Queuing for Bliss

Day 5

Page history last edited by Susan Bentley 1 yr ago

DAY 5

Wednesday 25^th June 9:56am Amsterdam

We are about to leave Amsterdam and I can’t say that I’m sad about that. It is a unique city but very messy and dirty. The buildings and footpaths are chaotic and dirty. There are bicycles everywhere and the roads and signs cater for them as a viable form of transport. The roads are narrow, parking is almost impossible and consequently cars are all small even tiny. The house boats are unique and are limited to the current number of 2500.

Yesterday we got caught up in traffic nearly all day and so were 12 hours on the bus. Everyone was tired and cranky. We went to dinner at a cute restaurant in the city. The interior on the restaurant was quite beautiful, richly decorated with dark carved timber and embossed brown leather inserts along the walls. We sat with two Americans, Maxine who turned 69 that day and her 16 year old grandson David. They are from Ohio and were good company. Maxine had trouble understanding my Australian accent. David plays the trumpet and wants that to be his career. We had a three course traditional Dutch meal with wine. For entrée I had a cold plate of meat, artichokes and salad. Michael had a cold fish plate. For the main course I had Hotch Potch which was casserole meat with mashed potatoes and carrots and tiny pickled onions and a sausage I didn’t eat. Michael had pork in pepper sauce. For dessert Michael had cinnamon ice-cream and I had pancakes and ice-cream. We drank some Chilean Cabernet Merlot and had awful tea afterwards.

After dinner we all traipsed through the streets of Amsterdam. We walked through the red-light district and saw the ‘girls’ standing in the windows flaunting their bodies. At 10pm it was still light and they were all wearing bikinis. Our group included a few minors who were with their parents. One older bloke had his video camera our and this is frowned upon by the “girls”, so he received a great deal of abuse from the “girls”. One opened her glass door and threw a can of Red Bull hitting the 16 year old girl with us. The poor girl was understandably upset.

The Mercure hotel where we stayed is a modern high rise building just on the outskirts of the city. Our room on the 10^th floor gave us a fantastic view towards Amsterdam city as the sun slowly set at 10.30pm. We slept soundly in the King size bed and woke before our 6.15am wake up call. We quickly showered, stretched and dressed and went down to have breakfast with a large number of people; some from other tours. Breakfast was a nice buffet with a good selection of fruit, pastries, bread, buns, eggs, ham, cheeses, etc. Today is cooler and overcast as we travel on the motorway towards Germany.

Wednesday 25^th June 2:52pm Koln

Lunchtime was spent at Koln in Germany. We visited a cathedral which was a spectacular Gothic building with beautiful stained glass windows. Lots of people inside were taking photos, wandering, admiring or praying. I wanted to ask a priest if we could take photos and I asked in German if he spoke English to which he said “Nin”, so I walked away and took photos anyway like everyone else. I got Michael to take off his cap just before the priest got to him.

We bought some salad and meat rolls and drinks from a bakery then sat on some seats out in the square, but we were rudely told off by a young waitress, as the seats must have been for table service only. I said sorry and we left to wander and eat, until it started to rain and we took shelter under a shop awning with lots of other people. Michael asked a German lady if she spoke English, then asked her about the football, as we’d seem lots of red, black and yellow German flags, as well as another flag. The Germans are playing Turkey tonight in the European Cup. We waited for our bus under the awning with another tour group of Chinese people. We are now back on the bus and on our way to a river cruise down the Rhine River.

Wednesday 25^th June 6:00pm Offenbach

We boarded a river cruise boat along with many other tour groups. It rained on and off as we cruised along the Rhine River looking at the miniature village style towns with cream buildings and grey roofs. Every now and then a red train threaded through the buildings following the river. Castles guard this river from the surrounding peaks. Many are now ruins after French raids in previous centuries, but some have been renovated. Vines grow on the steep slopes, produce for the famous white wines of the region.

We enjoyed a local German beer on board and chatted with Dane and his wife Connie who are from Sydney. Dane’s family is from Croatia and he is going to visit relatives there after this tour.

We are now back in the bus continuing to follow the river with its picturesque villages and castle ruins. A red train has just passed us about 20 metres away running parallel to the road.

Wednesday 25^th June 10.10pm Offenbach

We are now in our hotel room at the Sheraton Hotel in Offenbach Germany. Germany is playing soccer against Turkey now and it is being shown on TV. This is the half final and the winner will play either Spain or Russia in the final on Sunday. It is the 68 minute mark and still one all.

We had drinks in the lovely restaurant then a nice meal of potato and leek soup, then pork medallions in cider gravy with mixed vegetables and potato au gratin. For dessert we had a cherry strudel. We sat with Michael and Tin who are newly weds from the Philippines and Don and Lyn from New Zealand. They are dairy farmers who had just handed over their business to their son.

After dinner we went into the bar and drank German beer in huge glasses and watched the soccer with a group of German fans. It was still light at 10pm so we had a quick walk up the deserted street before returning to our hotel room. All the locals must have been inside watching the soccer on TV.

We have another early start in the morning: 6am wake up call, then off to Heidelberg and on to Lucerne and Engelberg in Switzerland.