A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
After a delicious breakfast at our neighborhood Winkel restaurant, we loaded our Opel Astra with all our luggage and headed for Cologne, Germany. Getting out of Amsterdam was tricky, as the narrow streets and the Monday morning market (along with many bicycles) made leaving Amsterdam a bit fatiguing.. . Once we got out of the city, the freeways were moving nicely, and we made it…
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Today, we took the train from Centraal Train Station to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, where I picked up a rental car from Avis for our drive to Hoge Veluwe National Park and our further adventures in Germany, France, and Belgium.. . I wanted to drive a VW Golf, but Avis selected an Opel Astra with Belgian license plates (since I would return the car in Brussels).…
Read More: Hoge Veluwe National Park, Netherlands
Saturday, June 29, 2013. . On the way back to Amsterdam from Delft, we decided to stop by the small college town of Leiden.. . . . Leiden is a college town with the famous Leiden University (founded in 1575).. . . . . When we arrived, we learned there were scheduled boat races (Leiden Lakenfeesten) at 7:00pm, so we decided to wait for them…
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Today, we purchased train tickets at Amsterdam Centraal to Delft, with possible stops in Leiden and Haarlem.. . The train ride to Delft was uneventful. We got off the train at Delft and walked to the city center. We noticed a considerable bicycle parking lot near the train station - something that has become a common sight in the Netherlands and unimaginable in the United…
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Today, we flew from San Francisco International Airport to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with a stop in Chicago. Our United Airlines flight UA372 departed from San Francisco at 10:00 a.m. and landed at Chicago's O'Hare Airport at 4:10 p.m. We changed planes and departed on UA909 at 6:10 p.m. for Amsterdam, arriving at 9:30 a.m. the next day (Tuesday, June 25).. . Amsterdam is the first…
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Today, Inna and I saw San Jose Repertory Theater's performance of "A Minister's Wife." . . . . The actors played and sang their parts well, but I was not moved by the music, the songs, or the performance.. . . . . . . . Musical Adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Candida Makes its West Coast Premiere at San Jose Rep. Three hearts and…
Read More: Review: A Minister's Wife (San Jose Repertory Theater)
Today, we visited the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. Inna purchased a Groupon deal on tickets there.. . . . The museum has many activities and exhibits for young kids and adults, teaching them about nano-technology, bridge building, and other scientific endeavors.. . . . After seeing a few exhibits, we saw a 3-D IMAX movie on Prehistoric Animals, focusing on the Woolly…
Read More: Learning science at Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley
We drove to Tsawwassen ferry terminal and took the 9:00 a.m. BC Ferry to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island.. . . . . . . . . . We spent the rest of the day in Butchart Gardens and Victoria. These are some of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen.. . . . . . . . . . . . At noon,…
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Today, we flew Alaska Airlines Flight #327 from San Jose, California, to Seattle, Washington. . . When we landed in Seattle, we learned that a section of the Skagit River bridge (I-5) had collapsed. Luckily, we were not on the bridge when it collapsed. Many of the cars driving over the bridge ended up in the cold water of the Skagit River. . . .…
Read More: Vancouver, British Columbia
We had a wonderful hike at Castle Rock State Park. We saw a few rock climbers scaling various rocks and enjoyed the beautiful greenery.. . According to Wikipedia:. Castle Rock State Park is a state park of California, USA, located along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It embraces coast redwood, Douglas fir, and madrone forest, most of which has been left in its…
Read More: Hiking Castle Rock State Park