Thursday, April 15--Bring on the Windmills!

Today is the official half-way point of our sabbatical! We've done so much, it's hard to fathom that we're only half way through this adventure!

We have decided to scrap our plans of going to Bruges. In talking with Mary, we realized we would be spending about six hours on the train in order to spend a few hours in Bruges and that just didn't seem to be a wise use of our time. So Bruges will have to wait for another trip.

Since we had been wanting to do some biking, Mary and Rene suggested we take a harbor cruise boat to Kinderdijk-where there are 19 historic working windmills and paths to ride bikes safely without the threat of cars, scooters, or cobblestone streets. So with Mary as our guide,we set off this morning to the harbor, and took the one hour ride to Kinderdijk. Usually, people get off the boat, stay for an hour and then return to Rotterdam, but we planned to stay longer and take a later boat back. It was a little chilly when we first got there so we decided to pass on the bikes and just walk around looking at the windmills and canals. After about an hour, we returned to the bike rental to find the bikes were all gone. So then we decided to just catch the early boat back—but when we got to the dock, that was gone too. We decided to make the most of things and went to find some lunch and a beer! After a lunch of Dutch pancakes, we found that bikes were again available and we rented two bikes and rode around about an hour. The bikes were pretty rustic, but we enjoyed the scenery and found lots of nice easy paths to follow. One thing about Holland, it's really flat and great for riding-even old clunker bikes! We finished our ride, had time for another beer before the boat left and enjoyed a relaxing, sunny ride back to Rotterdam.

We wanted to treat Mary Sue and Rene to dinner. Given our interest in the Dutch resistance, Mary Sue suggested we eat at a 100-year-old restaurant, the Pijp (“pipe”), where Dutch students gathered during the war to plot resistance efforts against the Nazis. The place has a great, old dingy atmosphere with ties by the hundreds hanging from the rafters, which had been donated by frat boys over the years, even to today. The food was great—we all had seafood.

After dinner we went home with the intention of relaxing and doing some final visiting, as we are leaving pretty early tomorrow to train back to the Amsterdam airport to catch our flight to Copenhagen. But when we got home and turned on the TV, we learned that all the airports in Northern Europe were closed because of volcanic ash in the air from the volcano in Iceland, making flying unsafe. So we got online and started working feverishly—all four of us—trying to figure out train connections from Rotterdam to Copenhagen, so that we could avoid going back to the zoo that is surely going on in Amsterdam, with thousands of stranded passengers trying to get on airplanes, or trains. We have Eurail passes for Germany, Denmark, Austria and Italy. All we need to do is get to the German border with a ticket from Rotterdam, and we already have purchased tickets to get us from Germany to Copenhagen, by using our pass. With the great help of Rene and Mary Sue, we got our make-shift train itinerary figured out, knowing that we need to get a 7:05 train to take us ultimately to the German border. They printed of train schedules for us, and we packed up our things and said goodbye to Rene. Mary Sue is going to accompany us to the tram to Central Station in the morning, which is really kind of her!

Wednesday, April 14--Welcome to Rotterdam!

Hetty had told us last night that she had to leave the hotel about 9:00 a.m. to go to Central Station by tram, and said that we could come with her if we wanted. Even though she said it was “very easy” we took her up on her offer, as nothing is easy when you're unfamiliar with the little things like having exact change for the tram, using the ticket machine at the airport that won't take credit cards, how to find where to go in a train station where the signage scheme assumes you go through that station daily. It was really nice to have Hetty's help, as she made our process of getting tickets to Rotterdam seamless; without her help, we would have gotten the job done, but probably only after a good half hour of trial-and-error frustration.

So on we traveled to Rotterdam, passing through tulip fields that we weren't expecting, so the camera didn't make it out of the bag until we'd passed the best views of the many colors of tulips, but we did get one picture. They were amazing. We saw a couple of old windmills, too, and hoped to see more before we left the Netherlands. After about an hour train trip, we got to Rotterdam. Mary had given us her address and directions to their home, which is in the center of Rotterdam and only a few blocks from Central Station, so we set out. We got directions from a couple people along the way, but found our way to Mary's door, complete with her name on their doorbell. She came to the door and we told her we were the homeless Americans that she was waiting for. She was every bit as warm and welcoming as her brother Steve, one of my law partners, had said she would be!

