5-8 Farewell Amsterdam (Sue)

Our last day in Amsterdam.  A bittersweet time indeed.  We are ready to get back and see our families, but we are going to certainly miss our wonderful family in Amsterdam.  We have gotten to know Elle and Maya so much better, and with tears in our eyes we have both held them closely and felt all of their love.  They are amazing, beautiful girls.  Now the parents - ahhhh, I kid.  They are amazing parents and people and we are so grateful that we have had this time to spend with them.  They are indeed such gracious hosts.

So on to the day.  Betty had the pleasure of riding "Old Crappy" (that would be Paul's old bicycle) to school with Deb and the girls.  She survived and came home with the best almond croissants I have ever had.  We had planned to shop for the few last items we needed before packing, but first needed to check in for our flights on Wednesday.  Sue - no problem.  Betty - oops - her flights had been cancelled. After many frustrating  hang-ups from British Airways, she was finally able to get to speak to someone in England, and figured out that  because her flight here was delayed from San Diego, they had rebooked her to another flight, but she caught the original (confusing, I know).  Anyways, by 2 pm, she was able to contact the States, and all was fixed.  The only glitch - she cannot check in on line, we will have to do that at the airport.  So we took off for our shopping trip to Albert Cuyp (outdoor shopping market) and bought all our treasures (including another suitcase for Sue who not only has 3 daughters, and 2 granddaughters to buy for, but also is taking home treasures for Grandma and Auntie Gail.)  Anyways, we have successfully fit everything into our suitcases and awaited Paul's return from work with the Thai food we ordered.  YUMMY.   A viewing of Elle's concert in Edinborough was our last family activity (it was absolutely awesome), a family photo, and time to toast our last beer (Betty finished her wine bottle already) to a great, great vacation.

 An early morning awaits us - we will leave here by 7:30 a.m. for our 10:30 a.m. flights.  And back to the good ol' USA.

This time spend with my niece's family and my sister, Betty, has beeen a dream come true for me.  Thanks for sticking with us, we appreciate your caring and hope you enjoyed a little insight into my vacation of a lifetime.

5-7 Amsterdam to Keukenhof (Sue)

The day began bright (well not really) and early to take Deisel Derrick back to his home.  He was a good and faithful pal for the last 5 days and took good care of us.  Betty & I walked home from the Hertz rental place through Vondell Park, amazed at all the people on bikes going to work and school.  A stop at the corner bakery seemed appropriate, so of course we had croissants, cappiciano and coffee for breakfast.  The adventure of the day was a trip to the wold famous Keunkenhof.  So what is Keukenhof? It is a tulip park that has more than seven million flowers and  is amazingly beautiful.  We spent 3 hours strolling among the beautiful flower beds, climbing the windmill and taking pictures.  (Betty will be posting pictures that will better describe this amazing place).  It was a wonderful day, however, our legs and feet were getting tired.  We returned to the Dixon house, cooked dinner for the family, and gathered around the kitchen table for a few beers and great conversation.  Last day - tomorrow - what will it bring? 

5-6 Beilstein to Amsterdam (Sue)

We are back in Amsterdam in the loving home of neice Deb and her family.....but it sure was difficult to leave the Mosel River Valley.  We had our last delicious German breakfast provided by the Lipmann family.  Betty took some pictures which will be posted to show you the beauty and elegance of this room and also our innkeeper, David.  So we packed up, continued to look out at our view and imprint it in our minds.  We reluctantly made our journey to check-out.  David was there with his German hospitality to wish us well.  His father, Joachim, was also there and I spoke with him a bit.  He gave the business over to his son David and his wife, Anna, about 5 years ago.  David and his family now live in the main house and the grandparents have moved up the hill.  Joachim still comes down to do the night shift, so David and his hardworking wife and 2 kids can retire early.  You must leave your key if you leave the building and ring the bell when you return.  So they must stay up until everyone is home.  Joachim says rarely are people out past 10 or 11.  It's just not what the place is about.  People are there to relax and rest - not party and carry one.  After a sad good bye, we started off on our 4 hour drive to Amsterdam.  Tina and Derrick got us here, without fail, even though we drove through lots and lots of rain.  The girls were happy to see us, as we were to see them.  We have been relaxing, had a wonderful dinner served by dear Deb, and are about to go through some pictures.  Need to figure out what the last 2 days in Amsterdam will bring......stay tuned.    Early night - good night.

