I love to travel and see new places.  I love to re-visit old places that I've enjoyed! I'm still processing the last 3 weeks.  Surprises - I've never seen so many pizza places as I did in Amsterdam! And Argentine beef restaurants.  One of our favorites was called "CAU" - translation - "cow"! Duh!  Also, you almost never see any one eating at the cafes...plenty of drinking but the eating is done on the move, holding something that can be managed on foot.  I'm very proud of the way we can get around.  Dave is great with maps and I can recognize enough words in enough languages that between the two of us we can manage.  Also, we travel well together.  We spent 14 days in a 180 sq ft room and got along fine.  We quickly found a routine that worked for us in terms of getting started for the day.  Also, we were very good about giving each other space when needed.

What else...lots of smoking (not us)..cigarettes are alive and well in Europe.  In Germany, the beer drinking started early. I was surprised to see how many cafes were full at 9am and beer was on the table!  The food was excellent and very fresh.  I know we over salt food here in America (not at the table) in preservatives, seasonings, etc. but I was shocked the day after we got back and I microwaved some prepared fish for lunch...I couldn't eat it!

Too much more to process...all I can say is it changes you forever!

We're Back!

Wow!  What a trip!  We got back Monday night and I'm just starting to feel human.  Yes, my blogging did get side-tracked...3 reasons....sporadic Internet connection, computer problems with my netbook and we were just TOO busy the last few days!  We are both still waking up at about 3am.  Hopefully by the end of the weekend we will be back to normal.

The next day after Passau we visited 2 towns - Melk and Durnstein.  Melk has a huge, beautiful abbey.  It was truly overwhelming!  Durnstein is a town of just 900.  Really beautiful....

Hitting Vienna the next day was like a culture shock.  We had spent so many days in small towns and villages that coming to a metropolitan city was a huge change.  Vienna was beautiful - I wish we had more time there.  The dinner that night was fabulous as was the entertainment.

I will resist the urge to catch up and re-count the last few days of the trip.  It's still sinking in a bit for me.  I think we can sum it up by saying "a good time was had by all"!

Passau

Aug. 10^th

We spent the morning in Passau, Germany.  Passau is on the border with Austria and is built at the confluence of the Ilz, Inn and Danube.  It apparently floods, and by flood I mean FLOOD!  The last flood was in 2005 and you can see where the river came up well past the first floor of the buildings.  But, it is an accepted way of life here.  According to the local guide, when the floods are coming people stock up on provisions and when the floods come, they sit up on one of the high walls, drink wine and watch the river pass by!

Most of the towns/cities we have visited in Germany date back to Medieval times.  Life centered around the church, the castle and the town square. Usually the cities were surrounded by walls with entry that were manned.  And of course you had your prince or bishop, or in some cases, a prince bishop, who controlled the people, land and wealth.  Bathing was considered unhealthy and you did not drink the water!  You drank wine or beer! I think we’ve done a pretty good job of adopting that custom on this trip!   

We've made it to the Danube!

Aug. 8^th

One of the surprising things we’ve seen along the river is how much the land is cultivated.  Corn, grapes, cabbage, etc.; the soil is very rich.

These group tours always remind me of dating.  The first few  days everyone is looking everyone else over….”hmmmm…..do I think I will like those people?”  So you meet and greet, chat, maybe have a meal or two together.  After 4-5 days everyone has settled in with their “picks”.  The other interesting thing is that after a few days people have staked out their table in the dining room.

Aug. 9^th

Today we had our last stop in Germany.  This afternoon we sail for Austria.  Our stop in the town of Regensburg was cut short due to a downstream surge in the river.

Dave has had enough ice cream to kill a goat!  I’ve had enough wine to float a boat J)!  But we’re having fun!  It is vacation! Our group of 5 (“The Posse”) is by far loudest!  I haven’t laughed so hard for so many days in a long time.  Kathy is a bit shorter than me and blond.  We were christened “Barbie 1 and Barbie 2” last year! J). 

