27/09/2018
We had to leave beautiful Bruges. We had trouble
ordering a cab because of language difficulties. However, the lady who came to
clean the Airbnb saved us since she could speak Dutch. We eventually got a cab
to the Bruges railway to catch a train to Antwerp. We missed our connecting
train to Amsterdam so we had to buy new tickets. The train was packed
but we had to go to the end of the train to find seats. Then when we got to
Amsterdam, our cabbie was having a shout-up with other cabbies over something.
We obviously got ripped off because we got charged €35 for a €15 trip. When Dad queried, he said that there was
peak hour traffic on the direct route (despite it being 4 pm) so he drove
another way. Now we know to always ask dodgy cabbies what the fare estimate is.
We’re currently staying at the Iron Horse.
We went out for dinner at España: Spanish
Bar and Grill where we had empandillas and paella. We walked around looking
for a place to have dinner and were surprised with how much traffic there was.
There were many cars, trams and especially bikes, motorbikes and mopeds.
28/09/2018
We went to the Rijksmuseum
(pronounced RIKES-mu-sey-um) which had lots of Dutch history and artwork
including Rembrandt and Van Gogh. The queuing wasn’t that bad compared to
France. There was a huge painting of the Battle of Waterloo by Jan Willem
Pieneman. After that, Mum and I left Dad back at the apartment (on account of
his man flu) while we headed off on the tram to Dam Square where we saw a
street performer from Canada who was really entertaining. He was escaping from
straight jacket. He had the chains and all. He was successful in his escape as well.
Then we went for some gelati and had a look around. Then we noticed all the cop
cars and the police tape around the area so we decided to get the heck out of
there. We went to Vondel Park and had
a walk around. Vondel Park is to
Amsterdam as Central Park is to New
York City. We certainly got our 10,000 steps today! We managed to find our way
back to the hotel. Tonight, we plan to go out for Indonesian. We read up about
Amsterdam and found out that if you go, you have to have Indonesian.
Were the Spring Rolls as good as Maria's ?
ReplyDeleteThere weren't any spring rolls. Even if there were, they wouln't be as good as Maria's.
DeleteLooks like you are having a good time Rilester.. Look after Mum and Dad.. for Gods sake don't lose them.. you know what they are like !
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I've had a few issues with them.
DeleteIf you go out for Indonesian order Nasi Goering.. Beef Rendang and see if they have any menu items from Toraja.. pork cooked in bamboo is delicious!
ReplyDeleteIsn't Nasi Goering the guy who built the Great Wall of China to keep out the rabbits?
DeleteWe were using that joke at the restaurant. And yes, I did have nasi goering.
DeleteTell Mum that our family in Suleweisi weren't overly affected by the earthquake... all are safe..
ReplyDeleteIs Dad OK ? You mentioned he was a bit crook.. get him some Jewish chicken soup.. that will get him up and about !
ReplyDeleteLast night was River Fire night..A line of storms slowly came through the south east corner of Qld from 3.30pm.. lots of thunder and lightening into the evening.. Would Rexie be Ok..Buddy is deaf now.. the noise doesn't upset him..
ReplyDeleteYou should have got Mum to try on the straight jacket.. it would have suited her !
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to more of your Blog once you are in the Fatherland.. You write an interesting an entertaining account of your doings.. please add more of your parents doings as well.. I need a good laugh..
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I've been banned from talking about my parents like that (blame Mum)
DeleteI thought your Mum hated censorship ?
Delete