The bikes here are wild, I've almost been run over a few times, they're tricky silent! There are bicycle garages here as big as our mall parking garages! Had to take a picture of that....
So, the first day in Amsterdam was spent perusing the museums and yesterday we explored the seedier side. The Red Light District was everything you've ever heard about. Haarlem even has one, we almost went through it but it costs 6 euros and I was the only female (non-prostitute) around plus it was very late. And we also tried what Amsterdam is most famous for which is found on every corner.....herring, of course!
We are now in Delft, a cute Dutch town famous for its' blue and white earthenware as well as the birthplace of Vermeer. Even saw Girl with a Pearl Earring in The Hague!!!
Tot ziens!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Holland tulips
Hallo! Back to mainland Europe and it has a different feel. I love it! I want to live here. Although Scandinavia is beautiful and the people are very friendly, the food is not all that. So far, I've decided I could live in Amsterdam, Paris, the south of France, and Switzerland. I'm digging the greetings in other languages, I was mistaken for a Nederlandese (?), this made my day! Especially as my grandpa is from Holland.
So we're staying in Haarlem, a 15 minute train ride to Amsterdam, getting a good feel for everyday living which is small: rooms, bathrooms, etc. Our room overlooks the Grote Markt, looking out we see a sign with the letters eke of Heineken!! Tried the beer and Sprite thing, it's called Snow White here, Ryan loves ordering a drink with that name:-) Strange, it''s been colder here than even in Scandinavia, in the 50s, brrhhhhhh.
Hit 4 museums yesterday, a record for us. Corrie ten Boom house, Rijksmuseum (starring Rembrandt and Vermeer), Van Gogh, and the Anne Frank house. And it wasn't a rushed day at all. Met another American couple and ate dinner with them at the pancake (read: crepe) bakery. Indonesian food is big here, trying that tonight. I don't want this food stuff to end!! But it has been a long trip, each little segment seems like its own. What I have tired of is wearing the same clothes and washing them in the sink. Plus, the actual traveling to each location is stressful at times.
About pictures, I've had trouble at each internet cafe place uploading them, it takes forever. So, will have to share it all at the end. Just a warning, we have close to 2,000 of them and that is with deleting quite a few!
Tot ziens!
So we're staying in Haarlem, a 15 minute train ride to Amsterdam, getting a good feel for everyday living which is small: rooms, bathrooms, etc. Our room overlooks the Grote Markt, looking out we see a sign with the letters eke of Heineken!! Tried the beer and Sprite thing, it's called Snow White here, Ryan loves ordering a drink with that name:-) Strange, it''s been colder here than even in Scandinavia, in the 50s, brrhhhhhh.
Hit 4 museums yesterday, a record for us. Corrie ten Boom house, Rijksmuseum (starring Rembrandt and Vermeer), Van Gogh, and the Anne Frank house. And it wasn't a rushed day at all. Met another American couple and ate dinner with them at the pancake (read: crepe) bakery. Indonesian food is big here, trying that tonight. I don't want this food stuff to end!! But it has been a long trip, each little segment seems like its own. What I have tired of is wearing the same clothes and washing them in the sink. Plus, the actual traveling to each location is stressful at times.
About pictures, I've had trouble at each internet cafe place uploading them, it takes forever. So, will have to share it all at the end. Just a warning, we have close to 2,000 of them and that is with deleting quite a few!
Tot ziens!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Norway: Fjords, glaciers & trolls
Ok, maybe not trolls but the fjords are amazing! We're in Balestrand, Norway now an extension of this tour called Norway in a nutshell, where you get a taste of the dramatic fjords and beautiful natural scenery. It's a tiny, sleepy little town that pretty much shuts down in the winter. We rented a car yesterday and toured the fjord country with its' beautiful aqua, blue water melting from the glaciers. We hiked on the ice yesterday--with ice clamps and harnesses, there were 10 of us all tied together with a rope and a guide. This has been my favorite experience thus far!!! It was raining at first so all misty and beautiful but then cleared so we had wonderful views and many waterfalls. I doubt the pictures will do it justice.... Also toured a stave church from the Viking era, only 28 left in Norway and this one has its' own architectural style (Urnes, named for the town) so is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
So the Norwegian food is not so good. I tried herring last night for the first time and actually liked it: ketchup, mustard, sour cream and curry (my favorite) but the other stuff is just bread and cold cuts at each meal with crackers (Wasa). They do cereal (called muesli) with yogurt on it instead of milk which is yummy, otherwise even Danish and Swedish food is better.
