Amsterdam

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Having been too lazy to do up a blog for a while, and because quite a bit has occured in the last few weeks, I've decided to combine a number of weeks into this blog.

We last left your two faithful adventurers after five wonderful days in Berlin. Heading straight across Germany and into the Netherlands, we arrived in Amsterdam and quickly made our way to what was to be the worst place we'd ever stayed in on this trip. The bloke that greeted us seemed to prefer if we had not arrived at all and was not a friendly chap at all. Well balls to that and we set off to explore the red light district of this city. Semi-naked chicks winking at us from the windows, the sounds of Bob Marley everywhere and the sweet sweet smell of ganja in the air were some of the things that greeted us as we wandered the streets.
Truth be told, neither of us was over-impressed with Amsterdam - not into smoking the wacky tabaccy and the drinks were pretty pricey - the near nude women in the windows everywhere was a little bit strange as well. We did have a really good walking tour around the streets and learnt about the history of the city and more about the impact of the war on Amsterdam, and Holland in general.

After discovering a mouse in our room one night, we couldnt wait to leave the city and all the drunk and stoned Englishmen behind and head for the quiet and magical streets of Bruge in Belgium. A town known for great beer, stunning architecture and a top flick coming highly recommended by the one and only PB. We wandered around the streets and looked at some of the beautiful buildings and sampled some wonderful beers in the freezing cold (it was snowing as well!) The christmas markets were definitly the highlight of the town and we did a bit of ice sating as well.

We moved on from Bruge and headed to Brussels to check the famous pissing fountain. It what was to be a our last city in Europe for quite some time, were a little bit deflated about the fact that this leg of our trip was coming to an end. We stayed in a Formula One hotel supposedly near the airport (it was actually 5kms away - not impressed), which was on par with the hostel in Amsterdam. We found that when we left the place, we had to wash all our clothes due to the gut wrenching stench that was emnating from them. Quick tip if you're planning on staying in a Formula One in Europe - spend the extra cash and upgrade - Its not like Australia.
Anyway we flew directly into London, and were actually quite lucky to have made it, considering the weather. All the planes that were scheduled to leave after our flight ended up being cancelled, so we were very lucky to have gotten across.

It took about two hours to get to Paul and Jenni's house just outside of London, but it was really nice to be staying in a normal house for a while and not in a hotel or hostel bed. We headed straight into London the following day for some sightseeing - we went and had a look at the Queens residence at Buckinghaam Palace, had an awesome lunch in an all you can eat vegetarian shop and had a look around Picadilly Circus befor catching a lift with Paul back to Hitchin for a home cooked dinner and Home and Away.

The next day was spent wandeirng around the small town of Hitchin with Jenni and Rhiannon. Rhiannon and I chased the pigeons down by the church and we were able to watch the replay of AFL GF #2, thanks to Jenni who had taped it. Got very excited watching the footy and it was very good to watch the Pies smash those Sainters and win the flag!!

That night we went out for dinner in Hitchin with Jenni and Paul - we went down to a small restaurant which was housed in a very old building and had a really nice feel to it. A great dinner was had by all, and it was so good to have someone to whinge to about the cricket.

On Friday morning though, we headed down to watch Ellie in her school assembly - some very good singing by the future of the Douglass family and a very njoyable mroning had by all. We travelled into London with Paul after the assembly and did a walking tour, in which we went around to most of the major sights in London and learnt about some of the history of the town and the English in general. We again went back to the all you can eat vegetarian shop for lunch and also saw Big Ben, the Eye of London, the Parliament Buildings and even visited the largest toy store in England - they had these really cool flying helicopters, but I wasnt allowed to buy one.

Some members of the group wer ebeginning to get a little excited at this stage as Longers, Steph and Helen were flying into London the next day and we would be meeting up. We had an early night and, after saying thankyou and goodbye to the Douglass', we headed into London about 10am to meet up with everyone at the hostel. Longers had clearly been having a good time on the plane ride from Thailand and was defintily in a mood for a party. We found a nice pub in Covent Garden and began our party. We headed into Waterloo to meet up with one of Longers' mates who took us to one of the coolest bars ever! It was at the top of a building overlooking the Thames - we probably shouldnt have been allowed in there, but it was clear that Longers' mate Sam was well known at the bar. A great night was had by all, and it was great to catch up with everyone back home.

We found the christmas markets in London the next day and spent the morning (and most of the afternoon) looking aorund the markets and Harrods. We had a few beers at another pub in the afternoon and then had dinner at an Indian restaurant in Brick Lane, which Helen took us too.

We had to say goodbye the next day, as Longers' crew was heading to Russia and we were picking up our Spaceship (our travelling van). Tears were everywhere, but we soon departed ways.

Next stop - the Space Port to pick up Apollo 14.

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