Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Breif first day in Berlin
This morning we got up early to go on a "Discover Berlin Walk" through a company called Original Berlin Walks. It was about a 3.5 to 4 hour walk that covered all of the main sites: the Berlin Wall, Hitler's Bunker, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, TV Tower, and many more. Tracy liked not having to navigate the streets with our map for a change. After the walk we wondered around and found a Salvidor Dali museum to go through since it was so hot outside and Tracy's shoulders were looking pink from the sun. The Dali museum housed mostly his lithographs and watercolors which you usually don't see in books. Feeling a bit hungry we backtracked and took more pictures spending more time at the places we liked. We ate a Wiener for dinner near Pariser Platz and headed back to the Circus Hostel where we are staying. We stopped of f here and there to take pictures, look in stores, or become part of a street performance. We were asked to become the "back stage doors" by holding out our arms for some street dancers. Now we are calling it a night and plan to just see how we feel for tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tomorrow train to Berlin
This is our last night in Amsterdam; tomorrow is a 6 hour train ride to Berlin. It was great to have a few days here in Amsterdam since there is so much to see. Amsterdam looked small on the map, and the sights seemed to be more than manageable in three days. We are using the Rick Steve's guidebooks, and he has an outline for seeing Amsterdam in two days. We are so glad we added an extra day to make it three. It would probably take many more trips like this in order to see it all because the streets are packed with shops, restaurants, stores, and cafes. Not only that, but there are several squares and parks that host planned events, free music and theater and spontaneous street performances. More than once we have been sidetracked by the random event that caught our attention. All this and we haven't even mentioned that there are over 300 museums, bus tours, bike rentals, and canal cruises!
The first day we walked to the Museum Plein which is a public space between the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. We were hungry from the morning travels and the food at the Cobra Cafe looked awesome. Jason had a hamburger and fries; Jason had to eat his without ketchup! The locals eat their fries with mayo here. Jason kept his tomato on his burger because it was as close to ketchup has he could get. I had a Swedish wrap with smoked salmon, cucumbers, mixed greens and veggies. Then we both had some delicious soft serve vanilla ice cream afterward and wondered through Vondalpark. In Vondalpark we found a stage with free bands, cabaret, and music performances. The park was so beautiful with lots of trees, ponds, and grassy spaces. After a brief rest back at our hotel, we wandered around the rest of the night, taking pictures of the canals and watching the local wildlife. One of our favorite discoveries was the Albert Heijn grocery store where we had fun looking for Amsterdam snacks. Jason had his first Kinder Egg Surprise, which is a hollow chocolate egg with a small toy inside that you have to put together. Jason got a kangaroo, and I got Bruno the Pirate.
The next day we had a Dutch breakfast at the hotel. Hanneke made us cheese and herb omlettes, along with yogurt, granola, bread, cheese, apple pie, fruit, coffee, orange juice...and mysterious chocolate sprinkles. (We would learn the next that that for breakfast, the Dutch will eat white bread with butter and chocolate sprinkles!) During breakfast, our gracious hostess asked us about our plans for the day and with her help we came up with the perfect plan for the next few days. She encouraged us to take more time enjoying the sunny day and just relax...because we were on vacation after all! After breakfast we were fueled for the Van Gogh Museum. I think we both have a greater appreciation for the vision and talent of Van Gogh after seeing his works up close. We also toured a section of avant garde art through the 1920s to the 1960s that included artists like Picasso, Mondrian, and Andy Warhol. This took us 2-3 hours, and then we rested at the Museumplein. We decided to walk through the shops on Kalverstraat. We were drawn into Dam Square by the sounds of thumping dance music and found a soccer match in small stadium. The guys were playing soccer on a small sand field, and there were lots of street performers including break dancers and a marching drum band. On our way to the Anne Frank House were excited to find the recommended Sara's Pancake house. We both had a savory pancake on one of the largest plates we had seen! Jason had his with bacon, onion, and cheese. I had the Canadian pancake with Canadian bacon, bacon, onion, cheese, and curry sauce. Then we visited the very moving and sobering Anne Frank House. After 10 hours of walking, we decided to call it a day and chilled out at our hotel.
