The end of the road

Amsterdam
see all photos »

By this stage of the trip, everyone was getting excited about going to Amsterdam and also feeling a bit sad because it was soon going to be the end of the tour.  We farewelled two of our group in the morning before heading from Berlin to Amsterdam, via a few truckstops and through a lot of heavy traffic that seemed to be due to lots of snow and ice on the road.

Once we'd made it to Amsterdam, we had a brief rest before heading into the city for a tour of the red light district, after which some people went to see a sex show.  Not really my thing, so with a couple of the others we headed back toward the tram and the hotel, via a "coffee shop".

At the Heiniken Experience
see all photos »

After a later start to the morning a group of us headed towards Ann Frank's house, but probably because it was a Saturday, there was a huge cue.  We decided not to stand in the cue, in the cold, and instead went to the Heiniken Experience after a quick lunch stop (yes, more food, I know...).  The Heiniken Experience was definitely good value - drinks and a free glass, and the opportunity to make a dodgy video to send to friends and family.  After another coffee stop, we made our way to a restaurant for our final group dinner, then on to a booze cruise.  We followed this with another walk around the red light district before making our way back to the hotel.  To be honest, it was a little fuzzy...but a good night overall.

On the Booze Cruise
see all photos »

The last day of our tour had us driving from Amsterdam, through Belgium where some people bought chocolates, then into France, past the stadium where the French rugby team were about to trounce England, and back to Gare du Nord in Paris.  This was almost the end of our tour, and we said goodbye to a lot of our group who were spending longer in Paris - including our driver and my star roomie Annie!  Then it was back through customs with a flash of the pretty red passport (definitely has its advantages), and onto the Eurostar toward London.  We made it to Waterloo earlier than anticipated, said our sad goodbyes to fellow travellers and Eleni our excellent tour leader, before a few of us shared a taxi back to the Bayswater area.  That was a full packed day of travel, and it was sad to say goodbye to people, some of whom had spent the last 23 days together.  But I hope we'll all keep up, sharing photos and memories of a fantastic trip on the "Kumuka Bus of Love"!