Coffeeshops and Cafes

Our friend Gene has been reading my drafts and has brought to my attention that my brief description of the coffeeshops in Amsterdam was, to quote, “piss poor”.   I’ll have to have his help since the coffeeshops are not my thing…just point me in the direction of the closest wine bar!

The menu does not have a mention of coffee, lattes, cappuccino or any other such potion.  Instead you will find slushys, brownies, lollipops, buds, etc. Once you choose the delivery method you then have to choose your type and grade. The surprising thing to me is that at 7am the coffeeshop next to our hotel is BUSY!  With locals!  Alcohol is not served. Oh, and Gene said to mention that the crime rate is very low…because everyone is so mellow!

Ok, now to the cafes…..my area of expertise.  First of all, no one is eating!  What’s up with that?  No, everyone is having their beverage of choice; chairs are facing outward to watch the world go by.  It’s rare to see a group of people at a table with chairs facing one another.  The pace is leisurely and an accepted, expected way of life.  I think we’re missing something in America.

Cruising Germany

Aug. 3-6
We've spent the last several days cruising the Rhine River and the Main River (pronounced "Mine") through Germany.  Our stops along the way have included Koln (Cologne), Koblenz, Rudesheim, Miltonberg, Rothenburg and Wurzburg.  Today we stop in Bamberg. All along the way we've had a chance to see beautiful historic sites.  Many of the towns suffered immense damange in WWII from the bombings.  The art and history have been amazing! I'm not much on German food but the wine has been great!  Shocker!!! And, of course, we are having a great time with our friends!  By the end of the trip we will have been through 63 locks.  Tomorrow we will enter the Danube River on the way to Nurnberg.

BTW, "berg" means hill; "burg" means castle.

Goodbye to Amsterdam

Aug. 2nd

We’re leaving Amsterdam today.  After spending 5 days here I have to say that I have a much greater appreciation for this world class city.  We’ve spent the last couple of days walking through a variety of neighborhoods and it is beautiful although VERY expensive. Amsterdam is a small city in terms of land mass.  It was actually a “swamp” that was built on pilings by the merchants. The roads are very narrow because the city was built by the merchants, not kings or emperors – larger roads and buildings meant higher taxes!  It is sinking, bit by bit, each year.  You can bike the city end to end in about 30 minutes.  There are about 750,000 people here and over 1.5 million bicycles! 

Everyone walks or bikes. Bicycles rule the city!  They have the right of way and they WILL run you over and not look back!  Bikes, walkers and cars share the narrow laned streets. Bike theft is rampant and don’t bother reporting it – it’s just a way of life!  That’s why every one has cheap used bikes – you will not see the expensive bikes we have in America on the city streets here.  These bikes are for work, not recreation!

Today we have a guided tour from a local person and then a canal boat ride with lunch aboard.  After that we head back to the ship for the dinner and entertainment.

The city tour was great!  Our guide was hilarious!  Her first comment was that the Dutch are not nice people! And they are direct, hard-headed and know it all!  They don’t hesitate to share their opinion of what you should be doing and how you should be doing it! She then shared her secret about what she does when her bike gets stolen – she steals another!  I believe her!

Our first stop was the Rijks Museum to see the Rembrandt collection.  One word – AWESOME! We were able to see some other artists as well.  The best part was having our guide explain the works, symbolism in the paintings and the evolution of the artists. 

The canal boat tour was wonderful.  Lunch was a typical Dutch lunch of salad, meat and cheese – with wine and beer of course!  Seeing the city and neighborhoods from the canals offered a different perspective.

Tomorrow we leave for Germany!

More Amsterdam...

The posts won'r be in order...for a variety of reasons!...Internet access, writer's time, etc...but here you go!

