 1st husband).LOL
He was a history buff too and I saw the same museums in London. (The Imperial War) was such a surprise I thought that I would hate it but was intrigued as you were.

You just blew me away in Paris. I didn't know where the Hotel St. Jacques was but then you mentionned Piza Roma. We must have eaten there a dozen times way back when. Thanks for the memories!!

BabsB

jazzyred, glad you went on a little memory tour. One of the reasons I am writing this long winded report is so that when I put my scrapbook/photo album together I will add each page with the corresponding photos. Down the road, when my memory dims, this will help me remember what we did.

BabsB

If it’s Friday this must be Flanders Fields

We got off to a rocky start this morning. We had reservations to go on a Flanders Field tour with Quasimodo Tours. We walked about 1/2 mile to the pick up point, but did not get picked up. We did not have the cell phone with us that morning because we decided to travel light. We walked back to our B&B where Annemie informed us that the tour van had come by to pick us up. Obviously, there was a lack of communication.. We called Quasimodo and they came back for us, thank goodness. We spent the rest of the day with our guide Sharon and two guys from Australia who just happened to end up on the same tour, but did not know each other.

This was great tour and we saw and learned a lot. I would recommend that anyone with even a little interest in WWI history go on it. Sharon was extremely knowledgeable the sites were emotionally moving and historically interesting. Our guide did get a bit over emotional on several occasions and we thought she would cry. I think she needed a vacation really bad from WWI. .We traveled about in a small mini van that was quite comfortable except in the afternoon when it got warmer and there was no air conditioning.

Our first stop was the Brooding Soldier Monument dedicated to the Canadian soldiers who endured the first ever gas attack in WWI. Over 2,000 were killed.

Next we stopped on the street in front of a local farm. The farmer was plowing up a pasture as he wanted to plant crops. It had never been plowed before so he was digging up both exploded and live shells left over from the war. Talk about a very dangerous job. He would then pile the live shells next to the road and call the Belgium bomb disposal unit to come out and collect them. The guide warned us not to get close as they are very unstable. Also in front of the farmers property there was a small brick chapel. When the locals find human bone fragments they would place them in this chapel. Unfortunately this particular chapel was full so they had a metal box next to it that they were using temporarily until another chapel could be built. They also had dug up canteens, shovels, rifles, and other army artifacts that may go to a museum depending on condition. It was very sad that after all these years the local people still find remnants of the war on a regular basis.

We then stopped at the Tyne Cot Cemetery which is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world. There are 11,976 war graves from WWI, of this 70% are “Known unto God” only. There was also a bunker in the cemetery that we were able to check out..

Next we visited the New Zealand Memorial in a pretty forested area. It was up on a small hill looking down on the war cemetery.

Hill 60 with its pill box and bomb craters was now on the agenda. It is rather overgrown and the ground in uneven. My group was moving fast and I thought, OK, the middle aged lady can keep up. Well, I took a tumble. Didn’t hurt anything but my pride but my pants were muddy for the rest of the day. The mind is strong but sometimes the body lets you down. We stopped briefly at the American Memorial on the side of the road then headed for Ypres.

Menin gate in Ypres was extremely moving. It honors the armies of the British Empire who defended Ypres between 1914 and 1918, and to those who fell but have no known grave. We looked the inscriptions and found several with our same last name. We took a quick our of Ypres, just long enough to take a few pictures and get a soda.

Our guide took us to a site where a group is digging up underground tunnels used in the war. Unfortunately we have forgotten the name of the place. They are marking the tunnels on the surface and the tunnels that have been excavated have been filled with water to preserve them further. Evidently, the group working on this site operates on donations only and so it is on a shoe string budget.

We finished our tour at Essex Farm where John McCrae, A Canadian Medial Officer wrote “In Flanders Fields” in 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The Larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Once back to Bruges we found the little fondue restaurant that had been recommended to us. It was a nice meal. We found a book store that had a small selection of English paperback books so we bought four. We left the ones we had already read at the B&B. Tomorrow is our last day in Bruges and we plan on a bike ride, a visit to the Groeninge Museum, and a canal ride.

