No mice in Amsterdam

Monday 6th June – Dead Ends in Dinant

The three of us are heading out this morning in search of fine food, culture and scenery. We headed in towards Dinant but ended up in a long queue waiting for a signal change which would allow us to traverse a section of road that was closed in one direction. The queue was moving so slowly that I executed a U-turn and headed out of town. There is a bridge a few kilometres up the road which should allow us to come into Dinant on the opposite side of the river. The plan was good but it did not allow for the Belgian roundabout that they were constructing on the only alternative bridge across the river. To get across we had to travel a further kilometre up the road and do a U-turn which would allow us into the correct lane to cross the bridge. We did this successfully however our endeavours were thwarted as we could not turn left off the bridge without doing another deviation. Up the road we went for another kilometre, did a u-turn and came back and headed down the opposite bank of the river. By this time I thought that I should have stayed in the original queue.

The one consolation was that it was a pleasant drive and after waiting for a few minutes at another roundabout installation we were on the outskirts of Dinant. About one kilometre from Dinant we came to a standstill. Cars and trucks were turning around as the only entrance into Dinant was blocked in both directions by more road works. The only disconcerting thing is that there was no warning of the closure. I can’t imagine how frustrating this would be for the local population. Anyhow we are going back to whence we came, including all the previous deviations. Once we crossed the river again I decided to head up the range towards Purnode in search of a restaurant where we could take lunch. We spotted one that was open and decided it was time to rely on a little pot luck. It turned out to be a good choice as the setting and food were both excellent. Alice settled for a simple salad whilst Jens and I had a piece of grilled veal.

After lunch we continued our pursuit to try and enter Dinant. This involved traveling through the small village of Lisogne and hitting the outskirts of Dinant from a southerly direction. The only good news was that we were able to join the original queue from this morning at the point where the traffic light was. There were no delays this time and at last we entered the guts of the town. I decided to park on the opposite side of the river where the small cruises depart from. There was not much happening in the way of cruises but we managed to snag one that was departing within five minutes. The cruise takes you for a short 45 minute trip on the Meuse River and gives you a different perspective of all the historic buildings that line both sides of the river. Just as we boarded the heavens opened up and we were hit with a short but heavy deluge of rain. I hope that the towels that we left out are not blown way.

After the cruise we decided to head back to the campground and assess the damage. The good news was that some new arrivals covered our chairs and towels with our groundsheet. The bad news was that the groundsheet is not waterproof. This meant that I spent the next 30 minutes ringing out towels and underwear. At least they had a good rinsing. Jens and I then relaxed with a couple of beers but Alice is still suffering the effects of her head cold and rasping cough. After our big lunch it was a light dinner of fish and salad.

Tuesday 7th June - Alice and David Meet Their Waterloo

This morning we are departing Dinant and the Namur region of Belgium and heading north to the Netherlands. We got away around 9:30am which is something of a record for this trip. The scenery is still great but just when we started to move along the dreaded road network caught us out once again. As we approached a small town Jens noticed a sign that indicated vehicles over 3m in height would have trouble getting under a yet to be seen bridge. There was no choice but to turnaround and cross the river quite a few kilometres back. We still enjoyed our drive and about an hour later we were on the busy motorway.

Around 11:30 we arrived at the 1815 monument which is dedicated to the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon was defeated on the 15th June nearly 201 years ago by the armies of the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian Marshall Bulcher. After a late start due to bad weather the battle raged all day and into the evening. The French were defeated by the superior numbers of the opposing forces and Napoleon subsequently banished from the continent. The museum at the site is well worth a visit and if you listened to the entire audio guide you would need a few hours. The 4D picture which was a reenactment of the battle was the highlight of the museum. Alice who is showing plenty of pluck despite her cold joined me in climbing the 225 steep steps to the top of the monument. From here we had a sweeping panoramic view of the farmland where the battle raged.

A late lunch in the car-park and then we were off down the highway for another 225km to Amsterdam. The highway was full of semi-trailers but we made good time and were on the outskirts of Amsterdam by 4:00pm. Jens was providing information over the two-way to Alice when she was taken by a coughing fit. I couldn’t hear his instructions and had to grab the radio from Alice who was really in a bad way. She continued with this throat wracking cough all the way to our destination. Jens and I checked in while Alice tried to get back to normal. We are staying at Camping Zeeburg, Amsterdam (24euro) which is located on one of the man made islands. There are plenty of young people staying here in tents and judging by the look of a few of them they are taking advantage of the Netherlands relaxed laws on cannabis usage.

