The Trip that was: September 14, 2012/2014/2015

 2012

First day of hiking in the Cinque Terre! With walking sticks in hand, waiting for the train to La Spezia that would drop us off in Riomaggoire. 

The top of the hill in the southern most town of in the Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore!

This is what passes for a beach in Riomaggiore!

On to Manarola!

From there, it's the third town, Corniglia.  This town is the furtherest away from the sea. It was afternoon by the time we got there, and it was sleepy and super quiet. This was the least touristy of the towns, and felt the most outside of time of the places we visited in Italy. We also had to hike part of the way to Corniglia, and then hike back to Manarola and take the train.  There was a landslide that closed the path! For the record, there are 382 steps from the train station in Corniglia to the town. Straight up the hillside. 

Olive groves were everywhere!

Corniglia getting further and futher away, as we made our way back to our home base of Vernazza.

At last, we saw Vernazza come into view. The end of our trek was in sight!

The sweet rewards that awaited us at the end of our trek.

The Cinque Terre is known for their great white wines and their AMAZING fresh anchovies. 

 

2013

In 2013 we visited The American Cemetery at Margraten.  There are over 8,000 American soldiers interred at this cemetery, most were victims involved in Operation MarketGarden, popularized by the film "A Bridge too Far", the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the Ruhr. We visited the day after the 75 Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands.  There were lots of old soldiers there, visiting the graves of their fallen comrades.  And lots of Dutch people who "adopt" the graves and dedicatedly tend them.  One old man was there, in a wheelchair, wearing his uniform, placing a wreath on a grave.  A young man walked up and thanked him for freeing his country, for giving so much. I turned away in tears.  I had rolled my eyes when I was told we were visiting an American cemetery, so I could see something "American" and be on American soil for a little while.  I felt ashamed I had ever thought it a waste of time.  There was so much gratitude, so much generosity, so much loss, and hurt on display.  When I walked on, among the rows of crosses, and saw the flag emerge from the morning fog, I can honestly say in that one moment, I understood what it stood for and I was proud.  

The walls are marked with 1,700 names of missing soldiers.  The remains that have since been found and identified are marked with rosettes. 

After leaving Margarten, we headed to Maastrict for a quick walk around a bite of lunch before heading home. I would love to return to the province of Limburg someday and spend more time exploring! Maastricht is very old, dating back to the times of Caeser Augustus. And it doesn't really feel Dutch at all from what I remember. 

Maastricht has lots of Roman ruins to explore.  All I can offer you here is this photo of the remains of a Roman wall. 

Street Performance Art is always fun.  And almost always a little bizarre.  Rollerskating pigs, and a grand dame pushing a baby carriage  

2015

A day with the nephews at the Dolphinarium in Harderwijk!  But it's not all dolphins, there are sea lions, walruses, and lots more! 

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming....

Tot Ziens! 

The Trip that was: September 13, 2008/2012/2013/2015

2008

Remember those Soccer Saturdays? This was another one! We walked from home to visit Dutchboy's old soccer club, Amstelveen Heemraad, and maybe see his old teammates play a game.  

There were some old guys in the club house, but not his teammates.  

The team was playing an away game at AHFSAY. I had no idea what that meant, but it was said often.  We're going to  Ahfsay. Is it in Amsterdam, I ask? Oh, yes! There was a lot of talk of Iaxe! I was rather confused. Afsay and Iaxe.  After much wandering around and walking two kilometers from the wrong tram stop, we found it! And it became clear that Ahfsay, was actually A-F-C.  Amsterdam Football Club. AJAX is the pro team, and the ONLY soccer team that you're allowed to mention in Amsterdam and it's surrounding suburbs.  Countries change,  sports change  but die-hard sports fans carry on. 

You don't have to know the languge or understand the rules of soccer to understand EXACTLY what's happening here!

After the game, we wandered back into Amsterdam, to what would become one of my favorite areas, Waterlooplein, to Rembrandtplein.  

We stopped in to see the amazing art pieces that's in the Stopera.  Home to Amsterdam City Hall as well as the Amsterdam Opera House,  home to the National Ballet and the National Opera. But it's the fiddler coming through the floor that I find truly amazing! The sculpture was put in place in 1991, and appears to burst through the marble floor.  This is one of many "anonymous" art pieces that can be found in random places in the city.  No one is quite certain WHO the artist is, and the city will only say that the person wishes to remain anonymous.  Likely it is Dr. Andre Havas, but there is still much speculation.  Some even include the former Queen, Beatrix on the list of  possibilities!! 

The Blauwbrug (Blue Bridge).

Munttoren (Mint Tower).

 2012

My first trip to Italy.  We chose to visit the  Cinque Terre, five hill towns in the Liguria region of Italy, linked by hiking trails.  The area had been hit by floods in the year prior to our visit and they were fighting to recover.  We decided to throw our tourist dollars their way. It is a trip that stole my heart.  On this day in 2012, I saw the Mediterranean's blue flash from a train window and lost my heart.  Over the next few days, we would have our breakfast sitting by the harbor, eating pastry and drinking espresso. Every afternoon, after our hikes, we would sit in the same place and eat gelato. It was as close to paradise as you can get.  Though, it started off rocky with a late plane, trouble getting train tickets (Milano Centrale! screamed the ticket agent, refusing to sell me a ticket to Genoa), late trains (train schedules seem to be suggestions in Italy), missed connections and a late arrival to our hotel, it was totally worth it. You can't believe how blue the Mediterranean is until you see it for yourself. 

We stayed on the top floor of a Albergo Barbara in Vernazza.  The view from our hotel room was pretty spectacular.

The red building behind all the umbrellas was our hotel.  Our room was the little green dormer on the left at the very top! 

2013

A tour around  Dordrecht, the oldest city in the Netherlands.

We stopped at the Dordrecht Museum.  Love the art, but the bathrooms were freaky. We were washing our hands, and looked up to see Dutchboy on the otherside of the "mirror"!! 

2015

We've been to Artis Zoo a couple of times but this trip, Uncle Dutchboy had to teach his nephews the laws of the jungle.  How to rule the beasts of the Earth, and teach the who's boss. Fortunately the boys didn't listen to him, so they should grow up without any permanent damage.