GoGrano – Page 4 – Join me as I explore the world. Churches. Chapels. Castles. Culture.

Aalsmeer FloraHolland

8,000 steps 0 churches, 0 castles, 1 culture

FloraHolland is the largest trading market for flowers in the world. It’s located just outside of Amsterdam in Aalsmeer, is open to the public from 7 -11:00 am, and costs about $6 to enter. The massive warehouse, shipping yard and trading center must be one kilometer long and a few hundred yards wide. Wear your walking shoes and prepare for an unusual adventure into the world of trade in The Netherlands. You’ll be rewarded with a new respect for business and the astounding sight of beautiful flowers packed for trade.

Even though the just-cut flowers are gorgeous, the story here is about sales, not beauty. More than 4,000 people work at FloraHolland, participating in the trade of millions of dollars of flowers from all over the world. It is a bustling work place of more than 1 million square yards. The flowers move from field to auction to your home in less than 48 hours.

Even though you walk along the raised platform for at least 10 minutes to get to the center of the action, you can see over the rails to the action in the warehouse below and there are explanatory signs posted in several languages all along the walkway. One sign explained, “Floraholland membership consists of thousands of growers representing approximately 60 countries…they hail from countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Israel, Columbia, Equador, Belgium, Italy and the UK.”

We climbed to the second floor of the warehouse and then walked a loooooong platform high above the action to learn how flowers are packed in boxes according to type of flower or plant or decorative vegetable or grass, then rushed to this trading center (the largest of several flower auctions in the Netherlands), sold off in a Dutch auction, then quickly moved to the brokers for redistribution back out across Germany, england, Belgium, France and other points across mostly Europe.

Growers list all the lot information on a form that accompanies the just-picked flowers to FloraHolland. The flowers arrive after the auction closes at 11 am and are placed on trolleys. Flowers that need cold are moved to cold storage and plants that need warm are moved to warm storage. Auctions begin at 6 am but this is a 24-hour business.

The flowers are brought into the center on long “trains” so the flatbeds pass by loaded with, for example, pink roses. They are inspected by buyers who call up to the auction floor and report on the quality of the plants. About 120 buyers have seats on the auction floor and sit in a tiered semi-circle staring at two huge round calculators on a screen. Buyers can also participate remotely by internet.

Here’s an example of how the auction works. A photo of pink roses appears with a suggested price of, say 29 cents a stem, and a box on the clock screen tells how many cases of roses are available, say 120 cases. Within seconds, buyers bid at the 29 cent price and also input how many cases they want. As the flowers are sold off, if buyers really want pink roses, the price starts to climb as the quantity starts to drop (think supply and demand). If no one wants pink roses today, the price may start to drop and late buyers may get the remaining pink flowers for 18 cents a stem (or lower) until all the roses are solde. If everyone wants pink roses today, the price quickly rises and late buyers may pay 35 cents or more per stem.

All 120 cases of roses can sell off in about 10 seconds but I saw no auction last longer than 30 seconds. The flowers need to move fast so they can stay as fresh as possible. In a few minutes time, you might see 12 auctions for a dozen different colors of roses followed by 10 auctions for six different colors of irises. The highest priced flower I saw was an almost black iris; it went for 95 cents per stem.

Here is another explanation of the auction process taken right from the information signs: “Circles, lamps and numbers – The auctioning is led by an auctioneer. The auction clock is a circle numbered from 1 to 100 around which a red lamp moves. These numbers correspond with the prices offered. The system used is known as a Dutch Auction, which means going from a high price to a low price. The auctioneer will start the lamp at a high number (i.e., a high price) and then let it go down. If a buyer wants to bid on a lot, he presses a button. If he is the first one to do so, the lamp stops and the number at which it has stopped is the price.”

The grasses and decorative vegetables are all part of the flower sales. In addition, some flowers arrive already packed in individual boxes so there might be a “train” load of long stemmed flowers in long whiteboxes with gold lettering and a ribbon around the box. More than 2,500 flowers trains move through the facility each hour.

Once the flowers are sold, they are packed into containers for the appropriate buyers and shipped out immediately to points around the world. In this photo you can see where carts are being loaded with the purchases of individual buyers within 90 minutes of their sale. Once the buyer is done for the day – well before noon — the cart is transported to a truck and immediately shipped out to the buyer’s designated destination.

We got up extra early for this experience because FloraHolland opened at 7:00 am, giving us time to tour before heading on to Amsterdam from Wassenaar. We drove by car and did not see any public transportation as FloraHolland is located on the outskirts of town in a rural/industrial area. The parking lot is on the roof of the warehouses and is so large that it is confusing to figure out where to park and then it is confusing to figure out how to get out of the parking lot when you leave. If you decide to visit, make sure to make note of where you leave your car and how to get to the exit. There is no clear line of sight to see where the ramp that leads you off the building’s rooftop is located. You’ll eventually figure it out but pay attention when you drive up to the roof.

This is a must-see attraction and I’ll be back to visit again. It’s definitely a marriage of beauty and business.

Rijksmuseum

Our first stop in Amsterdam was the extraordinary Rijksmuseum, the Museum of the Netherlands. We made our reservations months ahead of time and were rewarded by a comfortable, early-morning visit with controlled crowds. What a treasure!

First off, the building itself is beautiful with a colorful brick exterior decorated with intricate designs of inlaid bricks. There is a feeling of graviats as you enter the building yet as you look up, the huge space fills with light and welcomes you to enter.

Secondly, the story of Dutch exploration and accumulated wealth is reflected in massive paintings of men at work and families at play, all richly dress and sporting elaborate jewelry. The Dutch lavishly support the arts so the museum has a bountiful display of great art as well as significant artifacts like furniture and boxes for storage of precious items. The entire museum is dedicated to arts, crafts and history.

DSC04946 Amsterdam Rijksmuseum Rembrandt's drapers guild x — The Wardens of the Amsterdam Drapers’ Guild by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, 1662

You will see lots and lots of these kind of Dutch paintings across Europe. With no photography, back in the day, it was common for guilds and families to pose for portraits.

In this photo you can see how the painting looks on the wall at the Rijksmuseum. The painting on the left is the Drapers’ Guild; the painting on the right is The Jewish Bride.

This painting filled a long wall at the museum where it’s been a mighty crowd pleaser since 1885 and it was difficult to get close – so I borrowed this image from Wikipedia which says this is the best known painting in the Rijksmuseum’s collection. My source says, “The painting is renowned for three characteristics: its colossal size (363 cm × 437 cm (11.91 ft × 14.34 ft)), the effective use of light and shadow (chiaroscuro), and the perception of motion in what would have traditionally been a static military portrait.”

Each district of Amsterdam had a guard unit made up of about 120 men. This, most likely, was a guard unit who kept watch on their area of the city. “There were some 120 men in Frans Banning Cocq’s company, but only 19 of them are shown in the painting…Depending on where they were positioned, (the subjects) paid up to 100 guilders each to be included, and the captain and lieutenant no doubt paid more than that,” according to Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen in “What Great Paintings Say – Volume 2.” This wasn’t a fighting unit – Amsterdam largely used mercenaries to fight their wars – it was really more of a guild of city leaders.

The next painting is one of my favorites. My little “bible” of art, Julian Porter’s “149 Paintings You Really Need to See in Europe” says, “When he saw this painting in 1885, Van Gogh said, ‘What an intimate, what an infinitely sympathetic painting. Believe me, and I mean this sincerely, I would have given 10 years of my life if I could sit for a fortnight before this painting with just a dry crust of bread to eat.‘” Yes, it’s that good.

In the book Rembrandt, Christopher White wrote, The Jewish Bride “is one of the greatest expressions of the tender fusion of spiritual and physical love in the history of painting.” No one is sure of who the people are in the portrait but some people think they were a couple posing as a biblical couple for this portrait.

The people of Amsterdam sometimes posed for portraits that depicted scenes from the Old Testament of the Bible. The Netherlands were a fairly new country when it became rich through trade in the 1650’s, so if painters wanted to paint history, some chose to paint bible history. This was a bit problematic because the country was heavily Calvinistic at this time and the religion placed restrictions on artistic subjects (paintings were even forbidden in Calvinist churches). Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen discuss this in “What Great Paintings Say – Volume 3”, writing, “Calvin did not want paintings to be worshipped, his teachings thus forbad works of art depicting God, Jews, Mary or the martyrs of the Catholic Church.” That pretty much left the Old Testament. The Netherlands “certainly had no heroes who could hope to compare with the famous figures of the Old Testament.”