We went into the home Mary shares with her husband, Renee, who is a native of Rotterdam and relaxed and visited. Renee was at work. Mary Sue had been at the University of South Dakota at the same time we were there in the early 70's but we hadn't known each other. But South Dakota being what it is, we had many mutual friends, not to mention Mary's brother Steve, and her other two brothers who I'd met through Steve. So we had more than enough to talk about, including over the great soup and sandwich lunch Mary prepared for us.

We rested for a couple of hours then the three of us set out on a little walking tour of downtown Rotterdam. As we'd learned from the Dutch Resistance Museum yesterday, Rotterdam was flattened by German bombs in May of 1940, so unlike most cities of Europe, the buildings are mostly new, with her modern architecture almost seeming to make a determined, if not defiant, statement of moving on. We were glad to see that there are parts of the city that survived the bombings, so some of the beautiful, old architecture remains. We walked to the port and watched ships and boats coming and going. Our little grandsons, Alex and Gabe, would have really gotten a big kick out of that. Rotterdam is the second biggest port in the world and is quite busy! On the way home, we stopped in a little shop that sells marijuana and hash-which are legal here. It was quite busy also!

When we got back to the house, Rene was home from work. He works as a draftsman for the City of Rotterdam. With all of the building that continues to go on still, after the bombings of WW II, Rene keeps very busy. Job security! We had a great dinner that Mary prepared. She's a terrific cook, having honed her skills at the Wine 'N Del in Vermillion. It was so good to have a home-made meal after so many restaurant dinners! After dinner, Renee rented a “Green Car” so that we could take a little driving tour of Rotterdam in the twilight. Because they live in the center of the city, where cars are a hassle, they don't own one! When they need or want a car, they go online and reserve a car that is parked in their neighborhood, take it for, say, an hour, and return it to its parking spot. The car is accessed with a card that you swipe across a chip that is in the windshield. Really slick! And, as they say, “green.” In their daily routines, they get around the city by walking, public transportation or bicycle. We found ourselves envious of being able to get around that way, and not having the trouble and expense of owning several cars!

We look forward to seeing more of the area around Rotterdam tomorrow!

Tuesday, April 13--the Dutch Resistance

Today was "Nazi Day" for us. Picking up with our love of history (more than visual art), we decided to focus today on World War II history. We toured the Dutch Resistance Museum, which was a wonderful, if not tragic telling of the various ways in which the Dutch resisted the Nazis after Germany bombarded Rotterdam in May, 1940. The Germans had thought they would take over the Netherlands in one day. The stubborn Dutch fought hard and lasted four days, but were just too small and inept to defend themselves against the powerful Germany. So after the German invasion, the Dutch resisted through strikes, and demonstrations of support for their deposed Dutch government which was in exile in England. The Dutch also resisted the Nazis by, among other things, forging documents to conceal Jews, hiding Jews and others who were targeted by the Nazis other courageous forms of resistance. The exhibit interjected various moral dilemmas that faced the Dutch. Do you give up your government job in protest to the new German government, or do you stay and try to do your best to protect your fellow citizens? Is it okay to lie when you believe the Government is not serving the best interests of your fellow citizens?

The exhibit ended by admonishing us against intolerance in all of its forms, whether based on race, religion or sexual orientation, or whatever else. Everyone I know decries the Nazis. But isn't Nazism just an extreme form of intolerance that we either reject or embrace in more subtle forms every day? It makes one think.

We stopped for a nice lunch right next door to the museum, and across from the Artis Zoo, where some Jews were hidden in dwellings kept for animals, and fed by the zookeepers. Then we used a booklet we'd bought at the museum to trace the route to the Anne Frank House, viewing various sites along the way of incidents that took place during the Nazi occupation, including memorials to dock strikers, locations where clashes took place between pro- and anti-Nazi factions, where day care providers would smuggle out Jewish babies and children that were awaiting deportation take them into hiding; and where the Nazis cracked down and started rounding up the Jews for deportation. Ultimately, we ended up at the Anne Frank House and Museum. Of course, we all know the story by seeing the play or reading the diary of Anne Frank. But it was powerfully sobering to walk through the rooms and reflect on the lives of Anne and her family and friends—8 in all, who hid in less than 1,000 square feet of “living” quarters for 25 months before someone ratted on them and they were arrested. Anne and her sister Margot died of typhus in a concentration camp only weeks before the Allies liberated the camps. The only survivor in Anne's family was her father, Otto. It was a compelling tour, for sure.

