From Gary & Karen..
and Sherman & Vic!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
The Things You Miss
Okay, Europe is incredible, magical, historical, wonderful and just an all-round lovely place to be!
I mean, the MacDonalds Burger place actually has a full-service bar in Italy. I'll have my quarter pounder with a gin and tonic on the side, if you please.
There are, however, some things which you miss.
How tough is it to make ice now-a-days? I feel like a forlorn penguin at some of these hotels, begging for some ice which they dole out into small glasses with a look of such satisfaction that I'm reluctant to tell them back in the States we can roll up a garbage can to the motel ice machine and fill it up for free.
Admittedly, 35 years ago when I first came to Europe, the coffee here blew me away. Espresso, lattes, cafe aulaits, they all left MJB and Folgers in the dust. But Europe is still the same and the States has rocketed past them! The coffee is still good here, but you have to pay a fortune for each cup, a take-away is hard to get and the concept of free coffee at your local hotel has not generally arrived here (I will give a nod to Best Western in Innsbruck on that one though, they provided a lovely cup of free coffee to our room even though we hadn't quite made their "recommended check-out time").
And the extra charges on items would even impress our US banks (who have managed to assure us that giving them money is a chore for them rather than a convenience for us). Perhaps one of our ultimate experiences on this was in Vienna, where we went in search of a breakfast. We found a place, ordered omelettes and some toast. The toast came and had been toasted, but that was it, it was toasted bread. I asked for some butter and jam, a unique concept apparently in Vienna. The waiter happily brought it to me and when the bill was presented, we were billed, individually, for each pat of butter and packet of jam.
Last night, at what was a lovely meal, they brought us a basket of bread, which we declined, since we knew we were already sharing a salad, soup, pasta and main course. When the bill came, it included a charge (actually, a double charge) for bread. I pointed out to the waiter that we didn't want and didn't have any bread. He apologized and frowned, saying "we do not have a service charge, so we charge for the bread". He had been very good, so I added a bit of a tip in cash, but pointed out that I thought the "bread tax" was part of my tip.
And I am, I admit it, a total and complete clean towel hog. Those messages in the hotel about saving the environment and reusing towels? Totally lost on me. But here, most of the places give you a thin towel (one) per each person in the room. How hard is it to load us up on towels? I've even left tips and notes to the various maids (though, with my broken German/French/Italian, I'm not totally convinced about what I'm requesting) asking for more towels, but so far, no luck.
Still, we are having a lovely time!!!!!
Gary & Karen
I mean, the MacDonalds Burger place actually has a full-service bar in Italy. I'll have my quarter pounder with a gin and tonic on the side, if you please.
There are, however, some things which you miss.
How tough is it to make ice now-a-days? I feel like a forlorn penguin at some of these hotels, begging for some ice which they dole out into small glasses with a look of such satisfaction that I'm reluctant to tell them back in the States we can roll up a garbage can to the motel ice machine and fill it up for free.
Admittedly, 35 years ago when I first came to Europe, the coffee here blew me away. Espresso, lattes, cafe aulaits, they all left MJB and Folgers in the dust. But Europe is still the same and the States has rocketed past them! The coffee is still good here, but you have to pay a fortune for each cup, a take-away is hard to get and the concept of free coffee at your local hotel has not generally arrived here (I will give a nod to Best Western in Innsbruck on that one though, they provided a lovely cup of free coffee to our room even though we hadn't quite made their "recommended check-out time").
And the extra charges on items would even impress our US banks (who have managed to assure us that giving them money is a chore for them rather than a convenience for us). Perhaps one of our ultimate experiences on this was in Vienna, where we went in search of a breakfast. We found a place, ordered omelettes and some toast. The toast came and had been toasted, but that was it, it was toasted bread. I asked for some butter and jam, a unique concept apparently in Vienna. The waiter happily brought it to me and when the bill was presented, we were billed, individually, for each pat of butter and packet of jam.
Last night, at what was a lovely meal, they brought us a basket of bread, which we declined, since we knew we were already sharing a salad, soup, pasta and main course. When the bill came, it included a charge (actually, a double charge) for bread. I pointed out to the waiter that we didn't want and didn't have any bread. He apologized and frowned, saying "we do not have a service charge, so we charge for the bread". He had been very good, so I added a bit of a tip in cash, but pointed out that I thought the "bread tax" was part of my tip.
