Off to the Netherlands

[Rich Gibson]

The wife and I are packed and we leave this evening for the Netherlands for two weeks. Last Friday the forecast was all sunny. Today it changed to their normal weather..overcast and rainy.:redface: Ah well, we have fun wherever we go. I hope to meet up with a Cafe member or two there. I have the Cafe flag so we should have a few memorable shots.

 

[Muonic]

Hope you have a great time, Rich.

It's funny, I don't see how you do it, really. After a lifetime of traveling for a living, I don't much have the desire to go anywhere. I've been retired for about a year, now, and just took my first trip last week. I went to Las Vegas, and practically had to force myself to do that. The last thing I want to do is get in the back of a plane for several hours. So much so, that I actually bought a first class ticket for my trip last week (and I can still fly free in coach). If I can't go first class, I'm not going. :smile:

 

[Rich Gibson]

Honestly, the wanderlust is tempering each year. Next year in celebration of our fiftieth anniversary we originally planned to take a river cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow. I'm re-thinking the trip though; we likely will take a leisurely three weeks and drive around the British Isles visiting friends we've met over the years instead. This year was to be Croatia. Carolyn said that he friends all raved about the Dalmation coast. I researched it and found it very impractical to do unless you cruise to those destinations. There is no train from Venice so you either have to drive, take a bus or train to the east coast of Italy and a catamaran across. Driving means passing through serbia and there are automobile insurance problems doing that. Yikes!

I asked her how her friends did it..."cruising" was the answer. Furthermore the places there are all hilly and would mean a lot of stair climbing. In February Carolyn encountered some heart problems so out change of plans was fortuitous...the highest spot in Holland is 300' and that is a tower. We'll stay in an apartment in Leiden and take the train around. The Netherlands have a very comprehensive rail system.

 

[Dutchwindmill]

Goeie reis!

 

[Rob Zijlstra]

Welcome to the Royal Kingdom of The Netherlands!

 

[Bikinchris]

I bet you will have a great time. Enjoy Netherlands. We will fly through there on our way to Rome then fly back to Brussels (where I was pickpocketed last time I went), then ride bikes back to Amsterdam from Brugge on a bike and boat, then do a Norway cruise, then come back to Amsterdam for another bike and boat week. Photos to follow.

 

[Pa]

I assume you're in the air over the big pond as I write this, but please accept my wishes for a great trip. My wife and I plan a trip to The Netherlands soon, and it will be during tulip season.

 

[Kees de Bruin]

Rich, first have a great trip and enjoy the visit to my lovely country. And, if you want to meet leave a DM and maybe we can work something out that fits your schedule.

 

[IAMAMRA]

Have a great time!

 

[Rich Gibson]

The flight over was one of the easiest we've ever had. No traffic going out to Dulles, only two people ahead of us at the check-in line, TSA was a breeze, and the flight was the smoothest (with KLM). AND...it's sunny outside.! Considering that the Netherlands has only 25 clear days a year we're very fortunate. Tomorrow we're off to the tulip fields...they're late this year so they haven't been all cut and sold.

We had an exciting experience waiting for our pickup taxi. We were sitting outside the departures terminal and all of a sudden about ten feet from us five burly gents tackled a man, hand cuffed him, put a blindfold over his eyes and escorted him away. (great idea about the blindfold; he wouldn't be able to see to try and run or communicate with accomplices) As they were struggling with him I could see that each had a sizable firearm at their waists. The man they apprehended was northern European, perhaps even dutch. He was a big guy too. They all had loose fitting casual civilian shirts, apparently to disguise their bullet proof vests. Two of the men grabbed a female who was near the man and quickly pulled away her bag of what appeared to be stuff she bought in the airport. They stood on either side of her keeping a wary eye on what was going on around..all the time ignoring us, as if we didn't exist. An elderly man and a woman also in very casual street clothes came out eventually and began speaking with her in Dutch. Wow!

I've been shooting street scenes and Saint Peters' Kirche. We're beat, no sleep on the airplane...but MUST NOT SLEEP!........zzzzzzzzzz

 

[mrbeal]

Wow! What a beginning to a trip! It's going to be boring after that scene, enjoy yourselves!

 

[Dutchwindmill]

Wow! What a beginning to a trip! It's going to be boring after that scene, enjoy yourselves!

Wait til they have spend a day with me.:biggrin:

 

[Bikinchris]

Rob is going to walk their legs off. He's fast.

 

[Rich Gibson]

We're back. It was finally sunny this morning as we took off. I'm going to produce a thread with a post per day once I get the shots processed.

Rich

 

[LyndeeLoo]

Seemed like you were gone for just a day - that's how fast the time flew. Glad you and Carolyn had safe travels!!

 

[Sanveann]

Can't wait to see the pics!

 

[italy74]

Enjoy your vacation, the whole area (BeNeLux) is of interest for me as well.

 

[Thymen]

Can't wait to see your pictures. Foreign people quite often see photo opportunities that locals do not notice, because they are so used to them!

Thymen

 

[Rich Gibson]

What I plan on doing is to create a thread with a post for each day. As I complete the processing I'll add them and a running commentary. Some time ago I proposed a travel blog style of photo essay. It wasn't met with wild abandon so I'll give this a try and see if anyone likes it.

I'll say this, while the weather was, in a word, bad the sights and people made it especially enjoyable. The Dutch are among the friendliest people we've met so far; that includes over twenty years of traveling abroad in Europe, Canada and the orient.

 

[Carole]

I'm re-thinking the trip though; we likely will take a leisurely three weeks and drive around the British Isles visiting friends we've met over the years instead.

That is my dream, to drive around the UK for a month. I want to find all those little villages and photograph them. The last time I was over there in 2009, my friend and I found this quaint little village in northern Herefordshire. It was like going back in time. We stopped into a little tea shop for afternoon tea and scones, and the lady made them right then! LOVELY!!!

Carole