Europe

Andrea’s Thoughts: Better Late than Never to The Netherlands

As the world started to fall apart in February 2020, I was all but certain it would not impact our trip to Belgium and The Netherlands. April was a couple of months away, and there was plenty of time for things to settle down. As we all know now, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Two years later we decided to try again. This time, however, there was a little more apprehension. Would we have to quarantine upon arrival? Where…

Continue Reading “Andrea’s Thoughts: Better Late than Never to The Netherlands”

Discovering Amsterdam from Land and Canals

Amsterdam is the largest city in The Netherlands and has a rich history as an industrial and economic leader. This shows in some of the unique ways the city has reinvented itself over the years. While there is much to see in this city, we toured the city in an afternoon knowing we were missing a lot. To get to the center of Amsterdam from our hotel, we would normally ride the train and be there in ten minutes. This…

Continue Reading “Discovering Amsterdam from Land and Canals”

The Netherlands: Windmills, Cheese, and Clogs

One of the iconic symbols of The Netherlands is the windmill. Windmills have dotted the Dutch landscape for a long time. While visitors see them as a picturesque part of the landscape, The Dutch understand them to be a vital part of their history and development. They were used mainly to pump water out of low lying lands as the country sought to reclaim land for agriculture. This use allowed the country to become a major economic powerhouse a few…

Continue Reading “The Netherlands: Windmills, Cheese, and Clogs”

Zaanse Schans: Experiencing the Unique Dutch Culture

When we returned from our trip to the Keukenhof Gardens, The bus dropped us off at the Amsterdam train station. From there we decided to explore a little bit of Amsterdam since tomorrow we would visit the Dutch village of Zaanse Schans. Amsterdam was bustling with people. We weren’t sure if this was typical or just because it was vacation week for so many people. There seemed to be large groups of young people around. We saw some old buildings,…

Continue Reading “Zaanse Schans: Experiencing the Unique Dutch Culture”

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…

Continue Reading “Tulip Time at the Netherland’s Keukenhof Gardens”

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…

Continue Reading “Bruges, Belgium: City of Canals, Churches, and Chocolate”

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.…

Continue Reading “Ghent, Belgium: Staying on the Edge of a Canal”

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…

Continue Reading “Lessons Learned While Traveling With My Dad”

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…

Continue Reading “Iceland Interlude: Returning to Reykjavik for Final Days”