Ibis Tilburg

... room-mate for the night, who is working on the roads and lives away from the area, we passed the time until he went to the bar while I continued to dry my stuff and attempt to somehow reduce it's volume.

Unfortunately I couldn't cook my travellers Kichiri at this hostel and I was too tired to think of going into town after two big days (I am looking decidedly peaky this evening) so I went for the hostel meal, okay it was 13 euros (!) but 3 decent courses later and ...

... and then merrily sail by intersections and roundabouts alike with absolutely NO SIGNPOSTS AT ALL!!! Many miles have been lost over the past couple of days due to this fact.

I had spotted on the map, a place called s'-Hertsogenbosch (yes, just like that) which seemed to be a little over halfway to Eindhoven. I knew that there wasn't a hope that I'd get signs to Eindhoven even 40 miles away so I looked for s'-H.. instead. But even the motor way signs didn't ...

De voorbereidingen zijn in volle gang en verlopen voorspoedig. De reisroute is vastgesteld (althans, voor zover dat kan bij een trip als deze), de tickets zijn er, inclusief tickets voor alle treintrajecten. Het zal straks in de praktijk vast wel anders gaan, maar ze zijn niet zo duur en we hebben nu in elk geval een gereserveerde plaats. Meestal is het 2nd AC, op de eerste trajecten 3rd AC. Ook het visum hebben we nu. Volgende week krijgen we de typhusvaccinate, de rest was nog in orde.

... with your imagination as opposed to historical accuracy. Liz did correct our knowledge of the starling houses - these kind of look like clay pots tipped on their sides and affixed to a building. There were several hanging in the courtyard, which I thought was terribly nice - give the birds a home even though you were beheading people in the same place. However, giving the birds a home is not so nice. What happens is this - the parent starlings make their nest, the ...

What a day! Ok, so we get up at around 9-9:30 this morning, have a cup of tea and head out for Heusden. Before that, we stopped and got new batteries and a charger, cuz Rob charger and batteries seemed to have died here in Holland... So off to Heusden, about 20-30 minutes from Oosterhout. It's a tiny little village surrounded by fortifications, a really nice place. Fred told us that it's a very important tourist ...

Antes de ir à Tilburg eu subestimei a cidade! eu achava que ia ser somente mais uma cidade tipica holandesa. Mas não, a cidade é super bonitinha! a estação central parece uma concha ou um papel achatado em forma de leque. A cidade me pareceu muito deserta, não vo ...

... throw in a free tyre. Or maybe it was the other way around, we're not sure. Anyway, with the full complement of tyres restored, we got back on the road and managed to actually make to it Rotterdam this time, all safe and sound in Big Green's native country, just 50km from our final destination. We both let out screams of joy when we crossed the border to the Netherlands, knowing that we were just a stone's throw away from ending our ...

... had found myself seamlessly zipping through the landscapes of the Netherlands, the train powering through wide open farm fields, dykes and far reaching canals. I arrived in Rotterdam in the early arvo and found my way a few streets away over from the station to the reccomended hostel 'Mafkees', which turned out to be an old, disused skate rink, converted into a makeshift dormitory for cheap travellers such as myself. Skate 'rank' might be a more appropriate description of the ...

... that all these buildings were new. Apparently this is where Rotterdam was bombed during the war. No old buildings any more within about a two mile area - well, maybe the vestiges of one or two. I was looking for a bank which would change traveler's cheques for me. Well, they don't. I went to about 5 banks and they all referred me to another bank. Finally I was directed to the post office where they do change traveler's cheques - albeit, as they told me, the US dollar (which ...

Went to Rotterdam today (see next posting) The city was bombed during the war and the post-war construction is not that impressive. The city centre is ringed by dual carrigeways and the buildings are an odd collection of styles from 1950's to present day. Not dissimilar to Liverpool, or Southampton. walking through the main shopping areas at 10am on a ...