Today we started on the real work of this vacation — cycling! We had a small breakfast on the boat, and were able to pack a sandwich for lunch. We had our bike orientation, and Susan was given an e-Bike, and I got a “traditional” bike. We headed out from Enkhuizen and mostly followed along the coastline.
It was a very windy day today, and we were fighting it most of the way, with occasional breaks provided by trees. We got lovely views of the water,
and saw lots of people taking advantage of the wind by kite boarding, and other wind/board sports.
We saw our boat, motoring to our meeting point
We got to the destination town, Medemblik, by around noon, and were able to watch our crew very impressively “park” the boat.
After that, we rode down the main street of the town, and found a restaurant for lunch. After lunch, came the obligatory ice cream, then we took a brief look at the local castle, where Matt and Susan showed off their balancing skills
before heading back to the boat.
The rest of the day was a pretty relaxed affair, for us anyway, but we got to see the crew navigate through a lock,
and a center-pivot swing bridge, which was pretty nifty. We were served dinner as the boat was nearing the island of Texel, where we will be for the next two nights.
Today, we woke up in Enkhuizen, and after a hotel breakfast, we walked around the town some, exploring the cute harbor town and marveling at the Dutch combination of streets and canals,
where bikes get the right of way in general, and the drivers seem actually aware of what’s going on around them. We watched sailboats with tall masts come down a canal, where a pedestrian bridge was drawn to accommodate them.
We found lunch at a cute restaurant, definitely in the touristy part of town, and we checked out the unique “Ship in a Bottle” museum.
We checked out a cheese shop
And even found an optical shop where Susan was able to get her sunglasses repaired (one of the screws was lost)
We picked up our luggage from the hotel, and carted it down to where our boat was moored, and were able to drop off our luggage there, which was handy. Along the way, we met up with some of our party, and Parke showed us the way to the boat.
By 4:00, our prescribed boarding time, almost all of the group had arrived. We were each shown our room,
and given time to unpack, and we re-gathered at 5:30 for the safety briefing. And by the time the safety briefing was done, it was time for dinner! We were served a lovely dinner and dessert, then most of the group went out for a walk around the town.
Tomorrow we will learn more about the bikes, and we will bike from Enkhuizen to Medemblik, where we will meet up with the boat again.
After a lovely, relaxed home breakfast with our hosts, Frank drove us to the train station in Kiel. But from there, it was all trains, all day. We boarded our first train in Kiel just after 10, which was supposed to take us to Hamburg. We were at the station early, and there was a train on the next track over, and an announcer said, “If you want to get to Hamburg earlier, go on that train.” Well, we should have listened, but we stuck with our original plan and schedule. About halfway there, there was an announcement to say that the train was not going to make it all the way, so we had to get off two stops early, and switch trains. Which meant a delay. By some miracle, the train we were meeting in Hamburg was also a bit delayed, so we were able to catch it. But we were not so lucky with the next connection, because that train, that would take us to Amsterdam, was not so late. So we missed that connection.
We went to the Deutsche Bahn office at the station, and explained the situation. The man there kindly told us that there was another train 2 hours later. When we asked if we could reserve seats (you are supposed to reserve seats on the ICE — InterCity Express — trains) on the later train, we were informed that this was impossible, since seats must be reserved the day before at the latest! The clerk didn’t seem to sense the disconnect between our missing the scheduled train due to a delay in the previous train and them not accommodating us. When asked if we could just board the train, we were told we must check with the conductor first! And he would decide if we could board the train.
Well, after considering many options (use “local” trains that don’t require a seat reservation, but which would get us in very late if all those connections worked; stay the night in a hotel and reserve seats on a train the next day; etc.) we decided to risk it and simply board the train, and either stand in the space between cars, or try to find 2 unclaimed seats near each other, which seemed unlikely since everything was telling us that all seats were reserved. In the end, we were able to find two unreserved seats across from each other (imagine that!), and were able to get to Amsterdam. From there, a local Nederlandse Spoorwegen train took us the final hour out to Enkhuizen, and we got to our hotel (4 minute walk from the train station) at 9:30, after eleven and a half hours of train travel (and station waiting).
Tomorrow will be an exciting day, after we lug our luggage to the boat! We board at 4:00 p.m., but stay in port for the night, after getting settled in, having whatever orientation is needed, getting fitted for our bikes, and having dinner together. We will do a little sightseeing in Enkhuizen before heading that way. Until then!