And I am, I admit it, a total and complete clean towel hog. Those messages in the hotel about saving the environment and reusing towels? Totally lost on me. But here, most of the places give you a thin towel (one) per each person in the room. How hard is it to load us up on towels? I've even left tips and notes to the various maids (though, with my broken German/French/Italian, I'm not totally convinced about what I'm requesting) asking for more towels, but so far, no luck.
Still, we are having a lovely time!!!!!
Gary & Karen
Barnums in Venice!!
It's a little on the warm side, but, "oh, so lovely".
We arrived last night at the train station in Venice ("it is the last stop, you will know, if we keep going, you will be in the water") and got a water taxi (not the cheapest, but Marco literally took us to the hotel doorstep) to our apartment.
Our apartment is lovely. Of course, it's air conditioned and in the right weather I happen to think an air conditioned Ford Station Wagon can be lovely, but actually, this place has a large living room kitchen area, a bedroom with a sitting area, a double bed (two "beautiful suede sofa" -beds, per Karen), two bathrooms and three air conditioning units (which Karen has observed are "high-powered and great!"). This, plus they supply cold white Italian wines on request from downstairs, it will be a difficult place to leave (ultimately and even during the day!).
Of course, we did, and the Piazza San Marco was magical! Music, food and wine, or was that wine, music and food? It was incredible. Our place is about five blocks from San Marco, so it was an easy walk. We sat, listened to music and then returned near our hotel for a late dinner. By late, I mean Southern European time - around midnight. We ate well, had an excellent Amarone, and slept incredibly well.
Today has been a very pleasant, slow day. We did some shopping, made the obligatory pilgrimage to the Ponte di Rialto (the backwater shopping area where all those little glass animal figurines come to their final rest), had an excellent lunch and then came (slightly dripping and drooping from the heat, "it's the humidity", it's both) back to our room. Ah--hhh, cool air and cold Pinot Grigio!!
Karen has been introduced to the world of Gelati. She approves.
Tonight, we have tickets to see Vivaldi. Well, to hear Vivaldi's music at San Marco. I understand he is basically a "no-show" for most of his concerts.
We love this City!!!!!
Gary and Karen
We arrived last night at the train station in Venice ("it is the last stop, you will know, if we keep going, you will be in the water") and got a water taxi (not the cheapest, but Marco literally took us to the hotel doorstep) to our apartment.
Our apartment is lovely. Of course, it's air conditioned and in the right weather I happen to think an air conditioned Ford Station Wagon can be lovely, but actually, this place has a large living room kitchen area, a bedroom with a sitting area, a double bed (two "beautiful suede sofa" -beds, per Karen), two bathrooms and three air conditioning units (which Karen has observed are "high-powered and great!"). This, plus they supply cold white Italian wines on request from downstairs, it will be a difficult place to leave (ultimately and even during the day!).
Of course, we did, and the Piazza San Marco was magical! Music, food and wine, or was that wine, music and food? It was incredible. Our place is about five blocks from San Marco, so it was an easy walk. We sat, listened to music and then returned near our hotel for a late dinner. By late, I mean Southern European time - around midnight. We ate well, had an excellent Amarone, and slept incredibly well.
Today has been a very pleasant, slow day. We did some shopping, made the obligatory pilgrimage to the Ponte di Rialto (the backwater shopping area where all those little glass animal figurines come to their final rest), had an excellent lunch and then came (slightly dripping and drooping from the heat, "it's the humidity", it's both) back to our room. Ah--hhh, cool air and cold Pinot Grigio!!
Karen has been introduced to the world of Gelati. She approves.
Tonight, we have tickets to see Vivaldi. Well, to hear Vivaldi's music at San Marco. I understand he is basically a "no-show" for most of his concerts.
We love this City!!!!!
Gary and Karen
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
VENICE!! We arrived today!
Karen in the water taxi from the train station to the apartment.
View of the canal from our livingroom window!
Piazza San Marco tonight. So beautiful... so awesome.
The Doge's Palace
Monday, August 13, 2007
Photos from our tour of Belvedere Castle today...
