We enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Europe this September (2003) and this journal will tell all about it.

AMSTERDAM - arriving September 22, we flew Continental into Amsterdam (and out of Zurich) for $572 pp. The dinner was really poor, some kind of mealy chicken tomato sauce thing. I had eaten a salad in the Newark airport, so got by on that ok until breakfast was offered. The plane was quite full, so could only doze while sitting up in our own seats. We brought 2 large travel size pillows (2/$5 at Walmart) on board, much cushier than the tiny ones the airline provides. Thought we would ditch them but took them onward to a few hotels until the tote bag started filling up with brochures, cookies, etc. The seatback screens were very nice and the seating/space was par for economy.

We rode the train into Centraal and planned to rent bikes at Centraal to use for 2 days, but RK was having travel illness issues, so we just got a taxi instead (about 12 Euro) to reach our hotel on the other side of Leidseplein. The weather was a bit drippy; we rested a while, got a snack and just did a late afternoon stroll from Leidseplein toward Westerkerk, finding the narrowest house in Amsterdam between 310 and 312 Singel (yep, one window in width). Sat at the outdoor tables at the Dam next to Nieuwe Kerk for our early evening cocktails (wine:30, as RK likes to call it). Wound on around through the Red Light District and Muntplein, returning to hotel to wash up for dinner. We went to Hard Rock Café so we could eat something agreeable to touchy stomachs. (no one will ever ask me for dining advice, anyway). A burger plate, spring rolls, mixed salad, coke and water came to about 27 Euro.

The next day, we rented bikes from MacBike (about 14 Euro each including insurance) at Leidseplein and used them as our transportation for the day. We visited the Amstel side, which we had not seen much of on prior trips. I led RK to see the sluice gates (Amstelsluizen) and Magere Brug. We passed by the Hotel de Munck, which looks pretty nice on its website for a budget hotel (http://www.hoteldemunck.com/). Did not go inside, but it looks like a possibility for a future trip (doubles 85-95 Euro). We then had another look at the Waterlooplein flea market, where I bought a black travel vest; otherwise, the place is pretty much a bust, not really a flea market.

The Rembrandthuis is the next street over, so we visited that after a coffee break (the liquid kind ). Found it to be quite interesting, with rooms furnished as it would have been while the artist lived there, and a nice gallery of etchings. We followed that up with the Amstelkring (Our Lord in the Attic), another very interesting museum in an old house.

We rode our bikes to the other side of Dam Square (a holy terror; I got off and walked through the construction, traffic and people) intending to reach Westerkerk in time to climb the tower for an overview. I turned in the wrong direction so we just kept on riding to Vondelpark, behind Museumplein and into the Albert Cuyp market. We liked that market a lot better, somewhat reminiscent of those in Paris, with produce stands, flower stalls, clothes, etc (but not bric-a-brac stuff). About 5:00 we turned in the bikes and went to the hotel to freshen up.

Dinner was at Srikandi on Stadhouderkade, near Park Hotel (about 40 Euro for rijstaffel for two with soda and water).
We arrived quite early at 6:30 so we could take the 8:00 canal cruise, however we did not go on the cruise as it was drizzling on and off. We were about the 2nd table seated, however more parties arrived soon after. The food was quite good but I am thinking it should have been served a little hotter, seemed to cool off very soon after we began eating. We will go back again next time, however, to give them another chance. We watched a couple of entertainers set up their act at Leidseplein, then returned to the hotel to organize our bags and turn in.

