Europe Day 8: Brussels and Home via Amsterdam (Sunday July 13)

Taking advantage of high speed rail in Europe, we got on a train in Brussels the morning, caught our plane with lots of time to spare in Amsterdam, and were home in the evening Mount Vernon time.  Of course, we had the advantage of 9 time zones working in our favor.  Tired but glad to be home.

Highlights of the trip:

• Andre Rieu and Masstricht (actually that part of Holland in general).  It was what the trip was about, and exceeded our expectations.
• Reich and Van Gogh museums in Amsterdam.  I am not an art museum lover, but these were great!
• Early morning walk through Amsterdam.  Clean with lovely canals everywhere.
• Public transportation in general and ICE trains in particular.  Fast, efficient and easy to use.  The trains put us downtown and usually near our hotel.
• Koelsch beer on tap in Cologne.  Love it!
• Watching the World Cup with the Germans in Cologne.  And we arrived home to learn Germany had won the final game!

Low lights:

• The weather.  It rained a lot from the last day in Amsterdam and all of our stay in Cologne.  But it was fine for Maastricht and Andre Rieu.
• Hawkers on restaurant row in Brussels.  Kind of wrecked the experience.
• Walking later in the day in Amsterdam.  Too many tourists, too much traffic from cars, trucks, trams and bicycles.  Sidewalks were small and trucks and cars drove on them in really congested areas.  Bicycles seem to have rules of their own.  Go for a walk early in the morning; it's wonderful.