On Wednesday morning, we woke after a lovely restful night’s sleep, got a quick breakfast at a bakery across the street,
then checked out of the hotel, and walked with our luggage over to the train station, where we got on the train to Kiel, in the north of Germany.
When we arrived, the train station was decorated with sails, as Kiel is a big sailing town. Many of the 1972 Olympic water sport events were held there. Frank met us there, and brought us to their home, a few km from the center of town. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon catching up, and a brief outing back to town where we walked along the waterfront and enjoyed some gelato (are you sensing a theme?). For dinner, their two boys joined us, along with a girlfriend, and they prepared a grilled feast of meats and vegetables. We stuffed ourselves, and chatted until 11:00 p.m., catching the last part of the Argentina/England game. We were all rooting for England.
We had a relaxed morning on Thursday, and in the afternoon, they brought us back to the harbor and took us on a boat tour of the bay,
after which we stopped for a quick snack of coffee and cake. For dinner that night, we went to El M?venschiss (Seagull Poop)
restaurant for dinner, a favorite of our hosts. We had some traditional German fare — Wiener Schnitzel vom Kalb and Roastbeef vom Holsteiner Rind. We then walked along the harbor some more, and saw the Olympic torch
more boats
and stopped for a group photo
And then we went home and had a little schnapps, and got a good night sleep.
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.
This past weekend, Susan and I drove to the northwest corner of Massachusetts, to a town named North Adams, [geo_mashup_map] as a last chance vacation before school begins. This year, only one of us is actually going back to school, Susan, to teach eighth grade science again. Even Clara, who is still in school at NU, is on co-op this semester. And Susan will in fact be teaching from home. But before things begin in earnest (classes don’t begin until 21 September!) there is all kinds of teacher training and stuff to prepare everyone for the most bizarre fall in living memory. So we wanted to get away, even if it was only for two days, and still in state (to follow quarantine guidelines!)
We drove out late Saturday morning, stopping at Herrick’s Tavern for a nice, outdoor lunch. Herrick’s has been one of our favorite stops on the way home from frisbee tournaments, back when that was a thing.
See? I told you it was Herrick’s
When we arrived in North Adams, our AirBnB host greeted us warmly, and over the next half hour we learned most of his life story, some interesting tidbits about the town (where almost all his story took place), and precious little about the apartment. We unpacked the van, and then went walking around the center of town, and did a bit of grocery shopping. After putting away groceries, we headed out to the local brewery, Bright Ideas, for some beer and BBQ from A-OK Barbecue. Good beer and tasty food!
On Sunday, after a home breakfast, we ventured out on our bikes! First, we headed back east, and rode out to Natural Bridge State Park, where we enjoyed learning about and seeing the after effects of marble mining. The marble from there is not terribly fine, and apparently much of it, especially in later years, was simply ground up into calcium carbonate powder for all kinds of uses. But the park was lovely, and the natural bridge was certainly something to see. Most importantly, Susan got to scratch her geological itch a bit, and hug a rock.
I love you. You are my rock.
We rode back home, and had a home lunch, and then got right back on our saddles and headed west to hike the Cascade Trail. It is a modest trail, mostly following alongside a brook, and leading up to a lovely waterfall. It being the dry season, the falls were hardly dramatic, but still picturesque:
Not much water, but enough to cause falls
After hiking back down to the elementary school where we parked our bikes, and riding back to our AirBnB, we cleaned up and headed out for dinner. We had planned to walk over to the nice Italian restaurant in town, but they are apparently only open Wednesday through Saturday, so we had to find an alternative. OpenTable suggested the Freight Yard Pub, and we called and made a quick reservation, as we were uncertain how crowded it might be. When we arrived (by car, and the only use of the car in town until then) about 15 minutes later, we were able to get a table on the patio right away (would have been fine even without a reservation). Susan’s steak tips were very good, and even the mixed vegetables accompanying the tips were notably flavorful. I enjoyed the fajitas I ordered, though something disagreed with my tummy later in the evening.
The next morning, Monday, we went out for breakfast to Renee’s, which Scott had recommended. It was a lovely restaurant, with recently expanded outdoor seating, and we enjoyed a nice relaxed breakfast, before packing up and heading home. Really home.
North Adams was a lovely, scenic little town in the Berkshires. We enjoyed the two days we spent there. The downtown area was rather depressed though. A non-scientific survey suggests about half the storefronts are closed. How much of that is due to the Covid-19 pandemic I don’t know. I only know it can’t have helped.