We didn't feel like going out to eat yet again, and were working on our blog when I asked the 48-year-old son of our host, Earnest, if there was a way to order in a pizza. I was joking, but he said of course, and proceeded to go online and order pizza for us! He offered us wine, and we ended up spending the evening visiting with him, his girlfriend, Hetty, and our fellow guests as they came back from dinner. It was really a fun, enjoyable evening of local color and good company, without having to go out! This is truly a charmed trip!

Tomorrow we leave Amsterdam, and take the train to Rotterdam, where we will be graciously taken in by the sister of one of my partners, Steve Siegel. We've not met Mary Sue and her husband, but Steve suggested we get to know each other while we're in the Netherlands, so I'm sure this will be another great chapter in our European adventure!

Monday, April 12--Damn! We're in Amsterdam!

Our bed-and-breakfast-like hotel got us off to a good start with Dutch omelettes that Mary made for us, along with great breads, cereals, and coffee, along with good conversation with the other guests, who were American and Australian. So the conversation came easy, and it was fun to compare notes about travel experiences, plans, etc. This being Monday, it must be wash day! We had a bag full of laundry to do, so off we went to the laundry about a mile or so away, where we left our bag of clothes. We had to pre-pay, and had to pay in cash. The bill was 10.20 euro, and I had a 10 euro bill, and a 50 euro bill, and no coins. The woman who was going to do our laundry, who was very friendly, didn't want to make change for a 50 euro, and after close questioning of us to confirm that we don't have any change, waived the 20 cents. That was nice of her, but that said, she made it seem like she was having to knock off 1/3 of the price!

Then we were off on our first day of Amsterdam travel, using Rick Steeves' city walking tour recommendations. It was fun and entertaining, seeing the sites, but also the people. The hosts here at our hotel tell us that this is the prime tourist season for Amsterdam because of the tulips blooming. Whatever it is, people are everywhere, and lots of tourists, but we haven't personally seen that many American tourists.

The weather was sunny today, so it was a nice day to walk around Amsterdam. And walk, and walk, and walk we did. I was wishing I'd had a pedometer, as I think we must have walked 10 miles today, including the touring of the city and the going back to pick up our laundry. One of the things we saw was the Van Gogh museum We arrived at the museum at 5:00 and it closes at 6:00 but there was only one lady in line ahead of us. We thought we were in good shape until we realized she was buying 75 tickets!!!! She must have been a tour guide or something and she and the ticket lady were having a nice little chat as we watched our precious minutes ticking away. Neither of us are very knowledgeable with regards to art, so we still had ample time to see all that we needed to see in the time remaining.

For dinner, a friend of ours suggested that an Indonesian Rijsttafel would be a good experience, so we went to Bojos, which is a famous Indonesian restaurant that's been here for many years. It was very good, and put Indonesian food on our radar. Incidentally, Indonesia is a former dutch colony, hence the Indonesian influence that permeates Amsterdam.

We came back to our room after dinner and re-grouped. Then, itching to see the much-ballyhooed nightlife, we took off--again, on foot--to see the red light district and the coffee shops. By way of disclaimer, we did NOT go into any coffee shops and didn't spend any money--ahem--in the red light district! We were in the district at night, but not late--about 10:30 p.m. Then we walked back to our hotel and drug our tired legs and feet to bed! By the way, there is plenty of public transportation available for the visitors here. But because we are out of our fitness center routine from home, and are wanting to enjoy the food and beers of the areas, we feel compelled to get our exercising by walking. And here's our plug for Keen: Bev's wearing Keen sandals and I am wearing my Keen casual shoes. They are MONEY! Like the line from "The Big Chill," I feel like Nick: "I love these shoes. I'm never taking them off."

Sunday, April 11

Last night was a short night, but we bid Ireland good-bye and were with our packs on our backs heading to the airport bright and early! Must be our age, but it felt good to be there with plenty of time to spare and not have to worry about getting there on time. Much less stressful.

