A Month in Northern Europe
In and around Europe
In nine years as a couple, we have never traveled together for more than a couple of weeks at a time. When the opportunity arose for a generous, month-long summer sabbatical, we took another look at northern Europe and the long roster of places we have always wanted to see during our previous stays in the Netherlands. Family connections and a love of Dutch people and places have carried us to Holland four times already for shorter trips, but the lengthier stay will allow us to spend quiet time with family in the Hague, while still enjoying two extended stays in Amsterdam, our first (brief) trip to Berlin and a long-awaited reunion with old friends in London. We also expect to take up some spur-of-the-moment side trips to other Dutch cities and perhaps to Antwerp as well, plus lots of cycling, sight-seeing, and nightlife.
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Jason and Guy
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1
Counting Down
The travel guides are scattered throughout the house now, mixed with maps, hotel reservation printouts, train and air itineraries. I am told Guy kn... Continue reading »
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2
3 ... 2 ... 1 ...
Only 108.75 hours until departure, which turns out to not be very much time at all. Time perhaps to pick up laundry, to write extensive memos, to a... Continue reading »
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3
The Longest Day
In the Hague, a modest little town of a half million, it has been uncommonly dry and hot so far this year, which, in context, means there is moss g... Continue reading »
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4
New City, Old Friendship
Berlin: no longer a divided city. The wall has been gone for nearly a generation now, and the divisions evident in the city in the years after reun... Continue reading »
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5
At Madurodam, Godzilla is you
In 1952, the Netherlands commemorated a war hero and resistance fighter named George Maduro rather oddly: by constructing a dollhous... Continue reading »
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6
More Museums than Days
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we were in the Hague and energetic enough to venture out to museums and sights we had not seen before on our many pre... Continue reading »
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7
Finally, a Stroll on the Beach
We were crisp and to-the-point about our packing for Amsterdam as well as coffee and pastry with Kees and Chuck, so we took a quick tram ride out t... Continue reading »
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8
Settling In to Being on Vacation
We arrived in Amsterdam late Thursday afternoon and found ourselves immensely well pleased and situated at the Golden Bear, the venerable independe... Continue reading »
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9
Vri., Zat., Zon.
The weekend in Amsterdam sped by so quickly. We occupied ourselves with mong walks, coffee and beer, picnics (including a lovely one with friends a... Continue reading »
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10
A Mid-Trip Interlude
An interlude at the halfway point.
By GuyPacking is difficult at the best of times. But what to bring and what to leav... Continue reading »
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11
Opera, Sleep, Shopping & Packing
We are back in the Hague between trips again, resting from Amsterdam and yet another round of hauling bags on trains and trams. Last night we start... Continue reading »
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12
London Calling
We arrived at London Gatwick Airport on the 4th of July, returning to the Old Country in an inverted homage to Independence Day. We were lucky... Continue reading »
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13
Scratching the Surface
On Thursday we made our way into London Blackfriars Station and, armed with scalding coffee, made our way down the riverside walk on the north bank... Continue reading »
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14
Wherein We Face Expanding Objectives and Dwindling Strength
We awoke to a cloudy but variable sky (fully sunlit by 5 a.m.) and a boundless menu of sightseeing and social objectives on our second full day in... Continue reading »
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15
Casual Days, Homecooked Meals, and a Sunday Stroll
Saturday arrived, a day previously contemplated for a trip to Hampton Court Palace, out of a shared interest with one of our hosts in Tudor history... Continue reading »
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16
Eat, Sleep and See Sculpture
After navigating Gatwick's mass-hysteria-stampede of an ordinary Monday morning, and taking our cheerfully uneventful EasyJet flight back to Schiph... Continue reading »
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17
City with a Modern Heart
Rotterdam. Rotterdam is not like other Dutch cities, nor does it want to seem like them. The choice to embrace modern architecture, community plann... Continue reading »
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18
Amsterdam: Once More with Feeling
Our trip has certainly not lacked for structure and planning, and our five-day, four-night Amsterdam reprise was built into early planning some col... Continue reading »
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19
We finally swam in the sea
We came back from Amsterdam duly tired out from a month a travel, a weekend of partying and an afternoon of lugging bags and riding public transpor... Continue reading »
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20
Rotterdam is Industrious
We swiftly cleaned up, ate and headed to Hollandspoor Station to meet Bob's train from Amsterdam and ride the 20-some minutes into Rotterdam on a b... Continue reading »
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21
Leaving so Soon
It was raining when we got back from Rotterdam and we wade our way back to the Ieplaan and freshened up for a final dinner with our beloved hosts.... Continue reading »
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22
Wherein the Airline Blows Us Off and We Sleep in a Car
After a surprisingly tolerable return transatlantic flight, we were on our approach to Minneapolis when an ill-timed storm front persuaded the pilo... Continue reading »
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23
Home
You come home from something like this so changed, and walk into your old house and your old office and sit in your old car and catch up on the liv... Continue reading »
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