Due to its incredible beauty the Habsburg family and Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination triggered WW I, chose the castle as their home.
The Upper and Lower Belvedere are connected by a marvelous garden with ponds and mazes. Today they host galleries with Austrian art.
The Kiss - Klimt
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Don't Leave Home - With or Without It - Dueling X's
One of the big questions as your are traveling through Europe is "how should I pay for things?"
This has become more difficult for several reasons. First, the Almighty American Dollar is hovering slightly below the waterline in what the British refer to as the Loo. Perhaps it has not yet been flushed, but it definitely is not the powerful Greenback I've traveled with before.
Second, traveler's checks, the once-vaunted "American Express", are viewed as slightly less trustworthy than the money you use in the "Game of Life" (remember Art Linklater?) Even American Express isn't crazy about them, now. They will charge you a fee (I'm not kidding) to cash the traveler check which you paid them a fee to issue. I'm surprised they don't ask us to pay them interest on the money they're holding for us. Bottom line in Europe when you think about traveler's checks, if you actually want to use them as opposed to just having the comfort that you have checks you can replace if you ever lose them, don't bother.
Okay, so that leaves cash and credit cards. Cash still works and everybody accepts it over here. In fact, in most of Europe, they all use the same cash, so the changing at the border and ending up with several hundreds of dollars in useless change is substantially diminished (the English, of course, still use the pound, - carry on John Bull - and you end up with a ridiculous amount of loose change in your pocket which you give to the "change charity" on the plane - it might have been a tip for the crew, I'm not sure). The problem with cash is, if you lose it or someone takes it from you, it is gone. Or as they say here in Austria, "kaput" (Karen loves it when I speak the local lingo).
So, credit cards. My recommendation is, bring as many as you can, possibly with different names. Cards that work just fine in Dubuque or Hebo, Oregon, for some reason, may or may not work here. Also, there is no consistency to the process. But it doesn't seem to matter for most people, just keep handing cards over (Discover? 1975 UofO student id? Fishing license?) until one of them takes.
I did have my AMEX card with me, but I noticed (after I started my journey) that the magnetic stripe on the back was starting to become brittle, to the point where "sometimes it worked and sometime it didn't". So, I called AMEX and described my problem and asked for a replacement card. Karen's recollection was that they advertised that they could replace cards the next day anywhere. I pointed this out to the AMEX people (these conversations, as they often are, being simultaneously conducted, as I try and give a random series of numbers to the AMEX agent to confirm my secret identity while Karen advises me on technical points of credit card lore), the AMEX agent said that they could get them to me immediately, or within 5 to 10 business days, whichever was the last to occur. When we get home, I've asked Karen to check whether AMEX has anything to do with our health plan as I can picture getting immediate health care within 5 to 10 business days.
At the time, however, I knew I would be in the Netherlands in 10 business days, so I gave them the address of the houseboat. When we arrived, there was no package from AMEX, but we discovered that they (by they, I am referring to AMEX's twin sister, Federal Express, or FedEx) had tried to deliver it, but it had been refused by the guest (we thought the owner stayed in the same houseboat, because of subtle entries in the description like "the owner, who lives on the houseboat"). I found this out by calling AMEX who could give me the tracking number, but no local office or identity as to who they had dealt with apart from "FedEx".
I did a web search and discovered the local office for FedEx in Amsterdam (an unpronounceable suburb of Amsterdam). I spoke with someone there who assured me that the package was there and we arranged for delivery at the houseboat the next morning between 9 and 10 a.m. All was well, or so we thought. I missed the dark music playing in the background as I hung up the phone.
The next morning, as they say, passed, and no FedEx and this is where the high comedy starts. I called FedEx and asked them where they were and they told me that AMEX (with whom I had just spoke with yesterday) had called them and asked for the package to be returned and they had to follow the rules of the shipper. They weren't sure at that point whether the package was still in the unpronounceable suburb or had "moved on", so to speak. I told them that, if it was still there, to keep it there. So I get back on the phone to AMEX and explain our mutual dilemma (my language, while a bit colorful, was within the bounds of decency) and I have names of the AMEX person who requested the return, her phone number (she had gone home, it was very late in North America), the name and number of the Amsterdam FedEx people (who they couldn't call, don't ask me why). So, AMEX calls me back and tells me that they have talked to international FedEx and everything was fine, the package would be delivered. I wait a decent interval and call the local FedEx people to confirm that they have instructions to deliver the package to me so that we can arrange the time (I know, we're crazy, but we were in Amsterdam, hoping to see sites other than a FedEx truck). Of course, their most recent (unchanged) instructions were to return the package to AMEX. So, I give the FedEx people the names and numbers of everyone from AMEX I could list (I would have included home addresses if I would have had them).