DSC04924 Amsterdam Reijksmuseum Rembrandt x — Self Portrait by Rembrandt, 1628

The Rijksmuseum has curated their collection in such a way that it is easy to understand not just the item but the context of the item. The picture above is a tiny self portrait by Rembrandt. The curation notes, in both Dutch and English, take up more wall space than the painting. This is terrific! I can easily see the text and the image, making my visit easy and interesting.

Here’s a typical sign that appeared next to the Drapers’ Guild painting. See how easy it is to understand both the history and the art?

DSC04959 Amsterdam Reijksmuseum The Threatened Swan x — The Threatened Swan, Jan Assalijn, 1650

Isn’t this swan just magnificent? It fills a wall at the museum. This painting was so lifelike, I expected the swan to hiss at me.

DSC04958 Amsterdam Reijksmuseum The Feast of St Nicholas xt — The Feast of St. Nicholas by Jan Havicksz Steen, about 1650

This isn’t one of the “greats” but I love it because it kind of reminds me of Christmas at our house when the kids were growing up. Note the child who got coal from St. Nicholas. Not good.

DSC04954 Amsterdam — Vermeer, The Milkmaid, 1658-1661

The Rijksmuseum is where I finally fell in love with Vermeer. I used to volunteer to teach art appreciation to students at my kids’ elementary school as part of a team of school docents. We introduced students to Vermeer but concentrated on his technique rather than content. Imagine my astonishment when I saw what the man could do beyond technique! The Milkmaid transforms the very space where it hangs with a rich butter-yellow tone that engulfs the room. Julian Porter writes, “The jumping blue of the balloon skirt against the flaxen yellow of the cloth blouse set under a gold pot against an ivory spotted wall flooded in light is a drawing room bravura act.” I already miss this painting.

Here is more great stuff at the Rijksmuseum showing the wealth made through trade.

There was an interesting exhibit of 21 Joan Miro sculptures in the Rijksmuseum Gardens, but we just ran out of time and didn’t visit. It was kind of funny that when we traveled to Barcelona to the Miro Museum, one of his sculptures was missing – it was back in Amsterdam and we had missed it there, too.

DSC05017 Amsterdam Rijksmuseum Joan Miro x — Personnage by Joan Miro, 1975

I did get to enjoy Miro’s Personnage 1975 as it was displayed in the Rijksmuseum lobby. I couldn’t find a sign telling me what I was seeing but people stopped and photographed the sculpture because it simply dominated the space.

So that’s the Rijksmuseum for this visit. I’ll be back again next summer 2016 and you can count on me adding to this page.

Amsterdam is the question. No, I did not. Is the answer.

Amsterdam

40,000 steps, 2 days: 3 churches, 0 castles, 5 culture

We traveled to the Netherlands for a week in August 2015. We landed in Amsterdam via a Viking Rhine River tour, stayed with a friend in Wassenaar, drove through the country and also visited Belgium, and left by high speed train to Paris. The weather was rainy and warm, the people were friendly, we were surprised at every turn by the tradition-laced modernity of the country, and we were charmed by the tolerance for all lifestyles.

We were excited to get to Amsterdam to see the city but the real draw was meeting with Maureen’s daughter Melody who lives in Wassenaar, about 1 hour from Amsterdam and next door to the Hague. Once our Viking boat docked, we stayed at Melody’s comfortable home for 7 nights and explored The Netherlands and Belgium using her house as a base and her car for transportation. Melody went way, way out of her way to make us comfortable – just a great hostess. Here’s Maureen with her daughter Melody in Wassernaur.

As our boat docked, we realized we didn’t have our Amsterdam Museum passes – they were at Melody’s house. So we rushed through the Captain’s good-bye dinner (delicious!) and grabbed public transportation to meet Melody at the Amsterdam airport. Kisses, hugs, introductions…. then back to the ship to spend the night.

In the morning, we packed up our suitcases, I enjoyed one last yummy breakfast aboard the Viking ship Hlin: scrambled eggs and sausage and a sweet roll with home-made jelly and sweet, sweet yogurt and Diet Coke. Then we rolled our suitcases about a block away to the train station where we stored them in the luggage lockers. Best of all, we met back up with Rachel who had come in from Bruges where she had spent the week while we Viking cruised. The 3 P-Nuts are back together again!

We stopped at the Tourist Information building directly across from Amsterdam’s Central Train Station (Bahnhof), picked up maps, and purchased a day card for public transportation (7.50 Eur). Then we were ready to explore Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Traffic

I think video games were invented after a game designer made a trip to Amsterdam. Crossing the street is a major challenge as you dodge pedestrians, cars, baby buggies, taxis, buses, skate boards and bicycles. The bicyclists follow no rules and come at your from all sides out of nowhere, shouting as they pass within a breath of you. They ride their bikes across plazas, sidewalks, streets…anywhere you are.

The trams travel atop grass because it deadens the sound of the trains on the city streets plus adds some green to the cityscape.

On the other hand, one charming mode of transportation is these baby buggies. The first is driven by a bicyclist with baby seated in the bucket-like front seat – complete with plastic weather gear. The second is a day care wagon for 8 kids powered by what looks like a Segway. Sometimes babies are in car seats but most often, they’re just kind of hanging on. The third bike can be used for carting kids or groceries or anything else that will fit.

The people are gorgeous! Tall and big, they dominate the space with loud laughter and good will. Then again, maybe they were tourists.

Food

Food is a problem in Amsterdam because everything is delicious and it’s hard to decide where to spend your appetite. We read great reviews for the teeny-tiny Upstairs Pancake House on Trip Advisor so we secured reservations at the Pannenkoekenhuis Upstairs and took ourselves up a very, very steep staircase to the second floor to a little restaurant that perched like a nest in a tree. To reach the toilet, you needed to cross the two story staircase that was more like a ladder. We wedged into one of the four tables in the place and anticipated a great treat. Because we wanted to taste everything on the menu, we ordered three pancakes and split them among ourselves: Ham and tomato, pineapple and bacon, and strawberries and cream. All, spectacular. I want to do it all over again.

We continued to eat our way across Amsterdam at the Albert Cuyp Market. Getting there was an adventure as we knew we were near but couldn’t seem to find the huge market street because we always seemed to be on the wrong side of a canal or behind a canyon of buildings that blocked our view. So I asked myself, is it about the journey or the destination? then settled down and enjoyed the adventure. That’s when I discovered the quirks of Amsterdam.

First, a gorgeous doorway – I wanted to step inside just to look around then realized this was one of many, many doorways and I’d never get to see the other sides. Still, wouldn’t you just love to see what’s behind the door?

Some folks displayed their treasures in their picture windows. I wonder if this collector is sharing her wedding-toppers or if she’s the merry widow?

Can I just say I love the houseboats of Amsterdam? How romantic to live on a canal and bicycle to work.

It’s always a treat to spy my favorite brewery and the delivery truck just down the street.

A hotdog seems just the right thing to go with a cold beer on a very, very hot day in Amsterdam. What’s with the winter coat?

Albert Cuyp Market

We finally found the long, winding street just off the canals that is the Albert Cuyp Market. It’s lined with small shops and temporary stands selling baked goods, vegetables, blue jeans, Chinese kitchenware, scented candles, shoes, fruits, honey, scarves: you name it, it’s there.

We were advised to try the poffertjes. The little pancakes sprinkled with butter and powdered sugar were melt-in-your-mouth sweet bits of heaven.

We were also advised to try stroopwafels, which we did. But the little waffles glued together with a sweet paste were so sweet they made your teeth squeek. So I ate a couple bites and found a trash can for the rest. More pofferjes, please.

The good news about food is that you get to eat it all through the day. The bad news: I seem to have taken all photos of sweets. Here are a few of our other temptations.

DSC05073 Amsterdam Albert Cuyp Market x — Oops, sweets again. They were just SO tempting!