Today we are staying at the StayOkay hostel since we couldn't get a third night at our other hotel. I think it kind of looks like a prison room with grey sheets and a metal bunk bed, but it's a clean and quiet place to sleep! Today was another busy day of walking. We walked through Rembrandtplein and toured the Rembrandt House Museum. Then we wandered through the Waterlooplein Flea Market in the Jewish Quarter before a stroll through the Flower Market. We walked along one of the main shopping and restaurant areas, Leidsestraat, on our way to the Rijksmuseum. Since we bought our tickets early we were able to pass up the line of people who were waiting to get tickets. The Rijksmuseum is home to the most extensive art collection in the Netherlands, with works of Rembrandt, Vermeer and other Dutch masters. It gave us a good overview of Dutch history with objects such as doll houses, porcelain, clothes and furniture. To understand why Vermeer's Milkmaid is so famous, you just have to see it in person. It is a fairly small painting, but it dominates the room.
Then it was dinner time for us so we went to a restaurant called Indrapura located in the Rembrandtplein. It was really great spicy Indonesian food served in a whole bunch of little tiny dishes. One meat dish accompanied the rice seasoned with 'sambal' or chilipeper. In colonial days a simple meal like this symply did not satisfy the appetite of the Dutch planters, so a greater variety of dishes, from all over the islands, was added. It is this large amount of tasty dishes that as a whole forms the elaborate 'rijsttafel' of today.
We are going to rest tonight and get up early tomorrow. Once we get to Berlin the place we are going to stay will have internet so that is when our next entry should be.
The first day we walked to the Museum Plein which is a public space between the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. We were hungry from the morning travels and the food at the Cobra Cafe looked awesome. Jason had a hamburger and fries; Jason had to eat his without ketchup! The locals eat their fries with mayo here. Jason kept his tomato on his burger because it was as close to ketchup has he could get. I had a Swedish wrap with smoked salmon, cucumbers, mixed greens and veggies. Then we both had some delicious soft serve vanilla ice cream afterward and wondered through Vondalpark. In Vondalpark we found a stage with free bands, cabaret, and music performances. The park was so beautiful with lots of trees, ponds, and grassy spaces. After a brief rest back at our hotel, we wandered around the rest of the night, taking pictures of the canals and watching the local wildlife. One of our favorite discoveries was the Albert Heijn grocery store where we had fun looking for Amsterdam snacks. Jason had his first Kinder Egg Surprise, which is a hollow chocolate egg with a small toy inside that you have to put together. Jason got a kangaroo, and I got Bruno the Pirate.
The next day we had a Dutch breakfast at the hotel. Hanneke made us cheese and herb omlettes, along with yogurt, granola, bread, cheese, apple pie, fruit, coffee, orange juice...and mysterious chocolate sprinkles. (We would learn the next that that for breakfast, the Dutch will eat white bread with butter and chocolate sprinkles!) During breakfast, our gracious hostess asked us about our plans for the day and with her help we came up with the perfect plan for the next few days. She encouraged us to take more time enjoying the sunny day and just relax...because we were on vacation after all! After breakfast we were fueled for the Van Gogh Museum. I think we both have a greater appreciation for the vision and talent of Van Gogh after seeing his works up close. We also toured a section of avant garde art through the 1920s to the 1960s that included artists like Picasso, Mondrian, and Andy Warhol. This took us 2-3 hours, and then we rested at the Museumplein. We decided to walk through the shops on Kalverstraat. We were drawn into Dam Square by the sounds of thumping dance music and found a soccer match in small stadium. The guys were playing soccer on a small sand field, and there were lots of street performers including break dancers and a marching drum band. On our way to the Anne Frank House were excited to find the recommended Sara's Pancake house. We both had a savory pancake on one of the largest plates we had seen! Jason had his with bacon, onion, and cheese. I had the Canadian pancake with Canadian bacon, bacon, onion, cheese, and curry sauce. Then we visited the very moving and sobering Anne Frank House. After 10 hours of walking, we decided to call it a day and chilled out at our hotel.