A short while after that, the FedEx gentleman called me back and said the card would be delivered the next morning.
So, I got my card after only a couple of hours on the phone (I'm leaving out vast portions of the phone calls "for English, press 1", "for international questions, press 3", "if you have become a screaming lunatic while waiting, please hang up").
Gary (with his credit card) in Vienna
Deliver to: "First houseboat behind the flower stall!"
This has become more difficult for several reasons. First, the Almighty American Dollar is hovering slightly below the waterline in what the British refer to as the Loo. Perhaps it has not yet been flushed, but it definitely is not the powerful Greenback I've traveled with before.
Second, traveler's checks, the once-vaunted "American Express", are viewed as slightly less trustworthy than the money you use in the "Game of Life" (remember Art Linklater?) Even American Express isn't crazy about them, now. They will charge you a fee (I'm not kidding) to cash the traveler check which you paid them a fee to issue. I'm surprised they don't ask us to pay them interest on the money they're holding for us. Bottom line in Europe when you think about traveler's checks, if you actually want to use them as opposed to just having the comfort that you have checks you can replace if you ever lose them, don't bother.
Okay, so that leaves cash and credit cards. Cash still works and everybody accepts it over here. In fact, in most of Europe, they all use the same cash, so the changing at the border and ending up with several hundreds of dollars in useless change is substantially diminished (the English, of course, still use the pound, - carry on John Bull - and you end up with a ridiculous amount of loose change in your pocket which you give to the "change charity" on the plane - it might have been a tip for the crew, I'm not sure). The problem with cash is, if you lose it or someone takes it from you, it is gone. Or as they say here in Austria, "kaput" (Karen loves it when I speak the local lingo).
So, credit cards. My recommendation is, bring as many as you can, possibly with different names. Cards that work just fine in Dubuque or Hebo, Oregon, for some reason, may or may not work here. Also, there is no consistency to the process. But it doesn't seem to matter for most people, just keep handing cards over (Discover? 1975 UofO student id? Fishing license?) until one of them takes.
I did have my AMEX card with me, but I noticed (after I started my journey) that the magnetic stripe on the back was starting to become brittle, to the point where "sometimes it worked and sometime it didn't". So, I called AMEX and described my problem and asked for a replacement card. Karen's recollection was that they advertised that they could replace cards the next day anywhere. I pointed this out to the AMEX people (these conversations, as they often are, being simultaneously conducted, as I try and give a random series of numbers to the AMEX agent to confirm my secret identity while Karen advises me on technical points of credit card lore), the AMEX agent said that they could get them to me immediately, or within 5 to 10 business days, whichever was the last to occur. When we get home, I've asked Karen to check whether AMEX has anything to do with our health plan as I can picture getting immediate health care within 5 to 10 business days.
At the time, however, I knew I would be in the Netherlands in 10 business days, so I gave them the address of the houseboat. When we arrived, there was no package from AMEX, but we discovered that they (by they, I am referring to AMEX's twin sister, Federal Express, or FedEx) had tried to deliver it, but it had been refused by the guest (we thought the owner stayed in the same houseboat, because of subtle entries in the description like "the owner, who lives on the houseboat"). I found this out by calling AMEX who could give me the tracking number, but no local office or identity as to who they had dealt with apart from "FedEx".
I did a web search and discovered the local office for FedEx in Amsterdam (an unpronounceable suburb of Amsterdam). I spoke with someone there who assured me that the package was there and we arranged for delivery at the houseboat the next morning between 9 and 10 a.m. All was well, or so we thought. I missed the dark music playing in the background as I hung up the phone.