Van Gogh Museum

It probably sounds churlish to say I expected more. Maybe I was just hot. Maybe I was just tired. After all, the Van Gogh Museum has the largest collection of his works in the world. The Cleveland Museum of Art has outstanding Van Gogh paintings, and so does the Louvre. But this museum was created by Van Gogh’s sister-in-law and nephew and provides a loving description of his life with examples of many of Van Gogh’s 900 paintings (not always the originals). Vincent only lived to be 37 but he created a hell of a lot of art in that time: 1,000 drawings, 150 water colors, 10 graphic works, 9 lithographs.

A visit to the Van Gogh Museum was more about spending some time with Vincent in a beautiful museum than it was about seeing a good restrospective of his art. I saw an extraordinary retrospective exhibit of his art at the Toledo Museum of Art 30 years ago – I really liked seeing Van Gogh’s progress as an artist and also it was interesting to see his descent into mental illness. The Van Gogh Museum of art is, instead, curated to share the happier parts of Van Gogh’s life. As Van Gogh wrote, “To do good work, one must eat well, be well housed, have one’s fling from time to time, smoke one’s pipe, and drink one’s coffee in peace.”

Here are a few of the paintings I loved seeing in person at the Van Gogh Museum. In the entryway, was a whole collection of VanGogh’s self portraits. It was interesting to see how he painted himself as he aged.

DSC08698 Amsterdam Van Gogh x — Self Portrait, Vincent van Gogh

van-gogh-wheatfield-with-crows — Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890

The intense colors and angry brush strokes create a pastoral scene of violence. Sumptuous to look at, but I wouldn’t have wanted to have been there when he was painting this. What was happening in that field 125 years ago?

vangogh 2 — Blossoming Almond Tree by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890

I do absolutely love this painting which Vincent gave to his brother as a gift; it hung over his brother and sister-in-law’s bed. This photo does not do justice as the actual painting is horizontal, not square, and very large. But the blue is dreamily gorgeous and the sensuously twining branches are extraordinary.

sunflowers — Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh, 1889. Photo source: http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0031V1962

vangogh 3 — The Bedroom by Vincent Van Gogh, 1888

I love seeing how the painter lived in this portrait of his bedroom. One of the things I love best about art is that not only do you witness technique, but you also get to see the artist’s interpretation of the world. Everyone knows what a bedroom looks like, but Vincent made this room his own, complete with quirky persepctive.

The museum, itself, is worth visiting even if you aren’t a fan of Van Gogh. It is light and airy and fun to move around. From time to time the navigation was confusing but friendly guards were happy to help out. However, you know how you might visit a new friend and their house is gorgeous but not at all what you expected because it’s nothing like their personality? That’s the feeling I got with this building. The paintings seemed like they (the paintings) were just visiting.

DSC03262 Amsterdam Van Gogh Museum x — Van Gogh Museum

Dutch Resistance Museum

The Dutch Resistance Museum has been named the best historical museum in the Netherlands. I was impressed with the resilience and the quiet fight conducted by the Dutch during WWII. In thousands of ways – from compromising bridges to hiding Jews, the Dutch people resisted during their five year occupation by the Nazis. This museum focuses not just on the thousands of people murdered by the Nazis but also on the hardships endured by the people of the Netherlands from hunger to cold to the conscription of citizens to feed the Nazi war machine. The museum also looks at what freedom meant when the “Allies came calling” (their words, not mine).

Dutch Resistance Museum – Amsterdam

DSC05096 Amsterdam Dutch Resistance Museum x — Dutch Resistance Museum

dutch-res-museum-poster-425 x — Dutch Resistance Museum

dutch resistance museum 2 x — Dutch Resistance Museum

The Dutch Resistance Museum took on current political prisoners and steps that need to be taken to support those who are incarcerated for their beliefs or their heritage. In a special education area, the Museum posted: “Even today, 70 years after World War Two, people are still imprisoned because of their opinions or because they oppose the powers that be. Frequently, this also serves to intimidate the rest of the population.” Dutch students wrote biographies of three such prisoners from Saudi Arabia, China and Eritrea. The following photo is a picture of a box stuffed with wishes for these political prisoners.

Anne Frank House

It was fascinating to visit the Anne Frank house – I was inspired by her book when I first read it as a young teen and I continue to count it among my most interesting reads. Every single page brings to mind, “this is a life,” and people matter. This little statue stands near the Anne Frank house, as does the headstone.

The Westerkerk is very near to Anne Frank’s house – she writes in her diary that hearing the churchbells helped her to keep track of time.

On August 10, 1943, Anne wrote: We’ve all been a little confused this past week because our dearly beloved Westertoren bells have been carted off to be melted down for the war, so we have no idea of the exact time, either night or day. I still have hopes that they’ll come up with a substitute, made of tin or copper or some such thing, to remind the neighborhood of the clock. (Source: Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida)

I was surprised at the size of the Anne Frank house – I always imagined a tiny area the size of my own attic. It was actually quite large with several rooms, running water, and a beautiful Delft bathroom. I was also surprised to learn that the Frank family did get to roam around the very large building after hours. However, this does not begin to pardon those who stole their freedom and their lives. And it also does not acknowledge the incredible sacrifice of those who hid the family and friends. The tour was emotional and humanized the story of the holocaust.

No photos (or bags or backpacks) were allowed in the house so I freely borrowed some from the internet. Thank you to the Anne Frank organization and to IaminAmsterdam.com for the photos.

We left our luggage at a drop off place (Dutch: bagagekluizen) . We paid a few euro and left the luggage for several hours. It was a bit random — we had to look for the attendant when we returned for our luggage — but it only took a few moments to find him running from down the street to meet us.

The Hermitage Amsterdam

The Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam is branch of the more famous museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. For more than 300 years, this building was used to house the elderly as the Amstelhof but it was thoroughly modernized as an art museum in 2007. There is an excellent permanent exhibit of the Golden Age of the Netherlands but we had already seen nearly the same thing at the Rijksmuseum.

Hermitage Museum, Amsterdam

DSC03319 Hermitage in Amsterdam x — Hermitage Museum – Amsterdam

The real reason for our visit the Hermitage was to view a visiting exhibit of Napoleon. Photography was forbidden which was disappointing because many of the artifacts were beautiful. More interesting, the Hermitage had recreated whole rooms filled with the treasures of the Napoleonic era for the temporary exhibit.

DSC03313 Hermitage x — Hermitage Museum Alexander Napoleon & Josephine

The following is an image of the exhibit borrowed from the New York Times. The New York Times website also includes an excellent story about the exhibit with additional photographs.

Image source: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/arts/international/alexander-napoleon-josephine-hermitage-amsterdam-a-tale-of-wars-friendship-and-loves-lost.html

This history of the museum building as a nursing home is really interesting. You can read the whole story at Amstelhof. “Old age” for women in Amsterdam in 1681 started at 50.

Amstelhof – the nursing home that preceded the Hermitage Museum

Stumblestones

Before the Holocaust, if you stumbled on a cobble stone, people would say, “There must be a Jew buried here.” Today nearly 50,000 small memorials have replaced cobblestones throughout Europe to represent the places where Jewish families lived before they disappeared. The artist Stolpersteine inspired this emotional tribute of stumblestones. Later on in our journeys, I also discovered stumblestones in other cities once occupied by Nazis. As I discover my photos, I will post them in my blog. Meanwhile, from the blog posted by the HollandHockman’s, this photo illustrates my point:

Pot

I don’t drink coffee and I don’t smoke pot. So I didn’t see the need to visit a coffeeshop while in Amsterdam. That’s why the answer to my question is, “No, I did not.” Coffeeshops can only have about one pound of hash on hand at any one time and there are rules against export. But Amsterdam seems to turn their eyes away when it comes to weed. I’ve never smelled so much pot on the street except at a rock concert. Maybe that’s why the atmosphere is so chill.

DSC05103 Amsterdam pot x — Maijuana supply store

DSC05102 Amsterdam pot x — Marijuana supply store

Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum has the best collection anywhere of the Dutch Masters — Rembrandt, Hals, Vermeer, and Steen — in a spectacular setting. We didn’t have time to examine hundreds of items at every museum and art gallery we visited, so I made lists of what I really wanted to see, visited the stand-outs, and enjoyed the items I came across on the way to my destination. You can read about my experience in my Rijksmuseum blog.