Today we are staying at the StayOkay hostel since we couldn't get a third night at our other hotel. I think it kind of looks like a prison room with grey sheets and a metal bunk bed, but it's a clean and quiet place to sleep! Today was another busy day of walking. We walked through Rembrandtplein and toured the Rembrandt House Museum. Then we wandered through the Waterlooplein Flea Market in the Jewish Quarter before a stroll through the Flower Market. We walked along one of the main shopping and restaurant areas, Leidsestraat, on our way to the Rijksmuseum. Since we bought our tickets early we were able to pass up the line of people who were waiting to get tickets. The Rijksmuseum is home to the most extensive art collection in the Netherlands, with works of Rembrandt, Vermeer and other Dutch masters. It gave us a good overview of Dutch history with objects such as doll houses, porcelain, clothes and furniture. To understand why Vermeer's Milkmaid is so famous, you just have to see it in person. It is a fairly small painting, but it dominates the room.
Then it was dinner time for us so we went to a restaurant called Indrapura located in the Rembrandtplein. It was really great spicy Indonesian food served in a whole bunch of little tiny dishes. One meat dish accompanied the rice seasoned with 'sambal' or chilipeper. In colonial days a simple meal like this symply did not satisfy the appetite of the Dutch planters, so a greater variety of dishes, from all over the islands, was added. It is this large amount of tasty dishes that as a whole forms the elaborate 'rijsttafel' of today.
We are going to rest tonight and get up early tomorrow. Once we get to Berlin the place we are going to stay will have internet so that is when our next entry should be.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Arrived in Amsterdam
Made it to hotel Keizershof safely and received a warm welcome from Mrs. de Vries. There was a steep narrow spiral stair case that we had to go up to get to our room. No numbers on the doors, the rooms are named after famous old time Hollywood stars. Our room was named after Marlene Dietrich and there are photos of her on the walls in the room. We are going to eat and walk around to explore. Traveling makes one hungry.
Next stop, Amsterdam
This is just a quick update as we get ready for the train to Amsterdam. Yesterday we woke up to thunderstorms and rain, but that thankfully passed after breakfast. We took a wonderful and informative tour of the Koln Cathedral, which took 600 years to build and houses relics of the 'Three Wise Men." We took pictures and videos, but it was so awe-inspiring that we don't think any of our images will do it justice. It was simply amazing to experience.
After Koln, we headed up to Dusseldorf and checked into a very clean and spacious room at Hotel Flora. They gave us the largest room in the hotel, which was quite a change from the Station Hostel we stayed in the previous night. We took a tram to the old town, had a delicious Thai dinner with our friend Sonja, and watched some tango dancers in the square. Then we talked and walked around the old town before a firework show! Turned out there was a big carnival with roller coasters and such and the finale was a very impressive firework show that lasted probably half an hour. It was a beautiful end to a beautiful night!
Now off to catch our train!
After Koln, we headed up to Dusseldorf and checked into a very clean and spacious room at Hotel Flora. They gave us the largest room in the hotel, which was quite a change from the Station Hostel we stayed in the previous night. We took a tram to the old town, had a delicious Thai dinner with our friend Sonja, and watched some tango dancers in the square. Then we talked and walked around the old town before a firework show! Turned out there was a big carnival with roller coasters and such and the finale was a very impressive firework show that lasted probably half an hour. It was a beautiful end to a beautiful night!
Now off to catch our train!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Just arrived at Dusseldorf
We found our hotel in Dusseldorf very nice large room with Wi-Fi. Tracy wanted to take a nap so I thought I would take some time to upload photos from when we were in Bacharach a few days ago. Click on the photo below to see entire album and slide show.
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| Bacharach |
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Bacharach, St. Goar, and Cologne
We finally arrived in Frankfurt at 9:30am on Wednesday the 23rd! What a long time traveling. Luckily German Customs let us in quickly and efficiently and even welcomed us to Germany. I wonder if US Customs is even half as friendly. As we walked through the Frankfurt Airport, and saw German writing all around and didn't recognize the language, we did have a brief moment of "what the heck are we doing?" But without fear, and only a little hesitation, walked on.