The next morning, as they say, passed, and no FedEx and this is where the high comedy starts. I called FedEx and asked them where they were and they told me that AMEX (with whom I had just spoke with yesterday) had called them and asked for the package to be returned and they had to follow the rules of the shipper. They weren't sure at that point whether the package was still in the unpronounceable suburb or had "moved on", so to speak. I told them that, if it was still there, to keep it there. So I get back on the phone to AMEX and explain our mutual dilemma (my language, while a bit colorful, was within the bounds of decency) and I have names of the AMEX person who requested the return, her phone number (she had gone home, it was very late in North America), the name and number of the Amsterdam FedEx people (who they couldn't call, don't ask me why). So, AMEX calls me back and tells me that they have talked to international FedEx and everything was fine, the package would be delivered. I wait a decent interval and call the local FedEx people to confirm that they have instructions to deliver the package to me so that we can arrange the time (I know, we're crazy, but we were in Amsterdam, hoping to see sites other than a FedEx truck). Of course, their most recent (unchanged) instructions were to return the package to AMEX. So, I give the FedEx people the names and numbers of everyone from AMEX I could list (I would have included home addresses if I would have had them).
A short while after that, the FedEx gentleman called me back and said the card would be delivered the next morning.
So, I got my card after only a couple of hours on the phone (I'm leaving out vast portions of the phone calls "for English, press 1", "for international questions, press 3", "if you have become a screaming lunatic while waiting, please hang up").
Gary (with his credit card) in Vienna
Deliver to: "First houseboat behind the flower stall!"
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Hello Vienna!!!
Oh, My God! It is so amazing! Here are some photos from today. We are completely wiped out from the trip here via Frankfurt, so will post more after some sleep.
Karntner Strasse Street. Thousands of people!
View from our balcony.
The Pastries!
The Pastries!!
The Pastries!!! :)
St. Stephen's Cathedral
We visited St. Stephen's this afternoon. We'll return for mass at 9:30 tomorrow morning.
A store called Humanic
Musikfrein Mozart Concert in the Goldstaal tonight.
Beautiful!
The walk back from the Mozart concert.
Karntner Strasse Street. Thousands of people!
View from our balcony.
The Pastries!
The Pastries!!
The Pastries!!! :)
St. Stephen's Cathedral
We visited St. Stephen's this afternoon. We'll return for mass at 9:30 tomorrow morning.
A store called Humanic
Musikfrein Mozart Concert in the Goldstaal tonight.
Beautiful!
The walk back from the Mozart concert.
Last Night in Amsterdam
Our last day in Amsterdam actually started with taking my son, who prefers not to specifically named in these entries, so we will refer to him as Hedding zum Seinerhaus, to the airport for his return journey. We had a great time traveling with Hedding and, in many ways, he is a very easy person to travel with.
Hedding is, of course, a teenager. That, in itself, should describe volumes to anyone who has had a teenager. That look of amazement, often accompanied by "what????!!" as though whatever it is you are looking at or have just experienced or are thinking whether it can be repaired, is as normal as a sunrise.
Anyway, I took him to Schipool (pronounced "Schipool", but it doesn't matter, because you'll never get it right) Airport, took him as far as I could up to the security lines (can't put them in their seats anymore) and hoped for the best. I did get a phone call early that morning that he had safely arrived, so all was well.
Karen had to wait at the houseboat for the final, actual delivery by FedEx of our AMEX card (separate entry). We toasted Hedding's safe journey and napped. In the early evening, after confirming that Hedding had made the connection at Heathrow, we went to Anne Frank's House, thinking the lines might be shorter after the dinner hour. They weren't. Still, it was worth the wait and we would recommend the visit to anyone. It is a very moving museum.
We then walked about, looking for a nice restaurant on the water. We found a beautiful place at the Hotel Europe (the Terrace at the Excelsior Restaurant, pictured above) and our meal was outstanding! We had a four-course dinner (including a separate seafood and a meat plate), topped off with a delightful ice wine with dessert and cognac and coffee. The service was great and the view was wonderful.
We had a great time in Amsterdam and we were sorry to leave our houseboat and the city the next morning.
Gary and Karen
Friday, August 10, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Lunch in Amsterdam
Cold roast chicken salad with dingle berries!
