A side trip to Nurnburg

Nurnburg is also one of the large city stops on the tour of the Romantic Road. We took a train - an hour long trip one way- there this morning to spend the day amongst more castels, pubs, old buildings and cobblestone paths. We had a lovely day and topped it off eating at one of the eateries where we chose something from the menu that Gerhard, even with his great German, couldn't understand. Well it WAS the special of the day, so I had it. I still couldn't tell you what it was that I ate - or rather that I made Gerhard eat most of. I ate his meatball thingys in a red sauce that was so hot that he didn't really like.
It was rainy drizzley for most of the day but not snowy. We did pass some snow covered fields on our way while through the country but all the cities generally have rain. We trained it back by 5 and went for groceries. Now we are trying to get some computer stuff taken care of before we leave again for a place that may not have computers, tv's or phones as is the case in our present pension. Such is a great way to get away from Karneval.

Würzburg On The Romantic Road

We are now in a series of towns and cities that are part of the 355 km section of the Bavaria that are named 'The Romantic Road.' We have spent an incredible 4 days here and, believe me when I say, we needed the peace and quiet after Cologne.
We are in a pension which is much nicer and more endearing than a hotel. Marcus, our owner, is a sweetheart and he serves us with a smile and with a most gentle manner. He is as tall as Gerhard and looks pretty similar. We tease them when they stand together. We met two Amercian travellers here who are from the state of Washington. Lovely people - we gave them our card - hope to see them again.
The city of Würzburg dates way back to the 8th century with most things beginning to happen around the 11th century. A beautiful place that suffered some distruction during the war but has not lost its beauty. Quiet streets, quaint corners and pubs and castles all serve to remind us that our lives have started very late in the world. Here, things were rolling long before I was even thought of.
We move from here to Rothenburg tomorrow by train. Gerhard has no idea of what he is walking into but this town and the one tomorrow are my two favourite places to stay. It will be like a fairytale story. Small, quiet and walled in. No cars really, just walkways and places to smell the fresh air. This will be our last stop for a few days before we head off to Franfurt Hahn airport to catch our Ryan Air flight to Spain.
Cheers for now.
Tschussssssss

Days continue in Köln

Parades, parades and more parades. We went to three parades in total. Each one was approximately 5 hours long. Sundays' parade was for the children and included all children. Monday's parade was 6 km long and lasted, for us, from 10 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. We found an empty spot on the side of the old town route near the middle of the parade route itself and scurried into the bare piece of pavement. That was at 10. It turned out that we butted right into a spot between a group of people who,for years,have been setting up in that very same spot and we just move right in. In total, there was about 30 of them. They even had their own beer counter set up with barrels of beer which was being passed out to the club for free. Well anyway, the long and the short of it is that these people sort of adopted us. They made the parade more tolerable for 7 hours. All of which, by the way, we had to stand and couldn't go to the washroom. They fed us food, small bottles of snappes, provided the music and dancing so that we could stay warm.
Each float and group of people in the parade through out tons of candy. This really is like their Halloween only it last for 6 days long and everyone, I mean everyone, dresses up. At the first parade, because I wasn't dressed up. I was treated to a whole mess of tiny confetti which they ensured was pushed down my shirt and coat and all into my hair so that I was stuck to confetti for three days after. For the next parade, I had purchased a grand Karneval hat with which made me look a bit more in style for the festivities. Gerhard was sort of safe because he was planted behind me taking all the treats that I was catching. We had so much candy, that we left a bunch for the cleaning ladies from the hotel. We came out of it with some very good friends and a whole bunch of bruises in the forhead and head area. Heh, there were some huge chocolate bars flying our way.
We were stiff and sore after that time because you don't get to move a whole lot when jammed in between drunk people who keep hugging you. We ended up taking our normal two trains back to our hotel and falling into bed from exhaustion.
The parades are super great - full of politically incorrect messages and colourful floats. It was something that we were glad to have had the chance to do but, as my Aunt Dinie said, it will wear on you after awhile because it is becoming too crazy with too much emphasis on the alcohol and partying straight into the morning for 6 days. Two guys in our hotel, who stayed out until 5 each morning, came in for breakfast each day thinking that it was evening.
Good thing we are older - this only happens when our eyesight becomes weak.