BabsB

If it’s Saturday it must be Damme

Two things on our agenda today. A Bruges canal ride and a bicycle ride to Damme with Quasimundo Bike Tour. We had thought about going to the Groeninge Museum but mutually agreed to cross that off our to do list.

I finally talked my son into a canal ride. It was a rather small boat that they jam packed but since we both swim I didn’t worry about it. The guide gave his talk in Flemish, French and English. He would go on and on and on in Flemish and French and when he got to English we got the abbreviated version such as “ that’s the church”. I am not kidding. We both thought it was funny but didn’t really care because we enjoyed the ride anyway.

In the afternoon we walked over to Burg Square and met up with Jos of Quasimundo Bike Tours. We ended up having a total of six in our tour including Jos. We walked over to his garage and were assigned bicycles. We rode through Bruges a bit then headed out into the countryside. Our first stop was at the windmills. Evidently Jos was friends with lots of folks in town as he seemed to be quite a celebrity. He knew the miller at the windmill so we hung around until the miller got the windmill going. It did not take long to get out of town and out to the country. We stopped to check out the cows. Really. They were specially bred Belgium cows that had extra large rear ends, for the meat of course. We next headed for Damme and I kept stopping to take pictures. I think I drove everyone crazy but they were such Kodak moments I couldn’t miss them. At Damme we went by Our Lady of Damme Church and the four-faced sculpture by Delporte.

We went into the center of town for a quick look see then over to an interesting church and cemetery. Jos told us that there is a man in town who walks through this cemetery every week to pick up bones that have worked there way to the surface. Evidently, they put grave on top of grave and since the water level is so high they have problems with bones coming up and headstones sinking. We didn’t believe him about the bones until my son found some. Creepy.

We stopped at a roadside restaurant and I tried Cherry beer. It was pretty tasty. We rode by Stinker and Blinker canals and saw Napoleons canal that they started to build that would take him all the way to the Netherlands. It was never finished.

The last homeward bound leg was a bit tough as we had the wind in our faces. I was a slow poke but I don’t think anyone minded waiting for me because it gave them a breather. It was a good ride and we enjoyed it.

We spent the evening walking around after the tourists had left. Packed up our bags and hit the sack early. Tomorrow we go to Delft.

BabsB

If it’s Sunday it must be Delft

It was a long morning on the train to get to Delft. We left Bruges by Intercity train to Antwerpen Central where we transferred to Rotterdam Central. Next leg was to Delft. It took about three hours but seemed longer because it was cold, gray and rainy. We walked out of the Delft train station, looked around at the cruddy weather and tried to find a taxi with no luck. We ended up walking to our hotel, thank goodness it was not too far. We stayed at the Hotel de Emauspoort and it was lovely, modern and conveniently located. It had a large room with two twin beds not shoved together (yeah), huge bathroom, nice table and chairs that were big enough and with enough room you could actually sit there. A coffee maker and TV were nice. This was the first hotel where we actually used the coffee maker, it was so cold we needed a warm up.

We dropped our luggage off and walked over to a little café called L’Orangerie . We both ordered soup then I followed up with a bacon and cheese pancake which was excellent. My son, being true to himself, ordered spaghetti. We both had several cups of hot chocolate and it was delicious.

It was still raining when we got done and we didn’t really want to slosh around in the rain. We had struck up a conversation with one of the waitresses and she advised that we should go to Den Haag because Delft was going to roll up the streets in a couple of hours and there would be nothing to do. Our original plan was to drop off our luggage and go to Den Haag to the Mauritshuis Royal Cabinet of Paintings and the Escher Museum. She convinced us to continue with our original plan. Only problem was we did not go back to the hotel and pick up our map or itinerary.

We caught the train and a few short minutes we were there. We wandered outside hoping to grab a taxi to the Escher Museum but none were to be found. We bravely forged ahead and immediately were lost. We finally flagged a taxi down and he didn’t know where the Escher Museum was either but he had an onboard computer and with a couple of keystrokes we were headed in the right direction.

We loved the Escher Museum. M.C. Escher has a quirky mind and a strange way of viewing the world. We spent a couple of hours here enjoying his work. On our way out we purchased three prints which I have since mounted, framed and hung in my hallway.

