Best of Amsterdam

Peak tulip weekend. Easter holiday. April 20th. King's Day preparations. Sunny and 65°.

There could not have been a more lively weekend to visit the capital of the Netherlands. Highlights from our weekend of travel perfection below:

Keukenhof Gardens: Though expensive, the tulip gardens were absolutely jaw-droppingly gorgeous. This is a must-see when the tulips are blooming. Even Patrick agreed! We took the too-easy train to the airport then bought the round-trip bus and admission "Combi Ticket." We went closer to closing time and were able to enjoy the park with relatively small crowds. 

 Red Light District: Easter did not seem to stand in the way of the prostitution business over the weekend, but the news suggested that new legislation in Denver and Washington might have hurt the other major trade. Regardless, the streets were packed and we of course enjoyed the people watching.





Bike Tour: There are more bikes in the Netherlands than people, and with bike lanes commonly two-times wider than the pedestrian sidewalks, seeing the city on two wheels is a must. We opted for a City Tour through Mike's Bike Tours. Our guide (Jeff) was informative and hilarious, and our only regret was not planning ahead and getting tickets to the expanded city tour. Book ahead for those! Several people on our tour even took a second trip with Mike's the next day. It was that good.











Fries with Mayo:
A local favorite, Patrick snagged some from a street vendor and didn't look back. Make sure to grab plenty of extra napkins.

Beers with a View: 

We found it hard to move very far down the canals without stopping for a refreshment. Though there are many things to see, pausing and enjoying the moment provided the majority of our weekend highlights!

Anne Frank House: Are you thinking about going to Amsterdam anytime in the next year? Buy your tickets to this sobering but must-see museum today. We made the mistake of not - the lines topped three hours long almost every time we checked (see picture). With a stroke of luck, we checked at 8:10 in the morning and waited behind 25 people until they opened the doors at 8:45, at which point the line behind us was at least two hours long. Best advice: book your tickets online when you plan your trip!

Stuttgart Frühlingsfest

Almost on cue, as soon as the last Oktoberfest tents are dismantled, German winter seems to begin. Though Germans still find excuses the celebrate the season (Glühwein, anyone?), true fest season kicks off again six months later in April with Frühlingsfests, aka Spring Fests.

Dirndl and Lederhosen are recommended

Though cities all over Germany (and other countries in Europe, too) hold their own Frühlingsfests, the crown for the largest Frühlingsfest in Europe belongs to Stuttgart. For three weeks, the capital of the Baden-Württemberg state is inundated with local and visiting patrons of their festival. We were lucky enough to be tipped off to the fun by a good friend and former Stuttgart resident, who helped us plan our time. I was also thrilled to have a friend from London visit for the experience!

Amazed by the
ride selection

Though I hold a special place in my heart for the Texas State Fair, I couldn't help but think that the Stuttgart Frühlingsfest was just like the Texas State Fair, but with more singing, dancing, and beer. They had carnival rides, vendors, all types of foods, Biergartens, and the traditional beer tents one would find at Oktoberfest.
We did not make reservations in a beer tent and, unlike at past festivals we have attended, they wouldn't even let people in the tent without a reservation and corresponding wristband. Plan ahead if your goal is to stand on the garden tables with a liter of beer! We did find a spot at a Biergarten and enjoyed the atmosphere and perfect weather just fine.

Gearing up for
the bumper cars

This festival continues through May 11th. I personally feel as though I am a more well-rounded German resident after attending the Stuttgart Frühlingsfest, and look forward to another round in 2015!

London: Avoiding the Lines

Cheers!

After quite a long travel hiatus, we were delighted to have our first European getaway back together in London! We appreciated English signs, friendly people, and endless sight-seeing options to fill our days. Fortunately, we enjoyed PERFECT weather; however, anyone who is familiar with London knows that with good weather (and also the London Marathon), comes heaps of tourists. We did our best to enjoy London without waiting in a single line. Here is how:








Markets: 
Several of my London colleagues recommended two markets that the locals enjoy perusing on the weekends: Borough Market and Camden Markets. We checked out Borough Market first thing on Saturday morning (it is not open on Sundays). We wandered through the charming food and craft stands, enjoyed a delicious breakfast, and then strolled through the neighborhood. This was Patrick's absolute favorite activity of the weekend.

