Sleeping Sitting Up...and Other Poor Choices

Our first plan was to take the ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam, explore the city some, and then catch the night train to Vienna by way of Munich.  It was a good plan, and we probably should have kept it.  Instead, I got the wonderful idea that instead of paying $240 or so and sleeping the entire way across, that if we took that same money and put it on a cheap hotel room in Amsterdam, we could have a wonderful day there, spend the night and catch a cheaper train in the morning, and enjoy the scenery along the way.  Right. (see prior post).

So, since I couldn't go back and change our non-refundable, non-transferable, non-exchangeable tickets,  I got to spend about 3 days finding suitable accomadations in an incredibly expensive city.  Going forward, we do have first class tickets on the train, and we can see where we are going.   The schedule looks like this:

Amsterdam            Departs 0704
Franfurt                 Arrives  1034

Frankfurt               Departs 1054
Munich                 Arrives  1433

Munich                 Departs 1527
Vienna                  Arrives  0744

We do get a couple of breaks when we change trains, so that will help to break up a very long train ride.  Plus we get to step foot in two different German cities.  Ok, two different German train stations, but at this point, we are looking for our adventure where we can find it.

Part two to follow..............................

Thisiswhathappeswhe_yourputeris_roke

whe_youhave_o(letteraftera)a_d_o(letterafterm),a_d_ospace_ar,thisiswhatitlookslike.Veryhardtocommuicateyourideas.A_dveryfrustrati_g

Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't, or Finding A Room In Damnsterdam.

I can't believe it is almost a month since we have entered anything in the blog.  I guess this is to be expected since we have been busy doing other things....like finalizing stuff.
OK, now I am really panicking.  The panic I was feeling in January when we decided to book our plane tickets...?   Minor.  This is that gut-wrenching "I-haven't done-my-homework-and-I-have-an-oral-presentation-today" sort of panic.  It is because now that it is nearly time to go, in my typical procrastinating fashion, I realize how much I still have to do to be ready.  Or do I?  Are there things I am worrying about that don't really have to be done?  Could I just pick up my backpack and leave?  Perhaps so.  Maybe I don't have to clean my closets. Maybe if the garage is still cluttered, it isn't the end of the world. Maybe I don't have to have a pair of brown pants, and I can get by with the brown skirt I already have.  In any case, we are about out of time.  ARGGGGGGH.

So, what have we really accomplished during this extended period of procrastination?
Following where Becky left off, somewhere in the English Channel between Newcastle and Amsterdam:

Amsterdam. Now known to Becky and I as "Damsterdam".  I am sure it is a great place to vist.  You even have your choice of smoking friendly places.  You realize of course, it isn't nicotine they are friendly toward.  And then, most of the cheaper hostels/hotels are either in or very near the famous Red Light District.  Not that it wouldn't be interesting to see, but I am not sure I want to live there, even for one night, primarily because of the noise levels.  I understand there is a very strong police presence, but I can see between the "coffee shops"(actually places that are licensed to sell pot, and where you are allowed to legally smoke, even on the patio), and the tours to see the ladies of the night in their lit up windows, there could be a fair amount of traffic noise.

I thought somewhere along the line we might have one night in a nice hotel, rather than the low end in which we are staying, but I really didn't think our most expensive stay would be in a hotel in the Red Light district of Amsterdam, right across from the train station.   So why are we not staying in a cheap place, like a hostel?  Well, although we both take reviews with a grain of salt (Becky takes less salt than I do), there is a limit on what is and is not acceptable. 

Acceptable:  cheap, steep stairs, 4th story attic,  no breakfast, share room with 20 other people (male/female/both), shared bathroom (I expect with the same 20 people), no air conditioning/heat, no view, away from town, not pretty...

