Europe through the back roads

Bicycles are ubiquitous in Amsterdam

yobagman — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:23:00 GMT

Amsterdam is a city full of bicycles and bicyclers. They are ubiquitous. It is said that Holland has 16.5 million people and 17 million bicycles. It is hard not to be completely taken by the hustle & bustles of the movement of people via these bi-peds. Amazingly, they all look the same (bicycles) but the pedallers are young & old, guys & gals, tall & short, wearing dresses & jeans, suits & shorts. It is common to see a baby and a toddler on a bicycle with a parent and they don't wear helments. The thing is, however, that if you don't pay attention you are liable to get run over by a determined pedaller. They are so intent on where they are going-seems like all business. If you are in the way you will hear a "ring-ring" and dive out of the way. I thought it would be neat to rent bikes and join the fun, but I figured that perhap it would be the same as owning a motorcycle and it wouldn't end well for me. All in all it seems that the Dutch are a very fit people. One can see why based on the effects of pure pedal power. I think that I may start riding-in the coutry where a slightly wrong turn won't put me into a canal.

Arrived in Amsterdam

yobagman — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:01:00 GMT

We made it to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The flight was pleasant enough and it actually seemed to go by quite quickly. Gerrie slept a little and I didn't sleep at all. I wastched a couple of in flight movies and three episodes of CSI. They had one of each, Miami, New York, and Las Vegas. I kind of like Miami the best.

We carried on our luggage so we did not have to go to baggage claim. Getting through immigration and customs was so easy. No forms to fill out and there wasn't even a line. When you get off the plane at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam you are in the international terminal and there are all the people going about their business heading to their flights and heading to the exit. Never seen it that way before but makes sense. So by the time you hit the passport control point there isn't much of a wait (unlike landing in Houston or Cancun where you wait for 45 minutes to clear immigration).

The flight arrived about 45 minutes early and it took no time to get out of the airport. The only problem was that I had arranged to get the lease vehicle at 11 a.m. and we were ready to go at 9 a.m. So we just cooled our heals and dreamed of going to sleep.

So I leased this brand new Peugeot 5008 SUV. It is plan through Auto Europe. Leasing is cheaper than renting and you get a new vehicle with full insurance coverage included. The program is available for non-European Union citizens who can take the vehicle for 17 days or more. At the end of your trip you give the car back to Peugeot and they get to sell it as used. They save paying the 17% VAT and hopefuly somebody gets a good deal on a car driven around Europe by some American or Aussie.

We are now headed for our hotel in Amsterdam. Dreaming of getting some sleep and hoping the GPS works.

The Mindset of Making Such a Trip

yobagman — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:25:00 GMT

I thought about taking this trip to Europe at the beginning of this year, alomost eight months ago. Back then it was but an obscure little plan-easy to say but little or no planning involved. I made the flight reservations using my American Express points and my Continental Airline miles. For me, making decisions do do something is easy. I just make the decision and then I have to figure out how to execute. I knew that we wanted to visit our friends, the Keeley's, in Bremen Norther Germany. So flying into Amsterdam was an easy decision, especially since there is good availability of flights to choose from. Where to fly out was more based on a central location and availability. That just happened to be Zurich, Switzerland.

So I made the reservations for Gerrie and me and then I told her what I had done...and that it was for 33 days. Typical Bob. I have always wanted to make this kind of trip. I remember wanting to go backpacking in Europe when I was in college or after college. Never happened. That was thirty years ago. Bottom line is that you just have to make the decision and go for it. Thirty three days may seem like a long time, but looking at the itenerary we have planned it is probably not long enough.