We are continuing our tour of Norway to Bergen today by boat, changing boats in the middle of the water!
So the Norwegian food is not so good. I tried herring last night for the first time and actually liked it: ketchup, mustard, sour cream and curry (my favorite) but the other stuff is just bread and cold cuts at each meal with crackers (Wasa). They do cereal (called muesli) with yogurt on it instead of milk which is yummy, otherwise even Danish and Swedish food is better.
We are continuing our tour of Norway to Bergen today by boat, changing boats in the middle of the water!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Swedish Meatballs
We are now on country # 7 (France, Monaco, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark and now Sweden)´--I'm still counting Germany even as it was just 8 hours in Berlin. Thereäs a brand new train station very close to the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie so we were able to absorb a lot of history in a few hours and even got in a proper German meal of weiner schnitzel, wurst and beer (well, a Radler anyway, beer with sprite--my new favorite!)
Our travels get interesting (I use this term very loosely) at this point. First, is the overnight train to Mälmo, Sweden with a short train to Copenhagen. We had the cabin to ourselves, very tiny, but with our own bathroom and even a shower/toilet--had to try it for the experience, very fun when youäre moving side to side! Little did I know how similar our hotel in Copenhagen would be to this!! Our hotel was Cab Inn City, I think www.cabinn.dk, an inventive idea as the rooms are set up like the accomodations in cruise ships. Funny enough, we both felt that we were moving when in the bathroom, either weäre losing it or we still felt like we were moving as our overnight train actually went on a boat across the Baltic!!
Copenhagen is very charming. Very few cars as they are taxed 180%--bikes are everywhere and people are really friendly, no one seems to be in a big hurry. We checked out the area known as Freetown, Christiana and got caught in a rain storm listening to a Willie Nelson-type guy singing Red Hot Chili Peppers. Along a boat cruise to see The Little Mermaid statue, we were mooned (full frontal too) by some residents with letters on their butts spelling circus and something else in Danish. Free loving place!
Last night, we took another overnight train, to Stockholm. The sleeping arrangements consisted of 6 people in an entirely too small space: I was the only girl, Ryan had the bunk just above me and then a smelly guy from Seattle (I thought grunge was over) slept above Ryan. I slept better than I thought I would (because of my sheer exhaustion from sight-seeing) but it was not fun. You could not even sit up without hitting your head on the bunk above you. Weäre voluntarily spending our vacation time doing this as Scandinavian hotels are very expensive so weäre saving time and money taking these trains but I hope this is the last one!!
Itäs worth it, though, to see all these cities and countries I never thought I would. Stockholm is pretty. Lots of parks and water. But it is COLD here. I'm wearing a fleece, windbreaker, and scarf and still cold and this is JUNE!!! It's bright at 10 pm and light by 4 am. The most surprising thing for me is the food is NOT bad. Tried the Danish open-faced sandwiches and loved them. Had to try the Swedish meatballs, really good too, especially with cream sauce (like gravy) and lingonberries. With all the walking, I think I'm still gaining weight but I don't care....
Our travels get interesting (I use this term very loosely) at this point. First, is the overnight train to Mälmo, Sweden with a short train to Copenhagen. We had the cabin to ourselves, very tiny, but with our own bathroom and even a shower/toilet--had to try it for the experience, very fun when youäre moving side to side! Little did I know how similar our hotel in Copenhagen would be to this!! Our hotel was Cab Inn City, I think www.cabinn.dk, an inventive idea as the rooms are set up like the accomodations in cruise ships. Funny enough, we both felt that we were moving when in the bathroom, either weäre losing it or we still felt like we were moving as our overnight train actually went on a boat across the Baltic!!
Copenhagen is very charming. Very few cars as they are taxed 180%--bikes are everywhere and people are really friendly, no one seems to be in a big hurry. We checked out the area known as Freetown, Christiana and got caught in a rain storm listening to a Willie Nelson-type guy singing Red Hot Chili Peppers. Along a boat cruise to see The Little Mermaid statue, we were mooned (full frontal too) by some residents with letters on their butts spelling circus and something else in Danish. Free loving place!