Wednesday 8th June – One, Two, Three Red Light

Alice had a bad night as she was taken by numerous coughing fits. She is having a sleep-in and leaving me to my own devices. After lunch I went down to reception and purchased a public transport ticket for 7.5euro which entitles you to unlimited trips for 24 hours. A ten minute walk and I was soon on a number 7 tram heading into Amsterdam. I decided to alight at the Spiegelgracht stop and have a walk around the museum area. The sun was out and so were the crowds. It was a perfect day for sightseeing so I jumped on another tram and headed up to the impressive Central Station for a spot of walking. My destination is in the heart of the old town and has become the largest tourist attraction in the city. The area attracts millions of visitors a year, more than the canal cruises, the Van Gogh museum and Anne Frank house combined. No it is not the Heineken Experience which would normally be ranked quite high on my wish list. The 1910 Fruitgum Company had a hit bubblegum song that sums up this area, “1 2 3 Red Light”. Yes I’m doing a walking tour of the largest open air museum in the Netherlands, The Red Light District. The bustling activities here are 24/7 with approximately 800 ladies working in shifts behind the windows. My route is taking me down some narrow cobblestone streets, along the canals and past two churches, Oude Kerk and Nieuwmarkt. Quite a few of the windows were occupied and ladies of varying size, age, skin colour dressed in g-strings and push-up bras would give me an occasional wink or a wave. I obviously was not tempted by their wares however I could see a few curtains closed which indicated that there were a few souls being parted from their euros. There are quite a few bars and clubs in the area and ones like the Old Sailor and the Bulldog were doing a roaring trade. The area also houses top museums such as the Erotic Museum, Hash and Hemp Museum and the Museum of Prostitution. Shops are selling all sorts of paraphernalia to improve your sex life or ingestion of cannabis. With my walk over I decided to take a more sedate walk along Klaverstraat which has all the big brand stores and is downhill from the Dam. Judging by the number of people clutching shopping bags there must be a sale going on. I think I will have to bring Alice here for some therapy.

The day was getting on and my feet were sore from walking on cobblestone for most of the afternoon so I headed back to Central Station and boarded the number 26 tram. I was near the end of the line when I noticed two passengers board with some barbeque fuel. I reasoned that there must be a supermarket in the vicinity. As we were low on food I decided to take a punt and jumped off to investigate. Murphy’s Law was in action as the first direction I walked in did not bear any fruit. I was about to give up when I spotted some people with shopping bags. Just around the corner there was a large supermarket selling everything that we needed. Loaded up like a packhorse I rejoined the tram line. At the end of the line I was faced with a 15 minute walk and the threat of rain was imminent. I did get hit with a few drops but thankfully the rain did not eventuate.

The purchased goods were well received by Alice and Jens especially the bottle of red wine. A fine barbeque dinner of Texas pork steaks was a good end to the day.

Thursday 9th June – Amsterdam Sightseeing

Alice was coughing all through the night but is reasonably rested so the pair of us will head into the city. The number 14 tram which is about a 10 minute walk from the campground is our mode of travel to reach Anne Frank’s house. The tram ride was excellent as it passed through some interesting areas and open air markets. Anne Frank’s house was easy to find as there were plenty of tourists heading in that direction. Some prior research would have paid dividends as when we arrived we found out that all entries between 10:00 and 3:30 are by pre-booked on line tickets. After 3:30pm you can join a rather long queue and take pot luck on how long a wait you will have. We did get to take a picture of a brass statue of Anne Frank.

Not to be deterred we decided on a little canal walking and came across the Tulip Museum. Alice and her niece Ashleigh just love tulips and this quirky little museum was right up her alley. After the obligatory tulip snapshot we entered the domain of the tulip. One thing I gleaned from our visit is that the tulip originated in the Himalayan region and was then brought to Turkey in the 1500’s where it was prized by the Sultans. The Dutch managed to acquire some and the rest is history. An interesting read would be about the collapse of the tulip market in the 1600’s which was akin to the wall street crash of 1929. Apparently there were many fortunes lost. With our knowledge of tulips enhanced Alice went next door to the cheese museum. She didn’t spend too much time inside but she did get to try a few samples.

We took lunch by the canal and decided to try the local apple pie with a strong coffee. The pie was delicious and had a strong cinnamon flavor. After our refueling exercise we jumped on another tram to Central Station. In this area there are plenty of vendors offering canal sightseeing tours. Most of them are of one hour duration, follow the same route and give a commentary in four languages. We chose one that cost 10euro and waited patiently for the boat to fill. Fifteen minutes after the advertised departure time and a full boat we headed off into the canals. It was a reasonable tour which pointed out some of the history and architecture of the area. The highlight for me was the elderly Indian man and his wife who were one of the last to board. He arrived in a wheelchair and barely made it down the two steps to the front seat that his daughter had chosen for them. The daughter obviously needed a break as she left them to their own devices. We were barely into the cruise when he got out of his seat and by gripping the tops of each row of seats he struggled down the aisle, stopping in front of me. In a very polite voice he asked me if I could take lots of pictures of him and his wife who had dutifully followed him down the aisle. How could I refuse! He then plonked himself down in the seat behind us which at this stage was taken by a lone African American. He then very politely asked him if he would mind vacating his seat so he and his wife could have the window seat which would be nice for his pictures. The American couldn’t believe his ears and he rightfully declined this bold as brass request. I think he would have been better off giving it up as he Indians completely invaded his space. By the way my photographs must not have been any good as he asked another woman to take some more of him and his wife. He spent the entire trip taking well over 100 pictures including a stack of selfies. It was all great entertainment except for the poor American.

