Germany

We left Margreet's fairly early, after something for breakfast, and Margreet and Jan walking the girls to school.  As always, the kids love Jan.

This was one of the three days on the trip that we didn't have a reserved place to stay.  We were headed to Neustrelitz, Germany to hear Mark sing in La Traviata, but didn't have to be there for 2 days.  We drove until we were ready to stop... we were in what was, until 25 years ago, part of the Soviet Union, and there were few places to stay.  The towns looked dead, hardly anybody on the streets.  Then we happened on an incredible place in Wittenberg.  It was rather eerie.  A nice, newly remodeled, modern but quaint... out our wall to wall first floor windows was a duck pond shrouded in weeping willows, that I swear were laughing at me.

But... but... there were hardly any lights in town, it was now getting dark.  There was almost nobody in the streets, and very few cars.  The town was clean and orderly, but like so many towns trying to adjust to being part of the western world, the economy was in the dumps and there were few opportunities for people.  At any rate, we were famished, but it didn't look hopeful as we didn't think anyone was open.  The lady that checked us in at the hotel left as soon as she showed us to our room.  We had this place to ourselves all night... much like what happened to us in Mitikas, Greece.  But we were hungry.

We drove around, hoping against hope, no lights and hardly anyone about.  Then finally saw a Chinese restaurant with the lights on, but it was just now 9:00.  Well, they were open till 10:00, had a great Chinese buffet, nice ambiance, a very Chinese man who seemed to own the place and spoke only German.  And we got lots of stares, being the strangers in town.  But the food was great, and what looked like a questionable night for lodging and food turned out wonderfully.

We were both a little taken aback at the stark difference on the two sides of that divisive, imaginary line.  Big change moves slowly, I guess.  It's only been a generation.  Cultural mores and fear run deep.  Hopefully as the world economy heals, they will experience some resurgence here.  Obviously somebody thought it was worth making this nice hotel in the middle of this seemingly forgotten town.  The town is about 18,000 people, and there are some precision engineering and tech businesses in the area.

Ah, just reading on Wikipedia that Wittenberge was a concentration camp for 2 1/2 years during the war.  And in 1903, Singer Sewing Machine Company set up shop in Wittenberge.  Times do change.

In October of this year, the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Svetlana Alexievich of Belarus.  The quote below from the New York Times, by Valzhyna Mort, rings so true.

"Listening to the voices in her (Alexievich) latest book, "Secondhand Time," which explores the consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union on it's citizens' collective psyche, it becomes clear that one cannot step from slavery directly into freedom.  Just as a baby has to learn to fall asleep, they have to learn how to be free."

On to Germany...

We saw quite a bit of wind power on our journeys...

And we happened on an oasis...

We were made a nice breakfast at the hotel, and then we were off to hear Mark sing.

Margreet en Theo en Emily en Fiona

Then it was on to Zwolle, Netherlands to visit with Margreet and her family.  Margreet and I have been playing chess and chatting for years on my chess website.  Somehow I didn't have Margreet's phone number or address to call her from Amsterdam and finalize our plans.  So I left Margreet a message on Papa's, knowing she's on there most days... and voila, she got right back to me, and we effected our rendezvous.  We found the house much more easily than we did the hotel in Amsterdam.

We felt right at home with Margreet and her family.  It was a delight to meet her, and her husband, Theo, and their girls, Emily, 10, and Fiona, 8.  Margreet does some freelance translating work, being very adept at languages... her English is better than many native speakers.  Theo and the girls also speak excellent English, as do most of the Dutch.

Theo is an IT worker for MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship)... it's admirable work they do, flying supplies and medicines and aide workers into remote, poverty-stricken areas of the world.  I first met Margreet on my chess website while they were stationed in Nairobi, doing this important work.

So, Emily and Fiona have seen some of the world already,  They are delightful girls!  Margreet and Theo kindly gave us their bed for the night, and they took the girls' beds, and the poor girls had to 'camp out.'  Turns out, they love doing that!  Thank you folks for the warm hospitality!

Fiona is always ready to go do something...

So we walked down to a pirate ship on the canal and had some pancakes for dinner...

Emily is a sweetheart, and protective of her little sister...

Easter was in the air, and in the shops, from this point on during our trip....

