We are off to the Waddenzee! We are super excited to be embarking on one of our most exciting travel adventures — a sailing and biking trip in and around the Waddenzee. This was organized by a good friend who invited us and others, and our group now occupy 12 of the 14 cabins on the boat. Last we knew, they were not going to fill the other two, as they have another boat going around the same time, but I’m sure they would sell them as opposed to foregoing a sale.
But first we travel to Germany, to visit with friends who were the first tenants in our two family house. It was very nerve wracking to be a landlord for the first time, but the Wetters were the ideal tenants. They were kind, thoughtful, and ended up starting their family at the same time we were starting ours, so we had a lot in common. And when they moved back to Germany, they sold us their Audi A6 wagon at a discount — the most luxurious automobile we have ever owned. They have stopped by to say hello when they’ve been back in our part of the world, so we are returning the favor, except that they have agreed to host us for two days. We are excited to see their home town with them!
It was an epic day of travel for us, starting with an Uber ride to Logan airport scheduled for 2:00 p.m. We checked our two big bags (pretty much the first time we’ve done that!) and got on an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin, where we had about a 2 hour break, and then got on our next flight to Amsterdam! First time in the Netherlands! Everything there went smoothly — baggage claim and customs — and then we got on a local train from the airport to downtown. We had a couple of hours before our scheduled train to Osnabrück, so we wheeled our ponderous “spinners” around the cobbled streets and sidewalks (almost as fun as it sounds) and had the smallest walking tour of downtown Amsterdam you can imagine.
Then we had “ham and cheese toasties” at Café Karpershoek, the oldest pub in Amsterdam which has been there since 1606!
While sitting outside, we watched with wonder at one of the craziest intersections I’ve seen, with pedestrians, bicycles, scooters, teeny cars on the bikeway, normal cars and trucks on the roadway, and streetcars, all negotiating a six or eight way conjunction with only a few close calls. Amazing, and a little frightening at the same time.
From Amsterdam we took the train to Osnabrück in Germany, and while the train had a twenty minute delay along the way, we managed to make the connecting train to Hamburg, which, happily, also had about a twenty minute delay. We arrived in Hamburg and crossed the street to the Hotel Reichshof where we were finally able to relax and put our feet up
at 6 p.m., about twenty-two hours after we left home. We showered, and then went to a nearby restaurant known for its German cuisine, took a small walk around that part of the city
(finding gelato along the way!), and finally got to bed at 10:30 when we settled in for a good night’s rest.
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