Aug 1, 2011

We’ve finally gotten into the swing of things!  Maybe we’re becoming “Amsterdamers”!  Mornings start a bit later – up at 8’ish, we all get together around 9am to start our walk to the days adventure.  Breakfast is coffee and something light at a café along the way around 10am.  Lunch is around 2pm – again at a café we find along the way and, rest in the late afternoon and then dinner at 8pm.  Dinners tend to last a good 2-3 hours – I love that!  We laugh, tell our stories and just have a good time! Eventually we remember that we have an early start tomorrow and make our way back along the narrow streets, happy and content with time spent with our friends.  The sun finally came out this afternoon and now the late evening sky is just showing the last signs of dusk.  It is absolutely beautiful!  I love the summer time pace.  Good weather does not come often here so people really take advantage it when it does; also this has been a particularly overcast summer.  It’s after 11pm and the cafes show no signs of slowing down!

“Do’s and Don’ts of Riverboat Cruising”

The boat we are on holds 120 passengers, we have 118 on board for this trip.  The rooms are about 300 sq ft with a small but adequate bathroom and 2 small closets.  The exterior wall is glass so that helps to make the room feel more open – no verandah though.

First, after you’ve finished packing, go back and take out about half of what you packed.  You won’t use it and the room is too small!  I WAY over packed!

Second, if you are not getting along that well with the person you are planning to travel with, DO NOT go on a riverboat cruise.  One of you will be dead by the end!

Third, if you get along well with your travel companion but happen to have a spat along the way you are best off to suck it up, write it off to travel fatigue and decide to enjoy your trip.

Dave and I happened to have a bit of a spat right before we got onto the boat.  We got to the room and unpacked, me giving terse, one word answers to each of his questions!  I was a bit frosty at cocktails and dinner too!  I was still steaming by bedtime.  I woke up at 2am and spent the next 2 hours planning my strategy!  First I was going to pack and fly back home!  I know, pretty radical but it was 2am!  Next I was going to get up at 5am to workout and make a lot of noise.  Next I thought I would just tell him how much he had hurt my feelings in front of our friends knowing how bad he would feel.  By 4:30am I had decided to suck it up, write it off to fatigue and start enjoying the rest of the trip!  5am rolled around and I rolled right through it sleeping peacefully next to my hubby. By 7am all was right with our world!

Sporadic Internet service

We boarded the riverboat Aug. 2nd.  Internet service is sporadic and slow unless we're passing a major city.  So posting is next to impossible!  I'm keeping a running word doc and will post later.  The trip so far has been fantastic!  Last night was the first good night's sleep we've both had - finally!  Next stop, Koln, Germany.

Amsterdam - Day 3

We saw some beautiful parts of the city today and visited the Van Gogh Museum - awesome!  We also found nice area with some wonderful cafes.  The cafes seem to be busy from 10am until late, late evening.  People seem to love to sit and watch other people for hours while they sip their beverage of choice.  Very fun!  We're having a great time with our friends from Broussard, LA and Atlanta!

Tomorrow afternoon we board the riverboat but for now we'll be heading out for another walk to on to dinner!  After 6 hours of walking today my legs are pooped!

Day 2 in Amsterdam:  We went to the Flower Market - lots of bulbs but one terrific spot where they sell fresh cut flowers.  We had a great light breakfast at the Mart and then started our walk.  At one point we had a route decision.  Dave wanted to go a route we had taken a couple of times, I wanted to go a new route that would take us in a cicle to see new places but end up at the same place.  After 5 minutes of negotiation...yes, that, we split the difference. We then walked back over to ....you guessed it...The Red Light District.  If the red light is on, the girl is working.  I, for one, have seen enough, but he had found the old part of the city and wanted to be able to give a quick tour to our friends. Here's an oddity, one of the oldest churches in Holland in in the middle of this district. Frankly, it was a bit scary at 9am.  There were several packs of teenage boys roaming around. I was more concerned about what they had been doing all night, they weren't freshly scrubbed for mass.  In fact, it felt more dangerous at that time of the morning than at 10pm. I'm sure I did not have my "cool look" on.  I mean, we could not take a gang of teenage boys on.  And as many times as I have seen a place that looks iffy at night look beautiful in the morning, this did not. Frankly, as I watched the bars and brothels open for the day, or never having been closed, I have wonder.  As with many other European cities, the pubs and cafes are the social life, which I've always admired, but this seems different.  You're probably wondering, "Where in the world are you people staying!".  We're at a 5 star hotel in the center of the city!!!  Not bad digs!  But Amsterdam is different in terms of locations.
We started looking for lunch but soon realized that pubs only served grilled ham and cheese sandwiches!  THAT WAS IT! These places were meant for beer and conversation - screw the food...I mean, no-one was eating and no signs of it - so different from the Copenhagen canal environment.  And none of those looked like places that I would want to risk a meal!
So after a 1.45 hour quest we finally agreed to share some mini burgers and a beer.  I was near killing someone because as you know, the 2 things that make me cranky are being tired and being hungry.  Combine the two and I am deadly!  I haven't mentioned that I'm going on 5 hours of sleep for the last 2 days...can't get the time zone change this time.

