Amsterdam

Our drive to Amsterdam went quickly and no problems. At the moment I can't even remember where we stopped to eat lunch. I'll have to ask Erik when he gets back. We may have skipped it and gave snacks to them in the car instead to hold them over for an early dinner upon arrival. Gosh it was only three days ago and it feels like it's been a week.

Okay, the two rooms I rented were so funny. It was like camping in a way. Most reasonably priced hotels/B&B's were booked (of course we waited 'til last minute for this trip), so I went with the place that rented apartments. They said they didn't have one big enough for what we were looking for (separate room for kids) but the owner's parents had two rooms that we could connect and private bath that we could rent. At that point I was running out of time and needed to book three more cities, so I said, okay without seeing pictures. Oh my gosh, the steps were like climbing a ladder. He told me the house had traditional old stairs but these were far more steeper than I could have ever dreamt up. I thought they'd be like my brother's historical home with steep stairs, noooo, this was almost climbing straight up, it was hilarious. Erik was far more nervous about them than I was, which I thought was odd. I'm the worry-wart of the family. Anyhow, we were on the top floor of the old home and it over looked a canal and city life. The location was just a 2min walk from the Ann Frank House, one of the busiest tourist destinations of the city. The location was great! but yet being in the city also meant you get to listen to the night life down at the pubs below 'til wee hours of the morning. I think Erik slept with ear plugs but anyhow, the big windows opened nicely and a cool breeze felt great. The kids ran back and forth between the two rooms and didn't seem to mind the shabbiness of the place. I wouldn't suggest this place for kids but it would be great for backpackers.

Speaking of backpackers, of course they're all over Amsterdam. All types of people everywhere enjoying a coffee and at cafes, a beer at a corner pub or smoking at the "coffee shops". We had to avoid some areas because just breathing the air you could see and smell the marijuana. Erik has a flight physical to take tomorrow and I didn't need my kids getting high. I read up before going there and hashish, mushrooms and marijuana are the legal "soft drugs" you can buy at the "coffee shops". You buy coffee at cafes, just in case you didn't know. The majority of these place exist around the red light district. We didn't dive too deep into that area because of the air etc but it sure was interesting in an odd way. They could never squash the prostitution problem there so they legalized it and you just "pick your girl and buy your time" from the windows. They're like live mannequins but wearing lingerie. It looked like they were just standing in a closet with a glass window.

Anyhow, we trekked about the city with the kids in the backpacks and really really enjoyed ourselves. We both decided we like the city better in the morning than at night. Full of interesting smells with the passing of each shop, restaurant etc.

We never did take a canal cruise but we ended up on a bus, at train, a tram and a stop n go shuttle. The shuttle was great. Just jump on and off whenever you want, saved a lot of walking no doubt. Neither Erik or I are interested in art museums so we never inquired about Van Gogh or Rembrandt etc. The line to Anne Frank house was always ridicuously long, we warned about that. You can buy your tickets on-line if you want but skipped over all the touristy stuff. The kids loved eating foods at cafes and running wild in the parks.

Oh, we did find a local brewery that is located in an old windmill and they had some great beer and food. I'd go back there for sure. The kids loved really enjoyed the food as did we and watching the boats go by on the canal. Deegan had to announce the passing of each and every boat :)

The drive out of there was simple and off we headed to Belgium for lunch. We ended eating at a small town off the highway and quickly learned they all speak French there. Well, German is widely used as well but French isn't what I was expecting. I of course couldn't recall any of my two years of High School French, other than, "I don't speak French". We had yet another great meal and spoiled ourselves with a yummy Belgium beer. The drive was so beautiful too. I suppose the sunny nice weather makes a difference but it's just so postcard perfect out here.

We arrived here at our friends house, Jim and Robin Hartle, in the Ramstein area last night around 5pm. They were so kind as to grill out some great food and pour some German wine. The weather is gorgeous too. I believe we're grilling out some steak and veggies tonight, can't wait. The Hartles have a two bedroom apartment in their basement of their massive German house, so they invited us to stay with them rather than a hotel.

We mostly chilled out this morning and went to lunch with Robin and her 10yr old son. Kids are napping right now, Erik is at the base get familiar with where he needs to be at 0645 tomorrow. We are contemplating going down to France for a lunch tomorrow. It's only a 30min drive to the border...but about an hour to a more interesting town apparantly. Nothing is really set in stone for this week except getting medical appts taken care, shopping at the commissary and BX.

Again, I'm not going to reread this for editing at the moment, so I hope it mostly makes sense. Catch up with you soon.
Stacie