Senior Trip

I decided to take Everett to Europe for his senior trip. Shey took us to the airport on Sunday and we got on the first flight of the day to Amsterdam. There was only one seat in first class, so it went to Everett, as it is his gift.

We arrived in Amsterdam very early Monday morning and took the train from the airport to downtown. We decided to get a tram ticket for the day and walk about the city with the locals and soak up the culture and architecture. Bikes are EVERYWHERE here!! (as most places other places in the world)







We enjoyed sitting and watching all the different types of bikes with every walk of person riding them. We also checked out the house boats on the canal and several of the cool cathedrals. We walked down to the place where Anne Frank was hidden during World War II, but the line was crazy and we decided, very quickly, to avoid that tourist trap.





. We then strolled past the Van Gogh museum and noted the line was very short. We went in and enjoyed the large collection of his work….and the a/c and checking our backpacks, so our shoulders could have a break. :>)

We ate chocolate and snacked all day on the goodies from the shops in the train station. There are wooden shoes, windmills in the city, lots of chocolate shops and hash shops out the wazoo.

We soon had had enough of the city and headed to the train station much earlier than I expected. Ah, a train though the country side is amazing. We are riding with the locals and giving ourselves a lovely tour of the huge selection of community gardens. The farms are amazingly green and well organized. Every apartment building has a community garden behind it with divided sections for the tenants.

Everett passed out for part of train ride. Air conditioned and very comfortable.

Train station in Antwerp.
We stopped in Antwerp, which was another large city, and strolled around a bit before continuing on toward Brugge.

Once in Brugge I was worried about finding a place to stay during peak season, so we set out to find a small hotel. On the first street we walked down, we came across this perfect little family owned budget hotel.

Serious double windows!
After visiting with the hotel owners and a few older local gentlemen, we strolled through the town streets in search of a small cafe.

Canals are everywhere here. (even through the farm land that we saw by train)



We settled on a small cafe serving fish and chips and strong beer, which meant I would sleep very good tonight!

We are thoroughly enjoying our time here and are looking forward to a relaxing day of visiting the monastery and riding bikes tomorrow. (hint: The hotel owner has a locally made steel framed bike, which he is proud to say has all components created locally in western europe.....in other words, nothing from asia. That should make Shey drool!)

***