Netherlands, Amsterdm

Arrived here after an 8 hour drive. It's easy leaving a big city early on a Sunday morning, especially one like Berlin that doesn't seem particularly busy anyway. It was only supposed to be a six drive but we encountered plenty of roadworks that go for miles. We got caught up in the very recent aftermath of an horrific road accident. I guess this is one of the downsides of unrestricted speed on the autobahn. Most drivers seemed pretty sensible, there were a few though that took full advantage of it. On our last night in Berlin we went to a roof top restaurant. It turned out o be really good - it was right next to the zoo, and the views in all directions were pretty good. It doesn't get fully dark in Berlin until about 11pm, and light again at about 4 am. The reverse in winter according to a local - only about 4 or 5 hours of daylight in the middle of the day. The food was fantastic share plates of middle eastern style food....yum.

Arriving in Amsterdam was not so easy. Th ubiquitous roads were everywhere. All the streets are extremely narrow paved roads, some one way and of course we couldn't get to our hotel because of them....finding an alternative route was a little challenging but we got there. Our hotel is quite close to the old town and is opposite a canal. There are little cafes and bars everywhere it seems like a pretty vibrant place. We went on a mini exploring walk to a restaurant for dinner...I think we'll enjoy it here. We have a walking tour booked for this afternoon and the hotel has boat and we'll be going on that tonight.Read more