We arrive in Amsterdam and once again, everything is new and different and once again, we are stupid and don't know how to do anything! We can't read any signs, but must figure out how to buy train tickets to city center, which train, when to get off, which street car to take to our hotel, and on and on. Again, stressful, but we feel really good when we get it all accomplished and we do arrive at our hotel, which is really more like a bed and breakfast run by Mary DeVries and her daughter, Hanneke. Our room, up a small spiral staircase, is bright, and delightful, over-looking the garden in the back. It is quite a large room with an ancient fireplace. Hanneke gives us good advice on what to do tonight and we set out for a drink and a little something to eat. We walk to the flower market, take a canal cruise and end up having a traditional Dutch dinner of sausage, meatball and bacon served with mashed potatoes mixed with mashed vegetables or sauerkraut with, of course, beer--Heineken now instead of Guinness.

One has to be very careful in Amsterdam. There are a million bicycles going everywhere. So you have to watch out for bikes, scooters, cars, and streetcars as well as uneven cobblestones and doggy poop! We'll be lucky to survive Amsterdam! As great as Ireland was, it is exciting to be in a new country, where we've never been!

Saturday, April 10

After a traditional Irish breakfast of a fried egg, sausage, black and white pudding (other flavors of sausage), soda bread (we are going to miss that when we leave Ireland!) and tomato (never figured that out as a breakfast item, but oh well!), we walked to the Rock of Cashel and bought tickets for the self-guided tour of the ancient chapel, fort and round tower that sit high on a hill in Cashel. It was interesting, although we're getting a little tired of castle tours, so it must be time to leave Ireland. And indeed it is.

We left Cashel for Dublin. The plan is to return the rental car to the Dan Dooley Car Rental at the airport, then return via shuttle bus to downtown Dublin for one final afternoon and night in Dublin before we leave for Amsterdam tomorrow. The plan worked well, with the minor exception that we missed the correct turnoff from the M50, which is a new freeway looping around Dublin. Our Garmin was worthless for the trip from Cashel to Dublin, as most of the roads we took, the M8 and M50, were freeways which are unknown to our Garmin (who we not-so-affectionately refer to as “Lucy” because there are many times that Lucy has some “splain' to do” as Ricky Ricardo would say. The good news was that because we missed our turnoff in the roundabout, we ended up filling our tank further away from the car rental place. We found our way to Dan Dooley, and drove by the gas station next door, which charged 10 cents more per litre than what we paid. There's a little silver lining in the mistakes of travel, if you just look for them!

We are proud to say that we returned the car without a blemish—thanks to the grace of God and/or my quick reaction to Bev's yelling “Look out!” during the first two minutes of our rental last week, when I almost pulled in front of someone. So two trips to Ireland, and driving a total of more than two weeks “on the wrong side of the road” and we have a clean driving record! I'm still glad we bought the insurance, however! It was worth the peace of mind! My advice to others who are renting a car in Ireland: Don't even think about saving a little money and driving a stick shift! I learned how to drive on a stick shift and I have not problem with that when the stick is on the right side. Trying to learn to shift left handed, while having to drive on the left side of the road, is a recipe for disaster! Pay the few extra bucks and get an automatic transmission, and enjoy your ride!

We got a shuttle from Dan Dooley to the airport, dropped a couple of small bags at a bag drop across from the terminal, for 4.75 euro each, and caught the local service bus downtown with our backpacks. We checked back into the Mercer Hotel, where we stayed last week when we first got to Dublin, and lo and behold, ended up in the same room as we had last week! We then scoped out where we would catch the airport shuttle bus tomorrow morning for our return to the airport to catch our flight to Amsterdam. Then we walked around on Grafton Street, which was packed with Saturday pedestrians enjoying a beautiful weekend day in the City! There were street musicians and entertainers all over. It was a fun, people-watching experience. We found a sidewalk cafe for lunch. They're not exactly in short supply on a day like this in Dublin. The only problem is that, since smoking is not allowed in bars and restaurants (yes, including pubs!) in Ireland, the smokers eat outside. But since it is outside, and Dublin is breezy, it wasn't really a problem for us non-smokers to eat our lunch. I broke down and ordered a cheeseburger, and Bev had a chicken salad sandwich. They were huge, and my burger was good! So I got my burger fix, which may have to last me until we get back to the states on June 1! I'm a big fan of a good burger, but I'm guessing that the food in Italy will be a good substitute!

We went to evening Mass at a church one block from our hotel. The small number of people at Mass was alarming, and we did not see a single family with small children there. The only people there were little old ladies, a few old men, a middle-aged couple collecting money for a disadvantaged children's charity, and Bev and me. Amazing! Of course, as uninspiring as the music and the Mass was, if that's what we had to put up with every week, we'd stay home too! Very sad!