We walked over to the Mauritshuis Royal Cabinet of Painting to see Vermeer’s View of Delft and we got to the door within minutes of it’s closing. Drat, they won’t be open tomorrow.

We found the train station in short order and went back to Delft. The waitress was right, everything was closed and the streets were deserted. We relaxed a bit then walked down to Yan Yan To Go. You select either pasta, noodles or rice then pick your topping. They put it in a Chinese take out box and off you go. It was just OK but since not much else was open we did not have much to choose from.

Tomorrow we will borrow bicycles from the hotel and go on a ride. Then back to Den Haag to finish up the sites there.

DeeDee

Babs,

We also had a problem with all the stores being closed on Sundays in Switzerland. No grocery stores were open at all on Sundays. We are spoiled here in California!

sockboy

This is a really great report BabsB! Thanks for getting so much done before my departure. I leave today, and will do my best attempt at a trip report when I get back. Reading your report right before going, really adds to the excitement!

shortattentionspan

BABS ? are you real? I've never seen anyone complete so much on a trip! you and your son belong on the Amazing Race, my money would be on you two. I barely manage one tenth of what you managed to do on your trip. I'm impressed. Even in your down time you manage to read a whole book! You are making the rest of us look bad!

BabsB

Hi shortattentionspan, actually I read 6 books. LOL. Before we left my husband went to a t-shirt print shop and had t-shirts made up for my son and I that said "March or Die, you can rest when you get home!" And we did, march that is. Here is another one for you sockboy. Hope you have a great trip.

If it’s Monday it must be bicycles, miniature cities and beaches

Up early for a delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel. They had free bicycles for their guests to use so I picked out a great bright orange bomber and my son selected a more demure dark blue steed. We rode around Delft to see the sites then went to the Porceleyne Fleas Delftware showroom. We enjoyed the tour and I purchased a 10 inch plate that is proudly being displayed in my china cabinet. I wanted a special piece of Delftware, not just tourist stuff, though I bought my fair share of that also.

We visited the Nieuwe Kerk and did some shopping at the town square. We headed back to the train station and went to Den Haag. We took a nice stroll through town to Panorama Mesdag. This is the world’s largest circular painting of Scheveningen as an 1880's fishing village. It was terrific but we wished that the narration had been done in English also.

We hiked through the enormous Scheveningse Bosjes Park until we reached Madurodam. Madurodam is “Holland in a Nutshell” and is an excellent way to spend some time. This miniature city replicates a Dutch town and famous landmarks on a scale of 1:25. If you don’t have time to see everything in Holland, this is another way to do it. We especially enjoyed the fact that many of the miniatures were animated. The airplanes taxied up and down the runway. There was a ship on fire in the harbor with firefighters spraying it with water and much more.

We caught the tram to Scheveningen and walked out on the pier then barefoot up and down the beach. We collect oceans so to speak, we always have to go play in the water and now we can add the North Sea to our list. The beach is lined with restaurants and we finally decided on one that serves Tapas. The waitress brought a dozen little dishes and we happily curled our toes in the sand and sampled away. Took the tram back to the Den Haag train station then home to Delft.

Back at the Hotel we packed up. Tomorrow we go to Amsterdam.

shortattentionspan

Amsterdam? ttt

BabsB

If it’s Tuesday it must be Amsterdam

Hey shortattentionspan, this is for you. Sorry for the delay.

Amsterdam is our last stop on our trip. We are a bit travel weary after about 20 days so are moving a bit slower than the first part of our trip. We got up early and caught the train to Amsterdam. I decided we would take a taxi to Hotel Brouwer instead of walking. The taxi driver wanted 15 Euros for the trip which I thought was way too much. I had a real good idea that it was not to far so we walked. Glad I saved the 15 Euros, we arrived in good spirits in about ten minutes. Hotel Brouwer is great. It is conveniently located, serves a nice breakfast, has an elevator (and stairs for those who desire) and the room was clean and spacious. We just wished it had a TV. The Hotel is run by a nice lady from the Bay Area in California, small world as we are from Elk Grove which is about 100 miles away. We dropped off our luggage and headed out to do a walking tour.

