Advertisement
Our Biking Belgium 2011 is drawing to an end - Wednesday we got up and finished packing, it was raining and we had no bikes so hey, time to head to Amsterdam. We made sure our bags had the ability to shrink to 22.7 kg (50#) when we got to the airport. We had upgraded our train tickets from Antwerp to Amsterdam Central to first class with the hopes of fewer people, more room for luggage, and less shlepping! We got all our luggage down to the entry of the flat (down two skinny flights of stairs - yes we had a "1st floor flat"), Jean waited in the entry, while I ran the key and rent down to the corner grocery store owner. We never did meet Bob our landlord. Mission accomplished, we waited inside the entry for our cab to Antwerp Central station.
We took our departing stroll through the beautiful Antwerp train station, and found that
the first class train had plenty of room for our luggage and few people, both Jean and I relaxed on the 2-1/2 hour train ride into Amsterdam Central. We had taken the 11am train, so we arrived in Amsterdam mid day,
and the sun was shining brightly! We stayed at the same hotel we have stayed at before because it was within walking distance to the station. Amsterdam has a city population of about 780,000 but an urban population that tops 1.2M! You can see everything and anything in Amsterdam!
The last time we were in Amsterdam it was the day after Queen Elizabeth's Birthday - and you can well imagine that Amsterdam needs no excuse to party - what we remember most was that the trash was knee deep and the smells were stifling! So it is no surprise that this visit Amsterdam seemed considerably cleaner - with a great deal of construction going on along the canals and was very welcoming!
They had our room ready and we headed up to drop off our bags and then stroll around a bit. Our first stop was our most favorite little wallet shop called MONO at Haarlemmerstraat 16, it is a quaint little shop that makes super functional wallets. The store has expanded its product lines and both Jean and I found plenty to marvel over. From there we were in search of a foot massage, a super treat
after walking and biking, and yes shlepping luggage! We found a little shop that advertised foot reflexology and opened the door and rang the bell. A delightful woman from Hong Kong (I have been in Amsterdam 25 years) welcomed us, called a young lady to come to the shop and both Jean and I enjoyed having our feet massaged! The two woman chatted away in Chinese, and then said "You two related?" We did admit that we were sisters - and she said "same face"!
Jean asked the massage lady for a recommendation for a late lunch/early dinner - and we headed to China Town and enjoyed some local Chinese food in a tiny little restaurant with a waitress that did not seem thrilled with her job. Jean asked for some broccoli with her meal and was quickly told "no" - there is vegetable - it was cabbage.
We walked about the town a bit, went to the train station to get our tickets to the airport for the morning, and then found a great little cafe along the water to enjoy our last hours in Amsterdam before calling it a day. We made lists of things not
Our European Hotel room
Tiny but efficient and cleanto forget should we return, and watched the people come and go. Love the way they do not hurry you along in Europe, we could have stayed there for many more hours and our waiter would be happy to just check and see what we needed from time to time. A great evening to bring a great trip to a close.
Jean was up and out of the hotel and on the train to the Schiphol by 7am to catch her 11am plane. I got to sleep in - ahh, I had a bed in an air conditioned room, it was wonderful! My flight did not leave until 3pm. I was up and packed by 8am, ventured downstairs to have breakfast, tea, toast and eggs for 6 Euros and sat at the window enjoying the city and all the activity.
I headed out to walk - as I figured I would be sitting for 15+ hours getting home. My senses took me to the shopping streets, found some Europe stickers (I love stickers from my travels!), and as I headed back - I came across two quilt shops. Are my instincts good or what? One was called Birdblocks
It must be Amsterdam
Note the men contenplating - do we go in? on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 99, and the other was right next door. They had some beautiful quilts!
I headed back to the hotel, checked out and headed to ramp 13a to catch the 11am train to Schiphol. The next stop from Amsterdam Central is the airport or Schiphol as everyone calls it. We had been asking people the entire trip "Do you speak English" - and imagine my surprise when I was standing on the train waiting to arrive at the airport when this young couple turned to me and said "Do you speak English?" I couldn't help my self, and replied "Little bit" (which was the common reply we got). They said "Do you know what stop this is?" I said "Schiphol". They spoke slowly and asked "Is this the airport?" I merely nodded! I must learn Flemish and Dutch!
I felt very special when my second bag was free going home - seeing as I came with a 49.5# bag, was pretty tough to go home with nothing - so had a bag that I put all my dirty laundry in to keep my bag within weight. I flew KLM, which is a partner of Delta, which
The Mono store
This is our favorite little wallet store - a must stop when in Amsterdam is a partner of Alaska Airlines - so my second bag was free - otherwise it would have cost 75 Euros - ouch!
My 10-1/2 hours from Amsterdam to Seattle was filled with 4 movies, 2 meals and lots of reading. Got to stretch my legs in Seattle and then the remaining 3-1/2 hours to Fairbanks passed in a blur as I was sound asleep.
So ends our Biking Belgium 2011
Jean and I both arrived home safely although Jean is now at Vermillion OH at her cottage and
I am home for 11 days before heading to Atlanta
Hope you enjoyed our trip! We had a great time! :-)
Kathleen and Jean
Advertisement
Tot: 0.056s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 10; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0321s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Deborah Buxton-Morris
non-member comment
Viewed in past tense
Just getting to read the blog tonight , although Courtney mentioned some time ago that you were writing one. Maybe it is more fun to read the finished product?? Found it very interesting and a great story. Enjoyed your writing and all the photos. did you purchase quilting material at your last stop?