Amsterdam

Wed 17 March: Sheila and I had originally planned to go to Amsterdam and The Hague today, but in deference to the principle of not crowding too much into one day, a principle that has served us well, we decided Amsterdam was enough. It was a good call. By the time we spent an hour's train ride to get there and figuring out how to get to the museums we wanted to see, it was noon. Always figure you are going to spend at least two hours in a museum. Well, if you see two museums, that makes it 15:00hr nearly dinnertime. Jeff and Beth had generously lent us their museum passes saving us about 40 euro. We visited the Ryksmuseum, home of the 17th century Dutch masters. It was amazing: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Steen and others too numerous to mention. These men were masters of the use of light and shade and unbelievable detail down to the wrinkles on the back of an old woman's hands. After a lunch at the conveniently located restaurant called Cobra, we went to the Van Gogh museum. It is a short walk from the Ryksmuseum. That too was an amazing experience. In addition to the art, I enjoyed looking at Van Gogh's work chronologically. Putting his work within the context of his life and experience made the experience much more interesting. I've said this before, but it is humbling to stand in the presence of genius even if it is mad genius. Van Gogh, of course, went insane before he killed himself. He was truly a tortured soul. The museum also included the works some works by Monet, Manet, and Gaugain as well as others. We left the museum just before closing at 18:00 in search of dinner. On our way we were accosted by a young lady well dressed and pushing a baby in a carriage. She claimed to have locked herself out of her house, and would we give her some money for bus fare to her mother's. These scams are always preceded with, "Do you speak English?" We turned her down, and as we walked away she lost no time in working someone else. She could have easily called the police to help. We realized that today was St Patrick's Day, so we stopped into this Irish Pub called Hoopman's to help the Dutch Irish celebrate. It was packed with people carrying flagons of Guiness beer. We had no trouble fitting in. We ordered fish and chips and a coupe of pints, and we were off. After Hoopman's, Sheila and I walked the neighborhoods. Amsterdam is a very busy city, and like Rome, you take your life in your hands whenever you step off a curb. The streets are shared with pedestrians, motorscooters, trams, and bicycles, and they come from everywhere. Watch out! The weather was clear and relatively warm. We walked arm in arm along the canals enjoying the festival of lights reflected off the water from the street lamps, shops, and apartments. Quite romantic. I thought about going into one of Amsterdam's "coffee houses" to partake in some of their "herbs", but somehow I wasn't in the mood. We got back to the train station, inquired about train schedules to our next destination: Ypres in Flanders. We caught or train back to Rotterdam and as we were settling in for the hour ride, we were approached by five uniformed gun packing police officers. The man in charge asked for our tickets. We had used our Eurail pass. Seeing we were foreigners, he asked to see our passports. Fortunately, we had our documents in order. Lesson: always carry your passport when traveling. You may never be asked for it, but technically you're supposed to have it. So... We got back to Rotterdam Alexander, our stop, unlocked our bikes and rode the ten minutes back to Jeff and Beth's. A wonderful day, but Amsterdam is a place I'd like to spend much more time. When we got home, Jeff was working on lesson plans; Beth was working on her Master's. Sheila and I had a quiet glass of wine and marveled at what we'd seen today. More later. Love to all, Michael

Rotterdam continued

Tues 16, March: After a leisurely breakfast, we were out the door in search of The American International School, Rotterdam where Jeff teaches middle school math and Beth teaches pre kindergarten. Following Jeff's directions, we had no trouble locating it. We biked through beautiful neighborhoods along canals and through a large public park the route Jeff, Beth, and the kids bike every workday. We got to the school and checked in. Beth was able to give us a tour of the school. She normally has a class of six, but today, she was filling in for a collegue who had gone to a conference in Estonia. Of the ten children in her care today, none of them spoke English as a primary language, and none of them spoke English as entering students in September. That said, all communication at school is in English. Their native languages include: Dutch,Turkish, Indian, Japanese, Russian, Portugese, Hebrew, and Romanian. Several of these kids spoke several languages. Keep in mind these are five year olds. All of this while we struggle with the idea of speaking even two languages in this country. Sheila and I spent the rest of the day biking around Rotterdam. We went to another large park and biked around a lake there. We stopped into a local eatery for fried potatoes and beer. We were greeted by the family dog, a very large very old bull dog. There was no shortage of locals in this place. We had landed on our feet once again. We were served the potatoes with what is called curry, but it's a mixture of mayonnaise, chopped onions, and what appears to be barbecue sauce. It's different but good. None went to waste. On our way back home, we stopped at the market for milk, eggs, and bread. Back at home, we were just settling in when the family arrived. Sheila and I made dinner: spaghetti carbonarra. It was delicious. More later. Love to all, Michael