Last night, we took another overnight train, to Stockholm. The sleeping arrangements consisted of 6 people in an entirely too small space: I was the only girl, Ryan had the bunk just above me and then a smelly guy from Seattle (I thought grunge was over) slept above Ryan. I slept better than I thought I would (because of my sheer exhaustion from sight-seeing) but it was not fun. You could not even sit up without hitting your head on the bunk above you. Weäre voluntarily spending our vacation time doing this as Scandinavian hotels are very expensive so weäre saving time and money taking these trains but I hope this is the last one!!
Itäs worth it, though, to see all these cities and countries I never thought I would. Stockholm is pretty. Lots of parks and water. But it is COLD here. I'm wearing a fleece, windbreaker, and scarf and still cold and this is JUNE!!! It's bright at 10 pm and light by 4 am. The most surprising thing for me is the food is NOT bad. Tried the Danish open-faced sandwiches and loved them. Had to try the Swedish meatballs, really good too, especially with cream sauce (like gravy) and lingonberries. With all the walking, I think I'm still gaining weight but I don't care....
Friday, June 15, 2007
Prague: Czech it out!
Sorry yet again, for the bad pun, it runs in my family!
Prague seems so foreign, even the all day train ride to get here prepared us for an alternate universe. 2 passport officials (1 from Germany and the other Czech Republic) very Communist-like stamped our passports. The language barrier is very real here and the people as a whole do not seem to like tourists. They seem surprised when we greet them with their hello Do bree den. No smiles here.
Besides the people, there's an almost magical feeling here. The buildings are beautiful with so many different architectural styles: gothic, renaissance, baroque and rococco all in one square. I did not realize the Jewish past, Prague used to be the home of the most Jews in all of Europe Jews, now, there's less than 2,000 living here. Also great shopping here: crystal and garnets are very big. Our feet hurt here from the cobblestone streets which are so charming. La Vie Boheme! We went to a funky show, called Black Light Theatre, which is similar to Cirque du Soleil, very hard to describe.
My favorite part has been going to the local grocery stores and bookstores. Because the food here is nothing much to speak of (or we've just been spoiled by France), we've been somewhat low-key and eating some meals at our apartment. Yes, we're staying right in the Old Town square in an apartment that might be larger than where we live in Seattle! This place would be so much fun with a bunch of friends--we miss you guys.......
Prague seems so foreign, even the all day train ride to get here prepared us for an alternate universe. 2 passport officials (1 from Germany and the other Czech Republic) very Communist-like stamped our passports. The language barrier is very real here and the people as a whole do not seem to like tourists. They seem surprised when we greet them with their hello Do bree den. No smiles here.
Besides the people, there's an almost magical feeling here. The buildings are beautiful with so many different architectural styles: gothic, renaissance, baroque and rococco all in one square. I did not realize the Jewish past, Prague used to be the home of the most Jews in all of Europe Jews, now, there's less than 2,000 living here. Also great shopping here: crystal and garnets are very big. Our feet hurt here from the cobblestone streets which are so charming. La Vie Boheme! We went to a funky show, called Black Light Theatre, which is similar to Cirque du Soleil, very hard to describe.
My favorite part has been going to the local grocery stores and bookstores. Because the food here is nothing much to speak of (or we've just been spoiled by France), we've been somewhat low-key and eating some meals at our apartment. Yes, we're staying right in the Old Town square in an apartment that might be larger than where we live in Seattle! This place would be so much fun with a bunch of friends--we miss you guys.......
Monday, June 11, 2007
Swiss Alps: Dangerous beauty
Weäre staying in a resort town that doesnät have a pretentious feel at all, Murren. We had to take 2 trains and 2 funiculars to arrive at 5, 361 feet in the mountains. Itäs really beautiful, the water is crystal clear blue and the air even feels different. Ryan and I both felt light^headed from the high altitude but that quickly faded. Weäre staying in a bed and breakfast place with shared bathrooms, but itäs actually quite charming, a Swiss chalet.
Achtung!! We began our day today attempting to ascend the Jungfrau, the top of Europe but it was not clear at all. This should have been our warning. Instead, we decided to go on our own on a trail that started quite nice and ended with me panicking and wondering if we would make it to safety. We ascended 3, 000 feet in altitude!! We did not see a single human being until the very top. We tredged through water, mud, snow, and ice and at one point needed to sled down fresh snow to packed snow!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was panicky and in tears during the end of this hike. Unfortunately, we did not see anything at the top and it was raining on us and the first lift was not even open so we had to wait until the clouds lifted. We almost had to turn back, thank goodness we made it safely! We wonät be doing this again, so donät worry about us now.......