Weiner Schnitzel with Roquefort
Peach Pannenkokken"Amster, Amster, shh-shh-shh!"
Hier Ve Be, Karen, Gary and my son, who prefers not to be specifically mentioned, so we'll call him Hans Cross de Barkoonter.
We are staying in a marvelous little house boat on the Prinsengracht Canal. I'm spending my time hacking away at the pronunciation of the Dutch language. Of course, they do have a gift of looking at you with a confused look no matter what you say. "We are going to Prinsengracht". "What?" "Prinsengracht." "What?" "Prinsengracht." "Oh, Prinsengracht." "Yes, Prinsengracht, how do you pronounce it?" "Prinsengracht."
When we first arrived, we met the owner, who is kind of a slightly, but not too, seedy version of Adonis who was cleaning up the house boat with his shirt off (Karen approved) and dropped our bags. It is a very nice, though small, location with a kitchen and a clean newly tiled shower and bathroom (once again, Karen approved).
Hans and I then ventured to the destination resort of Amsterdam (I know what you're thinking, but it's not), called P. C. G. Hajenius, a wonderful place dedicated to cigars (with a nod to pipes). It has a walk-in huge humidor, an open-two story floor plan which would make Henry Higgins marvel, and it's motto is "thank you, for smoking". I had taken Hans' brother to the same place on his eighteenth birthday five years ago and Hans told me at the time, "when I'm eighteen, I want to come back here". Here we are!!
P. C. G. Hajenius
Amsterdam is a wonderful city to just stroll around. You can't throw a rock without hitting an outdoor cafe. Karen and I walked about yesterday basically going from cafe to cafe kind of like stepping stones across the city. Our breakfast consisted of apple pie with whipped cream which was wonderful. Unfortunately, I ordered coffee with cream for the two of us as well. When they brought it to us it was two cups of coffee that would have fit in well with any ice cream parlor, each with a pile of whipped cream. We have since learned that we're supposed to order a "cafe au lait", of course, I think they're just messing with us.
We then toured the Rijks Museum (as in, "We are going to the Ricks". "What?" "Ricks." "What?" "Ricks." "Oh, Ricks." "Yes, Ricks, how do you pronounce it?" "Ricks.") This is famous for all of the paintings by Rembrandt (Rick Rembrandt), his students and other painters who either liked Rembrandt, painted like him or knew how to pronounce Ricks. Some of the paintings by Rick and by Vermeer were pretty spectacular. As I recall, the important thing about these early 17th century painters was their use of perspective ("This painting will go for $2 million!" "Wow! That really puts the cost of my trip in perspective!!")
We had booked a canal dinner cruise for the three of us. We were told that the boat left from "across the Central train station" - we found the location, we were early and there was a cafe near by, so we stopped in. When I was in Spain, 35 years ago, I had this great little eggy liqueur drink called "Advokaat" that came from Holland and I thought, why not order it here? So I ordered an Advokaat on ice. The waitress gave me one of those looks like I'd just ordered the nether parts of an endangered species - "could I have those lightly braised?". She came back with all of the drinks other than the Advokaat and asked me if I really wanted it with ice, I assured her I did. A few minutes later, she brought me a cup of what looked like pudding with a dollop of whipped cream on it and a glass of ice on the side. I have since found out that, while Advokaat can be a drink outside of Holland, here it is served as a pudding. The waitress, concerned, obviously had no idea of what I intended with the ice and that is why she put it on the side.
I'm considering ordering all of my desserts from now on "with ice".
We came out of the cafe, a few minutes early, and walked to the place which was labeled, "departures at 7 p.m.", the name of our tour boat operator and a large kiosk, which continued to be closed. We then asked about and found out that this was not the right place. After a true "WTF" moment, we located the place and then I had to deal with their ticket agent. Fortunately, I don't know the Dutch word for "moron", so I managed to ultimately get the tickets from that particular ticket agent without spending time in any Dutch jail. Karen reminded me to be patient and have fun. He was a moron.
The boat trip was a lot of fun. We had multiple courses, a variety of wines, a lovely pudding dessert in a pretty Dutch pottery bowl that we could keep, coffee and liqueur and a very nice captain. The sun set as we were winding our way on the canals back to the dock.
