AMSTERDAM 24th – 30th Oct

They tell me I visited Amsterdam but I don’t remember.......................

.......................................I can see why many visitors here feel that way; just be careful where you go for coffee and everything is fine!

Had a great run in from Copenhagen on the overnight train. We left at 18-10 hrs and once we had eaten and settled into our bunks we slept well until 02-00 hrs when they pulled into God only knows where (I think it was Hamburg but who knows! Who cares?) and then started shunting the wagons around for an hour or so before continuing on our way. We arrived at Amsterdam Central at 10-20 hrs the next day. Unfortunately we couldn’t check into our accommodation til 15-00hrs so we dumped our gear in left luggage and went walk-about for 4 hours.

The houseboat is fantastic and a real ‘home-from-home’. We were greeted at the boat by the owner and shown around. As they departed and left us to it we were given a ‘welcome’ of fresh flowers and a bottle of wine. We were then left in peace to enjoy our ‘new home’ for the next 6 days. And what a home it is; such a change from the previous hotel rooms and enabling us to just relax and chill out.

The boat has everything we could need. Bathroom, kitchen,

lounge, dining room and double bedroom. There is even a spare double bed 'below the waterline' and a laundry, complete with washing machine and drier at the front of the boat. 

The views are just stunning both in daylight and at night. It’s actually hard to leave the boat to do anything as once we did our shopping for basic provisions we were happy just to lounge around and do nothing.

Our day starts with feeding the ducks and swans; this costs a small fortune in bread but well worth it. They’re cheeky little buggers and as soon as the light goes on in the morning (its late Autumn here) they’re at the window looking for food!

Of course the seagulls like to get their share and do their best to muscle out the ducks and swans but don’t have too much success.

 We have our little favourites like this little black chappie and he and his mate are the most vociferous of the lot.

We then go out and roam around just taking in the sights. We got ourselves a three day ‘Canal Bus Pass’ for $32 each so we just hop on and hop off the canal bus at will. This takes us to most of the primary local sights and is hassle free.

Of course we had a look in at the so-called coffee shops – you don’t have to buy the product, just sit and inhale; the high is for free!

There’s a great little fairground smack in the city center and more shops and attractions than you can poke a stick at. We took a tour of the Red Light District; Another eye opener if ever there was one. (I don’t fancy yours though)!

We did plan to visit Anne Frank House on Friday but the queue was ridiculously long. Turns out the kids were on hols that week so we left that til Monday. Instead we visited the Amsterdam Dungeon; a scary concept if ever I saw one. It was a great tour though and well worth the visit.

Sunday we took a day trip out of the city to visit Marken, Volendam and Windmills.

Unfortunately Saturday saw the change from daylight saving and the clocks went back one hour Saturday night.

That meant that the tour didn’t get to the windmill zone until late evening so we never got to see the windmills at their best. Still a great trip though and the town of Marken is supposedly a genuine, traditional Dutch town.

It was bloody cold though and Julie and I were well and truly rugged up against the cold winds. As Aussies we are really soft when it comes to the cold weather over here in Europe. Julie is sure gonna feel it in England in the Winter!

Monday we went to Anne Frank House. What an eye opener. I have read the diaries, know the story and thought I would take it all in as a bit of a ‘ho-hum’ bit of a tour. The main reason I wanted to visit was simple – "I’m in Amsterdam so I ‘must’ visit Anne Frank House". Wow! All I can really say is that it left me emotionally drained. It has turned out to be one of, if not THE highlight of our visit to Amsterdam. We weren’t allowed to take photos and so I can’t post any here. Then again, photos can’t do such a place justice. One has to be there in order to feel the spirit of the past. It is haunting and memorable; an experience never to be forgotten.

On that note it’s time I checked out of this blog. Tomorrow were off to Bruges, Belgium for 6 nights. There we hire a car and visit a few of the WW1 sites of France and Belgium.

COPENHAGEN – 20th to 23rd Oct

Greetings from Copenhagen and all that jazz.

What an interesting train run from Berlin, the first time either of us had been on a train which rode onto a ferry. Looking again at the map it was logical but strange never-the-less, and another experience to add to our list.

Our hotel is a few degrees above the last one, a bit more expensive but with added benefits to compensate. These include breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner, all thrown in for the princely sum of $160 per night! The location is in the canal area of NYHAVN and is absolutely divine!

The bedroom was tastefully decorated

And the dining area a delight.

The area was once the sailors’ zone and thus the Red Light district and dope center of the region. However, as usually happens the ‘wealthy’ started to move in and the place became a sophisticated cafe and eatery zone.

We love it here even if it is a wee bit on the chilly side. It hasn’t stopped us from rugging up and getting out and about. Not that there is much to do, we just wander around a see whatever is around to see. It’s hard work doing all this holiday crap!

We paid a visit to the TIVOLI Gardens, a funfair right in the center of town. opposite the railway station.

 All the rides are based on the old fashioned, traditional rides; the ones you just don't get to see these days.

It seems that Halloween is big here in Denmark and TIVOLI is all 'pumpkined up' ready for the 31st.

Michael on the left (pissed again) and Julie on the right (Keeping Michael under control)!