Visit with family

Saturday G and I took the train an hour away to visit with family members in Hagen. These were first and second cousins of Gerhards and, as always, it is amazing to finally meet new family members and see how much alike they look to members of your own family.
They live in, what we would call, a smaller city of 200 000. It is in a mountainous area similiar to living in Halifax. I found the similarities striking. As we travelled in the train, we could see land differences with every 5 kms. Hagen is a clean, beautiful little place even though we visited it in winter when trees are bare and grey and the weather never wants to bring out the sun.
Gerhard's dad had a brother named Wilhem and he had two sons - Willi and Armin. We met Willi and his wife Ursula, their children Heike and Sylvie with her husband Axel and daughter Lara. Also, there was Armin with his wife Waltraut. Heike met us at the train station as we must have looked like children on their first day of school. We had been described and we were assuming someone would recognize us. Sure enough, Heike was right there on the platform and she is amazing.
She drove us first to her house where we got to know each other. She has a beautiful apartment a bit bigger than our home. We spent some time together to get to know each other and then her parents, G's cousin, came, followed by the rest. We all walked to a local restaurant and had a lovely meal. After our meal, we then drove into the country and up a mountain to have coffee and treats at Willi's house. They live at the top of a one-lane roadway where it is necessary to pull into a driveway every now and then in order for anyone to be able to get up or down the mountain. At the top is a beautiful view.
Willi bought the house when it was a shack and spent a very long time tearing it apart and fixing it up (does this sound familiar?) It is now a grand place in a perfect spot with an amazing view over the world. We spent more important time sharing stories and lives. It was punctuated with the shouts of glee and girlishness of Lara the 4 year old. Gerhard had a wonderful time getting to know parts of his family.
For any of you who speak another language, are learning or have learned another language, you know how difficult it is to keep up with a new way of thinking and talking. Gerhard has done his parents and his family proud in his abilities to speak with his new-found family members and to carry on throughout Europe getting himself understood and learning a new dialect. He was even great understanding Dutch.
All in all, his second meeting with middle Germany relatives, was a blast and wonderful for him.

In Cologne (koln)

I am sitting in the lobby waiting for G to come down for breakfast. The weather is as usual - cloudy, grey, rainy but warm. Sound like Britain Rachael? We have had the same weather since our arrival in Europe but then again, this is what Jan,, Feb., and March are like here. No surprises there.

Cologne is a crazy place at this time of year. We arrived by "sardine fish" train on Thursday morning around 10. Walking into the Dusseldorf train stn was an experience this day because it was full of young people already three sheets to the wind and ready to party. So, our trip to Koln was noisy and packed. I sat on my backpack the whole way. G was somewhere else on the train.
When we arrived into Cologne, it was to 10 000 people mulling about in the train stn and surroundings. All dressed in costumes (Halloween type) more lavish than any we've seen in Canada. G and I immediately S-bahn ed it out of there as our packs where just in the way for such a crowd. We finally found our hotel, dumped our stuff and went right back to the city party crowd to celebrate the beginning day of Karneval.
We got off the S bahn in the old city area and began to walk the cobble-stone streets with our mouths open. All around us were young adults, costumed, carrying open beer bottles, wine bottles, even full alcohol bottles from which they were drinking. All were drunk and loud and having a great time. The politztei were all over the place but so were many broken bottles under our feet. There were so many people that the garbage cans couldn't keep up so the bottles ended up on the street for us to step on and kick. I will never again forget the sound of tinkling glass under foot as we walked. Any tinkling glass will always bring me back to Cologne.
We walked and found a young group of sweet people - quite into the sauce, and partied with them for a bit as we drank beer and gluwein. It was an amazing experience to be a part of a breathing alcohol bubble. We later found the first of the 4-day parades. We watched with glee and caught several hand loads of candy - most of which we gave to the little kids around us - that was after I filled my coat pockets. We walked and aee some more and when we looked at our watch and were shocked that it was only 5 o'clock, we knew that it was time for us to leave. We were exhausted - getting old I guess.
It's inevitable. We could only imagine how much fun our own kids would have had being here.