We stayed at Hotel Hestia, billed as a 3 star located just behind the Marriott, next to the Owl. We liked it fine but I think it is more like a decent 2 star in that it is quite small (18 rooms) and the rooms are all configured differently. We were moved to a medium double due to some interior repairs being done. I glimpsed the inside of a small twin room; yep, just big enough for 2 beds (configured like an L-shape, rather than side-by-side) which I had originally booked. Small rooms do not scare me, but whew, that one was a tight fit. The manager even commented that it could be tricky placing customers into a room that meets their expectations. The bathroom was clean, the oddity was the retractable clothesline which was installed about 8 inches above the tub?whatdya going to dry on that, socks? The windows open out at the top only, so the room can be warm if the weather is in the 70s. There is a tiny lift and a narrow staircase, a small breakfast room and brochures in the lobby, also of compact size. All in all, an okay choice for less money (95-133 Euro for doubles). Another hotel (http://www.hotel-roemervisscher.nl/) is directly across the street and the rooms on its website look a little more done up than Hestia, and the Owl is in the same block. The AMS Terdam is just between it and Marriott. Several choices if you like this area. Someone else has recently been mentioning Hotel Fita; I will say that its neighborhood is very nice, with lots of trees, small lanes, near the museums, in case anyone is wondering.

ARNHEM - on the 24th, we took the train to Cologne, with a stopover in Arnhem to visit the Openluchtmuseum. I have several comments about this leg of the trip:
- We had a German Rail Pass to use for the Germany portion of our travel. No agent at the windows at Schiphol (neither the domestic nor the international, including a supervisor) would validate the pass. However, we asked the international desk at the train station in Arnhem, and they readily validated it. We had bought a ticket to cover only the Amsterdam-to-Emmerich segment, and I was leery of waiting to catch a conductor to validate the pass while en route.
- the old-town area of Arnhem is not very well kept up with regard to the merging of new commercial enterprises into the existing historical ambience. To be fair, we just gave it a walk-through on the way back to the train station, but nothing made us wish to linger.
- We took the #3 bus from the train station bus depot and rode for about 15-20 minutes to the Openluchtmuseum stop. There is about a 20 minute walk along a path that leads you to the ticket kiosk and entrance of the museum. The open-air museum itself is pretty nice, but it is kind of an eclectic collection of buildings from different periods and for differing purposes. There are several windmills of various sizes, many farmhouses, a steam-powered dairy / cheese factory, a wooden bridge á la Magere Brug, a very friendly sheep (who likes to be petted) and a lot of open space. We bought the tram ticket, but ended up walking the whole thing under a bright blue sky. You should allow about 3 hours, especially if you want to eat lunch. We ate in the pancake house, where the food was fine but there were only 3 servers, who also cashiered and it was quite busy even on a weekday. We reversed our steps back to the same bus stop and picked up the #3 going the opposite way, back to town.
- Having seen both Openluchtmuseum and Zuiderzee at Enkhuizen, we both agreed that we preferred Zuiderzee. It is much more compact, presented like a village, better furnished, easier to get the image of an early Dutch village atmosphere. We also found Enkhuizen to be much more appealing for a lunch visit, probably because it is much smaller and characteristic than Arnhem.
- The Friendliest Local award goes to the gentleman in the Arnhem train station who not only told us where to find the buses, but insisted we walk with him outside to the bus depot, check the boards, then watch while he climbed up into a bus to ask the driver where we should stand to catch #3. He was impressive!

COLOGNE - we arrived in Cologne about 6:00 on the 24th and checked into the Comfort Hotel Central, which could not be easier to locate (IF I did not have a knack for going out the backside of every train station we used !). It is literally just around the corner from the Dom; our double was clean, small to midsize, albeit nondescript in décor for about 106 Euro including a very good buffet breakfast (bacon and scrambled eggs). We saw the Dom in the evening light: the illumination on it makes it appear like a ghostly gray/black apparition set down in the midst of a bustling colorful city. It really is awesome, to use a greatly overused word. We were not hungry enough for the German restaurants I had listed, so we meandered into the pedestrian shopping district and ended up eating at a Greek fast-food place. OK, I mentioned above that fine dining is not my forte, but this may be the best fast food I have ever eaten. RK had kebabs and I had some kind of shredded chicken, both over crispy frites, with a salad/slaw side and an interesting cooked green pepper for garnish, as well as a dollop of cucumber sauce. Cheap eats at about 14 Euro total; I would do it again in a heartbeat.

