DAY 6
July 19, 2022 (Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS)
Goodbye Hamburg, Hello Amsterdam...
After getting up early to enjoy the German Breakfast of various coffees, teas, juices, meats, cereals, fruit, pastries, eggs, sausage, hash browns…..ok enough…, we loaded up the bus at 8:30 a.m. for a 9 a.m. departure.
We left the NH Altona Hotel and went on a 2 hour journey to the German city of Bremen. We had 2 bus drivers due to the law restricting one driver from driving for so many hours.
One driver was Kevin and the other was someone I will call GUNTER because I can’t remember his name. What I do remember, is that he was German but spoke almost fluent English with lots of pauses and um’s in between sentences and words. He is next to me with the RED TIE.
He also had a wealth of knowledge about The Bahamas, as he had been there before, and told us stories of conch salad and made references to our beaches and Paradise Island. He kept the bus laughing the entire day as our day progressed toward Bremen and finally Amsterdam.
A Small Stop in BREMEN, Germany
After two hours driving from Hamburg towards Amsterdam, we made a stop in Bremen. There Michal explained a little bit about the city, several churches, the gothic style of the architecture and let us go on our own for an hour to explore.
There were several places of interest including a soap and tea store, a coffee store that roasted and ground up various coffee bean varieties, a pharmacy, several souvenir stores and the churches.Â
Also of special interest is a statue of four animals with a very fascinating tale.
The Town Musicians of Bremen tells the story of four aging domestic animals – donkey, dog, cat and rooster, who after a lifetime of hard work are neglected and mistreated by their former masters. Eventually, they decide to run away and become town musicians in the city of Bremen. Contrary to the story’s title the characters never arrive in Bremen, as they succeed in tricking and scaring off a band of robbers, capturing their spoils, and moving into their house.
Making a Pit Stop...
By 11:15am we left Bremen behind and headed to the border to enter the Netherlands. Since the joining of the European Union, there is no need to stop between the borders and the transition was seamless.
In the Netherlands, the German bus driver continued to tell us stories and had us laughing as we made another 3 hour drive towards Amsterdam.Â
But, first we stopped at a highway stop to get some food, drinks and use the bathroom. AND WE WERE OFF!
Finally in Amsterdam...with Mr. Deane
We finally arrived at the hotel in Amsterdam around 5pm and it was HOT! The bus driver mentioned that it was the hottest in history today in Germany and Paris at over 100 degrees.Â
And we felt it in the bus, even with the air conditioning on full blast.Â
We watched the LCD display of the temperature in the bus climb from 27C to 39C when we got to Amsterdam – that’s 100.4 Fahrenheit.
After getting rooms sorted out and a little mix-up on various room allocations that was sorted out, we met at 6:30pm on the first floor for a private dining room buffet dinner.Â
Jasmine Rice, Roasted Beef in gravy, string beans, chicken noodle soup, pastas, bread and chocolate cheesecake.Â
Talk about good food!
Michael explained tomorrow’s itinerary which will include going to the city center to see the sights and have a tour. We were given passes to use the trains or the metro if necessary. Off to sleep to see what tomorrow brings!
STAY TUNED FOR TOMORROW...
Day 6 is done and at the start of Day 7 on Wednesday morning, June 20, we head out at 9am to the Amsterdam city center for a tour and some surprises, lunch, free time and a dinner!