Our friends finally made it after a 7 hour delay.  We met up and had a great dinner at an Argentine restaurant.. They continued on we came to back to rest.  Tomorrow I'm insisting on real culture - Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House.

And, I'm working on my list of "yo's and no's", but not until I have left Amsterdam.  I do want to have  as much of a view as possible.  In fairness, this is a world class city and I know we have only scratched the surface.   I know that impressions are being made that will only be processed later.

I'm hoping to hook up my camera to Dave's netbook in the next couple of days and post pics..not sure yet if his software will work.

Bye Bye LA...Hello Amsterdam

We left LA at 2pm on Thursday and arrived in Amsterdam on Friday morning around 9am.  It was pretty gray out but supposed to lift...so far it's still gray.  The flight was uneventful...no passenger mis-behavior so I had nothing but my book and a movie for amusement.  I had made the flight reservations back in Feb.  After 3 weeks wrangling with Amex I was able to combine points from Dave's acct and mine giving us enough to upgrade to Business.  Believe me, it makes a difference on a long haul flight!

The senior flight attendant was making her last flight back to Amsterdam (home).  After 42 years of service she was retiring!  And - she was still smiling!  Maybe that had something to do with retirement!  But it was so nice that they made a big deal about both in LA and when we landed!

Got to the hotel, checked in early, took a nap - sort of and headed out.  First stop - Dave was leading the way was the Red Light district.  My impressions......crowded, dirty and a bit seedy.  It felt dangerous but it's supposedly heavily patroled. It was bizarre seeing these women in basically their individual glass store-fronts advertising their services.  I know this culturally acceptable here but I felt sorry for them in a way.  That's all I will say for now.  I know we'll be back because the couple we are meeting up with want to go and probably at night.  We then found an outdoor cafe to have our first Heiniken (sp).  Tasty!

Next up, a different part of town and we ate dinner along the Main river.  Then back to the hotel and bed.  Unfortunately was a sleepless night for me.  We're up and off to the florist mart and hopefully so pic taking then meeting our friends for lunch.

Hope to post some pics in a couple of days.

I'M SO EXCITED!

"I just can't fight it...I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!!!"     I don't know how to attach a clip of the song but you can just imagine me singing it!  (But not in the shower :))  We're packed, having a pre-celebratory glass of wine and ready to go!

The bags are packed

...or should I say "stuffed"!   I think we're almost ready...I can't possibly fit anything else in and I'm sure my bag weighs 49.99 pounds!  We're going to all new places...at least for me.  More details later but we will be in The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary!  All new places for me which is one of my favorite things.  And I'm looking forward to sharing it in words and photos.  One more day!!!!!

It's VACATION Time!

Hello Blog,
Yes, I've neglected you.  My writing mojo took a vacation of it's own.  But, the time is at hand...we're "leavin' on a jet plane" this week for 3 weeks of vacation! We've been planning this trip since we completed the last and now it's here! So, the bags are packed, errands run, if I don't have it now I don't need it.

 I'm looking forward to capturing the adventures of the next 3 weeks in writing and in photos!