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Day-by-Day Trip Summary
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I left from Calgary International Airport shortly after midnight on the evening of Friday, May 12. I arrived in Amsterdam Saturday, May 13 around 6 in the evening local time. That night I got settled in and just spent time hanging out with all the other N-Spicers.
Week One
Sunday -- Cross -Roads International (English) church. De Haag, capital of the Netherlands; saw Parliament buildings, International Court of Justice, residencies of the Dutch royal family. Schevenigen (or something like that), beach in De Haag on the North Sea
Monday -- class (5 hours of it!), meetings, stuff
Tuesday -- class excursion to AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce) in De Haag, more walking around De Haag
Wednesday -- class, free lunch concert at the Concert Gebouw in Amsterdam (Dvorakk). Ship museum in downtown Amsterdam
Thursday-- class excursion to Albert Heijne Regional Distribution Center (Major Grocery Retailer in Holland). Dr. Boot's birthday party. Irish pub, Mulligan's
Friday-- class with a speechless Dr. Visser. Red Light District. Oudekerk (Old Church) -- World Press Photo Exhibitionn
Saturday-- bike trip through the Holland countryside and small towns north of Amsterdam, included a stop for lunch at a pannekoekenhuis (or something like that), with Ethan, Gairbrich (sp?), Kim, and Kristen. Watched the Netherlandic Symphony Orchestra perform in the Concert Gebouw: Dvorak and Katsjatoerian
Week Two
Sunday-- Crossroads church, Rijksmuseum (art museum) -- mostly prints section. Chess game with Ethan
Monday-- McDonald's franchise owner came in and talked to business class soccer game with other international students staying in the dorm.
Tuesday-- Rijksmuseum (Dutch history section), met, for the first time, my Aunt Co and Uncle Jaap (they came to my apartment!). Paper airplanes
Wednesday-- class excursion to KLM Cargo. Met (again for the first time) and had dinner with, cousin Frans and his wife Anook and their child Zinga. Duck tape bowling
Thursday-- early morning trip to Aalsmeer Flower Auction. Breakfast at McD's. Soup Run in downtown Amsterdam with YWAM (Youth With A Mission)
Friday-- class excursion to ABN-AMRO bank. More soccer with the international students. Attempted outing to Leidseplain in Amsterdam
Saturday-- Big Group Trip to Rotterdam with all the N-Spicers. Boat trip through the port, old church, statue, cube houses, market. Watched Romania - Netherlands soccer game at Billy and Andy's (2-1 for Holland)
Week Three
Sunday-- last time at the Crossroads church. Dinner at Auntie Co and Uncle Jaap's with cousin Margareet and husband Rius and their energetic children Suzan and Jerone (10 and 8 years old). Showed my place to Suzan and Jerone despite language barriers
Monday-- the long class excursion to Rotterdam, including ADM (Archer's Danielson Midland) (soya bean, etc importer/exporter, container ports), free sundaes from Dr. Boot.
Tuesday-- final class excursion: Kloppart, specialized in producing natural pesticides. Indonesian restaurant. Exhausted, I went to bed early!
Wednesday-- no class, used most of day to study for final exam but did study for a while outside at a cafe with Istvan. I also took a study break at night and went swimming!
Thursday-- Final Exam (after being rudely waken by some drunk students playing loud music at 6am). Relaxed! Van Gogh museum. Soup Run with only Terri, Willem, Kim, Serena, Lisa and myself!
