Going to the motherland... or is it the grandfatherland? :P
Day 22
This is going to be a really short entry because basically all we did was drive was St. Goar to Amsterdam today. First up we had breakfast and loaded our gear onto the bus, and then were taken on a quick tour of a stein store and were able to purchase steins if we wanted. They are so pretty but damn they are expensive... shipping was a rip off! They even made a special Contiki stein that I would have loved to have bought but it was nearly AU$200. Oh well.
After heading off early, we crossed the border about three hours into the drive and I was so happy I got a picture of the border sign... only to realise I got the wrong one. I ended up getting the German sign saying the Dutch border was 1km away, not the actual Dutch border sign itself. Dammit! We made our first pit stop just outside of Arnhem (yay!) at this cute little restaurant where they specially made sausage rolls and sauce for us, which was cool.
Ryan organised for us to make another pit stop in Volendam where we went to a cheese and clogs farm. We first piled into a room that smelt of sour milk and listened to a man talk about cheese and how he made it and what he did with cheese that didn’t smell. It was interesting but I think everyone was glad to get out of the smell of the room. We were then taken to where they make clogs and a very cute man named Jasper demonstrated how he made clogs-it was very cool to watch. They do it all by hand at this farm with basic instruments-no fancy machinary or anything. We were allowed to try on as many pairs of clogs as we wanted, there were even slipper clogs (I totally wanted the cow pair). The farm itself was very cute (very small), there were lots of ducks around and even a few rabbits that were allowed to roam freely. The farm even has a giant clog out the front. Yes, I think everyone took the obligatory photo with themselves in the clog.
We arrived in Amsterdam in good time and we’re staying at the Hotel Ibis *right* near the airport. Right near so you can see planes take off and land in the next paddock. Right near in that you hear every.single.plane as if it was in the room. I think this is going to be a fun few nights. The room is huge and very nice though, we’re back to being spoiled Contiki-goers. We had a few hours to do whatever we wanted in the hotel until we had dinner and afterwards we were going into Amsterdam itself (the hotel is on the outskirts again).
We were treated to a “cultural experience” in Amsterdam tonight. I don’t think I need to elaborate what most of us did... you all know what Amsterdam is famous for. All I'm going to say is that there were two things we were allowed to do and I only did one of them.
Tomorrow is our last full day on the tour and I’m planning to pack alot into the day.We have a free day so there is plenty to see and do in Amsterdam and I’m really looking forward to getting out there and making the most of the last day. I’m kind of sad that it’s nearly ending but I am so ready for it to end. The last couple of days have been a bit hard, I’m missing everyone at home like crazy and after speaking to Kate on the phone it made me feel a bit worse (though I was happy I finally got to speak to my sis!). I know it’s only been three weeks and that I have a lot longer to go, but it feels like I have been here for ages right now.
I’m looking forward to going back to London, I have to plan out what I want to do and see this time. I also can’t wait to get on that plane to Dublin. Not long to go now, 6 days to go.
x
This is going to be a really short entry because basically all we did was drive was St. Goar to Amsterdam today. First up we had breakfast and loaded our gear onto the bus, and then were taken on a quick tour of a stein store and were able to purchase steins if we wanted. They are so pretty but damn they are expensive... shipping was a rip off! They even made a special Contiki stein that I would have loved to have bought but it was nearly AU$200. Oh well.
After heading off early, we crossed the border about three hours into the drive and I was so happy I got a picture of the border sign... only to realise I got the wrong one. I ended up getting the German sign saying the Dutch border was 1km away, not the actual Dutch border sign itself. Dammit! We made our first pit stop just outside of Arnhem (yay!) at this cute little restaurant where they specially made sausage rolls and sauce for us, which was cool.
Ryan organised for us to make another pit stop in Volendam where we went to a cheese and clogs farm. We first piled into a room that smelt of sour milk and listened to a man talk about cheese and how he made it and what he did with cheese that didn’t smell. It was interesting but I think everyone was glad to get out of the smell of the room. We were then taken to where they make clogs and a very cute man named Jasper demonstrated how he made clogs-it was very cool to watch. They do it all by hand at this farm with basic instruments-no fancy machinary or anything. We were allowed to try on as many pairs of clogs as we wanted, there were even slipper clogs (I totally wanted the cow pair). The farm itself was very cute (very small), there were lots of ducks around and even a few rabbits that were allowed to roam freely. The farm even has a giant clog out the front. Yes, I think everyone took the obligatory photo with themselves in the clog.
We arrived in Amsterdam in good time and we’re staying at the Hotel Ibis *right* near the airport. Right near so you can see planes take off and land in the next paddock. Right near in that you hear every.single.plane as if it was in the room. I think this is going to be a fun few nights. The room is huge and very nice though, we’re back to being spoiled Contiki-goers. We had a few hours to do whatever we wanted in the hotel until we had dinner and afterwards we were going into Amsterdam itself (the hotel is on the outskirts again).
We were treated to a “cultural experience” in Amsterdam tonight. I don’t think I need to elaborate what most of us did... you all know what Amsterdam is famous for. All I'm going to say is that there were two things we were allowed to do and I only did one of them.
Tomorrow is our last full day on the tour and I’m planning to pack alot into the day.We have a free day so there is plenty to see and do in Amsterdam and I’m really looking forward to getting out there and making the most of the last day. I’m kind of sad that it’s nearly ending but I am so ready for it to end. The last couple of days have been a bit hard, I’m missing everyone at home like crazy and after speaking to Kate on the phone it made me feel a bit worse (though I was happy I finally got to speak to my sis!). I know it’s only been three weeks and that I have a lot longer to go, but it feels like I have been here for ages right now.
I’m looking forward to going back to London, I have to plan out what I want to do and see this time. I also can’t wait to get on that plane to Dublin. Not long to go now, 6 days to go.
x