We successfully found a bank machine, and Jason successfully withdrew his euros. I was not, successful, however. I talked to Bank of America before I left, so I wondered if it was simply an issue with the time change and decided I'd try later. The gentlemen at the Information Center was very helpful. They printed a train schedule, signed our rail passes, and even picked up my jacket when I dropped it.
We were so happy to have found our train, we were reluctant to board it and leave the quiet tunnel we discovered all on our own. We had mostly success so far, but could we push our luck forward? Yes, we could!
Soon we were on our way to Bacharach. With the time change, we needed to stay up all day. We could already tell this was going to be a tough task but had excitement and determination on our side. With a slight delay in Bingen (what, we have to push the button to open the train door? bye bye train), we caught a second train and were soon in our destination. We wandered up the main road, took a left, wiped the sweat from our brows, and soon saw a glorious sight- the haus we were going to find sleep in tonight. (I really thought I had packed light, but I was already thinking of what I don't really need and can leave along the way.)
Sybille was a very friendly host and quickly showed us our rooms. Not allowing fatigue to get the best of us, we decided to take the 2o minute hike up to Jugendherberge Stahleck Castle. After a few wrong turns, the 20 minute hike turned into an hour and the castle was renamed "that damn castle." At least we were able to take some nice pictures with a view and discovered a beautiful Jewish memorial building with stained glass.
By this time we were famished, so we found a delightful restaurant with outdoor seating. This town is famous for its reisling wines, and the Bastian's Weingut zum Gruner Baum is even more famous for it's 14 euro wine tasting of 15 glasses of reisling. As we were already delirious, we decided the meat and buttered bread would be just perfect. After dinner, we wandered to our room and fell asleep fully clothed at 7pm. We didn't wake up until 7am.
Neither of us think we had slept that soundly since we were babies. We woke up to sunshine and the sound of birds. I felt like I was in the movie Snow White. We took a short walk along the castle wall, through the vineyards, in the early misty morning. Then we returned for a delightful breakfast of waffles, yogurt, meats and cheese. We were ready for our next adventure... and then it started to rain. Really rain. Seattle style rain. Uh oh. There were plans to tour an outdoor ruined castle. Had our luck run out?
Oh, yes! The rain stopped just at check-out time. Perfect! We were soon on the K-D Cruise boat taking videos of the castles on the Rhine. We hopped off at St. Goar, got a little bit lost trying to find the tourist information office to keep our bags (I thought I had packed light!), and jumped onto the nature trail to the Rheinsfel Castle. The nature walk was magical, Jason found a ropes course, and I fought a hobbit hole.
We spent about 2 hours at the ruined castle, imagining castle life. We dodged the medieval arrows, missed the boiling tar poured down from the towers, and escaped out of the prison. There will be pictures upon our return.
After the castle, we had a late lunch at a traditional German restaurant. I had roast beef and learned they like raisins in their gravy and LOVE their sour red cabbage. Jason learned that dumpling are best with LOTS of gravy (or sauceage as our waiter called it.)
Now we are at the Station Hostel in Cologne (spelled Koln in German and don't ask us how to properly say the "o".) The train ticket takers have been very friendly to us Americans and have helped us get to our destinations quickly; we got here 35 minutes faster than planned thanks to their help. We were told we would be in awe as we exited the train station because the Koln Cathedral would be right in front of us. Yes, our jaws dropped and we did have to pick them up. We will be touring this Neo-Gothic Dom tomorrow and will make our pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Magi where the bone of the Three Wise Men are housed. If we don't upload pictures, this is something that should be googled.
After the Cathedral tomorrow, we will be off to Dusseldorf to have dinner with my friend Sonja and then on to Amsterdam!
Updates will be coming as we have internet access!
We successfully found a bank machine, and Jason successfully withdrew his euros. I was not, successful, however. I talked to Bank of America before I left, so I wondered if it was simply an issue with the time change and decided I'd try later. The gentlemen at the Information Center was very helpful. They printed a train schedule, signed our rail passes, and even picked up my jacket when I dropped it.