Friday-- Heineken brewrey tour. Searched for and failed to find European Soccer Championship tickets. Corrie Ten Boom house in Haarlem. Final time at Cafe Uilenstede
Saturday-- Anne Frank House. Bass Concert of my cousin Riek, also met cousins Jaap and Majoke. Time to relax with Aunt Co and Uncle Jaap. Good-byes to Kronieland (the hospitium); packed up and moved to my aunt and uncle's
Week Four (now the real holidays begin)
Sunday -- slept-in. Bird watching with Uncle Jaap
Monday-- stressful day of travelling to Heidelberg, the home of my sis and bro-in-law. Ran around aimlessly and unsuccessfully in Arnhem, Holland looking for soccer tickets. Despite the stress, the train ride through Germany was quite beautiful
Tuesday-- explored the hills on the outskirts of Heidelberg. Dinner with Joachim and Joylene
Wednesday-- first day in Munich. Olympic Park (home of 1972 summer games). Marienplatz/Hofgarten (location of many of Hitler's rallies). English Garden (big park along the river) and Chinese Beer Garden (min purchase = 1L)
Thursday -- visit to Dakou concentration camp (where my grandfather was a prisoner). Walked through the main tourist areas in Munich including the Hofbrauhuis (oldest Beer Garden in Europe), the Deutches Museum (huge science/industry/technology museum), Veggie Market, climbed St. Peter's Church
Friday -- Day bike trip via Rosenheim around Lake Chimsee (about 100km) (very beautiful!). Visited largest beer garden in Europe which was near youth hostel
Saturday-- Royal Palace in Munich. Biked the English Garden. Arrived back at Heidelberg. Saw the Heidelberg castle at night
Week Five
Sunday -- biked to Joylene and Joachim's church (German Pentecost service). Toured the Heidelberg Castle with Joylene in the afternoon. Pharmacy Museum in Heidelberg Castle. Watched the Netherlands - Czech Repubic opening match at local bar (1-0 Holland)
Monday -- provincial holiday due to Pentecost (slept-in again). Joylene, Joachim and I took a 2 hour bike trip (a full hour uphill) to Willemsburg to visit a friend of Joachim stopping by at the small town of Ladenburg for aerobie and some ice cream. Hiked near Willemsburg. Bike trip took only just over an hour to Heidelberg (this time it was downhill!!)
Tuesday -- spent the day in Strassborg, France (capital of the European Union). Large cathedral which was built over 300 years (approx 1200 - 1500). Tourist boat ride through the canals of Strassborg. Petit France, university botanical gardens, lots of walking! Rested along the Rheine and watched soccer at night
Wednesday -- prepared for the bike trip with Joylene: did chores, went shopping, etc. Practiced piano on my sister and bro-in-law's grand piano. Played soccer with a bunch of Germans (only one spoke English)
Thursday -- Joylene and I left with our bikes for the Bodensee (Lake Constance) in S. Germany. Arrived in Freidrichshafen early afternoon. Stop in Bregenz. Biked approx 60km. Watched sun set over Lake Constance at camping ground on Austrian-Swiss border
Friday -- biked approx 85km. Stop in S. Constance for lunch. Stop at Stein n. Rheine (old town). Camped near Schaffhausen and watched Netherlands-Denmark game at a bar in the campground. (3-0 Holland)
Saturday -- biked approx 90km. Stopped at Rhein Falls. Stop at Stein n. Rheine for lunch. Stop at Radolfzell for ice cream. Took ferry across lake to Mersburg, where we ate supper (and watched a soccer game). Camped near Uberlingen for the night (another beauty sunset and moon reflection over lake!!) (and watched the Germany - England soccer game: 1-0 England)
Week Six
Sunday -- woke up at 5am and saw sunrise over Lake Constance. Left early back for Heidelberg. Arrived in Heidelberg, fell asleep immediately and stayed asleep for long time! More piano practice on the grand! Out for ice cream to a really good ice cream parlour in Heidelberg
Monday -- good-byes to Joylene and Joachim. Left in train for Hannover, Germany at 11am, arrived before 3pm. Walked around downtown Hannover for an hour or two. Found the place I was staying (Joylene's friend's brother's girlfriend's place). Went to Expo 2000
Tuesday -- spent the day at EXPO 2000 seeing as much as I could in one day. At night watched the Germany - Portugal soccer game on big screen TV outside on the EXPO grounds (Police everywhere!) (Portugal 3-0)
Wednesday -- left for Berlin at 10am, arrived before noon. Saw what's left of the Berlin Wall and even bought a piece of it. Went to the German - Russian Relations museum. Went to a great museum called "The Story of Berlin". Watched France - Netherlands soccer game on big screen TV in train station (Holland 3-2). Left for Amsterdam on night train.
Thursday-- arrived in Amsterdam at 9:30am. Visited the Resistance Museum. Went back to my aunt and uncle's to spend the next two nights
Friday -- went swimming with my Aunt Co and Uncle Jaap (swam over 1km!). Started getting packed and ready for the trip home. Visited with cousin Riek
Saturday -- finished packing. Lunch and good-byes to Aunt Co and Uncle Jaap. Left from Amsterdam airport at 5:45pm, arrived in Calgary at 6:45pm. Went out for supper in Calgary with Mom, Dad, and Tamara. Visited with cousins, aunt and uncle in Calgary.
Sunday -- arrived back in Edmonton at 7pm and ...
That's it!!
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