Windmills

We headed out to see the windmills today. Weather really left a bit to be desired but at least it was not raining!!

Indonesian feast, take 2

We decided to go back for more Indonesian tonight! Such an awesome meal!

Waiting for service

Check out this gorgeous customer who was waiting for service in the bar we were in!

Hmmmm what is Pete up to???

I turned my back for 2 seconds only to find Pete trying to sample some local goods!!

Having clog fun!!

I enjoyed a nice sit in a clog just before it started to rain! Amsterdam weather is worse than Melbourne!! Oh well, might have to go to a museum or something??

Amsterdam, so nice to be back!

We arrived in Amsterdam on Saturday, we were greeted by the most amazing weather. We walked to our apartment from the station and the place was buzzing, people riding in boats on the canals, guys on bucks nights and a strange smell wafting from the coffee shops!

Our apartment is so lovely! It is an old canal house and we are on the bottom floor, it is sort of like a basement but we look out onto the street. There are tulips on the table and when you open the cupboards it smells like my Dutch grandmothers house! So homely!!

It has been 13 years for me and 15 years for Pete since we visited Amsterdam last. Not a lot appears to have changed and I feel quite at home here, it is such an easy city to walk around, however it is very busy, there are tourists everywhere!

This morning we woke to rain which was a shame after yesterday's glorious sun. We ventured out at 11am and eventually the rain stopped. We went for a coffee, yes a coffee, no indulging in green substances for us and I had a yummy piece of apple tart! Delicious!

We took heaps of photos around the canals, it is just so pretty!!

Tonight we had Thai food for dinner and last night we had a fabulous Indonesian meal. Yes, I know we should be having Dutch food but it is hard to find.

We are hoping tomorrow the weather will be clearer but we will have to edit and see. We have 3 more days and then it is off home for us!! Can't wait to see Mac!!

Hamburger

We arrived into Hamburg on a public holiday. In Germany a public holiday means a public holiday, no shops are open, thankfully restaurants and bars are open, but otherwise it was an odd day to arrive. There were not many people around the main streets but as we got further into the city there were more people around.

We could not check into our hotel until 2pm and when we did we got given a really dodgy room! Unfortunately due to the public holiday rooms in Hamburg were really limited and we chose this hotel as a bit of a last resort, having said that though, we paid $190 a night. The room they gave us had attic windows and was super hot, the windows barely closed and the Venetian blinds were all falling apart, there was also a utility cupboard in the room with some sort of electrical switchboard. The bathroom was sort of across a hall way, it was obvious we had been given a different room to what we paid for. We went to complain and got told we could move the next day. The next part of the story is probably a little horrible for me to include in my blog, but let's just say, we finally got given a different room. It was slightly better, however some mould spray might have been handy in the shower, certainly not to Merry Megsy's standard of cleanliness!!

We spent most of our time in Hamburg around the Harbour area, it is a nice city but quite industrial. We went up the church spire, the lift made me feel quite ill, it was very high!

We ventured into the red-light district known as the reeperbahn, let's just say that was interesting!

We enjoyed a last German meal last night, weiswurst & leberkasse! We had a few wheat beers too!

This morning we are on the train to Amsterdam. Our train is full of young girls heading off to play a hockey match, giggling and irritating! Thank god for iPods! We change trains in 2hrs so I'm sitting back listening to the Foo Fighters, always a good way to drown out the noise of small children!