The next morning, we got up early and entered the Dom about 8:00am. They were preparing for a service, but we had plenty of room to view the enormous interior; however we could only view the Shrine of the Magi from the main alter area, as it was closed off. It appeared that some repairs were being done overhead. We had been in the Dom in 1996 and this was a repeat visit for us, and still worth a stop. There was some scaffolding, which you must expect no matter where or when you go to Europe. We strolled out onto the bridge behind the cathedral for some photos of the skyline, river cruise boats, and Rathaus towers, then wandered around the old-town area, enjoying the buildings, window boxes, and squares. We eventually hoofed it over to the train station and moved on down the Rhine.

KOBLENZ - we decided to get off the train in Koblenz since we had to make a transfer anyway to reach St Goar. We liked the old-town area of Koblenz, with all the statues around every corner, pretty squares; a nicely retained ambience. We had a light lunch of sausage/potato salad or frites and a nice white Rhine wine (are there any bad ones?) for around 15 Euro. We visited the Church of Our Lady, saw the Four Towers at the intersection of Markt and Lohrstrasse, and found the face of Hygea as well as the Schaengel spitting-boy fountain. Oh, but the best find of all was the 3 scoops of gelati we bought for 2 Euro at a store called Ge Latt I. I now fully understand why everyone loves good gelati ? it was wonderful. I recall that the shop is located on a street leading off the Jesuitplatz, maybe Firmungstrasse?

ST GOAR - We continued on to St Goar to stay at the Hotel am Markt, which is just on the Markt square next to the red and white church. We had a double with shower for 59 Euro, including breakfast. It was comfortable, clean and only a little quirky, ie. when you opened the bathroom door, you could get to the toilet but the sink, mirror and shower were cut off, had to close the door to utilize those features. Maybe the floor sloped ever such a tiny bit. The view from our window was of the castle across the river and the square below, very nice. The church bells rang some but I do not recall being bothered unduly by them. We spent the first evening just walking around the tiny town, looking at the river and eating dinner at the Alla Fontana Italian restaurant (spaghetti Bolognese, penne 4 formagi, soda and 50 cl of wine for maybe 20 Euro and very good). We ate at the am Markt restaurant the second night and enjoyed two different plates of what some will probably consider pedestrian German food (after all, the chef had cooked a wild boar this evening!) but it was fine for us: pork schnitzel with frites, veal schnitzel / mushrooms with roasted potatoes, soda and water for about 25 Euro.

St Goar is about 3 blocks long, except for the main road heading south; the row of buildings, hotels, etc continues for a bit longer. There is a nice park area between the road and the river, benches from which to watch the boats go by, and you can see 3 castles from St Goar (Rheinfels, Maus and Katz, I think) and all are illuminated at night. The next morning, we traipsed up the hill (a steep 15-20 minute climb) to see the Rheinfels because the tram did not start until 10:30 or so. There is a museum in one part with interesting photos and artifacts; the remainder of the castle is a stark ruin, with a nice overlook of the Rhine. We referred to a photocopy of the castle tour from a Rick Steves book which gave some historical explanation or background for each part of the castle, much more so than did the free paper the ticket window gives you. We followed our self-guided tour with a coffee on the Schlosshotel terrace; the oddity here was that the waitress did not understand we desired cream (milk) and sugar with our coffee. It was only 10 am, and I would think a 4-star hotel accustomed to tourists would have more experience with such a simple request, since anywhere else we had coffee had no problem setting down all the fixings right at the start. If you are going there any time soon, there is a big construction crane swinging overhead, but do not know what they are doing exactly.