Not acceptable: cockroaches, bed bugs (I know they can be found even in 5-star hotels, but combined with other wild life, no), rats, mice, black mold, dirty mattresses, drunks, clouds of smoke, noise all night, vomit (see drunks), etc...and those were the €30/night hostels and also included all the lovely things in the above "acceptable" catagory. That is a per person, per night, per bunk €30+ price. $42-43 each.  I think Motel 6 is about $60 per room, and does not come with roomates. Of any kind.  Except maybe bedbugs.

So, we are staying at a place that is considered a 3-star hotel, and has an 85% approval rating from prior guests, and we are paying €129 ($184 for the two of us) for a twin room with bath (I think).  It IS right across from the train station, and considering our train in the morning is at 0700, that is a good thing.  They will also arrange a breakfast for us to take with us, since we miss their breakfast buffet,  and it has a 24 hour check in. 



A-Train Hotel-Amsterdam

 Part two will be from Amsterdam to Vienna...where Becky has to pick it back up.

Prepare to be jealous

It's finally done!  Scotland is planned and locked in.  Now my only concern is that I have over planned.  We recently had the discussion of the difference between being a tourist and vacationing.  We are vacationing, but still want to see lots.  If you spend too much time rushing around and looking at things you are being a tourist, not vacationing.  What do you think?

Sept 28      Leaving LAX 11:00 a.m.
Sept 29      Arrive London, Heathrow at 08:35 a.m.  (it's 11 hours but we stop shortly in Toronto), spend the day looking around London, then a sleeper train from London at 11:50 p.m.
Sept 30      Train arrives in Glasgow, Scotland at 7:19 in the morning.  Puruse Glasgow for a few hours then catch a short train to Weymss (weems) Bay and finally a ferry to the Isle of Bute,
Oct 1         Isle of Bute, our ancestral home.


Main Street of Rothesay, Capital of Bute



Canada Cottage - Ancestral family home

 Oct 2         Isle of Bute

Island countryside

Oct 3         Isle of Bute

Oct 4         Return Ferry, train to Glasgow then catch train to Inverness in the North Highlands of Scotland

Oct 5         Inverness

Inverness Castle

Oct 6         Inverness

Oct 7         Leaving Inverness by train to Edinburgh.

Oct 8         Edinburgh

Oct 9         Edinburgh

Oct 10       Edinburgh

Oct 11  Leave Edinburgh by train to Newcastle on the northeast coast of England to catch a ferry which will take us to Amsterdam.  20 hour, overnight ferry - like Las Vegas on the water we hear!

Castles, cathedrals, pubbing, gorgeous accents, kilts.  How bad can it be??  Well, there is Haggis, but we've pledged to try it in the spirit of adventure.  Let you know how THAT turns out.

Becky

I'm OK... Euro OK, or "What About That Elephant in the Middle of the Room"



The Euro.  €.  Not euros, but euro is ok.  In fact, "Euros" is used so much, it is starting to be accepted. Actually the only thing we really care about the euro is the exchange rate.  Right now, it is not very good, and I really don't see it getting any better in 2 1/2 months.  In effect, we give them $1.00 and they give us €.71 (of note:  I started writing this a week ago.  Today they would only give us $.70) They give me a Euro, and I give them $1.41. Not great, especially when the cost of housing is high. (The £ is even worse, but this blog is about euro.)


So when the European Union was formed, one of the primary concerns was easing commerce across the borders of the individual countries. So, as of January 2009, some of the casualties of the merger were the lira, franc, gulden, peseta, koruna, tolar, mark, and the escudo, among miscellaneous other odds and ends.  In its place they created the euro. 


Not all individuality was squashed, though.  There is a common side to all of the coins, and the reverse side was designed by each individual country.  They were given the chance to make it their own.  Each coin, although tagged with that country's stamp, can be used in any other EU participating country.   So while you couldn't spend the Italian lira in France, you can spend the Italian designed euro in Germany, France or the Netherlands, etc.  Oh, and as mentioned in a prior blog entry Vatican City (city state), the Republic of  San Marino (an independent republic within the boundries of Italy), and the Principality of Monaco (another city state) each have their own National side.




