Happy Thanksgiving from Lucy the Cat!

European Vacation, Stop 2: Amsterdam

After our much too short visit with Milena in Munich, Bill and I headed to Amsterdam on the overnight train. The overnight train turned out to be misleading. We spent hundreds of dollars reserving our tickets but in the end it turned out that we didn't have actual tickets at all and had to pay an extra 40 euro each to have beds on the train. That was the cheapest option which meant we were sleeping in a tiny room with six beds. There was a homeless man wandering up and down the hall, peeking his head into the cabins until he decided that he'd booked the same room as us. He was more homeless-looking (mostly because of the ratty hat he was wearing) than homeless smelling. He turned out to be extremely friendly so we learned that was "traveling" which I think means that he was back-packing through Europe with very little money like a 20-year-old, even though he was sixty. After a fairly uncomfortable sleep, including a successful trip to the bathroom in which I had to climb down a wobbly ladder in complete darkness making sure to not step on anyone's heads, I got out of bed determined to spend the remainder of the trip in the hallway.  It was a narrow hallway and stern-looking train conductor types as well as fellow patrons passed by as I backed up against the wall only to still be in the way. It was worth it though to watch the sun come up over the Dutch landscape, which I hadn't seen in three years. I got Bill up and made him stand in the hallway with me because I knew he wasn't happy up there in the top bunk. It was nice and then our favorite bunkmate came out in order to enjoy the sunrise with us while he carved an apple with a knife, a knife that I can only assume spent the night with us and traveled with our ratty-hatted wanderer for fruit carving and general protection purposes.

We finally arrived in Amsterdam and the nice man at the hotel near Dam Square let us check in as soon as we got there at around 9:30 in the morning. 

After a nap and shower, we were off to explore. Bill was more interested in seeing the city than spending hours in museums so I walked him around in an attempt to show him the different neighborhoods. One stop was at the Oude Kerk. It was partly closed off but they were having a fun art exhibit of photographs taken during short-lived hippie eras in Eastern Europe. 

This is the Spui.

And Spuistraat.

We walked down Kalverstraat, the very crowded shopping street.

We arrived at Dam Square, where the carnival happened to be going on, and got some pofrijes. It's hard to tell from the picture but they are waffles with chocolate and whipped cream.

That night we had tickets to see Camera Obscura at the Paradiso (I know!). It was so great. They sounded amazing. The Paradiso is an old church that's been converted into a club. It has two floors but the room where they played isn't very big, especially compared with the Bell House, where I saw them earlier in the year. They sounded so much better this time and I was right in front. 

The next day we rented bikes! We rode around the city and went to Foam, the Fotografiemuseum. 

I don't have any pictures of the museum but here are some others from that day.

The Westerkerk-This lovely old church is right down the street from where I used to live. The bells ring every hour and they are the ones that Anne Frank heard, during her time in hiding. Rembrandt van Rijn died a pauper and is buried here in an unmarked grave.

We had lunch at Cafe Roem on the Prinsengracht.

Then, went to the Museumplein.

Rembrandtplein

That night we finally got to meet up with Eleni for dinner.

The last day in Amsterdam.

After breakfast, we wandered around in the rain, shopping and stopping at cafes for coffee, until it was time to head to Schipol and fly to London. It was a nice conclusion to our time in Amsterdam.

European Vacation, Stop 1: Munich

Several weeks ago, Bill and I went on a European adventure: first to visit my good friend Milena in Munich. Munich is a lovely city and in the couple of days we were there, we certainly didn't have enough time to enjoy all of it. After a sleepless flight due to a group of German teenagers who were talking for 8 hours straight, we had to wait in Frankfurt for our connecting flight to Munich. By the time we met Milena, we were understandably tired and disoriented. Milena welcomed us with open arms and took us back to her apartment. She let us sleep there while she went to the store and then out to the Cabaret with her friend Susie. 

So the first night, we were on our own to explore the city. Just a quick tram ride away was the city center. It was Museum night so we bought a ticket which allowed us access to numerous museums and events. First, we went to the Stadtmuseum, where the exhibits pertained to the city's, as well as Germany's, history. Everything was in German so we didn't actually learn the history of anything, but we did enjoy looking at everything. We wondered around some and eventually met up with Milena and Susie who took us to a bar to meet up with their friends. It was the most crowded bar I've ever been in. People had to push each other just to move around, plus everyone was dancing on each other. Bill ordered a coffee which arrived in a tiny tea cup with a saucer which he did his best to hold above everyone's heads and it actually didn't spill. My favorite part of the night was when the bartender, extremely intoxicated, accidentally paid me 2 euros for my second mojito. Here are some photos from that night. Unfortunately, there are none from the bar.

Sunday was a new day and we had Milena as our tour guide. First went went to a market/carnival where some of the rides are 75 years old and in perfect condition. 

Then we headed back into the center to go to the Residenz, the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs, one of which had Milena's last name.

After that, we ran over to the Pinakothek, or the Museum of Modern Art, not long before closing. There we saw:

After a long day of walking around Munich, we were tired so Milena took us to her favorite Italian cafe for a coffee.

Then, we saw the Hofbrauhaus but went to a more authentic German pub across the street for dinner. Bill ate a traditional German meal which Milena said is eaten during the fall to celebrate the end of the harvest season. And we had large drinks.