Before going to bed, Karen and I enjoyed a brandy at the cafe which is across the street from our house boat (all of about 20 yards away).
Sunset on Thursday evening.
We are staying in a marvelous little house boat on the Prinsengracht Canal. I'm spending my time hacking away at the pronunciation of the Dutch language. Of course, they do have a gift of looking at you with a confused look no matter what you say. "We are going to Prinsengracht". "What?" "Prinsengracht." "What?" "Prinsengracht." "Oh, Prinsengracht." "Yes, Prinsengracht, how do you pronounce it?" "Prinsengracht."
When we first arrived, we met the owner, who is kind of a slightly, but not too, seedy version of Adonis who was cleaning up the house boat with his shirt off (Karen approved) and dropped our bags. It is a very nice, though small, location with a kitchen and a clean newly tiled shower and bathroom (once again, Karen approved).
Inside the Houseboat and the Prinsengracht Canal view from the kitchen.
The Prinsengracht Canal
Hans and I then ventured to the destination resort of Amsterdam (I know what you're thinking, but it's not), called P. C. G. Hajenius, a wonderful place dedicated to cigars (with a nod to pipes). It has a walk-in huge humidor, an open-two story floor plan which would make Henry Higgins marvel, and it's motto is "thank you, for smoking". I had taken Hans' brother to the same place on his eighteenth birthday five years ago and Hans told me at the time, "when I'm eighteen, I want to come back here". Here we are!!
We then toured the Rijks Museum (as in, "We are going to the Ricks". "What?" "Ricks." "What?" "Ricks." "Oh, Ricks." "Yes, Ricks, how do you pronounce it?" "Ricks.") This is famous for all of the paintings by Rembrandt (Rick Rembrandt), his students and other painters who either liked Rembrandt, painted like him or knew how to pronounce Ricks. Some of the paintings by Rick and by Vermeer were pretty spectacular. As I recall, the important thing about these early 17th century painters was their use of perspective ("This painting will go for $2 million!" "Wow! That really puts the cost of my trip in perspective!!")
The Rijks Museum
We got back to the house boat around 4 p.m. and Hans had already arose, showered and then fell back to sleep. The nice thing about traveling with a teenager is that you don't have to worry where they are during the morning and early afternoon, it's just the evenings that can be a trial.We had booked a canal dinner cruise for the three of us. We were told that the boat left from "across the Central train station" - we found the location, we were early and there was a cafe near by, so we stopped in. When I was in Spain, 35 years ago, I had this great little eggy liqueur drink called "Advokaat" that came from Holland and I thought, why not order it here? So I ordered an Advokaat on ice. The waitress gave me one of those looks like I'd just ordered the nether parts of an endangered species - "could I have those lightly braised?". She came back with all of the drinks other than the Advokaat and asked me if I really wanted it with ice, I assured her I did. A few minutes later, she brought me a cup of what looked like pudding with a dollop of whipped cream on it and a glass of ice on the side. I have since found out that, while Advokaat can be a drink outside of Holland, here it is served as a pudding. The waitress, concerned, obviously had no idea of what I intended with the ice and that is why she put it on the side.
I'm considering ordering all of my desserts from now on "with ice".
We came out of the cafe, a few minutes early, and walked to the place which was labeled, "departures at 7 p.m.", the name of our tour boat operator and a large kiosk, which continued to be closed. We then asked about and found out that this was not the right place. After a true "WTF" moment, we located the place and then I had to deal with their ticket agent. Fortunately, I don't know the Dutch word for "moron", so I managed to ultimately get the tickets from that particular ticket agent without spending time in any Dutch jail. Karen reminded me to be patient and have fun. He was a moron.
The boat trip was a lot of fun. We had multiple courses, a variety of wines, a lovely pudding dessert in a pretty Dutch pottery bowl that we could keep, coffee and liqueur and a very nice captain. The sun set as we were winding our way on the canals back to the dock.
Keepsake Dessert and our Captain.
Karen and Gary on the canal dinner cruise!
Before going to bed, Karen and I enjoyed a brandy at the cafe which is across the street from our house boat (all of about 20 yards away).
A very lovely location!
Sunset on Thursday evening.
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