Düsseldorf in the winter

Well, no snow, but lots of rain. We still go walking every day though - yesterday for 5 hours. We walked to the city tower and went up 178 meters for a revolving restaurant stay-awhile to watch the city go past us. We had an original beer brewed here in the city. We again walked through the 1 square km old town area and had a bit of a bite to eat at the, supposedly, best place to taste a bit of original Düsseldorf food. Well, if that's the best, then we're in trouble. We had raw pork meat on our plate, did we eat it?, $§%" NO!, but we did eat everything else. G does remember his mother making this raw pork stuff when he was younger, but in the now smarter years, people in North America don't generally eat it. I suppose, we could still find it in the more venturous places but I won't be looking.
Things are starting to heat up for the Karneval times coming this week. Yesterday we toured a museum just for the history of Karneval (Fasching) in Germany. It was very interesting, especially for Gerhard who hasn't experienced it yet. We will be heading out tomorrow for Köln for the actual greatest party place for Karneval and also to visit with his cousin Heidi. Today, however, we are headed out by S Bahn for the castle about 1 half hour outside of the city.
Later you folks,
J and G

Rainy in Düsseldorf

Yesterday we had our last day in Berlin and we spent it taking city buses around the whole city to be a regular city liver and also visited the outside of the local parliament building called the Reichstag. It was a 1-hour wait outside in a long line in the chilly weather so we decided to keep walking, bussing around the city. We ended our day with a train ride to Potsdam, a city pretty near to Berlin, and had a wonderful walk down the old city streets set up as a market square.
We just arrived here in Düsseldorf after a 4 hour train trip which went 250 km an hour. Fast is not fast until you try to go to the washroom at 250 kms (says Gerhard). We had a short walk to our hotel which is next to the bahnhof (rail stn) and tomorrow we are looking forward to walking the famous 1 mile road here in the old city. Right now we are going for a swim in the spa area of the hotel. We have good German beer for after our swim to eat with our cereal.
More later,
J and G

G's relatives in Schwerin

Irma and Horst are special. It was as wonderful for Gerhard to meet them as it was for me to meet my family. ( We are feeling most blessed for being able to have the chance to get to know our families. ) They have one daughter, who is an accomplished concert violinist, but she was too busy in a concert be given daily at the opera house. She is also first in charge conductor of the entire orchestra when the main conductor is away. Her son and husband were also travelling away for the weekend at another musical event.
Irma and Horst live in a small apartment in the Northern part of the city not too far away from where our Gasthaus was. They made sure that we went over to their house every day so that we could share in memories of the past and in stories of family members. They fed us well and were above all, like guardian angels to us. They worried about us and cuddled us. Gerhard and they had lots of things to share as they had the language in comman, it sure did tax my abilities as I tried to keep abreast of what was being said.
Horst is an amazing record keeper of the family history so he was very glad to get Gerhard's historical side of things for his books. We had a very tearful parting on the evening of our visit as they dropped us off at our hotel.
One could say that, so far, Gerhard and I have won more love and blessings in the world than we could ever imagine.
We are to visit G's next cousin, Heike, just outside of Köln. More amazement is in store I'm sure.
As I write this about family members, I'd like to wish peace to my sister, Betty Anne, and my brother-in-law who are, at this moment, dealing with the impending passing-on of Bob's mother. We hope that you two can find the time to say goodbye with a light heart and then somehow find the way back to everyday.
Love to all.
J and G

On my favourite street : Kurfersterdam

I am in a 24-hour internet cafe whilst G is back at the hotel doing some report writing for his old division. He has a report due to the superintendent by the 16th. So, I decided that it would be a good time to walk on down to my favourite street, the livliest and most travelled street in West Berlin - Kurfersterdam Strasse. It's a blast. Yesterday, as we walked the street on our way to our bus tour, we took several pictures of all the very expensive alfa romeros, austin minis, jags, and a bunch of other car names I can't remember. This makes sense because all along the strip are very well-to-do stores that we would never see as a walk-in place right off the street. Gotta love the busyness of it all. Well, we do that's for sure. It does sound as if we are in a constant 'ready, set, go' mode and indeed sometimes we love how we are seeing so many things in such a short time, but remember, we are very careful to get to bed each night in good time and to eat very well so that we don't get sick or overtired.
It's amazing how I can watch Gerhard view his parent's homeland with fresh eyes. He is seeing and experiencing it for the first time and it is made all the more better by being here in the off-season when there are at least fewer people around to deal with and a better chance for us to stay on top of our accomodations in each new city.
We are headed next to Dusseldorf for 4 days and then to Koln (Cologne) for the next week during Fasching or carnaval. Shortly after that is our trip to Spain etc. and today our notification of our trip to France came through as a go. Yahoo!!! Wait a minute - that's a website, Hooray!!!!!
Love to all in the ice and snow. None here as of yet even tho' the stations say so.