BOPPARD - We took the train in the afternoon of the 26th to Boppard to see the town and find out about the wine festival being held this and the next weekends. First we just meandered about the town, got bike rental information for later, and bought a ticket for the tram from the Tourist Office in the square. We rode the tram to the first stop at the chairlift (Sesselbahn). We bought our tickets and were scooped up by the constantly-in-motion lift. As our feet left the ground, RK paused for a moment then said < I don?t know how you talked me into this >. I actually had put no thought whatsoever into this activity, just jumped on and went with it ! We had butterflies on the way up, but it was easier to come down. Something scary about your feet dangling above the treetops and that little shudder the mechanism makes as it passes each tower. The VIEW, however, was gorgeous and we were again fortunate to have beautiful weather that day. At the top, you take a short walk through the woods to a lovely restaurant with umbrella tables right at the edge of the cliff. We had beer and wine with a cheese and ham platter, very nice. From this vantage point, you see the horseshoe turn of the Rhine, the sharpest turn it makes.

We just missed the tram as we came out from the chairlift area, and decided to walk back to town, which only took about 10 minutes. We went inside St Severus, which has some Roman artifacts and beautiful frescoes, then enjoyed another near-daily dose of ice cream. We decided to spend a couple of hours riding bikes along the river from Boppard to Bad Salzig and back, which was great exercise and fun to do. By then, the wine festival was just about to officially open so we entered the area of stalls and had the first two glasses of Spatlese from one vintners booth. It had been a long and active day, so we returned to St Goar to have dinner and organize our things for the next leg of our trip.

We closed out our evening by strolling a bit further south on the main road, coming upon a bar with internet service. I went in to check email and suddenly the whole room was filled with a traveling music troupe, wearing zebra-striped and leopard-spotted coats! They seemed to have filed off a bus and into the bar for refreshments. We left them to their party, returning to our room for the night. After a short time, we began to hear music and singing drifting through our windows, getting gradually louder. It was our zoo-band, leading a street parade, playing their brass instruments and singing a few rousing renditions of German songs then fading back into the night. A very memorable way to mark our Rhine experience.

FREIBURG - We left St Goar on the morning of September 27, with Basel as our destination for the night. A change of trains was required in Mainz, but our train seemed to be very delayed. We then learned that a man had either jumped or fallen in front of the train we were waiting for, and that was the unfortunate reason for the delay.

We planned a stop in Freiburg for lunch and to see the Munster, the Old and New Town Halls, and the Bachle (little canals that run along the street, formerly used for fire protection, cattle refreshment, and so on). I think we were both a little tired and cranky that day, and the crowds in the busy markets (every square!) put me off a little. After all, I was there to take fantastic photos of the sights particular to Freiburg, and there were tents, vans and people everywhere! And, of course, the Munster was scaffolded, the angle of the sun was all wrong, and there was no water running in the Bachle. Well, I was a bit disappointed. But I am sure on a better day that Freiburg would be a delight to visit.

BASEL - In spite of being given detailed tram information on Fodors, we decided to walk from the Basel train station to the Hotel au Violon, traipsing through the pedestrian shopping street of Steinenvorstadt. The hotel is situated in a beautifully calm courtyard, behind the Lohnhof church. A wedding reception was just finishing as we passed through. Our room was quite large (category B, 165 Sfr, overlooking the Barfusserplatz) and quiet at night. We did not eat in the Brasserie, although it seemed to be doing a good business. We learned that the hotel has an elevator on the back side that takes you down to a side street off Barfusserplatz, a good alternative to climbing the hill every time you wish to return.

I knew that somewhere along our itinerary we would have to hit a town when sights and churches were closed, and Basel was that point on this trip. We walked around in the early evening and saw the exterior and first courtyard of the Rathaus, the outside of the Munster and the river overlook from the Phalz behind it. From that point we watched the ferry use its cable system in conjunction with the river current to cross between shores with its passengers. We used an internet service on Steinenvorstadt then had spaghetti and pizza at a sidewalk café.

The next morning was Sunday, and raining a bit, so we used the complimentary Mobility Pass provided by the hotel to ride tram lines 15 and 16, which cover the river area and both sides of the train station, passing through a woodsy park area and by lovely homes as well. We hopped on and off to see the Tinguely fountain, the Tongue King replica and the Mittlere Brucke, and were shown by a local lady how to use crayons and paper at the rubbing stations situated around Basel. Once you have made your rubbings at all the stations, you assemble them to create a picture-map of Basel depicting various historical markers. We completed our visit of Basel (for this trip) and got our train tickets for Lucerne.