5-5 Beilstein to Cochem (Sue)

Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain and then more rain.  That was the weather for Saturday in the Mosel River Valley - but it takes more than a few downpours to stop us from enjoying our last full day in Germany.  After another wonderful breakfast at the Hotel Haus Lipman we ventured into the Markplatz and continued up Furst-Metternich-Strasse which leads to the Klostertreppe.  While the population of this former monastery and beautiful church is down to one Carmelite monk, Rome continues to support this handsome Catholic church.  It was amazingly gorgeous inside (pictures to follow) and it was set up for a wedding.  After enjoying the interior and some more great views, we descended the stairs on the other side of the church and were treated to the lovely smell of the lilacs that we passed on the way down. 

Drivin' Derrick wanted to take a little drive today so we ventured 10 km up river to the largest city in the area, Cochem.  The town seems to have grown quickly due to tourism, and we were a  bit disappointed at how commercialized it seemed.  We have become very comfortable in our quiet, sleepy town of Beilstein, where you have to ring the bell to come back into the hotel after 10 pm. We walked through the Cochem town square, but really couldn't enjoy much due to the constant rain.  We took the shuttle bus (along with a group of loud, obnoxious Poles) up to the Cochem Castle (Reichberg Cochem).  What a beautiful castle.  The tour was given only in German, but they provided English explanation sheets.  Our guide, who was spectuacular, was kind enough to point alot of it out in English also.  We both agreed that this was the best tour and castle we have seen.  We had hoped to ride the Sesselbah chairlift and explore Cochem a bit more, but the weather was just not cooperative.  So trusty Derrick took us home to a few more Bitburger beers and another bottle of wine for Betty.  We have so fallen in love with this place that we decided to have dinner here again.  We had cream of asparagus soup, weinerschneitzer, fried potatoes, salat, and chocolate pudding (we split the special).  Back to the room to fulfill our nightly correspondence.  We skyped with the Dixon's, and we are looking forward to being back with them.  It continues to rain this evening....as we spend our last night in the homeland.  Thank you Deutschland - we have so enjoyed our time here.

5-4 Beilstein - Burg Eltz - Boppard (Sue)

We have officially taken our sister-rolls....I have become the correspondent and Betty is the photographer.  So you will probably be hearing my ramblings for the rest of our trip.

Today was a beautiful day in the Mosel and Rhine River Valleys (yes we made it to both).  We started our day with an amazing breakfast at Hotel Haus Lipmann.  I keep saying it, but the rooms they served breakfast in were very impressive with all their antique weaponry and items.  We then took our hike up to Burg Metternich which is directly behind the small village of Beilstein.  The ascent was beautiful and a bit taxing, but we made it fine.  When we arrived at the entrance we realized we forgot money  -- oops -- so Betty (the younger, of course) offered to go back to the hotel room for the money.  It seriously was only a 10 minutes trip, but she had to ascend those inclines and steps again and was huffing by the time she got back.  The castle is in ruins, but offers picturesque views and a great hike.  We then joined our friends Drivin' Derrick (car) and Tina Tom-Tom and took off for Burg Eltz, Rick Steve's favorite castle in all of Europe.  It is over 700 years old, has never been destroyed and remains in the same family.  They maintain a residence there and offer a great tour.  We walked down the very steep road to get to the castle (it is actually in the valley - weird), but opted to spend the 1.5 euro to take the shuttle back to the car.

