Loreley

After a very early start, and probably the biggest spread for breakfast that we've had, we headed to the bus for a relatively short drive into Boppard for a Rhine River cruise. The cruise ship had an indoor option and an outdoor option. We chose to be inside first since it was still a bit cold outside. We ordered a coffee and took in the views. Along the river, we saw many castles that date back to the 1200's and 1300's. Pretty amazing structures that have withstood the elements for so many years. We then went outside when the sun came out for some more beautiful views and pictures. After the cruise, we got back on the coach for our last long stretch of driving, towards Amsterdam. Amsterdam will be our final stop on this trip. We will stay at the hotel tonight and head out for our flight tomorrow morning. When we arrived in Amsterdam, we hopped on a boat for a cruise on the Amstel River. The town is really beautiful and filled with more bikes and cyclists than you've ever seen. In fact, our cruise guide, Herman, told us that sometimes pranksters grab bikes that are not locked up well and just throw them in the river. It's become such a problem that once a year, the city uses a large magnetic machine to fish all the bikes out of the river. We also learned that the city of Amsterdam is sinking and has warped many of the buildings and structures along the river, to the point that you can actually see apartments leaning forward and sideways. All of the buildings come with holsters that help keep them standing straight. The canals are beautiful, and some people even call them home, living in house boats, which can be cheaper than regular apartments there. After the cruise, we were in Leidsebuurt, which is a pretty busy city center with lots of restaurants, (of all kinds of cuisines; Herman told us that there's not really any traditional "Dutch" foods so he just recommended having a beer and bitterballen [meat covered in bread crumbs and deep fried]), souvenir shops, and beautiful views of the canals and bridges. Paul and I chose to walk to the Red Light District just to check it out. We got there, and it didn't look much different than the rest of the city, except for a few sex shops and LOTS of weed "coffee shops" (what they call dispensaries here). Bulldog is the name of the main coffee shop with at least one every block. Then, we decided to have a beer and try the bitterballen. They were served with mustard and tasted really good, although very different than what we thought; the inside was soft and creamy. We met up with the group and got on the coach heading to our last Ibis hotel. We said goodbye to a few of our friends when we got there. We then brought our stuff up to the room and headed down to the hotel bar, where several of our fellow travelers were drinking a beer and saying their goodbyes. We said our thank yous and goodbyes to the group and Ben - it was a wonderful experience! San Diego, here we come! 🇺🇸Read more