I'm finding that our internet access is spotty: some hotels have it in the room, some in the lobby, some not at all. Also, every picture takes about 3 minutes to upload. So, I'll continue with posts whenever I run across the time and the resources. But for now, we would like to say "Buon Giorno!" from Florence, where we arrived yesterday from Venice; and tomorrow morning we leave for Rome. Food is great, and even though we're walking A LOT, I don't think it's enough to work off the calories. Ah well!
I hope it's not too long before I can connect with this thing again and post something more substantial. We've had some great adventures and taken way too many pictures! Ah, the wonders of digital cameras....
Ciao for now!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Yeah, I know it's been a week or so....
I think we both are in agreement: we LOVE the Netherlands! The people are no-nonsense yet quite friendly, and we did not encounter anyone who did not speak English. The countryside and the two cities we visited—Amsterdam and Haarlem—are beautiful. Haarlem, where our hotel was located, is a really peaceful village where they have taken great pains to keep the atmosphere rooted in the 17th century. The Grote Markt (Main Square) is a good example. The most prominent building in the Grote Markt is the Grote Kerk (Main Church.) The gigantic pipe organ in there was played by Mozart and Hayden. Sadly, we did not make it inside the church to see and hear it. Should have gone to church on Sunday!
One of the coolest things about the Netherlands is the bikes! Bikes, bikes, bikes…. It seems like the topography of the entire country is flat as a pancake. Perfect for simple, sturdy, no-nonsense bikes for the no-nonsense Dutch people. Many of them have plastic crates attached to the front or the back, into which they toss whatever they need to carry: briefcases, groceries, children. And we saw very few helmets. In Haarlem, with its narrow, cobblestone streets, the cars seem to defer to the bikes, which is as it should be! Way to go, Dutch!
On Sunday Aug. 29, after the rain (sort of) let up, we walked around Haarlem, trying to shake the jet lag and taking photos.
At 4PM (or 16:00—it seems all of Europe uses the 24-hour clock, and they don’t refer to it as military time—our Rick Steves tour officially began with a tour group meeting at the hotel.
Our tour guide, Daniela, is a 39-year-old German woman, who grew up in Munich and now lives in the south of France. (If you are a citizen of a European Union country, you are free to live in any of the others without any red tape whatsoever.) Besides German, she speaks Dutch, French, Italian and English. Her college degree, and her passion, is art history.
There are 28 people in our tour group, and at this first meeting Daniela had us take turns introducing ourselves. Most of the group members are from the west coast of the US, but we have a few from Canada and other areas of the US. Most are our age or older, but there are two 30-something couples, and one beautiful lady of Indian heritage who is 45 but looks no older than 25. She says her mother was the same way. Enviable genetics! Overall, everyone seems to be intelligent, open-minded, curious, and enthusiastic to explore the unknown. As I write this on the bus on day 5 of the tour, we have already had several really fun discussions with various people, accompanied by food, wine and/or beer.
After the meeting we took a walking tour of Haarlem, led by a 22-year-old girl who grew up in Haarlem. This was her first Rick Steves tour-guide gig, and she did a great job. After the tour we had a group dinner at an Indonesian restaurant. We sat at long tables that had candle-powered food warmers running down the center, and the food was brought out and placed on the warmers, and then we all helped ourselves family-style. Yum. Apparently Indonesian food is very “Dutch,” I suppose in the same way that Mexican food is quite “American.” (Getting ahead of myself a little: we have learned that the same can be said for Turkish food in Germany.) I loved all the Indonesian dishes we were served, probably because Shannon has been teaching me to like spicy food when I visit her in Seattle. Tom’s tummy was a little upset during the night, but he survived.
Monday, Aug. 30: We spent the day in Amsterdam.
First stop was a tour of the Anne Frank House. A sobering experience, no picture-taking allowed. What I came away with: A father’s careful, well-reasoned plan to protect his family from insanity, ultimately failed because they were betrayed by some unknown person. Too often life is so randomly, stupidly unjust. The most poignant thing I saw in that house was a spot on one wall where there were pencil marks showing the children’s growth, and right next to it a map of Germany and the Netherlands in which Mr. Frank had stuck pins to mark the progress of the Allied invasion forces. He was the only family member who survived the internment camps.