Top coin: Common side
Next coins:  National side
Bottom three: City States

I think it would be interesting to collect one of each country, but it could make for a very heavy backpack.

Oh, and the British Pound Sterling?  If we give them $1.00, they give us £.62 and if they give us £1.00, we give them $1.61. 

Whoever said that travel was enriching very clearly did not mean financially.



 

Creating a Stylish Brother

So how often do we actually get to play dress-up with our brothers, particularly when they are grown?  In a nice surprise our brother Barry has advised us that he would like a kilt from Scotland while we are there.  On his recent visit to my house, he and I talked about kilt styles and I advised him of  Dee and my preferences as gained during our "Monarch of the Glen" stage.  Those not familiar with that particular BBC show are missing out.  It is situated on a gorgeous Scottish estate http://www.flickr.com/photos/31256888@N08/5158697786/.  One of our favorite characters was a worker on the estate named Duncan (that's Duncan on the left in the photo below)

 The fun thing about Duncan is that he always wears a kilt and compliments it with hiking boots, thick socks and usually a t-shirt or cable knit sweater

The look worked for us, so that is what I passed on to Barry as his style goal.

He in turn has handed over the purchase responsiblilties of this totally cool outfit to us - which will be fun.  We just have to find the right tartan, the right accessories and the right shop.  Barry's plan is to wear his kilt to a golf tournament he participates in every year. Should make quite a statement!

I got another little touch of Scotland this past weekend during a visit to the Northern California coast. There is a small, very lovely town called Ferndale where there was a dog show I wanted to attend (along with having my annual ocean fix).  To my great surprise, this gentleman attended and was dressed to kill while showing his Scottish Deerhound.  I thought it was a wonderful look.

And finally, while driving through the farms/ranches between Ferndale and the beach, I passed these darling creatures.  Yet another preview of Scotland.  These are Scottish Highlander cattle.  I think this was all a sign!

San Marino: An Italian Turducken*

(*Tur-duk-in:  For those not familiar with the Food Channel, a Turducken is a chicken placed inside of a duck which is stuffed inside of a turkey, sewn closed and then the whole thing is roasted in the oven. The only relationship to my blog post is that neither the duck or the chicken have any easy access to the outside world, and nor does San Marino.)
*******************************************************************************************
Apparently, one of the casualties of the formation of the EU was the fun of getting your passport stamped. With the open borders, there is little need to track people traveling from one member country to another, so not only are passports not stamped, but seldom requested.

Passport stamps used to be one of the few free souvenirs you could bring home without buying additional luggage. Now, although you can sometimes request a stamp, most of the time it just isn't done. There are a few exceptions, though....

Il Vaticano
Most people know that the Vatican is a City State within the city of Rome, and as such have their own version of the Euro and they will stamp your passport at a kiosk if you ask.

San Marino
What a lot of people don't know (me included until I came across it in something I was reading) is that there is another country entirely within the country of Italy. It is called the Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Repubblica di San Marino), and is a 24 square-mile "enclave surrounded by Italy (Wiki)", and has a population of about 30,000.

 

San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, as the continuation of the monastic community founded on 3 September 301, by stonecutter Marinus of Arbe.

San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.... Wiki

This tiny country is divided into nine "castelli" (meaning castles) or municipalities; eight minor munincipalities; and 43 hamlets or "curazie". It has its own local euro.

AND they stamp passports,although there is a small charge, so actually I guess they "sell" passport stamps. I am hope we might be able to make a small detour to San Marino to get our passports stamped, and visit another country, but there is no airport, no train station, no actual bus station. The best way to get there is to go to Rimini and catch the bus there, spend the day, and then go back to Rimini. Or, there is a hostel in the main town, so that would be another option. Since it is 3 hours from Padova, and three hours from Perugia, there is no easy way to get there, and it may be a bit of a hastle to just get a passport stamp, but who knows how long they will even be available, and if the time allows, it could be a fun adventure, as long as the dramamine holds out.