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After visiting Amsterdam two times prior only for quick trips, we decided to spend ten days in Amsterdam over New Year 2004. Amsterdam is one of those amazing cities with so much culture. Even in ten days, we only saw such a small portion of the city. However, we got to do a lot more exploring of neighborhoods than had we ever done before. We did the usual - tour the Heineken Brewery, see the Anne Frank Haus, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum.. and of course, the Amsterdam Hard Rock!
During a visit outside the main city centre, we spent the afternoon with locals at the Brouwerij Het Ij located in a windmill. It was such fun drinking with all the Dutch locals. We got so smashed and walked back in the cold to the closest train station. We spent New Years Eve at a party in our hotel lobby and met many people from all over the world. We stated at Hotel La Bohème just a short walk from LeidsePlein. I highly recommend this hotel. It snowed on us on New Years day, which was a nice treat - but it was damn cold! |
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England
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In June 2000, Sharon and I spent three weeks, mostly in Scotland, on our honeymoon. We flew into London and took a train up to Glasgow. It was a long, 12 hours or so, train ride. We shared the ride with a nice old Scottish lady and her dog. Her accent was so thick she was difficult to understand at times but it was good to talk with her about Scotland. In Glasgow, we rented a car and drove all through the Inner Hebrides, including Isle of Mull and Isle of Skye. We then headed east across Scotland to Loch Ness and toward Inverness. We visited the site of Culloden Moor, where thousands of Jacobite rebels were massacred by the English government troops. We then headed south to Edinburgh. Edinburgh has so much history and when we go back to Scotland, we plan on spending a week just in the city.
We took a high speed ferry over to Belfast in Northern Ireland and caught a train down the eastern coast to Dublin. We spent the weekend in Dublin with a friend from Dell who was living in Dublin and working for Dell Europe. From there, we took a high speed ferry back over to Wales and caught a train into London. We spent another night in London and took the high speed train through the chunnel (first class!) to Amsterdam. We enjoyed three days in Amsterdam and flew out of Schiphol Airport. It was a whirlwind tour and there are too many memorable anecdotes to list here. |
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Monaco
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Our first trip to Europe was a juxtaposition of decadence and backpacker ruffing it. While at Dell (in the "good 'ole days") I won a trip for a week in Monte Carlo! We spent the week living like kings, visiting the Grand Casino, shopping in Nice, eating seven course meals, swimming at Cannes and simply being treated first class. It was an experience that we would never have gotten if not through this promotion. It will be something will never do again. Even through the trip was "free", we were surprised when we were required to pay the taxes on the income spent on the trip. Turns out our week in Monte Carlo with first class accommodations cost $18,000 for two people! We're talking about $2,500 bucks spent each day! It was a blast.
In order to extend our European fun, we (along with two other members on the trip) decided to take a train from Monte Carlo north, through Italy, Switzerland, Germany and fly out of Amsterdam. In retrospect, it was a crazy trip and we had so much fun, but at the time, it was too much to do in one week. Each place we stayed, we had no idea where we were sleeping. We simply walked around until we found a nice place. In the cities we stayed, we didn't have much time to enjoy the city - although we did see some cool things. In Switzerland, we stayed in Interlaken and explored the Alps. In Munich, we enjoyed dinner at the Hofbräuhaus and drank many steins of beer with people from all over the world. In Amsterdam, we were amazed at the how many people are simply strolling around Damrak, with so many different languages being spoken. |
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