Roadtrip...final days

On Friday I got up early to drive to Kasteel De Haar, a castle close by to Utrecht. I am glad I went early because the grounds were fairly empty so I was able to get some great shots. The castle's history goes back to the middle ages, but it was restored and partially rebuilt in the 19th century. The tour was in Dutch, but they had audio guides to listen to in English while following the group tour. It was very informative and the rooms inside were beautiful but no photography was allowed. After the tour, I drove back to Utrecht and walked around the shopping areas. I visited the Dom (church), and ended up going to the movies because they had Monsters University playing in English which is harder to find in Germany. I had seen just about everything I was interested in seeing in Utrecht and I was pretty tired by this point in the trip. I had an early morning and a long day ahead of me.

Saturday morning was the fabric market. It takes place every Saturday morning and it was absolutely excellent. First stop was Starbucks while they were setting up. I spent almost 2 hours at the market because there was just so much to see and check out. The prices were cheap and a lot of things were marked down for the market. I had so many heavy bags by the time I was done, and my walk to the car was slightly difficult. I really wish there was something like this locally more often. When I was done, I checked out of the hostel and began driving home, with a couple stops on the way. First stop was Burg Eltz, a castle in Germany. It was quite out of the way, and I had to drive through a few small towns, but when I did finally find it, it was definitely worth it. This was the most impressive castle so far. It was built in a valley in the 12th century, and is still owned by a branch of the same family. It was just a quick stop because I still had a lot of driving ahead of me. My next stop was in Aschaffenberg near Frankfurt to check out another TK Maxx. I planned this stop just to give myself a break from driving.  From here, I had 2 more hours of driving and then I was home. Exhausted and ready for bed :)

Kasteel De Haar

Kasteel De Haar

Burg Eltz

 Burg Eltz

Links: 

Kasteel De Haar

Fabric Market, Utrecht

Burg Eltz

Roadtrip continued...Amsterdam

My favorite part about visiting cities on vacation? Starbucks. I usually brew at home, but I enjoy the Starbucks experience and there are none locally. I was very happy Thursday morning to grab Starbucks and get on a train to Amsterdam. The train ticket was very reasonably priced. Cheaper than our train to Nürnberg, and about the same amount of time. When I arrived in Amsterdam, I went to the tourist office and got the Iamsterdam city card. I don't usually do things like that, but I was only planning on spending one day in Amsterdam and the museum ticket prices individually were very expensive. Most were about 10 euros minimum. The 24hr card was 42 euro and it also included a canal boat tour and unlimited use of the city public transportation. The canal boat tour was a bit lengthy but very informative if you are interested in the history of the city. My next stop was the Amsterdam Museum. This museum was very modern and appealing but there was way too much information. It would be good if you had many days in Amsterdam and had at least half a day to commit to it. The city of Amsterdam is very crowded, think Times Square crowds, but everywhere you go. I found my way on the tram to the  modern art museum, Stedelijk (I have no idea how to say that). This museum was huge but I made my way through it, and then headed over the Van Gogh museum which was right next door. There was a fairly large line at the Van Gogh museum, but the city card allowed me to get on a shorter line, and I was inside within 15 minutes. The museum was very crowded and hard to enjoy. Perhaps this is something to do first thing in the morning. They had a lot of great pieces of Van Gogh's work, and a good audio guide to go along. I needed a little break from museums, so I found a small flea market I had seen from the canal tour. Mostly tourist things, and there was also a plant market. Lots of tulip bulbs being sold, but I knew I would not be able to keep it alive so I didn't even bother. Instead, I purchased some painted wooden carved tulips. Next I was off to the Rembrandt house which was very interesting. After this, I tried to go to the Jewish history museum which was close by but they closed early at 5 pm. After picking up a few more souvenirs, I was quite exhausted and worn out from the museum spree so I headed back to Utrecht. Amsterdam is a great city to visit and is very unique, so I highly recommend visiting. There is lots to see and do, and lots of shopping.

The canal tours

The pole sticking out at the top of the houses is a hoisting bar. The staircases are too windy and narrow so every house, even modern ones have a hoisting bar to move large furniture.

Loved the old crooked buildings

Tulips!

Van Gogh 

Although very different, I see the influence the Dutch had on NYC architecture

Links: 

Iamsterdam city card

Roadtrip to Cologne and Utrecht continued

I debated checking out the Cologne Cathedral the night before but I decided against wondering around at night and waited till the next day. Of course, it was raining the next day, so it wasn't as beautiful as it could have been but it was still certainly impressive. Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is a Roman Catholic cathedral that was built in 1248 but not finished until 1880. It is the most visited site in Germany. After a couple minutes inside the cathedral, I headed around the corner to the Museum Ludwig, a modern art museum. It was a bit pricey, but this is coming from someone who knows the Met is a suggested donation and otherwise visited the free museums in Washington, D.C. Their pop art collection was impressive, but I didn't come to a German modern art museum just to see American art. They had quite a variety of work, but nothing special enough for me to want to go back. On my way back to the hostel, I walked down the main shopping street, Schildergasse, which has any type of store you could want. I checked out of the hostel and began my drive to Utrecht in the Netherlands.

Unfortunately, the rain followed me all the way there. It was a slow drive, especially because there are actually speed limits on their highways. I guess I am getting used to the German Autobahn. There were almost no cars around when I crossed the border, and it was simple as crossing from state to state, although the signs were now in Dutch. I arrived at Hostel Strowis, and got checked in. I wasn't that impressed. It had all the amenities needed but it was very basic and very 'backpacker'. I guess all of the other places I have stayed in had a special charm, and this one was just not interesting. Not to mention, the lockers mentioned online were downstairs in the basement. That was incredibly inconvenient. Parking in Utrecht is next to impossible and incredibly expensive, so I researched a 24 hour parking garage that was at the mall and train station and drove my car over there. Had a fun time getting lost on the walk back to the hostel. Utrecht is very windy with canals all over. There were lots of little shopping districts and cafes. It was quite a charming little city. After all that driving, and the fact that it was still raining, I wasn't up for doing much so I grabbed a bite to eat and went to bed.

Cologne Cathedral

Ludwig Museum

Utrecht

Links: 

Hostel in Cologne

Cologne Cathedral 

Hostel Strowis