The Blue Man Group

Wow!!! If you ever get a chance to see these three men perform, GO. They are three creative fellows who perform a crazy 2-hour-filled paint, drums, paper and acting session that only you can believe from seeing it. We sat down at 6 and felt as if the time flew by in 10 minutes. There is no talking, only three men with blue paint all over their heads and hands. They are dressed in black and are up against a black back-stage so that you really are focussed on their heads and eyes. They make music with sticks hitting onto drums and pipes plus they put paint onto the drum tops so that it flies everywhere. The people in the first four rows of the performance had to wear blue-bag ponchos so that all the paint and the spitting and throwing of other things doesn't dirty them up. Note; don't take the first four rows, the bags didn't really help a lot.
In the last 15 minutes of the show, paper, lots of it about as wide as 2 sheets of toilet paper, fell out of the ceiling at the back and continued to fall. The paper was continually thrown towards the front of the audience and each of us had to help it along. Good thing that we were in a seating pattern where the seats went downhill from the back to the front. You'd think paper would roll downhill - not so. Our arms were so tired from pulling from over our heads to the front of ourselves where we had to again throw it onto someone else's head. A poor lady beside G, who was terribly worried about her hairdo, gave up worrying after about 3 minutes when she realized that it wasn't going to stop any time soon. Too funny!!!!
We walked away with an amazing feeling. For two reasons. One, was that these American guys, who are usually in the states performing, are actually in Berlin while we are here and we got to see them. And, two, that the whole perfomance fills you with an incredible sense of childish 'who cares' attitude.
Search them out, and go see them if you can.
G and J

Here in Berlin (pronounced Bearleen)

Well, first of all, I'd like to burst your bubbles just in case you guys think that we do have snow. Nope!!! When they say snow for Germany, it just means the mountains. We have a beautiful day here today, about 6 and sunny. Since we've been here, cloudy, windy but acceptable. That's why we bought the new coats. Very nice to walk in the weather. Oh yes, we've had flurries, if that's what you want to call them - but they fall like bubbles, just a tease as to what it could be like if we were somewhere else in the world.

Now for Berlin. One can't imagine, especially if you are Gerhard, that we just hopped a train and poof, we are in a huge, lively city of 3.5 million. It's so large that the locals plus the tourists, together, don't make the city feel small.
We have done much since our arrival here on Tuesday. It is a fast-paced, alive city whose motto is 'a rolling stone gathers no moss.' They believe that 'change and growth' are important. This is a non-sleeping city where it is said that 'If you grow tired of Berlin, then you are tired of life.' It appears to be true.
We've walked for hours, taken many subways, trams, trains and a city tour bus and yet there is still so much more to see. We did spend 2 hours going through the 'Story of Berlin' so that we could get a really good understanding of how Berlin came into being. It was very moving, especially the guided tour through the chemical warfare bunker of which there are 20 throughout the city and are prepared to hold 2500 people each for only two weeks. Does this sound unreasonable to you that out of 3.5 million people, only approx 50 000 people could be saved? It was the gov'ts attempt in the 70's to conquer the growing fear of a world chemical war. The bunkers were created out of 20 underground parking areas which were complete with food, hanging beds, air quality control and toilet facilities. There was so much wrong with them that it would have been impossible to keep anyone alive.
Yesterday we took the jump on, jump off tour bus to the entire route of East and West Berlin. I remember the last time that I was here, in 1988, that I had waited 2 hours on my tour bus trying to get back out of East Berlin - yet, yesterday G and I just walked everywhere freely. We visited the protected and guarded part of the Wall which is left there for all to remember the stupidity of the gov't and walked along it to read a museum load of info set out for all to learn. We walked the route of 'Check Point Charlie' and stopped in East Berlin for lunch. After our trip to the Brandenburg Gate , (a critical border crossing where many people had been murdered trying to cross the 'No Man's Land' between the two parts of Berlin), G and I stepped into a special place set aside to remember the uselessness of it all. The building was called 'The Silent Room' where outside traffic and noise was impossible to hear. It was very humbling. The room was bare and white with only a piece of art hanging on the wall which held a light into the center of a dark tapestry. In the center was a bar spot, similar to the no-man's land.
Even on my first trip here, one could feel the difference between the two lands. On one side, plenty; on the other, just enough. Throughout both sides of the city, renovations and constructions are plentiful. After the US, France, Britain and the USSR had declared war on Berlin trying to stop Hitler, both parts of this city were in ruins. The west side had begun fixing and building right away, but the east side didn't. Now, still after 1989 and the fall of the wall, that part of the city is still trying to recapture it's beauty.
Much of the night life and excitement lies in the East side now. It is a growing concern but you can still see how different it is in the way the buildings are different, the way he subway entrances are smaller and in the way parts of the city have been kept in a shabby existence.
Just a note to ponder: Gerhard's cousin, Irma and Horst, with their daughter, lived in East Berlin during the entire closed-gate status. They had one of those special little cars that one was allowed to own and, as they say, lived a good life - even though they weren't allowed to exit to the west. You've got to give them a thumbs-up for surviving and thriving.
Above all else, we are very happy that they did.