After that dip into grim reality, Daniela took us on a walking tour of the city. Then Tom and I had lunch at a restaurant at the top of a tower rising from the center of a shopping mall. Good sandwiches, great photo opportunities!
After lunch, we went to the Rijksmuseum (an art museum) and saw some Rembrandts, among other paintings. Then Tom and I walked to the Van Gogh Museum down the street, but the line was too long so we just took some pics outside.
After that we joined the group for a canal boat ride. Tom was alert throughout, but the drone of the boat engine kept encouraging me to doze! Maybe I was still working out the jet lag.
Then it was back to Haarlem for our last night there, and dinner at a French restaurant, La Plume.
One of the coolest things about the Netherlands is the bikes! Bikes, bikes, bikes…. It seems like the topography of the entire country is flat as a pancake. Perfect for simple, sturdy, no-nonsense bikes for the no-nonsense Dutch people. Many of them have plastic crates attached to the front or the back, into which they toss whatever they need to carry: briefcases, groceries, children. And we saw very few helmets. In Haarlem, with its narrow, cobblestone streets, the cars seem to defer to the bikes, which is as it should be! Way to go, Dutch!
On Sunday Aug. 29, after the rain (sort of) let up, we walked around Haarlem, trying to shake the jet lag and taking photos.
At 4PM (or 16:00—it seems all of Europe uses the 24-hour clock, and they don’t refer to it as military time—our Rick Steves tour officially began with a tour group meeting at the hotel.
Our tour guide, Daniela, is a 39-year-old German woman, who grew up in Munich and now lives in the south of France. (If you are a citizen of a European Union country, you are free to live in any of the others without any red tape whatsoever.) Besides German, she speaks Dutch, French, Italian and English. Her college degree, and her passion, is art history.
There are 28 people in our tour group, and at this first meeting Daniela had us take turns introducing ourselves. Most of the group members are from the west coast of the US, but we have a few from Canada and other areas of the US. Most are our age or older, but there are two 30-something couples, and one beautiful lady of Indian heritage who is 45 but looks no older than 25. She says her mother was the same way. Enviable genetics! Overall, everyone seems to be intelligent, open-minded, curious, and enthusiastic to explore the unknown. As I write this on the bus on day 5 of the tour, we have already had several really fun discussions with various people, accompanied by food, wine and/or beer.
After the meeting we took a walking tour of Haarlem, led by a 22-year-old girl who grew up in Haarlem. This was her first Rick Steves tour-guide gig, and she did a great job. After the tour we had a group dinner at an Indonesian restaurant. We sat at long tables that had candle-powered food warmers running down the center, and the food was brought out and placed on the warmers, and then we all helped ourselves family-style. Yum. Apparently Indonesian food is very “Dutch,” I suppose in the same way that Mexican food is quite “American.” (Getting ahead of myself a little: we have learned that the same can be said for Turkish food in Germany.) I loved all the Indonesian dishes we were served, probably because Shannon has been teaching me to like spicy food when I visit her in Seattle. Tom’s tummy was a little upset during the night, but he survived.
Monday, Aug. 30: We spent the day in Amsterdam.
First stop was a tour of the Anne Frank House. A sobering experience, no picture-taking allowed. What I came away with: A father’s careful, well-reasoned plan to protect his family from insanity, ultimately failed because they were betrayed by some unknown person. Too often life is so randomly, stupidly unjust. The most poignant thing I saw in that house was a spot on one wall where there were pencil marks showing the children’s growth, and right next to it a map of Germany and the Netherlands in which Mr. Frank had stuck pins to mark the progress of the Allied invasion forces. He was the only family member who survived the internment camps.
After that dip into grim reality, Daniela took us on a walking tour of the city. Then Tom and I had lunch at a restaurant at the top of a tower rising from the center of a shopping mall. Good sandwiches, great photo opportunities!
After lunch, we went to the Rijksmuseum (an art museum) and saw some Rembrandts, among other paintings. Then Tom and I walked to the Van Gogh Museum down the street, but the line was too long so we just took some pics outside.
Then it was back to Haarlem for our last night there, and dinner at a French restaurant, La Plume.
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