It is so nice to be dry and in safety. We took to much safer activities this afternoon: laundry and the local pool.....
Achtung!! We began our day today attempting to ascend the Jungfrau, the top of Europe but it was not clear at all. This should have been our warning. Instead, we decided to go on our own on a trail that started quite nice and ended with me panicking and wondering if we would make it to safety. We ascended 3, 000 feet in altitude!! We did not see a single human being until the very top. We tredged through water, mud, snow, and ice and at one point needed to sled down fresh snow to packed snow!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was panicky and in tears during the end of this hike. Unfortunately, we did not see anything at the top and it was raining on us and the first lift was not even open so we had to wait until the clouds lifted. We almost had to turn back, thank goodness we made it safely! We wonät be doing this again, so donät worry about us now.......
It is so nice to be dry and in safety. We took to much safer activities this afternoon: laundry and the local pool.....
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Nice is nice
Sorry for the bad pun but it is true. Blue waters and gorgeous mountains too. Ryan enjoyed the sceneray as well, topless girls, ha. There was no sand, it was a pebble beach in Nice, which was actually nice. We ate socca and have had a lot of street food, including gelato 4 scoops each... Nice has a definite Italian feel.
We also visited Monaco, gorgeous yet again. I declined to pay 10 euro to gamble but Ryan took full advantage and won 25 euro, about 35 US dollars. All the tourists (I am guilty too) took pictures of the Ferraris and Lamborghinis.....
Unfortunately, we were not able to stay long as we would have liked as we did not book a train reservation in enough time so took an overnight train and have just arrived in Interlaken, Switzerland. Plus, the French were threatening a train strike. The train ride was actually not bad, we shared a cabin with a French guy who translated for us when we were stopped in Marseilles for almost 2 hours. At least we think he was saying the engine did not work, I believe Kaput to be an international term now!!!!
We also visited Monaco, gorgeous yet again. I declined to pay 10 euro to gamble but Ryan took full advantage and won 25 euro, about 35 US dollars. All the tourists (I am guilty too) took pictures of the Ferraris and Lamborghinis.....
Unfortunately, we were not able to stay long as we would have liked as we did not book a train reservation in enough time so took an overnight train and have just arrived in Interlaken, Switzerland. Plus, the French were threatening a train strike. The train ride was actually not bad, we shared a cabin with a French guy who translated for us when we were stopped in Marseilles for almost 2 hours. At least we think he was saying the engine did not work, I believe Kaput to be an international term now!!!!
Friday, June 8, 2007
Ooh la la!
Bonjour! After a nearly sleepless night on the plane, we arrived in the land of poodles, public PDAs, great food and high fashion. Our hotel was in a Parisian neighborhood with an outdoor market and different shops for bread, cheese, olive oil, and chocolates. My kind of place! At first, my paltry French was embarrassing but I'm slowly getting used to saying Merci, etc. I was in culture shock and had major jet lag for the 1st 3 days (hence, no post here and the French keyboards are wickedly different); Ryan made us push through with our crazy schedule. Plus, everything took longer than we thought riding the subway with the connections and just trying to figure it all out. Anyway, 1st day we went to the Eiffel Tower (Cara's afraid of heights!), and the Sacre Coeur/Montmarte area. We had a fabulous meal and tables are so closse to each other that we had a great conversation with 2 French ladies about health care, French vs. US differences, and even politics (George Bush was mentioned:-)
The second day we overslept and were really dragging but still managed to enjoy a walk through the historic core of Paris with the touristy highlights: Notre Dame, Latin Quarter, St. Chappelle, the Orsay museum, Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette spent her final days before her beheading--I'm obsessed with her-on our visit to Versailles even saw her own palace/grounds), and Ryan's favorite the sewer tour. Yes, we found out what happens after you flush in this big city. Let me just say it was stinky! Speaking of which, the bathrooms are quite horrendous. Anyone visiting Paris should always use ones in restaurants or hotels. I almost got locked in a public one, not funny at the time!!!!!
