We are having incredible weather in Amsterdam. The days are close to 50 degrees, sunny with no wind. Surely the city will get hit with their worst winter storm ever while were here....but until then, we are having a great time being outside. Sunday morning we were out the door by mid morning, headed to Scheveningen a beachside resort town. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheveningen We walked the now familiar route to Central Station & took the snel train (fast train although the information person at Brussels airport told us the tracks were not laid in full for the snel train....so therefore it really doesn't exist) to Scheveningen. It was a very pleasant 50 minute train ride. From the window we could see blurs of the countryside & on occasional windmill.
From Den Haag http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hague we took a tram for another 15 minutes to the beach. En route to the beach we passed Madurodam which is Holland done in miniature. A place Sean & Brian will remember well from their visit to here several years ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madurodam
From Den Haag http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hague we took a tram for another 15 minutes to the beach. En route to the beach we passed Madurodam which is Holland done in miniature. A place Sean & Brian will remember well from their visit to here several years ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madurodam
We apparently had the same idea everyone else had - sunny day, bundle up the kids & head to the beach. There were families picnicking, children playing on the beach, one swimmer, a kid who obviously told his parents 'it's sunny out, I want to swim', dogs with tennis balls & people out just enjoying the sunshine. Lots of people on that beach. There is a boardwalk pier that ends at a bungee jumping platform. You can walk it from above, in the fresh air or below from a glass enclosed area.
At the top of the beach was a long line of places to shop, tourist stuff, places to eat & vendors selling ice cream, snacks & general must have junk. After wandering the beach for awhile we walked by restaurants trying to read menus & figure out where to have lunch. We settled on one that looked promising & enjoyed omelets while we people watched. There were two women behind us that Bob had full view of...one rolled her own cigarettes (yes, tobacco), the other did not stop talking or laughing for about an hour. She was quite large, gray hair with piercings & tattoos....interesting. Dogs came into the restaurant with their owners to hang out while the owners ate. The food was fine & the people watching was great.
We headed back to the tram stop & made our way back to Amsterdam, stopping at the market for a few essentials. 'Home' early in the evening, in time to try to figure out the combination washer/dryer. It took us most of the evening to 'almost' dry one load of underwear....obviously we're doing something wrong. We realized we didn't have to struggle with Dutch labeling on the machine when 3 hours into the washing/drying adventure we remembered the directions were in the booklet provided to us by the owners of the building. That only added to our confusion.
This morning we have another load of laundry in and at the rate we're going may have 2 pair of clean socks by the end of the day. Even though our washing/drying skills are not up to par, we have discovered another invention of the new millennium - Skype. What fun! As Jill & I were talking, Frank turned on a video camera. I could see her new haircut & Frank acting goofy behind her. Mom doesn't have a camera but to be able to call & talk just to catch up was great!
Still having a great time just living life! Plans for this week include a trip to an airplane museum (an hour or so away), an overnight adventure to Berlin & then later in the week company when Frank & Jill arrive.
At the top of the beach was a long line of places to shop, tourist stuff, places to eat & vendors selling ice cream, snacks & general must have junk. After wandering the beach for awhile we walked by restaurants trying to read menus & figure out where to have lunch. We settled on one that looked promising & enjoyed omelets while we people watched. There were two women behind us that Bob had full view of...one rolled her own cigarettes (yes, tobacco), the other did not stop talking or laughing for about an hour. She was quite large, gray hair with piercings & tattoos....interesting. Dogs came into the restaurant with their owners to hang out while the owners ate. The food was fine & the people watching was great.
We headed back to the tram stop & made our way back to Amsterdam, stopping at the market for a few essentials. 'Home' early in the evening, in time to try to figure out the combination washer/dryer. It took us most of the evening to 'almost' dry one load of underwear....obviously we're doing something wrong. We realized we didn't have to struggle with Dutch labeling on the machine when 3 hours into the washing/drying adventure we remembered the directions were in the booklet provided to us by the owners of the building. That only added to our confusion.
This morning we have another load of laundry in and at the rate we're going may have 2 pair of clean socks by the end of the day. Even though our washing/drying skills are not up to par, we have discovered another invention of the new millennium - Skype. What fun! As Jill & I were talking, Frank turned on a video camera. I could see her new haircut & Frank acting goofy behind her. Mom doesn't have a camera but to be able to call & talk just to catch up was great!
Still having a great time just living life! Plans for this week include a trip to an airplane museum (an hour or so away), an overnight adventure to Berlin & then later in the week company when Frank & Jill arrive.
3 comments:
yes - imagine that - FRANK acting goofy behind me????
11 MORE DAYS TILL I COME TO AMSTERDAM!!!!!!!!!!
sounds like you are having a wonderful time. I can say though the stairs make my knees hurt and I am here in texas..
Heidi
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