On Sunday, we ventured to the slightly more touristy Camden Markets. These markets are separated by category - everything from vintage clothing to antiques. They had a seemingly endless selection, but our favorite purchases were from the food stands that lined both sides of the canals. They actually had a macaroni and cheese food stand (!!!!), and it was unbelievable. Patrick enjoyed fish and chips, but was eyeing the Turkish and Mexican stands first. We sat on a canal with our friend Brooks and enjoyed good food, beautiful weather, and excellent people watching. Added bonus: we got to watch how the captains manage the manual locks that line the canals - dorky but cool!

Changing of the Guards - Cavalry Style:
Given it was Marathon weekend, we knew that Buckingham Palace's changing of the guards at 11:00 would be packed. Instead of fighting the crowds, we took the concierge's recommendation and walked a few blocks down the street to the Household Cavalry Museum to see the changing of the horse guards. Yes - there were still crowds, but we arrived just 10 minutes prior and had a front row seat to the action. This ceremony happens each day at 10:50 or 9:50 on Sundays, so if you happen to be in London during the off season, you could even make the Buckingham Palace ceremony afterwards!



Churchill War Rooms:
We headed to the War Rooms on Saturday morning following the changing of the guards. This museum guides you through the bunkers that Churchill and the rest of his government occupied during WWII. The museum is very well laid out and informative. At the end of the Cabinet War Rooms, there is an extensive exhibit on Churchill's life, which was equally fascinating (10 cigars a day!). We are speedy museum patrons and spent almost two hours at the Churchill War Rooms. Get there early though - though we avoided the line, I cannot say the same of our fellow travelers around 1:30, when the line spilled out of the museum and down the block.

River Thames:
We were dying to go on a river cruise, so we stopped by Embankment to check out the options. There were lines 50 people deep at every cruise ticket stand. Instead of waiting for our tickets, we hopped on the Tube for an afternoon visit to Greenwich (see below!) and caught the commuter-focused but delightfully scenic Thames Clipper from Greenwich on our way back. Word to the wise: we were very fortunate to have barely missed the 20,000 person crowd exiting a comedy show at the O2 Arena. If you choose this option, check the O2 schedule before-hand!

Prime Meridian:
Greenwich is a delightful district with the most helpful citizens we have encountered to date. From the Tube station, just a short bus ride away lies the Royal Observatory, which was declared the line of 0° longitude in 1851. The observatory is at the top of a hill surrounded by a beautiful park. We enjoyed the stroll up the hill, and, at the extremely helpful suggestion of our resident friend Brooks, skipped the packed and pricey museum (which gives you access to the photo-op site with a brass line marking the 0° longitude), and snapped some free photos on the portion of the brass line that passes right in front of the museum.
A fun piece of trivia for you: though the rest of the world decided to recognize the prime meridian in their maps at the International Meridian Conference in 1884, France held out and continued to use Paris as the 0° longitude in their maps until 1911.




Overall, we had a fabulous time readjusting to European travelling, and were quite proud of our ability to avoid the crowds. Lesson of our trip was: even on a crowded weekend, there is more than enough to enjoy in beautiful London!

Where's the beef?

As mentioned in my previous post, many of the German cities, especially in Bavaria, hold an annual Stadtfest (city festival) for one weekend during the summer. Though we did not find a hamburger at the Regensburger Bürgerfest (citizen's festival), I did have two unique "pinch-me" moments that will not be forgotten~

Drinking beer on the steps of the Regensburger Dom (Cathedral, pictured above): I want to be clear that we were not rogue, disrespectful fest-goers. They actually had tables set up next to the gorgeous Catholic church. I couldn't help but wonder how many times Pope Benedict XVI visited this church while he was a professor at the University of Regensburg. I can't argue with that as a festival backdrop.