After the tour I took Alice on a small walk around the Red Light District. She was a little surprised as she thought it would be very tacky and less discreet. On the outskirts of the area we found a little bar called the Stoombierbrouwerij which made some boutique beers. We tried a sample of four beers and enjoyed two of them called the White Antonia and De Manke Monnik (Crippled Monk). Both had great flavours with a touch of citrus and bitterness. This is one for Jon Black to look up. Refreshed Alice and I headed off to Klaverstraat so she could gaze upon the fine wares being offered for sale. There was plenty on offer but she resisted the temptation to splurge out. We were both done by this time so we headed on back to the campground stopping only once to purchase some supplies.

When we arrived back Jens was basking in the sun and already onto his second beer. He looked very relaxed and without any cajoling I quickly joined him. Another reasonable meal and it was off to bed for some much needed sleep.

Friday 10th June - Van Gogh, Queues and Beer

Alice is nearly back to her normal self, the sun is still shining so it is back into Amsterdam for some culture. You would have thought that we would have had enough of museums by now but we thought some more Van Gogh would be good for us culturally deficient Aussies. The Van Gogh Museum is a modern building and houses over 200 paintings as well as sketches and personal letters. The layout is excellent and showcases his work in an easy to follow timeline until his suicide in 1896. His work output was prolific and in his last year was averaging a painting a day as he thought he was broke. His early painting of the Potato Eaters was a dark somber piece but highlighted his talent. Alice’s favourite was the Yellow House and we now have a coffee cup to prove it. In the other hall there was an exhibition on Virtue and Prostitution with paintings by Degas, Lautrec and Picasso.

After lunch we headed up to Anne Frank’s House for a cup of tea and scones. She wasn’t home but the queue waiting to visit at 3:30pm was longer than any queue we have seen on the trip. Due to the limited numbers that can visit her house the waiting time would have been well over two hours. Should have followed the Lonely Planet advice and booked on line well in advance of our visit. Ah well, stuff happens so we decided to taste a few cheese samples at the nearby Cheese Museum.

Alice gave me a choice of having a Heineken Experience or a visit to the Brouwenij’tij Bar. I chose the latter as the campground had recommended it as a good place to visit. It is basically a micro brewery which specializes in organic beers. I’m not sure if it is always like this but being Friday afternoon the place was packed. Their marketing must be pretty good as the crowd was a mix of old, young and different nationalities. We squeezed in next to a couple who were older than us and speaking Danish. I ordered a sampler tray which came with five beers which I couldn’t pronounce or remember the style. A small plate of cheese and sausage and Alice and I were set. The beers were tasty so we ordered one more each before catching the tram home.

Jens was again basking in the sun but with the wind blowing he took shelter in the lee of our camper. He was ready for a beer so of course I joined him in a quite tipple. I’m starting to feel like that I am coming down with Alice’s malady so after dinner it was off to bed.

Saturday 11th June – On The Road Again

The dreaded cough crept up on me during the night and my throat feels like I swallowed a packet of razor blades. To accompany my disposition the weather has turned and it is overcast with some light drizzle. It is always a joy packing up in these conditions. Despite all of these maladies we did manage to get away by 9:30. The main highway is only a kilometre from the camping ground and being a Saturday the traffic was only light. In no time at all we were in the Dutch countryside and cruising along at a sedate 90kmph. We couldn’t see any tulips but suspect we passed quite a few fields as the flowers are usually removed in April so that the bulbs continue to grow.

Just after 1:00pm we crossed into Germany and found a good parking area to take lunch. I must say that the German facilities are usually first class and are usually bout 30km apart. Today we are headed for Bremen which is about 150km from the border. As we were driving through the town en-route to our camping ground I noticed a large Becks brewery. I always thought Becks was an American beer so now I will have to google it as it appears that is German. We arrived at the Hanse Camping Ground which is situated near the university around 3:15. We are only staying overnight so have elected to camp on the stellplatz (camping outside the park) which means you get a cheaper rate (12euro) but still can use the facilities. The electricity is extra and costs 1 euro for 5 hours which won’t break the bank.

After setting up we inspected our surroundings and were pleasantly surprised. The restaurant overlooks a crystal clear lake and the menu looks reasonably priced. The amenities block was another matter as Alice and I both agree that it appears to be first class and possibly the best one we have seen on the trip or in Australia. A great kitchen, library, super clean showers and toilets as well as a massage chair combine to make it a pleasure to go to the toilet. After a quiet afternoon tipple we decided to take dinner in the restaurant and sample their menu. We managed to snag a table on the patio overlooking the lake. It was twilight time which enhanced the already impressive view of the lake. The only minor complaint was that the bewitching hour also brought out the local contingent of mosquitoes. Fortunately they were not in any hurry to suck on our blood. The house special at the moment is the in season white asparagus which Jens and Alice both ordered with a creamy butter sauce and new potatoes. Alice had pork schnitzel and Jens had two pieces of grilled chicken s as side orders. I was more conservative and had a ham and mushroom pizza. Once again the mountain of food that was on each plate could have served double the people. A cheeky Riesling was the perfect wine to complement what was a very fine meal. Jens has enjoyed himself and is kicking on with another glass of wine whilst the two oldies from Milton head off to the camper for a well earned rest.