We then drove to Boppard, on the Rhine River.  This town is the locations of many great memories for Tony and Betty as they spent 4 days there in 2009.  A very, very curvy drive brought us to another quaint town this one on the Rhine.  As with most memories, they are best left that way, but we enjoyed a nice walk down the river promenade, saw the hotel where B&T stayed and ate at their favorite Italian restaurant.  The waiter they remembered was no longer there and they no longer had the 4 cheese pasta dish that Betty was so looking forward too.  However, we did enjoy the Caperese salad and pizza we ordered.

On the way home we outsmarted Tina, as she kept trying to take us through alot of windy, curvy roads (we still have the trusty paper map in the car).  So we tricked her by breaking up the trip into segments an bet her home by 10 minutes.....nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.

Home brought us to the patio for a glass of sweet white wine and hot apfelkuchen.  We watched a thunderstorm roll down the Mosel, and, unfortunately, were sat too close to the ugly Americans (southern California by the way), who started talking politics, drones and meeting Danny Thomas.  Then they asked the proprieter, David, if Rick Steves is a nice guy - duh - of course he is a good guy - he put this hotel on the map.  Anyways, we exited a bit earlier than anticipated and returned to our room to continue to watch the sun set and catch up on the correspondence.  One more day in the Mosel River Valley....what will it bring???

5-3 Cologne to Beilstein (Sue)

First of all - HAPPY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY - to sweet Sadie, my granddaughter, who turns 3 years old today.  What a delight you have been to all of us Sadie-Lo.

We woke up this morning in Cologne, ready to put on a few miles again.  We walked back to the Cologne Cathedral to spend a little time there.  It is such an awesome place, words and pictures, never do it justice.   We were on the road by 11 and heading south to our true "vacation" destination, the Mosel River Valley.  "Tina Tom-Tom" got us here with no problems and we checked into the beautiful Hotel Haus Lipmann.  The hotel has been run by the Lipmann family for over 200 years and we were greeted by our host, David (the hardworking son), just like Rick Steeves said.  The hotel and room are just a fantasy and we are enjoying our patio river view.  Pictures to follow.  We walked around the quaint area and finally had our first weinerschnitzel.   Yummy. We continued to explore and decided we needed to head to the nearest store (10 km) to buy beer for me.  The hotel only sells wine, so as much as I have tried - I'm still a beer girl.  Now Betty is loving every minute of the wine.  We spent some great "sister-time" on our patio enjoying my beer and the bottle of Winehaus Lipmann wine that Betty bought from the hotel.  After a delightful dinner of pork roast, fried potatoes and salad on the hotel's dining terrace, we retired into our German wonderland, resting up so we can explore more tomorrow.

5-1 Addendum (Sue)

Seems we missed a bit of our trip on Tuesday, May 1 - so to catch you up.  We left Amsterdam in "Diesel Derrick" (our blue Opal Corsa) with the assistance of "Tina Tom-tom" (thanks Paul).....and neither have failed.  We headed the "northern" route to Bremen, Germany.  This route, which took us along the North Sea was very reminiscent of the Wisconsin landscape. Approximately 4 hours later we arrived at our destination.  Our communication with the hotel proprieter who spoke broken English was not the best, but we successfully checked into the Hotel Hansahof and got instructions to take public transportation into downtown Bremen.  Without a hitch, we trammed to Market Square and saw the Town Hall, Guild Hall Roland Statute, St. Peter's Cthedral, and, of course, the Bremen Town Musicians.  The highlight of our time spent in the square was when the bells of the Cathedral begin to ring, and ring, and ring, and ring.  They rang for over 5 minutes - loud, magnificant and as Jennifer Lopez would say - "it gave us goosies."  On to another famous part of Bremen, the Schnorr Quarters.  This area is comprised of pretty little half-timbered houses dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries, with narrow lanes between the rows of buildings.  Most shops were closed, so a quick walk-through was all we did.  Thirsty and hungry we ventured toward our return tram station, and decideed to eat at an Italian/pizza place.  The salad, margarita pizza and beer was great.  Caught the tram back to Hotel Hansahof and settled in to our comfy beds as we knew we had a big day of travel ahead of us.