Here’s what I didn’t want to miss at the Rijksmuseum:

Rembrandt, The Jewish Bride

Rembrandt, The Syndics of the Amsterdam Drapers’ Guild

Hals, The Meagre Company

Vermeer, A Street in Delft

Rembrandt, Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem

Vermeer, The Milkmaid

Rembrandt, The Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch (Nightwatch)

Random images of Amsterdam

DSC05030 Amsterdam x — Modern building attached to older building front

DSC03254 Amsterdam xs — Scene through a tram window

DSC03269 Amsterdam x — Shopping street in Amsterdam

DSC05106 Amsterdam Magna Plaza shopping mall x — Magna Plaza, an Amsterdam shopping mall

DSC05104 Amsterdam Scientoloty Church x — Church of Scientology

DSC03258 Amsterdam Uit Markt x — Uitmarkt is Netherland’s largest festival but we opted out to see more traditional sites.

DSC03256 Amsterdam x — Green roof atop a building next to the Van Gogh Museum. People used it to relax and sunbathe.

Globes in a window Amsterdam 3321 x — Amsterdam shop window

Flamingos Amsterdam x — Amsterdam shop window

DSC03306 Amsterdam x — Amsterdam corner market

Escher Museum

Here’s a preview of an upcoming blog on The Hague:

Went to the very cool Escher Museum today and I was blown away by the …. chandeliers made by the Rotterdam artist Hans van Bentem. Every room sparkled and shined.

Rotterdam – Whimsy and wonder in the rain (go ahead, and say it out loud)

You know when you don’t expect to fall in love, and, yet, you do? That was Rotterdam for me. I was expecting a big port city with container ships in the harbor and heavy trucks transporting goods over crumbling streets. Boy, was I wrong. We skipped our planned harbor boat tour because it was pouring rain and chilly. But in a pouring rain, from the enclosure of a small automobile, I slowly fell in love with the whimsy and wonder of Rotterdam.

This is where we entered the highway to Rotterdam. See those cloudy skies? Reminds me of Cleveland. Cargo ships between Cleveland, Ohio and Rotterdam can make the trip in just under 11 days.

By the way, it wasn’t raining just a little bit – I mean, I’m not a total wimp. It was raining A LOT.

The destruction of Rotterdam

On May 14, 1940, the German Luftwaffe carpet bombed central Rotterdam, killing 900 people. More than 1,000 bombs nearly leveled the city, destroying 24,978 homes, 24 churches, 2,320 stores, 775 warehouses and 62 schools (Roep & Loerakker 1999, p. 42 Square 2.) When the Germans threatened to flatten Utrecht the next day (where I will stay this summer), the Dutch surrendered. This was done in spite of peace treaties and a cease fire. The Germans attacked because they needed the Netherlands as a base to attack England.

Now, 75 years later, the Dutch people have built an extraordinary masterpiece of a city. As we toured Rotterdam, we were slowly drawn in by the imaginative architecture. It’s like the worst had already happened and architects could now take risks to create a vibrant living space for city dwellers and workers. When I returned home, I discovered a wonderful website, Architecture in Rotterda m, that informs part of this blog. The reason I know the names of the buildings — and the history of the buildings — is because of this website. The links I provide below each link up to a page that gives a more detailed description of the buildings.

Rotterdam

Here’s a bridge we took inside the city. Loved the burst of red in the dreary rain.

Also loved the pride of business and place. We often saw banners promoting company pride in the Netherlands.

In his book Delirious New York, Rem Koolhaas describes a Manhattan Grid, a city within a city, that springs from the imagination of man and has nothing to do with nature (so take that, Gaudi). This area of Rotterdam houses homes, a hotel, offices — more than 7,500 rooms – and is called, I believe, de Rotterdam. There’s a much better image at Architecture in Rotterdam.

The White House, built about 1900, survived the central city bombing and today is still used as a luxury hotel. You can read more about the White House at Architecture in Rotterdam.

The Central Library was completed in 1981 and designed by Rotterdam Architect Bakema. “The building is shaped like a cube with a cut off corner, a glass ‘waterfall’ where the escalators are located that connect the six floors” (Architecture in Rotterdam).

This is the Paperclip, a notorious project of 555 public housing units. It was built in the 1970’s.

“Since the presentation of the first plan the Peperklip was controversial. Architecture critics described the building as inhospitable, cold and merciless. Others praised the timeless, rational architecture, and saw the building as a liberation from the disastrous small scale. During the first year the building was often in the news, especially because of the many social problems among the residents: (Architecture in Rotterdam).

The hugely popular Cube Houses.

“The Blaak forest contains 38 cubic houses, several shops and three large cubes situated on a pedestrian bridge over the Blaak. It was one of the attempts to enliven the downtown area and to shift the focus from office buildings and traffic flow to housing and recreation. The Cube Houses and buildings around the Oude Haven (Old Port) were designed by the Amsterdam architect Piet Blom (1934-1999), who had previously designed similar experimental housing” (Architecture in Rotterdam).

OK – is this building just too cool for school? We approached the building from many angles but never got close to it as it was always across a river or open water. I think this is the Unilever Best Foods office building.

“The new headquarters of Unilever Bestfoods was built on the site of the Blue Band factory on the northern tip of the district Feyenoord. Because the building was built as a bridge over the existing complex, the nearby site of the former brewery Oranjeboom was kept empty. The Merchant City district (Koopmanstadwijk), planned here, will contain about three hundred houses designed by architects JHK and West 8…Besides a smart idea to save space, the bridge building is a spectacular example of prefabrication. To not to disturb the production of the plant the building was erected 200 meters away on the Oranjeboom grounds” (Architecture in Rotterdam).

I don’t know what this is – but it’s spectacular. Reminds me of Notre Dame’s flying buttresses.

There is still a little open land in the city center as depicted by this rain-soaked bicycle.

If anything is missing in Rotterdam, perhaps it’s open land for city play. It could be there and I never discovered it. But open land should be readily apparent for residents and tourists, alike.

Market Hall’s parking garage and mini-museum

The Market Hall was at the very top of my list of places to see in Rotterdam. I read about the new building in nearly every magazine I picked up last year and I was determined to visit this place. I was not disappointed. Let’s start with the parking garage.

It was big and easy to navigate. It was no problem finding a parking space – just look for a bright green light over a space, indicating the space is free; red indicates “taken.” — The parking garage for Markt Hall is big and easy to navigate. It was no problem finding a parking space – just look for a bright green light over a space, indicating the space is free; red indicates “taken.”

We parked in so many different garages in city centers that I finally resorted to taking a photo of our parking locations so we could find our way back to our car.

I was surprised to discover a mini-museum of the site in the bowels of the parking garage! Apparently the Market Hall was built upon the ruins of a medieval housing project dating from 1350-1550. Bits of pottery, housing and artifacts were included in the well-documented museum area. Here’s what the sign said:

You are situated in the medieval city of Rotterdam. The city came into existance in approximately AD 1270 when the dam in the river Rotte was constructed in the spot where we now find the Hoogstraat. In the year 1340 Rotterdam was granted city privileges and in 1358 the city further expanded and was surrounded by fortifications. To the south, two polders were added to the city. They ran up to the city rampart at the present day Blook. These are the two medieval housing projects Oostnieuwland and Westnieuwland.

Note: if you say Dutch words out loud, they make sense. For example, say Oostnieuwland out loud and you can hear “East New Land.” Say Westnieuwland out loud and you can hear “West New Land.”

The Markthall is located in the eastern part of the district Westnieuwland. A dike ran around the district with the residences of craftsmen and fishermen constructed on top of the embankment. The archeologists of the municipality of Rotterdam excavated approximately 30 houses that were located on the dike. The houses were made of wood and had thatched roofs. Houses built of stone only appeared in the course of the 15th century.

Medevil housing 1350-1550, Rotterdam parking garage "museum" — Medevil housing 1350-1550, Rotterdam parking garage “museum”

I love that Rotterdam has their own archeologists. I love that city planning existed in 1340 and cities had to get permission to expand. I thought that cities grew organically but I was wrong: the requirements of daily living necessitated planning and permissions in order to grow and protect a society even 700 years ago. This rocked my head and I had to seriously consider these personal discoveries. My conclusion? WOW. Way to go, ancestors.

The Markthall

The Markthall (try that little trick I wrote about earlier – say it out loud and it makes perfect sense) looks like an impressively dull, concrete bean from the outside. But we entered from the parking garage below the building.

As we rode the elevators upward from the parking garage, we discovered the history of Rotterdam written on timelines inscribed on the sides of the escalators. It was easy to get around thanks to maps posted throughout the site.