Armed with Rick Steves’ Amsterdam tour book we proceeded to go on his City Walk. First stop was Damrak. This street is filled with people, restaurants, and every kind of Dutch tourist souvenir you can think of. We were astounded by the amount of stores. Dam Square is huge and swarming with people. We checked out the Royal Palace, Nieuwe Kerk, Sinterklaas and took pictures of each other in front of the National Monument. We went shopping on Kalverstraat and bought my son a couple of obligatory t-shirts for his friends. We walked around lost for a bit until we found the Hidden Catholic Church, we thought it was pretty well hidden until we lucked upon it. Next stop was the Amsterdam History Museum which was interesting but we went through it pretty fast because my son needed food....now. Had a nice lunch at the Esprit café though we had to switch tables to one in the sun because it was a bit chilly in the shade.

After we ate we went to the Begijnhof and enjoyed the quiet solitude. My son was bored so we continued on to the Flower Market where he had a great time taking pictures of the displays selling “Grow your own Marijuana” kits. Of course he wanted to buy one. Of course I told him he was out of his mind! To get his mind off of Marijuana I suggested we taste a raw herring at the Koningsplein. Luckily for both of us, the herring stand was closed or I might have had to actually eat one. We fought the crowds down Leidestraat and I went inside a Smartshop to check out the selection but I didn’t buy anything.

At the Leidseplein there was a performer doing aerial tricks on a rope. I think half the people were watching his tricks and the other half was watching to see if he would expose himself. LOL.

We next went to the Rijksmuseum and enjoyed the masterpieces in the Philips Wing. Took us about an hour and we enjoyed the beautiful Dutch Art especially the Rembrandt’s and Vermeer’s.

In the evening we went to Boom Chicago and watched the comedy show and ate some very delicious nachos. Some of the Dutch humor went right over our heads but we had a good laugh anyway. That was it for today. Boy were we pooped out!

shortattentionspan

Thanks so much. I was surprised how much I loved Amsterdam. I didn't expect it to be one of my favorites and I'm looking forward to going back there one day.

I appreciate your details, I plan on using your suggestions one day. You two did an amazing trip, I'm truly impressed.

BabsB

If it’s Wednesday it must be a Van Gogh and Anne Frank

We started our day with a Yellow Bike Guided Tour through Amsterdam. It was a three hour tour to the harbor, the charming Jordaan quarter, by Anne Franks house, by the Rijksmuseum, through Vondel Park with a stop for refreshments, over the Skinny Bridge and through the Red Light District. We had to walk our bikes through the Red Light District because even in the daylight it was crowed with lookie loos. The tour guide was interesting thou not the most humorous guide we have had. By the end of the ride we were pleasantly tired from peddling up the bridges then coasting down only to do it again in a few minutes. It was quite a workout.

We missed the Van Gogh Museum yesterday so we took the tram over to the Museumplein. We enjoyed the Van Gogh, he has been one of my favorites since I was a kid and my parents had his painting of the Crows over the cornfield in our living room. We went into the Museum store just down from the museum and my son bought a couple of Van Gogh posters for his room.

The sky had opened up and was dumping cats and dogs on us. We huddled under the tram stop overhang with about 50 other drenched people and caught the tram home. We had to dry off and warm up so we both crawled into bed, napped and read for a few hours. When we got up it was beautiful outside so we walked over to Anne Franks House.

We got there about 6:00 and the line was not too bad. I guess we were in line about 1/2 hour before we got in. It was very moving and I had to choke back a tear or two. Some of the walls still have the papers that Anne Frank pasted on them.

My sister said we could not leave Amsterdam without eating at a restaurant that served Indonesian rice table. We went over to Long Pura at Rozengracht 46-48 (near Anne Frank House) and had the most fabulous meal. The restaurant was decorated very lovely and the waitresses all wore traditional clothing. The service was impressive and the food, oh the food, was so good. We started with one dish and worked our way through all 14 or 15, each one as good or better than the last. We absolutely waddled out of there. Don’t miss this place, so so great.

My son, being the world traveler he is at this point on our trip, said he could get us home without the map or compass. I felt like the walk would do me good, so OK. He did pretty well, missed the hotel by only one block. HaHa

We decided another nap was in order, can you tell we are tired. We got up at 9:30pm and headed for the Red-Light District. OMG, there were so many people and it was so crowded, and the roads are so narrow, and the girls are so, well, skanky. My son mentioned that not many were working that night because their curtains were closed. I told him that those were the girls who WERE working. I think he was shocked!

