Thursday. I arrived at 7AM My friend met me and we took the train to Bodegraven southwest of Amd. This was a day of rest and recovery
Friday. was spent discovering Bodegraven. It is a small village with many shops and restaurants. They have a library with computer access. We went to Gouda and saw the town. It is about 10 km away. All trans is by train or bus. A lot of walking.
Sat. we went to Amd by train. Walked around and took the boat ride in the canals for 1 hr. Will return to Amd at a later date for more adventure.
Now I am staying at a B&B for 30.00 Euro per day. It is a farm setting with horses and ducks, etc. It even has a thatched roof.
Sun. Went to Arnhem, about 40 km to the East by train. This was the site of the Marvin Garden assault by the Alies Sept 44. The entire town was destroyed. You can get the Video, A Bridge to Far. It tells the story. There is a church that rises 90 meters above the city and you can ride to the observation dcck at 73 meters. The chuch was severly damaged and has been repaired. The weather went sour in the afternoon and has been raining of and on for 24 hrs.
Monday. went to Utrecht about 30 kms from Bodegraven by train. The weather was rainy and cold. Spent about 5 hrs walking around the rather large town. I has one of the most unique churches I have seen. It was built in the 1400's and there are Saints buried in the floor.
Tuesday. Went to Amd again with a friend I met in Utrecht. We spent about 4 hrs there, seeing the Heiniken Brewery and the Red Light Dist. Very interesting. Then we just walked around the city looking at the sights and watched the street preformers.
Wednesday. Went to Rotterdam on the bus, traveling thru all the little towns and villages and country side. Took about 2 hrs to get there. Spent some time meeting people and just walking around. Did visit the Euromast, but there were over 200 people waiting to go to the top. It's similar to the Seatle Space Needle. I took the train back in about 1hr 20 min.
Thursday. Today was a relax and save $$ day. Went for a 22 km bike ride through the countryside. Several little villages, but mostly farm land with cattle and sheep. Lots of water, ie canals. Several windmills.
Friday. Went to Lelystad to see the aviation museum.Llots of foreign aircraft including a Boeing KLM 747.
Saturday, July 1. Went to Anterp, Gent and Brugge Belgium. Brugge is about 900 yrs old.
Sunday. Went to Utrechet to visit and have lunch with a friend.
Monday. Arrive Berlin by train with no AC for a 6 hr ride. The hotel also has no AC, but it does have CNN Europe in English.
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