Elevators from parking garage to Markthall

Then we burst upon the main floor and our jaws dropped as we gaped at the massive space topped with a cascade of organic visuals. See all those little squares dotting the ceiling/painting? Those are the windows of people’s apartments – residents look down into the the hub-bub of the market hall.

This view is from just above the hall looking out onto a series of individual terraces populated by a variety of restaurants. Each terrace is accessed by an individual stairway. When you dine on one of the terraces, you kind of get the feeling like you are floating in space with a bunch of boats tethered together. I wanted to wave to the other diners like a boat passing at sea.

This is the view from inside the marketplace out of the two ends of the massive building

And here is the heart of the Marketplace: the individual food sellers and restaurants.

People move fluidly between the first and second floors of Markthall.

Strawberries were in season and I wanted to buy some from every shop

I bought a fresh smoothy that was light and delicious

Fresh fruit and veggies were organically grown

This was fun: a square watermelon. Rachel took this photo of me right after I knocked over an entire crate of truffles – this is me looking pretty embarrassed! But I really wanted the photo of the square watermelon.

One of my favorite stops - Diet Coke! — One of my favorite stops – Diet Coke!

Every family has them... — Every family has them…

The fresh flower shop was smartly located on one of the floors between lower levels leading to the parking garage

The flowers were beautifully arranged and the entire shop was utterly romantic

I soooo wanted to shop here for tulip bulbs but tulips do not do well in the tropics where I live and it is illegal to bring tulip bulbs in your luggage into the USA

Marktplace restaurants

We chose to eat at a Tapas Bar – great choice! A bit spicy but Maureen was happy with her oysters and I got to eat everything too spicy for Maureen and Rachel. Lucky me.

The things I do in the name of travel: no Diet Coke

Technical Problems in the Parking Garage

I tried to use my new chip card in the parking garage and the machine ate it. Remember when I said to read the words out loud and they would make sense? It was pretty easy to understand that “Afgebroken Pas Uitnemen” meant – “you broke the machine, idiot.” So I pressed the little speaker button and said in my very best Dutch. “Helpen! Do you speak English, please?” I didn’t say please in Dutch because it’s alsjeblieft – try saying that out loud. It sounds like, “I just killed your bleating sheep.”

A lovely woman showed up about 5 minutes later, opened up the guts of the machine, tapped a few key commands, and returned my chip card to me along with a paid receipt. I always wondered what the insides of these machines look like – and now you know too. And I said dankjewel.

I will return to Rotterdam this summer. I want to take the harbor tour and I want to walk through the city on a sunny day. So look for a new Rotterdam blog next summer.

Lucerne: I will return when the sun is shining

Lucerne

Lucerne seemed more like a large, gray city than a quaint, pretty town like the brochures hyped it to be. It was probably the drenching, dismal drizzle that colored our perspective.

Tourist signage is located throughout the central city making it easy to get around without a tour book.

Signage points tourists to where they need to go

Lucerne

Lucerne is a busy city center with tourists tucked around lots of street activity.

DSC02711 (1) Lucerne x — Lucerne, Switzerland

DSC03271 Lucerne x — Lucerne, Switzerland

Street musicians - really talented! — Street musicians – really talented!

We waited our turn to take photos of each other in front of the lake. Here are Tracy and Rachel in Lucerne, Switzerland

The swans were as domesticated as ducks, swimming right up to tourists for hand-outs — The swans were as domesticated as ducks, wimming right up to tourists for hand-outs

Barbara, Maureen, Tracy, Rachel in Lucerne, Switzerland

Chocolate

Where do I start? More important, where do I stop? The chocolate in Switzerland is perfect: Rich, creamy, delicately flavored. One shop after another displays pretty little confections worthy of gifting but begging to be tasted. So we tasted. My favorite is a dark chocolate filled with a raspberry filling.

When you're tired of chocolate (as, if!), you can always choose ice cream. — When you’re tired of chocolate (as, if!), you can always choose ice cream.

Kappelbrucke

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland

We agreed to skip the boat ride into the harbor and settled for a stroll through the extraordinary covered bridge with 17th century paintings still intact even though exposed to the elements for nearly 500 years. Part of the bridge burned in a 1993 fire but it was quickly restored and is extraordinary.

The oldest truss bridge in the world, the Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge) is a covered wooden foot bridge built in 1333 as part of the city’s fortifications. It’s 560 feet long and crosses the Reuss River at an angle in the center of Lucerne.

The Kapellbrucke is named for St. Peter’s chapel which is located near one end of the bridge. In the 1600’s, artists added 110 paintings to the inside support beams of the bridge. Lucerne’s city councilmen paid for the paintings that illustrate scenes of Swiss and local history, including the biographies of the city’s patron saints, St. Leodegar and St. Maurice. The councilmen got to include their coats of arms in the paintings they sponsored. Blogger Michele writes, “The depictions of St. Leodegar and Swiss history were meant to call the citizens of Lucerne to recall that a pious way of life and service would lead to happiness as well as a strong city.”

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting # 77

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #8

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #105 I think this is a painting of a devil tempting a priest but it might also be a part of several paintings as the next painting is related to this one some how.

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #107

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #4 Mary and baby Jesus appear before church officials and a knight

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #3 - this is a painting of three bridges crossing the River Reuss — Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland Painting #3 – this is a painting of three bridges crossing the River Reuss

Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland bridge and paintings burned by 1993 fire. Apparently it started with a cigarette and quickly spread to a boat parked beneath the bridge.

After visiting the Kapellbrucke, I found interesting information about the fire: “85 of the 110 pictures under the roof, dating back to 1611, were destroyed by the 1993 fire, only 25 could be saved or restored. The others have been replaced by pictures from the second part of the bridge that had been safely stored since 1834. A few burnt panels are still shown to remind of the fire. During the carnival season, the ancient pictures are replaced by modern ones showing carnival motives. This provides a platform for the creativity of today’s population and besides the original pictures can be saved from thoughtless ‘attacks’ with all sorts of fun materials like paint and glibber bombs used during carnival these days. So if you’re interested in the old paintings don’t choose the carnival season for your visit to Lucerne” (http://lucerne.all-about-switzerland.info/lucerne-chapelbridge-watertower.html).

Shrine in middle of Kappelbrucke, Lucerne, Switzerland

DSC02779 (1) Lucerne copywrite Barbara Grano x — Shrine in middle of Kappelbrucke, Lucerne, Switzerland

Maureen on the Kapellbrucke Lucerne, Switzerland

The River

Lucerne is all about the river and the lake. These geographic features first brough people to Lucerne. These are the same waters we saw upriver in Interlaken.

Water is controlled by sluices – valves and gates control the flow of water into the lake

Giant gears - I'm not sure if they control the sluice or the bridge — Giant gears – I’m not sure if they control the sluice or the bridge

Water available on the street - no charge! — Water available on the street – no charge!

Painted Ladies

We saw many painted buildings in Switzerland. They are beautiful but require constant maintenance. I kept bumping into people because I was so busy looking up to the stories above the street.

Shopping in Lucerne

DSC03235 x — Shop sign in Lucerne, Switzerland

Maureen was intrigued by this giant shoe, reminding her of Mardi Gras and the Krew of Muses

Want a dirndle? It's yours for about $120 — Want a dirndle? It’s yours for about $120

Watches are available throughout Switzerland - but it's Mickey Mouse! — Watches are available throughout Switzerland – but it’s Mickey Mouse!

Good-bye, but not forever! The main reason we stopped in Basel– in addition of the bonus of sharing days with Stephan and his family – is that we launch from Basel on our week-long Viking river boat cruise. Much more of that in the next blog entry as we bid good-bye to Rachel and Tracy.

All good things come to an end – Rachel traveled to Bruges for a week and will meet up with us in Amsterdam; Tracy flew back to the US and work. We miss them already!

Interlaken – a gap between the alps

Interlaken

Since we were in the neighborhood (only one or two mountains away), we chose to visit Interlaken on our way home from Abelboden and Our Chalet. Interlaken is a beautiful, graceful city with the clearest water imaginable. Stephan said it was the color of melted snow. We could see the bottom of the Aare river even when it was more than 20 feet deep.

The dam keeper decides how much water to let out at any time – on the day we visited it was gushing out of four sluices and into the rivers that feed all the cities — including Lucerne — below. It was August and this was snow melt.