LUCERNE - We arrived in Lucerne in the late afternoon of Sunday September 28, and checked into Hotel Goldener Stern, about 2 blocks behind the Jesuit church. Our room was two twins (135 Sfr) overlooking the garden of the Franciscan church, and while very plain, was clean and comfortable. We learned after two nights that you should really like church bells if you stay here! They ring 1, 2 and 3 times for the quarter-hour, 4 times + the hours at the top of the hour, 24/7. Now, while I heard them I do not think they greatly disturbed my sleep, while RK is more restless and woke up several times. I believe I left the windows slightly ajar for coolness, but if you can close them completely it should muffle the bells somewhat. Other than this charming? annoying? foible, we like the Goldener Stern, and found it to be well-located, just a short stroll to the riverbank and then cross any of 4 bridges to reach the market squares, painted buildings, and cafés on the tourist side.

It was drizzling this evening, so we donned our lovely blue plastic ponchos and marched on across the Spreuerbrucke (over fast-running currents passing through the turbines), a bit through the old town area, and then on to Mr Pickwicks bar for wine-thirty. The top of Mt Pilatus was hidden from view by the clouds; you would never suspect a mountain was even there. We enjoyed a good meal at the Brasserie Bodu: coq au vin and mussels, soda and water, under 50 Sfr.
The next morning (Monday the 29th) the skies cleared a good bit, and we started out by walking part-way along the Museggwalls, climbing the first open tower for a wonderful overlook of Lucerne, the lake and mountain ranges. There is a small pasture along one side with very furry long-haired red cattle and a pretty park on the other side. Following this activity, my task was to find and photograph as many painted buildings as I could, revisit the Kappelbrucke and the Lowendenkmal (Lion Monument). This last sight seems to be in need of a sprucing up in the landscaping area. Finally, we wanted to see the inside of the Jesuit church, which is very beautiful, done in white and gold, possibly a Baroque style.

Our final activity for Lucerne was an afternoon lake cruise to Weggis (23 Sfr pp). It was a beautiful afternoon, although still somewhat hazy in the distance, but yesterday it was raining so no complaints. The ride was very relaxing and we meandered around Weggis for about an hour while waiting on another boat to pick us up. We noticed the chairlift going up the mountain, and I quickly disclaimed any intention of doing that again! We saw a small monument with an image of Mark Twain and his comment that Weggis was {The charmingest place we have ever lived in for repose and restfulness.}
Nearby was a colorful cow statue on a floating dock. Above us were towering trees and green meadows with rustic brown barns and the sounds of cow-bells floating down. As we returned to Lucerne, the sun glinted like diamonds on the water, which was the most beautiful turqoise color and very clear.

ZURICH - Our last full day in Europe (September 30) was spent in Zurich as a prelude to our flight home to the U.S. We trudged uphill from the Bahnhof to Hotel Leoneck and checked in to our room overlooking another church, which did NOT ring more than a couple of times. The room was, well roomy, clean and had a bathtowel folded like origami into a swan with 2 chocolates included. It is a larger hotel, fairly well-kept and clean, with a scuff mark here and there indicating a new coat of paint might be nice but no reason to complain. Although the price (185 Sfr) was a bit steep for us, it was considered a budget option and acceptable since we only needed one night.

We continued uphill a little more to have a look out over Zurich from the Polytech terrace, then took the Polybahn down into the old town area. We made our way down the Neiderdorf Strasse pedestrian area, passing many shops and cafés, and enjoyed a fresh lunch at the Traiteurs deli. We passed the Grossmunster and Rathaus, saw the lake, and crossed over to the Bahnhof side of the river. On this side, we went inside the Fraumunster to see the Chagall windows, and in the Lindonhof watched people play boules or chess (with oversized pieces on a gameboard on the ground), or just rest on a bench looking over the river. We had our last dinner in a Swiss/German restaurant in the old town called Johanniter: veal with mushrooms and rosti, pork chop with frites and vegetables, soda and water for 57 Sfr. We enjoyed the décor, the service and the food and celebrated another great vacation in Europe.