We are based very near the Royal Palace, about a 3 minute walk away. They change the guard at 12 noon every day so we decided to have a gander at that. 

First though we went on a ferry trip around the canals to get the low down on the area.

Turned out that Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Mary were home. We decided that being Aussies we should call in and have morning tea. Once we saw the Royal Guard though we thought better of it and decided to hang out for an invite. Then, to add insult to injury it started to rain and Mary never gave us an invite for lunch! 

 Damn! Maybe we’ll get better luck at the palace when we’re in London in December.

Seriously though, it’s a great place and the people are generally friendly and easy going. Tomorrow we’re off to Amsterdam on the night sleeper train. We leave Copenhagen at 18-10 hrs and are scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam at 09-58 hrs the following day. Then it’s 6 days on a houseboat so it should be fun.

BERLIN – 17th to 20th Oct.

Back to a ‘modern city’. The train ride was interesting to say the least. Prior to leaving Julie found an interesting statement about the trains in Poland. To para-phrase; ‘Sometimes trains get cancelled in Poland for no reason what-so-ever’! Hmmmm!  Fortunately ours did not. There was, however a remarkable difference in speed and comfort as the train crossed from Poland into Germany, a clear indication of the difference in maintenance between the two countries. As for the rail station here in Berlin.........

The station has 5 LEVELS of platforms and is bigger than some airports I've been in.

Our hotel room was crap! That’ll teach us not to look for the cheapest deal we could get! Serves us right.

I’m not sure if it was the silver vertical blinds or

the flowery wall-paper that did it.

It’s right out of the 70’s and just wrong! LOL

We just loved Berlin and I was especially impressed with the way they have ‘come to terms with the past. Being in Berlin meant we had a lot of contact with ‘the wall’ and its history.

Paid a visit to Checkpoint Charlie and got our passports stamped with the East/West/Russian sector stamps. Hopefully it isn’t illegal to do this otherwise we’ll be stuck in Europe forever!!!!

The existence of the wall is marked for its entire length by relevant markings on the roadway and paths.

We were in Berlin during the Festival of Light and got to see the Brandenburg Gate in a ‘normal’...........

.........and ‘spectacular’ setting.

The city really came alive during the evening and we had a great time out and about.

Off to Denmark next so will post from Copenhagen!

KRAKOW – 12th to 16th Oct.

Ah! The difference between western and eastern European rail travel! The western trains are smooth and fast whilst the eastern trains are slow and clunky. Suffice to say that it was a real eye-opener to us, especially when we found out that our rail pass did NOT cover Poland!!! I guess I should have read the small print a bit more carefully. No real problem though as we were able to buy the ticket for the Polish sector from the rail conductor. The total for ‘in and out’ Polish sectors was just shy of $360 so no real disaster there.

Katowice station, where we had to change trains was interesting. They don’t have escalators and the lift was out of action so it was fun lugging our luggage down and up stairs. This was especially frustrating when the platform number does not correspond to the line number and no-one speaks English to help out. All Julie got from the information desk was “I don’t have time for this!” Anyway, we got to Krakow eventually and Wow! What a difference to Prague.

To begin with there is much less commercialisation here in Krakow. Sure, one can find a Mc Donald’s and a Starbucks but it’s not full in your face. 

Our hotel was in the Jewish Quarter and almost ‘lost’ in narrow streets and cobbled lanes. Its’ ‘resident’ population is more like the Leederville or Subiaco crowd and there are no large stores or supermarkets to contend with.

The area is however quite haunting with plenty of past memories shrouding its’ history and beauty. We were able to visit the Jewish Ghetto area.......

and even got to see the remnants of the wall designated to keeping the Jews inside the ghetto.  

We also got the opportunity to take a tour of Schindlers’ factory; puts the whole story of the movie 'Schindlers List' in a different light!

On day 2 of our stay we had a trip planned to take a guided tour of Auschwitz and Birkeneau camps; the main purpose of our coming to Krakow in the first place. This tour just blew me away;

I guess I’ll never be the same again. It doesn’t matter how much one reads about the holocaust – the scale and enormity of the crime only becomes apparent when one is there to see it for real! It disturbed me greatly and really screwed with my sleep that night. I won’t preach on about it; I’ll just let these few pictures tell the story and leave it there.

We had some great meals in our hotel area, mainly in the Jewish Quarter because it was so damn nice and the environment was so pleasant. It’s very ‘arty-farty’............

...............and there are numerous buskers and street vendors trying their luck. I’m not usually one to be sucked in by these guys; I know full well that when one listens to the CD at home it rarely matches up to the sound heard ‘on the street’. However, this guy playing the violin really did have a hauntingly beautiful sound and I just had to buy his CD. Hopefully it will be as good at home and when I’m ‘out of holiday mode’ as it was on the street.

We spent another day visiting Wawel Castle, high on the hill overlooking Krakow city. The views are tremendous and the history fascinating. 

The Seigfried cathedral and bell tower were absolutely exquisite but unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos in the cathedral itself. 

We were allowed photos in the Bell Tower and from there the views over Krakow were awesome.

Overall a far superior visit that that of Prague. Tomorrow we have a 10 hour train ride to Berlin. Back to the more modern world. Talk to you all soon.

Michael + Julie