A sign near the river gave us a bit more information:

Since the Middle Ages, the bridges over the various arms of the River Aare provided the only options for getting from Neuhaus on Lake Thun via Unterseen to Aarmuhle, Interlaken, and on to the valleys of the Jungfrau Region.

The River Aare has formed a boundary since the land between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz was settled. Relations between the city of Unterseen to the north and Interlaken Monastery to the south was hostile. Unterseen belonged to the diocese of Constance, while the monastery followed the orders of the diocese of Lausanne, a fact often used to the advantage of the people of Unterseen. Fishing rights, control of the market, and bridge tolls caused endless disputes.

An emerging tourist resort under the name of Interlaken emerged after 1891. Interlaken, meaning “between the lakes” was renamed to attract hordes of 19th century English-speaking tourists.

It was interesting to me that an informational sign would air the region’s dirty laundry. I was impressed that the area recognized disputes of the past as significant history to share with others.

Unterseen is the older part of town on the west bank of the Aare river. Interlaken is the newer part of town - developed for tourism - on the east bank. — Unterseen is the older part of town on the west bank of the Aare river. Interlaken is the newer part of town – developed for tourism – on the east bank. You can see the towns’ coats of arms on the bridge designating which part of the dam belongs to which city.

DSC02607 (1) Unterseen Switzerland x — Unterseen is on the west bank of the river.

DSC02573 (1) Interlaken x — Interlaken is on the east bank of the river.

The Aare river is Switzerland's longest river and feeds into the Rhine which we would be traveling on in just a few days. — The Aare river is Switzerland’s longest river and feeds into the Rhine which we would be traveling on in just a few days.

Fountains like this dot every city center all over Europe. The water is drinkable and we often refilled our water bottles with free, crystal clear water.

This is another free fountain just down the street. (See the river through the little window in the top right of the wall? That's what we drank. — This is another free fountain just down the street. (See the river through the little window in the top right of the wall? That’s what we drank.)

Even the fire hydrants are beautiful in Interlaken.

The way to a girl’s heart

DSC03136 Interlaken Rachel Maureen x — Stephan definitely knows how to please the ladies. He bought chocolate for all of us! Here Rachel and Maureen make their selections.

Lunch in Interlaken

We enjoyed a fresh, tasty lunch along with a handful of tourists. Maybe it was the mountain air or maybe it was because we are always ready to eat, but we were hungry and this more than satisfied.

We didn't eat hear - kind of wish we had. Who doesn't like cow for lunch? — We didn’t eat hear – kind of wish we had. Who doesn’t like cow for lunch?

This place didn't serve lunch but we wished it had - it looked tempting. (sorry) — This place didn’t serve lunch but we wished it had – it looked tempting. (sorry)

Doorways of Interlaken

The doorways of Interlaken are painted to look especially inviting.

Working city

As a tourist, I sometimes forget that I am visiting a little town of 5,500 people that has a real life beyond tourism. When I lived in Chagrin Falls, we used to smile at the “cone lickers” who would day visit to enjoy the charm of our little town, including the ice cream. The tables turned for me on this adventure as I was the cone licker in Interlaken.

DSC03144 Interlaken x — Work goes on and there were construction vehicles everywhere making hay while the sun shined.

DSC03146 Interlaken x — Children at play on a local swing set in one of the few level patches of grass.

Scenes from Interlaken

Want to sight see and you can't find a luggage locker? No problem. — Want to sight see and you can’t find a luggage locker? No problem.

Hotel, Interlaken, Switzerland

DSC02311 Interlaken x — Interlaken, Switzerland

DSC02556 Unterseen Interlaken x — Interlaken, Switzerland

In case you brought your dog... — In case you brought your dog…

DSC03134 Interlaken x — Winters are long, wood is plentiful, and carvings abound.

Scenes on the road between Interlaken and Lucerne

Just another pretty barn on the road between Interlaken and Lucerne.

DSC03158 Interlaken x — We saw small waterfalls throughout our drive through Switzerland. The water table is so high in some places that cemeteries have to be built on hillsides.

If you are considering a visit to Interlaken, Rick Steves says to pick up a free town map, timetable and hiking guide at the main TI at the Interlaken Ost train station (Rick Steves Best of Europe 2015). He also offers a self-guided 45-minute walk of Interlaken complete with maps. I hope you enjoyed my little visual tour as much as I enjoyed visiting Interlaken.

Basel… Who wouldda thought this town could be so much fun!

9,127 steps, 1 castle, 2 churches 3 culture

Basel

Basel, Switzerland is a little jewel in the Alsace. (Say it like this: Bah-sel and Alls-ace.) One night we parked in France and walked across a footbridge to Germany for a Chinese dinner while visiting with friends from Switzerland. It was done with about as much fanfare as parking in South Russel to have dinner in Chagrin Falls with friends from the west side of Cleveland. No big deal to the locals but awesome to me.

DSC02943 Stephan Graenacher x — Our Basel Friend, Stephan

We traveled to Basel for two reasons – first to meet with Maureen’s Mardi Gras friend, Stephan. He grew up in Basel so showed us around town, plus drove us to Interlaken, Lucerne, and Girl Scout’s Our Chalet. What we thought would be a pleasant break in our travels turned out to be great fun thanks to Stephan’s energy.

DSC02277 Basel Rachel Stephan Maureen x — Rachel, Stephan and Maureen in Basel

The second reason for our stay over in Basel was that we launched from Basel on our riverboat tour via Viking up the Rhine River to Amsterdam. Basel marked a turning point in our tour as Maureen and I took the river boat, Rachel traveled to Bruges to visit friends for the week and Tracy returned home to the US. We thought of Basel as the Viking launching pad but it turned out that Basel was a grand adventure in itself!

DSC02274 Basel from Rhine River — Basel, Switzerland

Airbnb.com

We booked most of our reservations through Airbnb.com with outstanding results. We rented real people’s homes in real neighborhoods. The homes were roomy, convenient, and reasonably priced. For about $150 a night, three or four of us stayed in homes that were clean and comfortable, included a refrigerator, and often included a washer and dryer. Our three criteria were that we did not want stairs (we were carrying our own luggage), we needed wifi, and we wanted to be the only lodgers. This was our lodging in the Alsace:

We each had our own sleeping areas (three bedrooms plus two bathrooms) and a full yard. Our hosts even left us breakfast food in the fridge. Absolutely perfect.

Rhine River

The Rhine River drew settlers to this important transportation hub well before the birth of Christ. Today it remains a key stop on the Rhine.

DSC02813 Basel Rhine River x — The Rhine is a working river

DSC02285 Basel Braille x — This braille model shows the medeival heart of Basel, the city on the hill with the cathedral and St. Martin’s Church. According to the plaque, it is desiged to be used by the visually impaired as well as by everyone else.

DSC03474 Basel Rhine River Ferry x — Hand-operated ferry over the Rhine River

DSC02273 Basel Rhine River Ferry — Pulleys used on a hand-operated ferry that crosses the Rhine throughout the day

Doorways of Basel

I was fascinated by the doorways of Basel. The doors are old, really, old. Like before Columbus-set-foot-in-America old. It’s a simple matter of telling just how old a home is – it’s written right on the front of the house.

DSC03506 Basel house 1438 x — This house was built in 1438

DSC03493 Basel dated doorway 1390 x — This house was built in 1390.

DSC03492 Basel dated door 1486 x — This house was built in 1486

DSC03439 Basel Door Date x — This house was built in 1333.

DSC03510 Basel 1437 x — The building on the left was built in 1437, as were the stairs

DSC03486 BAsel oldest structure x — This is Basel’s oldest structure, built well before 1300.

Basel’s Town Hall (Rathaus Basel)

Basel’s 500-year-old town hall is locally referred to as the Roothuus, a play on words that means councilhouse but sounds like red house in the Basel dialect. This cute play of words is so appropriate because the town hall is RED.

DSC03516 Basel City Hall x — Rathaus Basel

DSC03538 City Hall x — The Rathaus was built in 1501 and updated in 1901 – a sign over the door gives you that information thanks to the architects

DSC03527 Basel City Hall x — Imagine you work at the Rathaus and get to walk through these doors every day! When I worked at City Hall in Columbus, Ohio years ago, it certainly did not look like this.