Rotterdam continued

Monday 15 March: Sheila and I slept in, a much needed rest, but soon we were out on the bicycles Jeff had so generously purchased for his guests. It was a beautiful day sunny but not warm. We rode to the waterbus and waited a few minutes for the boat to arrive and take us to Ridderkerk a thirty minute boat ride past heavily laden barges. These barges are the homes of the people who operate them. The cargo of anything from pipe to gravel is carried in front. Living quarters are in the rear with cars and boats on top look cozy and warm. Of course, anything inside looks cozy. Soon we arrived at our destination and we made our connection on a much smaller boat to our destination,Kinderdijk. Neither of these boats were crowded perhaps one or two other passengers. We settled in for the ride thinking it was going to be longer. The boat ride was no more than ten minutes. We pushed our bikes off the boat, and we were out again into the unknown. This is one of the things I like best about travel: the unknown, not knowing what the day will bring. After a short ride through a town that reminded me of an Irish industrial town without the soot: homes sharing a common wall and back yards separated by only a fence,laundry hanging out to dry and truck gardens. It was quite picturesque. Water everywhere. We turned a bend. There before us, as far as the eye could see, windmills. Only one turned, but I thought this is the real thing: working windmills. Remember, the Netherlands are below sea level, and moving water is vitally necessary. For centuries water has been moved through the use of wind power. No carbon foot print. Perhaps if New Orleans had these there'd be fewer problems. We biked out to get a closer look perhaps two miles. These things are beautiful because they work. They also serve as people's homes. We biked back into town against the cold and biting wind, no mean feat, and we found a restaurant and settled in for a lunch in a warm room a real luxury. After lunch, we biked back to the boat stop and watched the ferry carry cars across the Nord River back and forth there was always a car waiting. A circuit takes about five minutes. We made our connections, and before long, we were biking back to Rotterdam. Fortunately, we had the wind at our backs. By this time it had begun to rain. We stopped by the store for dinner and wine, and by the time the family had come home we had dinner going. Everyone got in just as the rain began to come down hard. We had a nice evening. I read to Gweneth, Matthew played, Jeff worked on lesson plans, Beth worked on her masters, and Sheila worked on solidifying the remainder of our trip. A very satisfying day indeed.

More to come. Love to all, Michael

Rotterdam

Sun 14 March: The weather here continues to be cloudy and cold. It's typical for the Netherlands, but colder than normal according to the locals. That said, it's armer today than it has been. Jeff and his son Mathew took us on an orientation ride around Rotterdam. Ulitmately we went to The Maas River where the water taxies depart for tomorrow's adventure. To illustrate how committed Rotterdam is to bicycles. We went down the longest escalator I have ever seen and under the river on a bike tunnel designed for bicycles. Bicycles have their own lanes and bikes have the right of way. The only bad thing: the bike paths are shared with motor scooters. Biking at 12 mph and have a motor scooter pass 12 inches off your shoulder at 30 is startling. You get used to it though. On the way back, we went through town. At a stop light some old lady, roughly seventy, pulled up next to me on her bike and said something to me in Dutch I didn't understand. I said I only speak English. She nodded and rode on. I'm thinking she wanted to drag for pinks. Seriously, a lady 70ish on a bike in cold rainy weather. Think about it America. We stopped into a restaurant that specializes in poffertjes a kind of pancake that's about the size of a silver dollar which still isn't worth much here. The poffertjes are smothered in butter and covered in powered sugar. It's a uniquely Dutch thing. We watched the cook make them. With a capuccino, they're delicious. We got back home and relaxed for the day. More later. Love to all, Michael

More Rotterdam 13 March

Jeff and I went downtown to a bicycle shop, called, I kid you not Mega Deal. It sounds like a car dealership. Jeff wanted to buy two bikes so we and others would have wheels when they come to visit.Bicycles are a way of life here. Jeff and his family don't own an automobile. Try that in the USA. We rode there, I on the back of Jeff's bike. It was like being ridden out of town on a rail without the tar and feathers. There must have been a thousand used bikes so we were able to find a couple of servicable bikes for 300 euro. Jeff and I rode back he on his bike and I on one of the new used ones. Now, we had to get the other one. It was Jeff's turn. I pedaled, and he rode on the back. It was not long before Jeff rediscovered the joy of walking. Guess his ass is softer than mine. Now with two bikes our butts were no longer endangered species, and we rode around the neighborhood. This place is beautiful: homes with picturesque canals running in front, ducks and swans swimming in them, a number of these places have quaint draw bridges The homesand yards are clean, well manicured and diverse that shows architecture that is unique to this area. Jeff showed me how scenic bike routes are numbered throughout the city where one can get online, type in the number of the routes desired and a map is produced. Very cool. We got home and together we prepared dinner--lamb, garlic mashed potatoes, and salad. Sheila and I really like Rotterdam for its simplicity, convenience, and sence of personal freedom. More later. Love to all, Michael