Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Hello all! Hope you have been enjoying Steve's comments on our travels so far...he can be entertaining! :) Haarlem and Amsterdam have been wonderful. It is amazing to see all the buildings from the 16th and 17th century and they are still occupied today. Where our hotel is in Haarlem is right behind the Grote Market. On Saturday, they had many stalls set up with flowers, fruits, vegetables, and other merchandise. Steve laughs at me because I always want to look at the flowers. It seemed like every other person had a big bouquet to take home. Mom and Dad were able to get some apples and bananas so they were happy. As anticipate we have walked all over. We visited the Tyler's Museum that displayed fossils, physics instruments used in the 17th century and several rooms of paintings and pencil sketchs. The weather has been excellent for Sat - Sun. We have eaten outside everyday for our meals. We have learned that meals take a little longer than we are used to in the US. You are expected to sit and linger over dinner and drinks, and who wouldn't want to with the wonderful weather and people watching you can do!
Our tour official started on Sunday with a meeting with our guide, Jennifer and introductions from the group. We would be the youngest couple, there are a two single college women and a single guy but everyone else is a little older. Seems like a good mix of people. Steve surived the first night of Indonesian food, and actually it was very good. We were sitting upstairs and there is no air conditioning here in Haarlem, so we all got a little warm. After dinner a local gentleman, Hans, took us around Haarlem and give us some history. It was a fun and informative tour of the city.
More to come later on Amsterdam...time to get on the bus to Germany!
Heidi
Comments
Heh!
I must say, I do like your blogs a bit more since they are shorter. You know me... I'm a skimmer! Glad you're having fun!