Travelogue Part Two

After crossing the English Channel and loading up on the bus with our tour director Ilka and our driver Christian, we headed toward Amsterdam passing through the Belgium countryside. Looking out the window of the bus going across Belgium, it didn't look much different than a ride down I-65 in Indiana - green fields and trees. Don't know that I ever really thought of what the Belgium countryside would look like but it was nice and green for it being winter time.

We spent the night in Amsterdam and went on a boat ride through the canals first thing the next morning. Very interesting history to the city and it is currently known for the number of bicycles, the red light district and the ability to smoke pot without penalty. 

It's also known for its diamond merchants. We did a tour through a one of these and had the opportunity to buy a diamond and have it set. I wasn't really in the market so I went into the Delft shop out back and found some Dutch chocolate for the Missus. I bought her a little chocolate from every country we visited. If you know the Missus, you know that was a gift that was really appreciated.

Next stop Rothenburg for the big Christmas market and a look around at a well preserved medieval city. Most everywhere we stopped there were Christmas markets. In Rothenburg the weather was very nice and it was a Saturday, so it was rather crowded in the old city but a beautiful place to see.

We spent the night in Munich but didn't see much of the town. It was rather late by the time we arrived and I was more interested in getting fed and hitting the sack. 

A boat ride on the Rhine the following morning was nice. We saw the rock where legend has it, Lorelei called sailors to their death where the river is very "benty". Benty being the description used by our tour director. Those are grape vines in the photo that will later be made into, what else? Rhine wine.