Hi Guys,
Great to hear from you.
Loved the stories of meeting family, very moving. We are so glad that you have met up with lots of family. I have recieved 2 text messages G, not sure if my reply came back to you. As always we will be looking forward to your entries.

Take care Trev Jo

In Schwerin - place of G's first family visit

Here in Schwerin we are staying in a small pension gasthaus where we intend to stay for 4 nights. We called immediately to his cousin's house, Irma and Horst. On Saturday, Horst picked us up in his car and drove us to their house where we visited and told stories back and forth for 7 hours. It was all in German of course, so I really had to work very hard in order to understand and be part of the experience. Things went well. Irma and Horst are gracious hosts and very cute. They are in their 70's and fed us with traditional meals the whole time we were here in this small but beautiful city.
Sunday, we again visited for the day and, later, we all went out to visit the huge castle in the city center, about 800 years old ( normal for this part of the world). It is beautiful from the outside but on the inside, it is still old and falling apart. They have been working on renovations for many years but in such a small city, it takes forever. We went for a walk in the evening and it was our first snowfall of our trip. Really, snowfall here is just a few sprinkles. Eat your hearts out!!!!!!
On Monday, G and I walked around the city and visited the old Lutheran church (about 800 years old as well), and then walked to the bahnhof for our next train tickets to Berlin. We walked the city center, Marktplatz, and had drinks and such before we headed off again for our last visit to Irma's house.
G's first time into Germany was an eventful one for him. He is getting used to the oddness (only to us of course) of the way of life here. He is under a lucky cloud right now to have found three of his cousins to visit and to be getting lots of information about his family. He is also always amazed at how old this part of the world is and how friendly and helpful everyone has been to us travelers. He is astounded at how fast the trains are getting us everywhere, however, it is almost making him dizzy and sick as he suffers from quick movements. So, he closes his eyes at times and things return to normal.
Things here are as I remember them ; because I have always loved being in Germany, I have a very strong feeling as I walk through the streets and visit with the people. After spending time with G and his family, my German is coming along quite well. I can understand most anything and need G's help rarely.
Moving along to Berlin!!!!!
J and G

Almelo was stupendous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are here in Schwerin, Germany, sitting in a cafe shop using the internet. I have one hour for one euro. Hold onto your hats because a whole bunch of letters are in different places.

Our time with my family in Almelo was more than great and more than could be expected. It is such a beautiful town, more than beautiful, and the hotel that we stayed in was all-inclusive so that it made our visit so easy to deal with. We didn't need to concern ourselves with food, activities to do such as swimming, bowling, dancing to great music, playing in a fair-type atmosphere or even worrying about alcohol. All was there and all was free. I would recommend this hotel to anyone, even if they do have to fly across the world to get to it.

