Europe

Tulip Time at the Netherland’s Keukenhof Gardens

Tuesday it was time to leave Belgium and head to Amsterdam for the main purpose of our journey, seeing the famous Dutch tulips in the Keukenhof Gardens. However, first we had to get there. We traveled by train. We planned a route that was to have two transfers of trains. Of course things happen. As our first train headed towards Antwerp, it was delayed a few stops before Antwerp. We didn’t know why as we couldn’t understand the explanation. Then…

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Bruges, Belgium: City of Canals, Churches, and Chocolate

The reason we decided to start our trip in Belgium was to visit the town of Bruges. Andrea had discovered interesting reviews of the town and decided it was a place to visit. The center of town has the distinction of being on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a medieval city. It has become a major tourist destination for Belgium. Bruges is only about a 30 minute train ride from Ghent. When we got on the train, it was…

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Ghent, Belgium: Staying on the Edge of a Canal

In 2020 my daughter Andrea and I had plans to visit the tulip fields of the Netherlands. We planned to go during her spring break from school. We had all our reservations made, but then COVID hit. Our plans flew out the window as we scrambled to at least get our money back. This year we finally made good on those plans from two years ago. However, we made some modifications by starting in Belgium. Our first stop was Ghent.…

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Lessons Learned While Traveling With My Dad

After our Interlude in Iceland, I asked my daughter Andrea to write a blog post about traveling with me. I thought my readers might be interested in a different perspective on my travels. She agreed so below is her post about our trip. The photos are also hers with a little editing from me. Enjoy. It had been over a year since I had added a stamp to my passport, and I was itching to get away. Iceland hadn’t been…

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Iceland Interlude: Returning to Reykjavik for Final Days

Saturday started out with a bit of a drizzle as we prepared to make our way back to Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik. When we entered Iceland, we didn’t stick around the capital as we had so much to see, but now we would head there for our last few hours in Iceland. As I was packing up, I kept hearing this loud sound from behind our cabin. I looked out the window and saw this fellow looking for food with his…

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Iceland Interlude: Glaciers by Land and Sea

Friday morning we decided not to push ourselves for an early start. We had a glacier tour scheduled for 3:30 in the afternoon, and we felt we had plenty of time to make it there. It was nice to relax and not feel in such a hurry in the morning. Trips like this, where there is so much to see and do, can become tiring. Once we got going we didn’t go too far at first. Just a few miles…

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Iceland Interlude: Over, Under, and Behind Waterfalls.

Thursday morning we woke to mostly cloudy skies, but we saw a few patches of blue sky so we had hope that maybe the day would not be all gray. Today we would be traveling east with a number of waterfalls on our list. We packed up our car and headed out. Before we got too far, we drove to the other side of the river from our cabin to see a waterfall. If you love waterfalls, then Iceland is…

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Iceland Interlude: Hiking Success in Landmannalaugar

We woke up Wednesday to the usual grey skies. We packed our backpacks as today we were going on a hike. Andrea had booked a hike up into the colorful mountains of Landmannalaugar. It would be an all day adventure. After my near accident yesterday, I wasn’t sure if I should be going on this hike. However, when I woke up and moved around, I didn’t really feel much pain, just some stiffness so I thought I would be OK…

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Iceland Interlude: The Wonders of the Golden Circle

Tuesday morning dawned with gray skies just like yesterday. Today would be another busy travel day with lots to see so we got up, packed our bags, and left fairly early. Our destination was the Golden Circle, Iceland’s best known tourist area. However, before we left. we drove to the nearby town of Borgarnes to get some breakfast and fill up our gas tank. Tank and tummies full, we were on our way. Two days before we had crossed the…

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Iceland Interlude: Sites of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula

The previous night’s blue skies had disappeared by the next morning, and we awoke to gray, cloudy skies on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. A peek out the window revealed that the local sheep were resting in front of our cabin. Things seemed quiet and peaceful, but not all was as it seemed. Andrea had awakened before me and decided she wanted to go back to the beach to do some beach combing. As she was going down, the birds from the…

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