Saturday, September 16, 2017

Kicking off the ancient dust on my shoes


Back from my ten-day trip starting in Amsterdam and moving to Kinderdijk, to Cologne, to Koblenz, to Heidelberg, to Strasbourg to Breisach and ending briefly in Basel, Switzerland.

Lots of food and wine, lots of tours of cathedrals, museums, cultural spots and quaint medieval structures. This type of thing always reminds me of how naive Americans are to think that the history of our country is weighty in time. We are just babes in the woods of civilization.


Amsterdam is a high-energy city with a young population.  They have a population of close to one million and at least 1.8 million bikes.  While they have an excellent tram and bus system, the streets are cobbled in places and narrow in others with limited car parking.  Most bike owners have "backup" bikes to use when their bike gets stolen.  There is a whole black market where a stolen bike can be purchased to replace your stolen bike.  The police offer no real assistance as this seems to be too routine to attempt to enforce.



I did wonder how on earth a tired worker found his bike at the end of the day!  


We were cautioned about kami-kazi bike riders many times as we got in the habit of looking both ways when crossing streets.

Amsterdam is a very liberal city as most people know.  We accidentally walked around the red-light-district, but the only way one would recognize it in the daytime was the pornographic postcards and the fluorescent condom displays in some windows.  Night time is when the curtains are drawn open and women advertise, and we were tucked safely back in our hotel rooms by then.




The flower market sells cannabis seeds and there are pot-pubs to kick back and relax.  These areas were obvious by the many cigarette butts in front of the sidewalks the next day.



The city itself is very safe and lovely with surprisingly clean canals.  We did take a canal ride, but the walks were more rewarding.




We have been home for days, but I caught a cold two days before our flight home and while I managed to hold it together for the 7.5 hour flight, I completely collapsed upon our return and have been in bed being lazy for the last three or four days...what day is it anyway?  I actually felt sorrier for the Ukrainian of over 6 feet who had to sit next to me in the window seat in pretzel formation listening to my sniffling!  I hope his business trip was healthy!



19 comments:

  1. Welcome home. So sorry about the bug..Sounds like this was a wonderful trip to feed the imagination. Looking forward to more from this delightful real history tour.

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  2. Welcome home, and i hope you feel better soon. Thanks for sharing your trip pictures, i always enjoy those.

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  3. Welcome back! Amsterdam is an eye opener in many ways. Love the Dutch and their beautiful little country! Hope you feel betteroon!

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  4. Amsterdam must have been airy, and with the smell of pot. All them bikes, lets yourselve go.

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  5. I've been to Amsterdam a few times, and your post makes me want to go back.

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  6. We loved exploring Amsterdam. We have good memories of that city.
    I'm glad you are recovered enough to begin sharing your travel adventures.

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  7. Prayers you are well. Lovely trip, busy and full of nice picture from what's posted here

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  8. I loved the photos of all those bikes. It looks like a wonderful city to tour. I hope your are feeling chipper again.

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  9. What an outstanding report of your trip. Made me want to start checking trip brochures right now.

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  10. never been to Amsterdam but would like to go. with so many bikes, it's a wonder that anyone would need to steal one.

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  11. It looks like a fine trip to a fine city. Get well soon.

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  12. Hope you feel better soon

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  13. What a wonderful trip. Hope you recover quickly.

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  14. Love your sense of humour. Sounds like you had a great trip. I have the same memories of Amsterdam. I have also had to fly home 20+ hours with Bronchitis.

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  15. Welcome home! It sounds like an awesome trip. I'm glad you didn't get sick until you were home. I dream of visiting Amsterdam. I keep hearing about it from everyone else and it definitely sounds worth visiting. I know what you mean about comparing the US history to Europe's.

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  16. Here's hoping you are over that cold soon, and back to the doing the things you love.

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  17. Sounds like a fascinating trip. Yes, our nation's history is truly short when we think of other continents and countries there. Feel,better soon.

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  18. This is one of those places I hope to visit soon. As a keen cyclist myself, I can't wait to pedal on those cobbled streets! :-)

    Greetings from London.

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  19. The Dutch decided ages ago that there are some people you can't do anything about, so you might as well let them have their play area. Meantime, they provide every support for families with housing, education, etc. and have a well functioning society. Their viewpoint is pragmatic, not moralistic.

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Take your time...take a deep breath...then hit me with your best shot.