Two weeks ago, I was thinking how odd it was for everyone’s bags to be out in the hallway awaiting pickup while we were still settled into our stateroom. Sunday night was our turn to put out our bags. Each … Continue reading Ending in Amsterdam.
It was strange seeing all luggage lining the halls on Sunday night and ours was not there. Others were wrapped up in packing, we were not but could enjoy the evening. On Monday Morning when we went to a fashionably … Continue reading Amsterdam Turnaround — “Flip a Ship.”
We are onboard and underway, on our cruise to Iceland and Greenland. But we weren’t sure that this would happen. I had complications from surgery the week before we left for Amsterdam and I didn’t get clearance from the docs … Continue reading Rising to Sea Level, the North Sea Canal.
Here are the promised pics from Amsterdam’s Canals on an absolutely beautiful day taken from the hop on/hop off cruise. Continue reading Amsterdam Canals
Our Cruise to Iceland and Greenland leaves from Amsterdam. Given the vagaries of Alaska weather and our desire to avoid jet lag on the cruise we arrived in Amsterdam with four nights and three days to acclimatize. Amsterdam is … Continue reading Amsterdam Thoughts
Valkenburg is perhaps the most unique, and possibly the most interesting, Christmas Market in Europe. I have been back to this market in The Netherlands three times now. The first two times with our friends Dave and Carol Lam. (The … Continue reading Valkenburg Christmas Market, 2014
Our friends Dave and Carol Lam took us to Baarle when we were working in the Balkans. We wondered about the possibility of ever being able to draw borders that reflected ethnic realities. Dave said he had something he wanted to show us, the municipality of Baarle in Belgium, or is it the Netherlands? The map of Europe has many geographic anomalies. But one of the strangest borders runs through Baarle. The town is divided between the countries, Baarle-Nassau is Dutch and Baarle-Hertog is Belgian. The dividing line is anything but straight, or rational. The border was set in the Treaty … Continue reading Soft Borders, Belgium and the Netherlands at Baarle.
“God made the earth, the Dutch made Holland.” But they didn’t need an environmental impact statement. During my day long layover in Amsterdam my friend Dave Lam drove up from Brussels and we went to visit two old (you could … Continue reading When the Sea Goes Away, Marken and Volendam, Netherlands.
May 11, 2010 Dear Friends, On Friday afternoons I would go to my grandparents’ flat in Jersey City while my parents had their night out. Grandpa Brew would tell me stories. He was raised in Ireland, ran away to sea … Continue reading Iron and Glass, Flowers and Trains
You can find the text for this post under Iron and Glass, Flowers and Trains. Continue reading Keukenhof Tulip Fields, Netherlands
Text for this post appears under Iron and Glass, Flowers and Trains. Continue reading Keukenhof Gardens, The Netherlands