The staff were so helpful to us as we landed there with no idea of where to find my family or how to go about looking in the different places in an unknown land. Immediately, the girls behind the desks contacted other people within the hotel and town to obtain lists of people to call and places to go to in order to find files and names of my family. After unpacking and resting for a bit, we set about calling around 30 people in our efforts to become detectives. The very first call that I made was to my uncle Mannes (or Mans, as he is known.) In broken German, Dutch and French, I made it clear who I was and that we wanted to visit. He was more than happy to have us over and the next day we were there for tea.
The next group of numbers I gave to Gerhard so that he could try out his German on the town - which a lot of people seem to understand. Eventually we found a lady who once upon a time lived next door to my Aunt Dinie (Dinie and Wim speak very good english ). This was a good thing because all the info that I had received from my brother Ray was incorrect due to changed addresses and phone numbers. This lady, named Sennie, had her husband drive his car over to my aunt's house in order to obtain her phone number. Such lovely people. Our trip throughout all of Holland was totally like this - people who were ready to help you no matter what. Eventually, again, we obtained her number and we called to be invited to her house for the evening.
I was so overjoyed at having contacted my relatives that I was so emotional. It didn't take much to get me exhausted after that. We visited yet another aunt, Aunt Truss, the next day as well. Included in our sluthing was a trip to the city hall where two men took us into the basement, where we humans from the ordinary public are not allowed to go, and showed us the actual documents from the history of my family. They even gave me copies. We pretended on our way out that we didn't actually have anything and we thanked profusely the wonderful gentlemen that so wanted to fulfill our dreams.
We were having such a wonderful time that we decided to stay an extra night and so we had a chance to go out for dinner with Dinie and Wim to a Chinese restaurant. It was wonderful as well.
I can't tell you how amazing it was to sit across from the siblings of my mother and watch as they have the same facial features and little nuances as she had. They all look very much alike. It was a life-changing experience to finally look upon some of the people that my mother had talked about as I grew up. Living in another language and visiting with family some of whom spoke little english can be very stressful, but we loved how we were filled with love after each visit and how just to hug them and be with them for a short time filled us with so much understanding and information. It was very sad for us to leave and to go so far away after only just getting there but we knew that it would be like that. Gerhard's family awaits!

Even tho' only one of my relatives over there will get this, it is universally sent out to them all. Thank you so much for opening your hearts to us and for making us feel so welcome. You have no idea how special you all are and how wonderful it has been for me to finally find that other part of myself that I knew was out there somewhere.
Love JoAnne und Gerhard
xoxox

Amsterdam - Truly a place to be!!!

Tomorrow, three wonderful days of Amsterdam come to a close. Amsterdam is a very progressive way of life. It is built upon millions of pilings but even more interesting than that is that it thrives on cozy cafes, great art, good living and the true spirit of "'live and let live."" There are about 800 000 people and just about as many bikes. You could get squashed easily if you don't watch where you walk. A tram, a bus, a bike or scooter will flatten you. It is as unique as it is astounding. It's a place to come if you really want to feel short - even G feels short here or at least he finally feels like he's among his own now. It wouldn't matter, though, what you looked like or how you were dressed here because everyone is permitted to just be as they wish. There isn't a shortage of people spending money. Economic crisis here? Nope. Even the locals are out eating, drinking and buying.
We leave by train to head to my mother's home town of Almelo which is the eastern part of Holland close to the German border. That is probably why is was so heavily occupied during the war. We will be treating ourselves to a few days in an all-inclusive resort so that it will give us time to search out my family which I've been having a great deal of trouble with.

Here in Amsterdam over the last two days, we've been busy visiting many different sorts of places. Yesterday, we spent some time in The Anne Frank House and were very moved. We were permitted to venture up into the back of the jam factory and into the attic behind the actual bookcase that hid two families. It was a very quiet and somber experience.
Next, we visited Chinatown because they are celebrating Chinese New Year here and so we went for Dim Sum down their main street.
This just so happens to be right beside The Red Light District. Naturally, we had to visit there as well. Quite an eye opener I'll tell you. Only 5% of the women originate from Holland and all are part of a union which is carefully monitored and secured. Several of the women make up to and beyond 500€ per day. (close to 800-1000 dollars) It is truly a red area because all along the small cobblestone walkways are little latern lights with red bulbs in them. As you walk along the path and view what is for sale, you nod to the woman behind the door and she opens the door to let you in and then draws the curtain. Strangely enough, the area is bustling and busy and picture signs are everywhere that warn parents to hold onto their children's hands.
Today we had a very leisurely morning and headed out to walk the 2 kms to the Van Gogh Museum - a dream of mine as he, as well as Monet, is my favourite artist. There is an incredible collection of his works held in a very modern building. Gerhard opted for the hand-held audio of the exhibition because he didn't know very much about Van Gogh. So now, after two hours of walking his life, listening to his history and looking at his paintings, Gehard has a better understanding of why some of his work is the way it is.
We also visited the actual Rembrandt House. Rembrandt is one of G's favourite painters so it was a pleasure to visit the actual 4 floors of his life.
Today, we did quite a bit of walking - about 7 hours worth. Seems we are getting our backpacking legs now. The first day that we picked up our backpacks and hoisted them onto our backs and then walked 2 kms was a very difficult day. It was the first day in Brussels. Now, it is as if they have always been plastered to our backs. I guess sitting on our butts for most of the driving trip throughout North America didn't do much for our physical fittness.
Until later,
Love J and G