DSC03525 Basel City Hall x — Interior courtyard of the Basel Rathaus

DSC03524 Basel City Hall x — Basel Rathaus

Paintings around the exterior of the Basel Rathaus extoll the virtues of citizenship:

DSC02309 Basel There is agreement where God dwells x — There is agreement where God dwells.

DSC02308 Basel what goes round comes round x — What goes round, comes round.

DSC02307 Basel Freedom is more important than silver and gold x — Freedom is more important than silver and gold.

Basel Signage

Basels signs date from a time when all people could not read. So when you hung your sign, you made sure it included a symbol of what service was offered by you. Can you tell what these two establishments offer?

Basel’s Munster (Cathedral)

DSC02270 Basel Munster — Basel’s Munster, built between 1019 and 1500

Basel’s red sandstone cathedral was built by the Catholics but is now a reformed protestant church. Many of the artworks of the cathedral were destroyed during the reformation when Huldrych Zwingli condemned idolatry and the church was stormed by townspeople. The colorful roof tiles can be seen from all over Basel, making a good landmark for touring.

DSC02251 Basel Munster — The Galluspforte, the oldest surviving figure portal in German speaking countries

DSC02224 Basel Munster — Knight Georg slaying a very small dragon on Basel’s Munster

DSC03466 Basel Munster x — This is the rose window over St Catherine’s chapel from the outside

DSC03457 Basel Munster x — This is the rose window over St Catherine’s chapel from the inside

DSC02241 Basel Munster — Side window of Basel’s Munster

DSC02227 Basel Munster — Stained glass over the altar of Basel’s Munster

DSC03467 Basel Munster x — The cloisters of Basel’s cathedral

DSC03469 Basel Munster Musician x — Street musicians performed throughout Europe, including this young lute player in the cloisters of Basel’s Munster

Bathrooms

DSC02638 Basel toilet x — When’s the last time you found a public bathroom this clean? We experienced clean bathrooms throughout most of Europe.

DSC03552 Basel Portapotty x — But there is also this alternative located in a Basel town square

DSC03531 Basel x — The water pouring from public fountains is safe to drink

DSC03554 Basel fountain x — Basel watering trough for horses and humans

Real Fondue!

Stephan invited us to his home for authentic cheese fondue with his parents. Ladies, this man is available and he’s a catch! Not only is he a humorous host, he’s also a great cook.

We were so lucky to visit Stephan’s family home and meet his charming parents. These dishes are part of his mother’s collection.

DSC02937 Basel x — Stephan’s mother’s china. Each dish showcased a famous site or story of Switzerland.

International Dining

We got to see Switzerland through Stephan’s eyes as his home rather than a destination. He said when he was born, his family was living in France (or was it Germany?) but when it came time to give birth, his parents made sure Stephan was born across the river in Switzerland so he would have Swiss citizenship like his parents. Stephan thinks nothing of traveling between France, Germany and Switzerland but it was a huge treat for me.

We parked our car in France and crossed the Rhine River via a footbridge to Germany for a Chinese food feast with Stephan and his parents. The food was prepared with a light hand and just delicious. Stephan waived off the doggy bags and told us people don’t carry away left over food like we do in America.

DSC02303 Basel Schiesser Cafe x — Just in case we needed a McDonald’s fix…but the real draw is the famous Schiesser Cafe

Switzerland’s independence

Stephan’s very proud of his heritage and he should be. Switzerland’s legacy of independence has been hard-won and is protected with vigilance. For example, fortified caves strengthened during WWII still line the mountains and until the very recent past, every home and building was required to have a bomb shelter.

DSC03040 Our Chalet x bomb shelter — This is a photo of a bomb shelter at Girl Scouts’ Our Chalet, about an hour from Basel. It’s high up a mountain with no strategic points nearby but it does have a bomb shelter. Vigilance is what protects Switzerland’s independence.

Driving in Switzerland

Stephan drove us swiftly through crowded city streets, breath-taking mountain passes, and flawless freeways punctuating the ride with lots of “asshole!” and “shitty drivers!” He pointed out special spots with colorful remarks and skipped most of the touristy stuff that was beginning to jade us. Of course, every time something didn’t go our way during the rest of our trip, we’d look at each other and say, “assholes!”

DSC02935 Basel Industry x — Industry along the freeways carry mottos and advertising

Parking garages are easy to find, clean, and automated. Red lights indicate the parking spot is taken, green lights tells you the spot is free. Check out is also automated with machines and instructions located on each level of the garages. — Parking garages are easy to find, clean, and automated. Red lights indicate the parking spot is taken, green lights tells you the spot is free (not sure why the spot we just parked i is still showing green). Check out is also automated with machines and instructions located on each level of the garages.

Parking garage elevator - easy to understand and almost always in English — Parking garage elevator – easy to understand and almost always in English

Basel street scenes

DSC03481 Basel Stumblestone x — Stumblestone in Basel

DSC02215 Basel street art — Basel street art

This quirky water feature included several steam-punk-like water fountains that were interesting to look at, yet strange. I think I lacked context to understand what was going on – yet, I watched fascinated.

DSC02294 Basel love locks Middle Rhine Bridge x — Basel love locks on the Middle Rhine Bridge

DSC02319 Basel street art x — The Morrison Hotel, Basel

DSC02317 Basel street art x — The Morrison Hotel, Basel

DSC02316 Basel Morrison Hotel x — The Morrison Hotel, Basel

DSC03435 Basel Schoolyard x — Basel school yard recess

Basel is the best!

DSC03295 Basel x — Maureen, Barbara, Stephan, Stephan’s parents, Tracy

It was hard saying good-bye to Stephan and his family. They were caring hosts with a twinkle in their eyes that said happy times were close by.

I looked for information on Basel and tourism and found almost nothing on the internet or in tour books. But Basel is lively, happy, livable, and worth time to visit. I found it in many ways to be more approachable and more interesting than Lucerne and definitely a better destination than Zurich. So let’s keep this between us so it doesn’t get over-run with tourists: Basel is a worthy destination in Switzerland.

Abelboden: Our Chalet

Girl Scout’s World Site: Our Chalet

Switzerland. If this were a ski slope, I'd be perched atop the ski jump entering the black diamond course. — Barbara at Our Chalet, hanging on for dear life. If this were a ski slope, I’d be perched atop the ski jump entering the black diamond course.

A visit to the Girl Scout’s Our Chalet was a must for our journey because Maureen, Tracy, Rachel and I got to know each other more than 25 years ago through an on-line chat site on Prodigy for Girl Scout leaders. We were all leaders of Girl Scout troops looking for ideas that worked for other leaders throughout the country. While finding ideas, we also found each other.

We were once a group of more than 100 men and women who chatted day and night – you’ll never believe what one person can do with a bandanna or a can of pie filling and a box of cake mix. Our troops got the great benefit of Girl Scout ideas from people we never would have met locally — this was before the growth of the internet — but we made friends for life. We are now a group of about 12 and we still talk daily, throughout the day. But for this very special trip, there are four of us: Maureen from New Orleans, Tracy from Richmond, VA, Rachel from Columbia, MD and Barbara from near St. Petersburg, FL.

DSC02992 Our Chalet x — Tracy and Rachel at Our Chalet. Thanks to Tracy for many of these photos.

So, of course, we had to visit Our Chalet, WAGGGS world center in the Bernese Oberland. I expected a big camp site in a chalet high in the Swiss alps with caper charts, places to cook, paths to climb, and lots of camp fire circles. That’s exactly what we discovered. I was surprised to find the site a bit smaller than expected and quite shabby due to the constant use of troops from all over the world. But it’s a camp site, not a resort.

In spite of cold and spotty rain (which marked so many of our camp outs as leaders), I was so excited to finally visit Our Chalet. There was a big troop of girl guides and boy scouts staying there from England and like every camp out I’ve ever been on, we became quite friendly very quickly. We received an orientation video and tour with this troop from the interns.

Interns are selected from all over the world to spend six months at Our Chalet in one of four areas: kitchen, program, guest services, or marketing and communications. During our stay, I had a chance to speak with a charming intern from Oregon who was taking a brief break after her freshman studies in biology to live at Our Chalet. She introduced me to a guide from Zimbabwe who was practicing her English and to a husband-wife team from England.