Another eventful day/eve in Amsterdam.

BabsB

If it’s Thursday it must be the Heineken Brewery

After a lovely breakfast we took the tram to the Jewish Memorial. We read the sign and realized we were a few minutes early for it to open. We waited around and no one ever came to unlock the door. My son tried the door again, it was a push instead of a pull and we had been standing out there 15 minutes like a couple of idiots. It had several walls filled with names of Amsterdam holocaust victims but not much else.

We walked over the Dutch Resistance Museum and the next several hours were among the most intriguing and interesting of our entire trip. My son and I read every caption, looked at every exhibit, watch every movie clip and learned more about the Nazi occupation and the Dutch resistance than we ever had before. It was presented in a very interesting and thought provoking manner. Everyone should go to this museum, it was tremendous.

After such a moving museum, we needed a beer. Off we went to the Heineken Brewery. My son was of legal drinking age so we enjoyed our Disneyland type excursion and our free beer. We even got to send my husband an email with a picture of us on it. They have rides, exhibits, and three different bars where you can enjoy their product. I have to admit we are lightweights, my son drank half a beer and switched to soda, I managed to get two down.

We walked across the street and had hamburgers and french fries at a little café. It was quite good and Mom needed something in her stomach besides Heineken. We decided we had not done enough shopping so we wandered up and down the shopping streets. I think I bought a few more postcards but that was it.

For dinner we had pizza at a little place near our hotel and then looked at the local gals in their red light windows before we called it a night.

BabsB

If it’s Friday it must be the Alkmaar cheese market

It is raining this morning, hard. Do we go to Alkmaar or just hibernate in our room. We decide to brave the elements and go since it is our last full day. We get on the train, and watch the drizzle. We have managed to go this whole trip without umbrellas, our rain parkas have been adequate. Not today, we bought two umbrellas and asked for directions to the market. Well the gal giving us directions must have gotten a good laugh because she sent us on the long, scenic route, in the pouring rain. We arrived, wet, cold, slightly irritated, but on time. In fact we had time to go have a couple cups of hot chocolate, delicious.

Unbelievable, the rain stopped and the sun tried to peek out and we enjoyed the cheese market relatively comfortable. It was interesting watching the different “teams” bid on the piles of cheese, carry it into the weight house then load it onto the carts. The workers were quite animated and it was quite a show. We were patient and the crowd came and went so we eventually ended up right next to the rail so we got great pictures. We tasted cheese and bought some to bring home to my husband.

We made it back to the train station, and it started to rain again. The original plan was get off at Zaanse Schans and check out the outdoor museum. We both decided the train was warm and dry and our hotel was warm and dry, lets go there. I guess we will have to go to Zaanse Schans on our next trip.

We got dry and warm and the sun was shining so we walked around the canals, shopped some more and called it day. We had to pack and it proved to be a challenge because we had bought so much stuff. We started our trip with light luggage but we did not end up that way.

If it’s Saturday we must be on our way home.

We caught the train to the airport easy as can be. Our Icelandair flight left late but once in the air it was comfortable and the food was edible. We had a short layover in Reykjavik and then on to San Francisco where my husband was waiting for us. Grabbed our luggage, everything made it and two hours later we were home petting the dog.

It was a great trip. Probably the last one I will make alone with my teenage son since he is a senior in high school this year and leaving for college next year. I learned a few things on this trip, things to do, things not to do, and things not to worry about. Next time, fewer train reservations, more budget for taxi’s, lighter luggage, and carry a better camera. Hope you enjoyed the report. Now that it is done, I get to go through the 2000 digital pictures we took and print off the good ones to go into my scrap book with this report and all my paper souvenirs. I like to get the scrap book done for one trip before I go on the next one. Guess I better get working on it, the trip to Germany with my girlfriend is the planning stages. Thanks for reading. Barbara and Chris.

shortattentionspan

As you know I have enjoyed your trip! Thanks you! I'm sure many people will be following up on your recommendations. This was one of the better trip reports I've seen in a long time.

BabsB

Thanks shortattentionspan, I appreciate it.