All in all, we had a great trip to Geneva. This is (for us) a once-in-a-lifetime type of family vacation. We were immensely grateful to have Emma there as our guide and interpreter. It’s very clear that it’s possible to get around without any knowledge of French (or German or Italian, the two other common official languages of Switzerland, but Geneva is very much the French speaking part), but I always felt a bit on edge knowing I couldn’t readily communicate with anyone who couldn’t speak English.
Geneva is a wonderful city, small enough to be manageable, but big enough to have all kinds of things to see and do. We only scratched the surface in that respect, but were beginning to have a feel for the geography of the city. Public transportation is great there, with buses and trams covering everywhere we needed to get to, but given its size, a lot of it is very walkable. We did not regret doing without a car.
The weather might have been more pleasant, but it was winter after all, and it never really stopped us from doing anything. Our two trips to the flea market were disappointing to Emma, who wanted to show us its full glory, but rain and cold kept most vendors away. I might have preferred a warmer jacket, but we intentionally packed light. I was glad to have brought an umbrella.
We got to try many of Switzerland’s famous dishes, among them Fondue, Raclette, and Rösti. We tasted the unique Rivella, and had many (but never enough) chocolates.
AirBNB served us well, finding us an apartment that cost less than most of the hotels we were finding, and which provided us with a much better home base than a hotel. Most days we had a simple breakfast at home, ate a larger lunch, and came back to the apartment for a simple dinner. Money was fairly simple — we brought some Swiss francs with us, ordered through our local bank, and then used ATMs there when we needed more. There is a fee, of course. Both our Discover card, and one of our Visa cards, offered currency conversion with no fee, so we were able to use those for most purchases.
Travel Day 2 means time to go home, of course, which is sad in a way, but in other ways we were ready. We woke early, finished packing and cleaning, then headed off to a local boulangerie for breakfast, something we hadn’t done on the trip previously. Emma met us there, and we had a nice meal, then went back to the apartment to grab our luggage and head to Gare Cornavin where we got on a train to take us to the airport. We checked our bags, and said goodbye to Emma. We had a noon flight out of Geneva, which was scheduled to get us to Montreal at 2:20 in the afternoon, after 8 hours of flying. We ended up leaving a little late, but arrived on time, and after a quick pass through customs, were ready and waiting for the final flight home. This too was a little late, but not enough to be bothersome. It was also overbooked, so they offered $400 to people willing to take the next flight. Thankfully, they only announced once, and we got to Boston around 5:20. We took the Silver Line to the Red Line, and Alexx was once again willing to help get us home. 30 hour days are long days.
No Jazz Festival at the moment, but we spent a good part of the day exploring Château de Chillon.
This is an amazing castle dating back to the 11th century. We walked all through the 47 tour stations, taking in bedrooms, dining halls, dungeons, latrines, etc. The views were spectacular, looking over Lac Leman and the surrounding countryside.
We had lunch at a restaurant back in Montreux, where we tried Raclette and the kind of fondue where you cook thin meat in broth. Again, we stopped at the grocery store at the train station near home and got some dinner supplies. After a simple dinner, Emma took Tyler and Clara out to a movie, and we went out to a hip whiskey bar in the Bohemian section of town, successfully negotiating the tram on our own, and ordering drinks. Thankfully, the bartender spoke English.
Today we met Emma at Gare Cornavin, bought tickets, and hopped on a tram headed to CERN.
[geo_mashup_map]
We did not have tickets for a tour, but have heard mixed reviews on the tour anyway. So we were able to go into the Globe,
which is their visitors center. There was a theater with a brief video about the work they do, helping to understand the origins of matter and the universe. Pretty heady stuff! There were some interesting dioramas showing bits of the technology involved. The emotional favorite was Sir Tim Berners-Lee‘s NeXT computer where the first web server was programmed and/or run.
After our brief visit to CERN, we headed back home via the grocery store, and made ourselves a simple lunch. After lunch, we headed back towards the flea market to try our luck on a non-rainy day, and stopped along the way at the Smith Center and had a chance to meet the director there. Unfortunately, the cold and wind kept most of the vendors away from the flea market yet again, so that was a bit of a bust.
To make up for it, we did a little shopping at the nearby thrift stores, and Clara even found a candidate prom dress! From there, Emma had to head off to a class, so we had to fend for ourselves and find our way home. We took a quick bearing and headed in the general direction, and came upon the entrance to a park, and quickly discovered it was the Patinoire des Bastions where we had been yesterday, and from there we easily found our way back to Bel Air, and home from there.
For dinner, we made a simple chicken parm over spaghetti. Only one more day of fun in Geneva.