On the day that we visited, the husband had been hiking when he discovered a suitcase alongside the road. When it was still there on his return trip, he picked it up and brought it to Our Chalet. He said sooner or later someone would claim it. You could tell the husband-wife team knew exactly how to interact with guests: be quick, be friendly, get out.

Our photos tell a better story of Our Chalet.

Sign pointing to Our Chalet, Adelboden, Switzerland

DSC02362 Our Chalet 2015 x — Here’s how to start your world centre story today

DSC02363 Our Chalet 2015 x — Entrance to Our Chalet

DSC02462 Our Chalet 2015 x — I got to put a pin in the world map representing my visit from St. Petersburg, Florida. My pin was one of hundreds representing the USA and one of several from the Tampa area.

Girl Scouts carry on silly traditions as part of the fun. This little wooden beaver gets hidden throughout out each day and when found by the visiting Girl Scouts it’s just one more reason to celebrate with giggles.

Bertha the Bell — Bethany the Bell – everything seems to have a nickname at Our Chalet

Our Chalet, Adelboden, Switzerland

DSC02433 Our Chalet 2015 x — Our guide points out the location of Our Chalet in Adelboden

The chairs were donated by Scouts including this chair sponsored by a Florida troop. — The chairs we sat in to watch the orientation were donated by Scouts including this chair sponsored by a Florida troop.

Patches represent the thousands of visits from traveling scouts.

This chest is at least 500 years old, donated by some Girl Scout at some point in time but the explanation is lost to history. Nevertheless, the chest is used every day and battered by the thousands of visiting scouts.

Little flags in a log mark the origins of guests visiting Our Chalet on any given day. — This chest is at least 500 years old, donated by some Girl Scout at some point in time but the explanation is lost to history. Nevertheless, the chest is used every day and battered by the thousands of visiting scouts.

Tracy finds instant common ground with one of the executives at Our Chalet.

DSC02390 Our Chalet 2015 x — Tracy finds instant common ground with one of the executives at Our Chalet.

A visiting troop of girl and boy scouts from England hiked up to Our Chalet singing and skipping. We arrived by car at the chalet huffing and puffing.

Loved this badge on one of the scout's backpacks — Loved this badge on one of the scout’s backpacks

The P-nuts with Girl Guide leaders from England. Note our matching jackets embroidered by Tracy before the trip.

Hiking path leading to/from Our Chalet — The P-nuts with Girl Guide leaders from England. Note our matching jackets embroidered by Tracy before the trip.

Copenhagen: Good friends are worth waiting for

Four long-time friends visited Europe in summer 2015, traveling from the USA and meeting up in Copenhagen. Maureen and I flew from Orlando, Florida and after a delightful Norwegian Air flight, arrived in Copenhagen on time. Our friends Rachel and Tracy, traveling from Washington, D.C., flew WOW airlines and were supposed to be waiting for us at the Copenhagen airport. But when we arrived, they weren’t there.

With spotty phone service and WOW Airline’s poor communication, we spent most of our first day in Europe trying to find Rachel and Tracy who were stranded in Reykjavik. They were supposed to arrive at 11 am but WOW finally delivered them at 4 am, the next day, only 15 hours late.

After much debate and constantly changing information (the plane will be here in one hour, no, three hours, no, four hours), we decided to travel into Copenhagen and settle into our airbnb accommodations. We then poked around the neighborhood, napped, and checked back with WOW throughout the day and night hoping to figure out when Tracy and Rachel would arrive.

The Copenhagen airport sign shows expectations for WOW's arrive but they stopped listing an arrival time after several hours. — The Copenhagen airport sign shows expectations for WOW’s arrive but they stopped listing an arrival time after several hours.

When at last we were reasonably sure the plane had left Reykjavik, and with 2 hours of sleep, Maureen and I rode the train back to the airport to bring our friends home. …. Scroll down for one of the best surprises of our late night out.

Euronuts' arrival at Copenhagen Airport: Tracy, Maureen, Rachel, Barbara — Euronuts’ arrival at Copenhagen Airport: Tracy, Maureen, Rachel, Barbara

DSC00184 Copenhagen airport x — We have so much to catch up on but we are sooooooo tired.

The public transit ticket office is closed at 4 am.

Walking down the street in Copenhagen at 4:00 am

The public transit ticket office is closed at 4 am.

Walking down the street in Copenhagen at 4:00 am

We took the Copenhagen metro from our lodging to the airport. But while traveling at 2 am, we were stunned to learn the metro was closed halfway to the airport. A Danish-Vietnamese man appeared out of no where and became our guardian angel. Sourace helped us locate an alternate train and traveled with us until we were once again safely on our way.

We learned Sourace had moved to Denmark as a 4-year-old after leaving a quiet village in the south of Viet Nam. We discussed immigration, health care (with, as usual, diverse views from Maureen and Barbara), the value of a college education, free higher education in Denmark, and the beauty of both Denmark and Vietnam. Sourace glowed from within and we were charmed by his fluent English, his intelligence, and his help.

We hoped we would run into Sourace again while in Denmark, but we didn’t. If you’re ever lost on a train late at night in Copenhagen, look for Sourace or another kind soul in Denmark. You’ll find your angel, too.

THE EURONUTS ARE MADLY PACKING! 2015.08.01

After tonight I’ll be sleeping in someone else’s bed/couch/blow-up-mattress for the next 70 days. But I’m not enjoying the luxury of my own bed – I’m hopping around the house taking a bottle of lotion out of my bag (I’ll buy it in Denmark), ruefully ditching the pile of magazines I planned to read on the plane (here, seatmate, are you looking for something to read?) and taking a favorite blouse out of the bag, putting it back in, then wistfully taking it out again. How will I live with just 44 pounds of stuff for the next two months? Here’s my final packing list.

My traveling companion Maureen nicely summed up our adventure:

It’s not really a secret – just didn’t think y’all would be that interested in it. It started off as a trip to visit Melody (Maureen’s daughter in the Netherlands) while she’s there and to take the river cruise from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam that has been on my bucket list forever. I think I had mentioned this and Barbara said she’d love to go -and since traveling with friends is usually more fun than traveling alone, I jumped at the chance. So then there were 2. Then Rachel & Tracy said they’d like to go, too – so then we were 4.

We leave for Copenhagen on the 3rd (arriving on the 4th). That wasn’t on the original plans, but flights to there were cheap, so we added it. We spend a few days there, then fly to Berlin for a couple days. Then we take a night train to Vienna. After a couple days there we will rent a van and will be driving to Salzburg for a day. Then on to Munich, where we have a private guide, Tracy’s cousin. We go from there to Basel. While in Basel we’re going to do a day trip to Our Chalet, Interlocken, and Lucerne. When we’re done in Basel, Barbara & I head out on the Viking cruise; Rachel & Tracy head to Amsterdam to spend the night with Melody. Tracy flies home from Amsterdam the next day & Rachel heads off to visit friends in Bruges, Belgium.

Barbara & I cruise the Rhine for 8 days, ending in Amsterdam, where we meet back up with Rachel. We spend several days in The Netherlands, staying with Melody and seeing Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft, Gouda, The Hague as well as a day trip to Antwerp & Bruges, Belgium. We spend Melody’s birthday with her and then head to France.

After leaving Melody, we take a train to Brussels (and Waterloo), and then on to Paris where we pick up a rental car and drive to Fontainbleau for the night. We see the Chateau the next day, then drive to Bayeux stopping at Mont St Michel on the way. We spend a day on the Normandy coast, then head back to Paris – stopping at Monet’s house & gardens on the way. We drop the car & spend several days in Paris.

We then take a train to Chur, Switzerland (stopping in Zurich for a while on the way) for the night. We take the Bernina Express from there through the Alps to Italy. We spend a couple days in Milan (where EXPO 2015 will be taking place). From there we go to Venice, Florence, Rome & Naples (to see Pompeii & Herculaneum). Our last stop is Barcelona. Rachel flies back from there and Barbara & I take an 11 day Disney cruise to Miami.

We then head to Orlando for the Food & Wine Festival. I should return home about Oct. 12 – unless I decide to extend my vacation. I doubt that will happen because I leave for the KOE Kruise on Nov. 1!

So, I’m guessing this is going to be an epic trip and only hope I can keep up!!!!

Want to join us? We’d love for you to come along. (I really thought we were allowed 50 pounds of luggage – egad!)