Easter Weekend --> Amsterdam
We went on a 4 day trip to Amsterdam with the BUNAC people. Starting bright and early on Friday morning we coached it down to the coast and caught a ferry to Calais, France. After a couple of more hours on the bus we stopped in Brussels for the afternoon. It was during this time that we learned about Belgium's ATMs and how they don't accept British bank card. This is also where we learned that most places in Brussles don't accept credit cards. Fast food it is then. We left Brussels and made our way to Amsterdam by early Friday evening. We checked into our accomodations that we assumed would be a building but that in reality was a barge on a canal. It turned out to be pretty good; just a Dutch couple that owns a "boatel" that had about 30 2-person rooms. And they made breakfast for us every morning.
Yada yada yada, we spent the next few days in Amsterdam. With the tour we went on a canal boat tour and we also went to visit a cheese and clog makers. We had a lot of free time to explore the city away from our group. We went to the Van Gogh museum and had some pancakes (pankooken?). The most interesting section of the city has a strict no-camera policy that we saw enforced a few times by big bouncer dudes. You don't want to mess with a 300 pound guy when you are standing next to a canal. All in all it is a very beautiful city with what seems to be 10 times as many bikes as people. I've never seen anything like it.
Amsterdam sign
Windmill
Bikes
Clogs
Our Hostel/Barge
Us In Brussels
Un Canal
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This may be my last update before we are back in the states. I don't think we're going to have a lot of computer access during our time in Italy, and if we do I doubt we'll have the energy. So it looks like I'll be giving a big wrap up when I'm back in Kentucky. It's hard to believe that this journal and trip is coming to an end. I guess even when we return I'll try to keep using it for all our travels and adventures, not just the European ones. I guess it was an unfortunate name to the journal in hindsight...
If I don't talk to anyone before then... See you soon.
-BCV
Yada yada yada, we spent the next few days in Amsterdam. With the tour we went on a canal boat tour and we also went to visit a cheese and clog makers. We had a lot of free time to explore the city away from our group. We went to the Van Gogh museum and had some pancakes (pankooken?). The most interesting section of the city has a strict no-camera policy that we saw enforced a few times by big bouncer dudes. You don't want to mess with a 300 pound guy when you are standing next to a canal. All in all it is a very beautiful city with what seems to be 10 times as many bikes as people. I've never seen anything like it.
Amsterdam sign
Windmill
Bikes
Clogs
Our Hostel/Barge
Us In Brussels
Un Canal
This may be my last update before we are back in the states. I don't think we're going to have a lot of computer access during our time in Italy, and if we do I doubt we'll have the energy. So it looks like I'll be giving a big wrap up when I'm back in Kentucky. It's hard to believe that this journal and trip is coming to an end. I guess even when we return I'll try to keep using it for all our travels and adventures, not just the European ones. I guess it was an unfortunate name to the journal in hindsight...
If I don't talk to anyone before then... See you soon.
-BCV