The food is AWESOME!! Onion soup, croissants, crepes, red wine, it's to die for. The cafes are set up to look at everyone walking by and so close together.
Versailles was a worthwhile trip. So opulent! We even rented bikes and frolicked around the grounds pretending to be royalty, ha. Then we visited Napoleon's tomb, that guy gets his own building and a huge tomb made of many materials with lots of security. Oh. to be an emperor.
We tredged up the 236 spiral steps to the Arc de Triomphe, views better than the Eiffel Tower in my opinion. But maybe that's because I wasn't as freaked out. Anyway, Paris is truly beautiful.... The tower has this laser show at night, it's all sparkly and did I mention our hotel room had a view of the top of the Tower?!
Of course, we visited the Louvre. Rick Steves has this podcast that we listened to from my Ipod so we weren't super overwhelmed. Took a cool pic of the upside down glass triangle from the Da Vinci code.
The last day we went to this neighborhood that one of the French ladies we had dinner with suggested. It was a pedestrian only street and a restaurant without an English menu. What made my day was I stopped a friendly looking Parisian and asked where the restaraunt was and she asked if I spoke French or English.... Ryan and I have a system where I've been asking for tables and to get the check and he pays!
Just now getting into the groove of traveling and the frustrations when you don't speak the language. Now I'm enjoying the differences more......
The second day we overslept and were really dragging but still managed to enjoy a walk through the historic core of Paris with the touristy highlights: Notre Dame, Latin Quarter, St. Chappelle, the Orsay museum, Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette spent her final days before her beheading--I'm obsessed with her-on our visit to Versailles even saw her own palace/grounds), and Ryan's favorite the sewer tour. Yes, we found out what happens after you flush in this big city. Let me just say it was stinky! Speaking of which, the bathrooms are quite horrendous. Anyone visiting Paris should always use ones in restaurants or hotels. I almost got locked in a public one, not funny at the time!!!!!
The food is AWESOME!! Onion soup, croissants, crepes, red wine, it's to die for. The cafes are set up to look at everyone walking by and so close together.
Versailles was a worthwhile trip. So opulent! We even rented bikes and frolicked around the grounds pretending to be royalty, ha. Then we visited Napoleon's tomb, that guy gets his own building and a huge tomb made of many materials with lots of security. Oh. to be an emperor.
We tredged up the 236 spiral steps to the Arc de Triomphe, views better than the Eiffel Tower in my opinion. But maybe that's because I wasn't as freaked out. Anyway, Paris is truly beautiful.... The tower has this laser show at night, it's all sparkly and did I mention our hotel room had a view of the top of the Tower?!
Of course, we visited the Louvre. Rick Steves has this podcast that we listened to from my Ipod so we weren't super overwhelmed. Took a cool pic of the upside down glass triangle from the Da Vinci code.
The last day we went to this neighborhood that one of the French ladies we had dinner with suggested. It was a pedestrian only street and a restaurant without an English menu. What made my day was I stopped a friendly looking Parisian and asked where the restaraunt was and she asked if I spoke French or English.... Ryan and I have a system where I've been asking for tables and to get the check and he pays!
Just now getting into the groove of traveling and the frustrations when you don't speak the language. Now I'm enjoying the differences more......
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Jack & Ryan
I took a lot of pictures of Jack but this is probably the best one. He's very fast and I haven't yet learned how to photograph a moving toddler!
Texas time
Much time was spent this past week with my nephew/godson and family. My brother-in-law graduated from high shool and celebrated his 18th birthday; my sister-in-law had a birthday; I went to Austin to visit Leslie and REI/Whole Foods; and met up with Chandra and her kiddos for lunch. We've been hanging out by the pool or playing Scopa! and shopping and eating. If you haven't seen Backyardigans, you must! Boinga, boinga, boinga. MS feels like a distant memory...
Bon voyage!
2 people, 2 suitcases, 9 countries, 28 days.......
We are packed and ready for our fun-filled adventure. I hope our bodies are ready.....
It will take us almost 24 hours to get to Paris. We fly Lufthansa from Newark into Frankfurt before our final destination of Paris.
Europe, here we come!!!
We are packed and ready for our fun-filled adventure. I hope our bodies are ready.....
It will take us almost 24 hours to get to Paris. We fly Lufthansa from Newark into Frankfurt before our final destination of Paris.
Europe, here we come!!!
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