Amsterdam was the meeting point for us with Lynne and Steve Frazier, Andrea Stewart and her sister Laura, and Eileen Klitsch a day before the AMA Waterways river trip down the Rhine.
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| Steve organized a tour of the Rijks Museum with an excellent guide, Walda. |
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| Walda in the middle |
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| Roaming around Amsterdam after dinner, Andrea, Eileen, Laura and Dave |
Dave and I went to the Marine Museum on Monday while others took a canal tour and diamonds!
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| And early submarine |
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| The Marine Museum from across the canal |
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| The King's boat |
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| Checking in to the AMASTELLA, our home for the week |
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| Keukenhof Gardens! hats and stripes |
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| Andrea orders tulips! |
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| Chef's table #1 |
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| Arriving Cologne, Germany |
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| MRS SCHNEIDER! (blame her for all wrongdoing) |
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| Sampling the local brew - KOLSCH |
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| BIKES... in Amsterdam there are 850,000 people and more than 800,000 bikes. When done, they are thrown in the canal. The bottom is filled with bikes! All over Amsterdam and other cities bikes are everywhere. |
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| The private dining room |
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| In Cologne, a bridge with padlocks for lovers making commitments forever |
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| Gothic Cathedral, 13th century |
Castle crusing - a rainy day on the Rhine...
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| So how to enjoy rainy castle cruising? |
A few pictures of the AMASTELLA
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| our room with deck |
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| Hallway, deck 2 |
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| A weird window in the bathroom that could change from clear to opaque. |
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| Bar and snack table |
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| The Lounge |
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| Docked in Rüdesheim |
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| quaint signs in Rüdesheim |
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| Sycamores |
Speyer Technical Museum
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| Trains, planes and automobiles... and submarines, space ships and carousels. |
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| prototype of Challenger |
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| carousel |
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| original golf cart |
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| search and rescue craft |
Strasbourg, France - a walking tour
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| Storks nesting in Orangerie Park |
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| European Court of Human Rights |
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| European Union Parliament |
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| Synagogue serving Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews |
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| Christian bakery - samples below |
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| Cathedrale de Notre Dame (Strasbourg Cathedral) |
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| Lunch! |
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| Flammekueche! |
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| Last scrap of flammekueche |
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| Petite France |
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| A shop we liked! |
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| Ice Cream! |
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| Gingerbread! |
Riquewihr - a charming Alsatian village preserved through the war, from 16th century
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| Emblems on houses indicating the vocation of the resident |
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| Witches everywhere |
On to Eclépens, Switzerland with Regina and Remy...
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| Romainmotier church - silence and contemplation, dating from 10th century, earlier a monastery |
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| Village of Eclépens |
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| Home of Remy and Regina |
A day trip to Bern, Switzerland
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| The river is that color |
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| The main street, on which Albert and Mileva Einstein lived. |
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| Bern has bears! 3 of them. The town mascot. |
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| Einstein apartment, now a museum. Coffee shop below. |
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| Asparagus season in Switzerland - green and white |
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| The cathedral in Bern |
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| See the bear emblem? |
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| Heaven and hell |
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| Regina and Remy |
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| View of Bern |
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| Zentrum Paul Klee, designed by Renzo Piano, opened in 2005, featuring the life and works of Paul Klee. "Nature Culture Agriculture" - organic farming, a walking path and sculpture garden. |
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| Remy and Regina's neighborhood grocer - vegetables, croissant, cheese - everything one needs |
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| We had fresh water perch at this adorable family restaurant |
ZERMATT
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| Matterhorn obscured |
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| Hello Matterhorn! 9 p.m. |
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| Tiny electric vans only in Zermatt, no cars |
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| Remy and Regina gave us this chocolate! yum |
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| Eager tourists (from certain countries) who take photos and videos voraciously |
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| Goodbye Matterhorn! |
THE GLACIER EXPRESS, from Zermatt to Chur
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| Glacier Express for the day |
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| gees - this was a surprise |
THE BERNINA EXPRESS, Chur to Tirano
ZURICH
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| from our hotel, the Savoy |
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| This pair slowed down to let the swan cross |
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| The Swiss National Museum |
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| Tesla to the Zurich airport! |
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| Chateau d' ´Eclépens: Memento from Remy and Regina to take home and share with friends |
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