After Mass, we went to Saint Stephen's Green, a famous Dublin park only a couple blocks from our hotel. The weather was spectacular; the blossoms are popping out, a lot of tulips and other flowers in bloom and the trees are starting to bud. People were out in force, enjoying the park. It sure (finally) feels like Spring! They close the park at 7:30 p.m., so we were ushered out and went to the Temple Bar area for dinner and one final night of Irish music and gaiety in Dublin. The bars were packed with noise and people, and we weren't hungry for more pub food anyway, so we found a little Italian restaurant on a side street and shared a lasagna and each had a side salad. It was a perfect amount of food, and really good. I asked the beautiful young woman who was serving us if she was from Italy. She said no, she was from Romania. As good as this Italian food was, like the pizza last night, I'm guessing the chef must've been from Romania too.

After dinner, it was back to Gogarty's Pub in Temble Bar, where our Dublin nightlife had started 10 days earlier. The band up on the second floor was as good as those the first night. The crowd was a very international crowd. The guys standing along the wall next to us were from Norway and the couple on the other side of us were from Dublin. Fun was had by all! We are definitely going to miss this part Ireland, for sure!

All in all, I did not expect to fall in love with Dublin, but I did! Can't wait to come back in a couple years!

Friday, April 9

We said goodbye to Kinsale this morning. We should put in a plug for the Trident Hotel, recommended to us by Pat Preston. The rates were reasonable (and our upgrade made it even better!), and the rate included a full Irish breakfast, including a full cold buffet, plus several hot meal choices made to order. The restaurant was mostly windows overlooking the harbor, yachts, hills in the background. You get the idea! It was a great way to start the day!

We headed West along the coast out of Kinsale, doing a drive-by of the famous golf course, Old Head, which juts out into the Atlantic. Beautiful, as shown on the photo. But I can't imagine that course not always being windy! I would think a good South Dakota golfer would get along well there!

We proceeded along the coast to the West, seeing one beautiful vista after another, with views of the Atlantic on one side and the serenely green and rolling hills on the other. We had heard that the drive from Kenmare to Killarney was beautiful, with its views of the lakes of Killarney, so that was our way point. We'd planned to get to Cashel tonight, then on to Dublin tomorrow. We drove to Bantry Bay, which was gorgeous; then on to a charming little coastal town of Glengarriff. We were ready for lunch, and so, of course, we HAD to stop at Casey's Hotel and Restaurant. Knowing we couldn't go wrong with seafood chowder and soda bread, we each ordered that, and it didn't disappoint. I was going to ask to speak to one of the Caseys there to see if they were related to me, but we were a little pressed for time, and since Casey is like a Johnson where we come from, I didn't pursue geneology there. Instead, we proceeded to Kenmare, then on to Killarney through the Killarney National Forest, making many short stops along the way to take photos of the breathtaking beauty.

It was the longest day of driving we've had in Ireland, but it was beautiful, and whetted our appetite to come back to the area on our next trip to Ireland. We're thinking that it would be good to base out of Killarney next time and spend a week. This is a popular area of Ireland for tourists, and for good reason!

We arrived in Cashel, as planned, and found a room in our first B&B of the trip, the Cashel House, located on a tiny side street off of Main Street. Our purpose in being here is to see the Rock of Cashel, recommended by our friend Sean Breen, and Yvonne, the owner of our hotel in Kilkenny. Cashel House is modest, and our room was, at our request, on the top floor of a three-story old home. The accommodations were clean and comfortable; nothing to write home about but certainly fine for our need for an overnight bed, bath and Irish breakfast. We walked around Cashel tonight, walked up to the Rock of Cashel and took some photos of the site, as well as the ancient abbey below, which was beautiful in the evening sun. We then went back downtown, looking for a place to eat that looked good. We were in the mood for pizza, not having had it since leaving the states. We checked menus along main street, and found the Oasis. As we were perusing the menu on the street, some people were going in, so I asked them if the Oasis was a good place to eat. The said they'd not been there before, but that it was recommended to them. Good enough! Up the stairs we went, to find a very nice Italian ambiance. Though all we ordered was pizza and a salad, they were both wonderful. The salad was very fresh, and the pizza crust was thin and flaky. Though we haven't yet been to Italy, this has to be how the Italians make pizza. After all, the chef is from Romania! Go figure.