So, our traipse through Germany (just about) over, we drove out from Bacharach and to Cologne, where we had to take some time to figure out exactly where to drop off the car and get train tickets to Amsterdam. That done, we had a short time to visit Cologne Cathedral and play tourist with a few photos before continuing on our way. The cathedral is immense and imposing, and strikes the eye immediately as one walks out of the train station. The entire city was bombed during the war, except the cathedral was left standing. The black residue on the stones likely isn't all from bombing and ash, but my fantasies led me to think that it was.
With two steeples, it cuts quite the immense silhouette from afar, as we found when driving into Cologne and when taking pictures at a short distance.
Farewell, Germany! On to the Netherlands. Our train was delayed en route, and when we arrived in Amsterdam it was cool and raining, rather like the UK weather I've gotten to know. We trekked through the Red Light District to our hotel (and smelled the smell of Amsterdam "green" for the first time there, if you get my drift) and settled in, then grabbed dinner. Afterwards we were all tired, so we turned in and got up early the next morning to head to the Anne Frank House, which we'd all been wanting to see. It opened at 9am, and we got there a few minutes early since we'd heard about crowds, and holy cats at that point the line wrapped around the block. We waited for right around two hours -- I kid you not -- before we managed to get inside! So our first morning in Amsterdam was spent standing and trying not to breathe too deeply as a city maintenance crew pumped fresh sewage out of a septic tank close by. Welcome to the Netherlands. The silver lining in all this is that I'd managed to get in touch with a deaf friend of mine, Kate, who lives near Amsterdam, and she came out to hang out with us for the day. Two hours standing in line gave us a great opportunity to chat and catch up!
Once we did make it into the Anne Frank House, however, we found it had been worth the wait. I remember reading The Diary of Anne Frank when I was younger (though I can't recall when exactly, and would like to go back and reread it now), and seeing the place where her family hid from the Nazis was an unreal and deeply sobering experience. The house has been turned into a museum, and many excellent informative videos greeted us as we walked inside, first through the warehouse part that was a public front for the place where the Franks hid, upstairs in the secret annex. We gradually made our way up to the secret annex, through a bookcase that hid the entrance in the wall (still there and still original), then had the chance to peruse the very small and very closed-in rooms where the Franks and one other family spent two years in hiding. Words fail me here. I cannot imagine spending so long, with five other people, in such a small place, sitting in tense silence the entire day as we struggled not to make noise, not even to go to the bathroom during working hours when people might hear us downstairs. It brought the reality of the Holocaust home in a very painful way. And the fact that the Franks, and the people who helped them, courageously hid for that long, and then were captured and sent to concentration camps anyway, is too awful for words. I left feeling horrified by the reality of those dark days, but at the same time oddly cheered by the fortitude of the human spirit, as we can see in Anne's diary. It was a strange mixed feeling that I have a difficult time describing, but I'm very happy we made the visit while we were in Amsterdam.
Next up: we had traditional Dutch pancakes for lunch (which were delicious), then walked the streets and canals of Amsterdam throughout the afternoon. The clouds and gloom had lifted by that point, and we had a truly beautiful afternoon to explore this unique city.
Kate explained interesting things about the Netherlands to me, from Dutch architecture (and why the buildings on the canals were built the way they were) to Dutch bicycles -- there were so many! Amsterdam is a tricky place to be a tourist, I tell you, because every time you step out into the street you need to look for bikes zipping by. The city is a biking mecca; there are hardly any cars compared to other places.
We made it out to the "I Amsterdam" sign, by one of the main art museums, the Rijksmuseum, and then proceeded to the Van Gogh Museum, which we'd been considering visiting that afternoon. But a huge line in front of that museum as well made my family decide to return with advance tickets the following day (which was thoroughly worth it), and we backtracked through the city to explore more of its streets and shops.
And wrapped up the day with a beer, of course. I so enjoyed catching up with Kate in Amsterdam, and must make it back out to the Netherlands during my time overseas.
We parted ways after the evening happy hour had passed, and my family wandered the canals a bit more (always so enchanting, these waterways) before grabbing a delicious Dutch dinner. Then we wandered the canals for a while longer in the gathering twilight.
Again, I could have used another day or two in Amsterdam, but isn't that true for just about every place I've visited? The next morning we were off to Brussels. We got to visit the Van Gogh museum in the morning, and then grabbed lunch at the train station, and made it to Brussels by early evening. After dropping our things off at the hotel, we set out to explore a bit of the city before dinner. We saw the Grand Plaza, supposed to be one of the most beautiful squares in Europe:
And most importantly, we started our journeys through Belgian food with some waffles! This was every bit as delicious as it looks, I assure you.
The chocolate (and chocolate displays) were pretty amazing, too.
We went to a fun Belgian restaurant (with some French influence and French dishes) for dinner, and were all very excited to try the local beer. I've mentioned that I'm not usually a huge fan of beer, since I prefer wine and other drinks, but this beer was absolutely excellent.
Take me back!! Anyhow, the next day we got up and got on a train to go up to Bruges for the day, since we'd heard wonderful things about it, especially in comparison to Brussels. (Overall, I thought Brussels was all right, a pretty standard European city, not all that many remarkable things about it compared to other cities.) Bruges, on the other hand, was beautiful and quaint and a perfect place for our last day out on the European continent.
We walked around the main city squares, took in the unique Belgian architecture, and of course visited a few beer and chocolate shops along the way. (So many varieties of Belgian beer, it's astonishing.)
Then we passed out of the heart of the city (and more charming architecture abounded), and then took a boat tour on the canals. This was an admittedly touristy thing to do, but a friend of mine had advised that we just do it, and I was glad to see Bruges from this angle.
There were so many charming architectural details to marvel at and take photos of, and after getting the overall lay of the land (or water) through our boat tour, we walked out to the other end of the city to see some windmills.
We returned into the middle of the city for a late lunch (with more beer, of course), then walked along the water and took photos of some of the beautiful towers and buildings rising over the canals. It was a lovely day, even if a bit blustery and cold and fall-like.
Another highlight of Bruges: all the horse-drawn carriages that clip-clop through the city. Hearing the sound of hoofbeats and horseshoes so often is something I miss. I kept turning to watch as the horses trotted by.
For our last activity of the day, we toured a local brewery that has made beer in Bruges for several generations, complete with another glass of beer for each of us afterwards. The view from the top of the brewery was beautiful:
Also beautiful: more waffles. Again delicious. I think Belgian delicacies need to make it into my daily diet (though it's probably best for me that they don't).
We then walked back to the train station, amidst swans milling in the water (and chasing each other hilariously out of the way when people tossed bread down to them), then caught our train back to Brussels. The next morning, early, we were off again, on the Eurostar back to London. Our time in Belgium was short, but I loved it there -- even if returning to the UK felt like coming home, a bit, as it has come to feel over the last few months. The Kolb family adventures did get a few more days in London and thereabouts, and that'll be the subject of my next post. Until we meet again, European continent!
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