Blogs from Amsterdam Zuidoost, Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands, Europe

Well it's a very good thing I took my umbrella today because once again it rained although there was nothing on radar. Just as we were walking from the tram stop to the Portuguese Synagogue the skies opened and the rain poured down. It was also windy enough that I wondered if our umbrellas (yes, Willard brought his along too) would turn inside out, but they didn't and we made it inside relatively dry. The synagogue is quite amazing, having been completed in 1675 and surviving so many potential disasters. It survived WWII despite all odds by convincing the Germans they would never be able to blackout all 72 large windows. Sadly, only a small portion of the 140,000 Jewish citizens returned to Amsterdam at the end of the war. Of those who did return, many ... read more

We have experienced how the other half lives and I'm not sure we can go back to being peons in economy coach. Last night's flight was the most amazing experience in flying we have ever had the opportunity to share. We were pampered, treated with utmost courtesy--food, wine, champagne; yes, we are forever spoiled. Buddy passes rock, so worth being flexible, not being sure which flight you will actually get on and when you will arrive. Of course it doesn't work in many circumstances, but it did this time. Thanks to our generous "buddy," we owe you! Today was all about getting acquainted with trains, trams, bike paths, buying passes and getting acclimated to the time change. We found our hotel, dropped our luggage and took off. Among our important discoveries today were: the flower market, ... read more

I have been a little slow at keeping up with the blog, we have literally been on the go constantly since I left home on the 3rd April and this morning I have decided to have a quiet one in my hotel room, while Christine and Peter go off to the Van Gogh Museum. Cheryl left this morning to catch the train to Schiphol Airport on her first leg of her journey home to New Zealand and back to work. Yesterday was possibly one of the highlights of the journey so far, and I do not say that lightly as we have been to and seen many fabulous places. We spent the best part of the day at the Keukenhof flower park. You cannot choose your favourite tulip, one minute it's and orange one, then you ... read more

Ittletunk utolso 2 hetenek kepanyagat toltottem fel, remelem tetszenek! Magunkhoz kepest nyugisan telt az ido, volt itt minden fele kaland: a kepeken jol dokumentalt, hogy a "fedezzuk fel A'dam minden parkjat" project folytatodott, kibovulve a Rembrandtsparkkal, es az Amsterdamse Bos nevu "mesterseges erdo"vel a varos deli hataran, ahol benosztalgiaztam egyet, eszembe jutott, hogy kb 17 evesen jartunk mar itt, es vadkempingeztunk ebben a hatalmas parkban, Daniel, Karoly, Zoli, Tomival. Floranak folytatodott az interju keszites neves Pokmeselokkel, igy jutottunk el a falanszterbe agyazott hippitanyara: egy komppal kell kimenni a palyaudvartol, es SDCM vagy hasonlo 4 betuvel illetett hajogyari kornyek, amit reszben informatikusok vettek at, es ekeppen is nevezik itt az uccakat (Modem u., Plotter u. stb) reszben meg hippik foglaltak itt minden fele teruletet, igy lettek a muveszkafek, ... read more

Saying goodbye to the beautiful city of Bruges, we set out for Amsterdam. We only had a few hours so rather than driving the whole time, we used the motorways to get to Antwerp for lunch at a large park called Rivierenhof. It has a great little playground and a series of lakes and forest areas to wander around and even a little farm for the kids to meet the animals. Em had a great time on the playground and after lunch, we had a walk around the lakes watching the ducks and geese. We spent a bit longer than planned there so we were a bit rushed getting to Amsterdam but it was reasonably smooth on the motorway with only a couple of roadwork areas to contend with. The volume of trucks on the motorway ... read more