Miscellaneous remarks:
- every hotel we used provided a duvet for cover; no other sheets or blankets. These were quite comfortable and adequate for the temperatures we had (50-60?s F.)
- every station for towns where we stopped had lockers; if you can not read German, then decipher the pictures to figure out how to make it work. Usually it was 1-2 Euro for a 24-hour period.
- While we tried to use bitte and danke and sprechen sie English? wherever we went, it became apparent that you could walk up and say Hallo! and everyone would gladly assist in English. We went into a bakery in Basel and the manager hesitated for a moment. RK said guten tag or bonjour, which do you like? and she laughed and responded bonjour! We have a few more words in French than German, so we got our coffees and pastries just fine. Rarely was there any communication difficulty, and if so, it just added more {we?re in Europe} flavor
- we understood that service was included in all 3 countries, and rounded up the check, leaving an extra 5-8% most of the time (ie. 57 Sfr check, paid 60)
- the Weather.com 10-day forecast was rain/storms nearly every day, however we were so fortunate to have only 2 partially drizzly days out of 9, and some days we had to switch to short-sleeves and sunglasses.
- The T-Mobile cell phone arrangements worked flawlessly. I had a Sony Ericsson T-300 phone and a spare battery, which I never had to use. Each country, I switched on the phone and searched for a new GSM network. We made 3 calls home to the housesitter and retrieved voicemail. I usually left it turned off, and checked for messages a few times during the day, which I am sure contributed to the batterys longevity.
- we each carried one backpack (Totes brand) plus I had a daybag/purse and RK used a nylon totebag. Besides the clothes he wore, RK packed a 2nd pair of jeans, extra undies/socks, two longsleeve Henley-style shirts, one set of longjohns (did not need) and a lined windbreaker (again, did not use), his own bathkit, the laundry kit, and the extra film. He wears a travel vest to contain the little extras one likes to have during the day. I packed a 2nd pair of shoes, 2 pairs cotton-knit black pants, extra undies/socks, 3 more l/s cotton turtlenecks, Cuddleduds (wore a couple of times), pjs, a scarf, a zip-hooded cardigan, and a microfiber pant-coat (used rarely), my bathkit, small cosmetic bag, the trip plans, maps etc. We both used the $2 rain ponchos you can buy in the grocery store to keep dry the couple of times it rained. I think he should have brought one more shirt (he does not) and I should have left one pant and one t-neck out. We washed laundry in the bathroom during one of the 2-night stays and got by ok. Some of you may be too finicky to wear clothes 2 times, but it is fine if the weather is cool and you can mix up the pairings a little. We really liked carrying our bags onto the plane, and also it was easy to walk to the hotels or to leave in a locker for sightseeing sidetrips.
- I took 12 rolls of photos, had them developed into prints and saved to CDs as well. A sampling of these is saved to a Yahoo! photo album at http://photos.yahoo.com/travelnutty ; click on the album, then click on Slideshow to view them. (Please forgive the Hotel Leoneck cow picture; RK is goofing off again!)

As a footnote, I would like to thank the participants on this board who graciously and quickly answer questions, no matter how trivial. This is such a helpful planning tool, don't know how folks traveled without it in the 'old days'

Travelnut - what a great trip report and very wonderful pictures.
Thank you,
Mara

Glad you enjoyed it, Mara... I will check periodically to see if anyone has questions...

Pictures? What pictures? I would love to see them.

That sounds like a truly wonderful vacation. I loved the pictures especially the one at night in Lucerne. Your Amsterdam and Germany adventures brought back many fond memories for me from there. Thanks so much for the detailed report

asbachnate, go here:
http://photos.yahoo.com/travelnutty ; click on the album, then click on Slideshow to view them.
(my hubby is a clown, just disregard!)

We had a great time, and the weather was much better than the forecasts indicated.