Dancing to Luckenbach, Texas and singing along to Sweet Home Alabama: One of the more amazing country cover bands was playing right along the Danube river. Here they are playing some Waylon Jennings, and the fabulous cluster of impressive line dancers that enjoyed the music almost as much as us. A few weeks prior, Patrick had said the only thing that would make German fests better is some solid country music. We found the jackpot!

Amberg Altstadt Fest

Who knew our humble village of under 50,000 could throw such an impressive festival?
During the summer in Germany, most cities hold some kind of Stadt (city) fest. They usually only span one weekend, which makes the extensive events even more impressive. Recently, we attended our local Stadtfest - the Amberger Altstadtfest. Who knew that a town of under 50,000 could draw such a crowd? There was not a nook nor cranny uncovered by festival spirit in the Amberg Altstadt. We counted five stages with various bands, several family friendly sidewalk performers, all of the major local breweries, and countless brats.

This is my favorite festival to date - not just because of the five minute walk from my house. The city is a manageable size but offers plenty of attractions for the fest. There was a substantial crowd to encourage singing along, but we did not have trouble finding a table. It also didn't hurt that the sun was shining down on a perfect 70 degree weekend!

Berlin Underground Tours

Prior "this would never happen in America" moments:

•  Dogs allowed inside restaurants
•  Deli and bakery workers serving customers bare handed
•  Dentists working on patients bare handed

Newest example of this train of thought:

•  Standing next to original WWII toxic glow-in-the-dark paint in a Berlin bunker

How did I happen upon this precarious situation? The Berliner Unterwelten (Berlin Underground) Tour. A group of archaeologists formed the Berliner Unterwelten in 1997 to preserve, analyze, and share Berlin's "subterranean architecture" with the world. After excavations and plenty of research, they started offering tours of various underground highlights. We had the pleasure of taking the WWII bunker tour a few weeks ago. The tours guides are incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and speak wonderful English.
This tour was hardly your run-of-the-mill WWII history lesson. The tour guides focused on the unusual aspects of their exhibits. We learned about how Hitler's regime required citizens to purchase expensive "air raid survival kits" to raise money, regardless of the fact that they would not help in a true air raid. He also lacked the time or money to build sufficient bomb shelters, so the pre-existing bunkers we toured were decorated as such and air raid drills were held inside, again painting the picture of safety despite a lack of structural support.
The tours are capped for good reason - as we all huddled into the "shelter," I was thankful for this. Plan ahead for the English tours and get there early (it's conveniently across from the Gesundbrunnen underground station). They offer a variety of different tours - I am eyeing the "Breaching the Berlin Wall" tour next!
Berliner Unterwelten website: http://berliner-unterwelten.de/home.1.1.html
Underground tours: http://berliner-unterwelten.de/files/buev_flyer_eng-spa_2013-06_web.pdf

Flamenco

Watching flamenco dancers perform on a wooden stage over a delicious dinner was absolutely one of the most romantic things we have done throughout our travels. At the suggestion of our friend and Madrileña Kyra, we made reservations at the swanky El Corral de la Morería for a true flamenco show. The dancers were fabulous and the intimate setting made me feel like a part of the show. The whole experience was wonderful, but our personal highlights are below:

The clappers: Palmas (clapping) are a crucial part of the show. I honestly do not know how the three men were able to produce such consistent sounding claps in harmony with each other for over an hour. Their hands must get tired!
The tourists: There was a man sitting on the front row with his iPad propped on the stage. He literally filmed the entire show. Even the dancers were laughing at him. If you're reading this: don't be that guy.
The male dancer: Though he was an amazing dancer, his fly was down during the entire 30 minute solo. Call me childish, but it almost appeared intentional when he would take dramatically long strides, emphasizing the issue.
The guitarists: I have never seen such impressive guitar playing. These guys played from the heart - alone on the stage on a wooden stool without sheet music. At one point I even counted the fingers on one of the guitarists - I was certain he had an extra in there to help him make those sounds!