We were so happy to have found our train, we were reluctant to board it and leave the quiet tunnel we discovered all on our own. We had mostly success so far, but could we push our luck forward? Yes, we could!
Soon we were on our way to Bacharach. With the time change, we needed to stay up all day. We could already tell this was going to be a tough task but had excitement and determination on our side. With a slight delay in Bingen (what, we have to push the button to open the train door? bye bye train), we caught a second train and were soon in our destination. We wandered up the main road, took a left, wiped the sweat from our brows, and soon saw a glorious sight- the haus we were going to find sleep in tonight. (I really thought I had packed light, but I was already thinking of what I don't really need and can leave along the way.)
Sybille was a very friendly host and quickly showed us our rooms. Not allowing fatigue to get the best of us, we decided to take the 2o minute hike up to Jugendherberge Stahleck Castle. After a few wrong turns, the 20 minute hike turned into an hour and the castle was renamed "that damn castle." At least we were able to take some nice pictures with a view and discovered a beautiful Jewish memorial building with stained glass.
By this time we were famished, so we found a delightful restaurant with outdoor seating. This town is famous for its reisling wines, and the Bastian's Weingut zum Gruner Baum is even more famous for it's 14 euro wine tasting of 15 glasses of reisling. As we were already delirious, we decided the meat and buttered bread would be just perfect. After dinner, we wandered to our room and fell asleep fully clothed at 7pm. We didn't wake up until 7am.
Neither of us think we had slept that soundly since we were babies. We woke up to sunshine and the sound of birds. I felt like I was in the movie Snow White. We took a short walk along the castle wall, through the vineyards, in the early misty morning. Then we returned for a delightful breakfast of waffles, yogurt, meats and cheese. We were ready for our next adventure... and then it started to rain. Really rain. Seattle style rain. Uh oh. There were plans to tour an outdoor ruined castle. Had our luck run out?
Oh, yes! The rain stopped just at check-out time. Perfect! We were soon on the K-D Cruise boat taking videos of the castles on the Rhine. We hopped off at St. Goar, got a little bit lost trying to find the tourist information office to keep our bags (I thought I had packed light!), and jumped onto the nature trail to the Rheinsfel Castle. The nature walk was magical, Jason found a ropes course, and I fought a hobbit hole.
We spent about 2 hours at the ruined castle, imagining castle life. We dodged the medieval arrows, missed the boiling tar poured down from the towers, and escaped out of the prison. There will be pictures upon our return.
After the castle, we had a late lunch at a traditional German restaurant. I had roast beef and learned they like raisins in their gravy and LOVE their sour red cabbage. Jason learned that dumpling are best with LOTS of gravy (or sauceage as our waiter called it.)
Now we are at the Station Hostel in Cologne (spelled Koln in German and don't ask us how to properly say the "o".) The train ticket takers have been very friendly to us Americans and have helped us get to our destinations quickly; we got here 35 minutes faster than planned thanks to their help. We were told we would be in awe as we exited the train station because the Koln Cathedral would be right in front of us. Yes, our jaws dropped and we did have to pick them up. We will be touring this Neo-Gothic Dom tomorrow and will make our pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Magi where the bone of the Three Wise Men are housed. If we don't upload pictures, this is something that should be googled.
After the Cathedral tomorrow, we will be off to Dusseldorf to have dinner with my friend Sonja and then on to Amsterdam!
Updates will be coming as we have internet access!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Sea Tac
Here we are at gate B9 waiting for our plane to arrive. It is 6:02 in the morning and Tracy just bought water so we can have something to drink while on the plane. We are very excited and looking forward to our trip. Security wasn't as bad as expected. We got undressed, put our liquids in the tray, and after a through examination of our playing cards we were allowed on our way to the gate. We are sitting across from a water fountain that makes gurgling noise when people drink from it. I thought it was broke at first but I guess it is part of the remodel of the airport. Right now there is a family of six providing the musical entertainment for the morning.
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