Herewith a short video about the Pancake Ship...

It was coolish but, by no means, frigid.  The cheap prices and the lack of crowds make it an excellent time to visit Europe.  Even Easter weekend wasn't too bad as far as crowds or lodging availability.  And for this trip, the dollar was almost at parity with the euro, so that was welcome.

These two girls would melt a pirate's heart...

And these two... well, a pirate would have his hands full, I think...

The adult table...

Waiting for our pannenkoeken... the pancakes are huge and thin... with all manner of sweet and savory ingredient and topping options... all pancakes... all good... and good company!

We left the Pannenkoekschip at about the children's hour... a time for reflection...

What a nice, fun, loving, intelligent family!  It was great to meet you folks!

Please tell the Easter Bunny thank you for the eggs we found under our pillow.

Amsterdam

We got TO Amsterdam without difficulty or incident, but then it came to getting into the center of town and finding our hotel.  At night.  With roads and trolley cars and bicycles... lots and lots of bicycles!  But long story short, we made it.

At about 9:00.  And we're informed the parking they had said was available is on the street... if you can find it (Amsterdam discourages automobiles)... for $36 a night.  Then the machine to effect that wouldn't take Jan's card because it didn't have an embedded chip.  After lamenting to the desk person, we were told we could have someone pick the car up, park it somewhere, and bring it back to us when we were ready to go... harummmph!  Well, finally I tried my card in the parking machine and it worked.  Did I mention bicycles everywhere?!!

So we finally made it up to our room, crashed, and got up and had some breakfast...

And the world looked cheerier!

The Van Gogh Museum had just finished a major renovation, and we found the museum very doable and well presented.  And of course it is pronounced, 'Fawn Gawk'  Below one of the student groups making some sketches.

And before we left, the master wanted a photo with us...

We didn't have a lot of time for the Late Rembrandt Exhibit, but we did breeze through...

They really meant it when they said it was time to go...

We had a nice dinner in an eatery not far from our hotel...

There are reminders embedded in the sidewalks...
Have your dog use the gutter, not the sidewalk!

Jan getting told where to go.  A common sight in our travels.  We finally have to break down when lost, and Jan finds someone to ask.  Here we are trying to get out of Amsterdam..  For some reason, getting out of a city is usually the most difficult thing for us.

Later in the trip, we would realize how valuable GPS is.  I mean, we don't have phones, but we had it in the rental car, and on my tablet.  We just weren't in the habit of using it, and finally realized it would have been invaluable in both getting into town, and leaving.  Seasoned travelers.

Pascal et Muriel

Pascal and I have been playing chess on my chess website for about 12 years now, and we finally got to meet in person on this trip.  Pascal and Muriel were gracious hosts.  They served up a great lunch, replete with wine and freshly baked desserts.  We wished we could have spent more time with them in their small village in northern France.

We left Paris early in the morning, and picked up our rental car at Charles De Gaulle Airport, north of Paris.  Pascal and Muriel's little village is only about a hundred miles north of Paris, but we had quite a time finding them.  As is so often the case, we (meaning Jan) finally asked for help.  A very nice lady in a nearby town finally got us on track, after involving most of the staff in her restaurant, making some calls, and even printing us up some maps and directions.  Merci!

And we were welcomed with hugs, and wine from a bottle sporting their own label.

We speak even less French than Pascal and Muriel speak English.  Somehow though, people find a way to communicate.  We all share the need to articulate, but not always the same words for doing so.  Enter the computer...

Pascal and Muriel invited their friend over to help with the translation, and we all managed to have a wonderful time together, sharing the commonalities and stories of our lives as best we could.  Sometimes words are only part of the equation.

Birds will sing... balls will fly...

Pascal has some beautiful chess sets!

And a cat named Domino

We also met some other neighbors of Pascal and Muriel's, Greg and Mary, who came late to the party and were lifesavers in the translation department.  I liked Greg's attitude about business, that it's better to retain your independence and integrity, and do things your way, rather than sell your business and ideas to someone else.

Au revoir...

We enjoyed meeting you, Pascal et Muriel.  Thank you for your hospitality and a fun visit.  We will cherish our memories of our meeting, and maybe we will meet again one day.  Merci, mes ami!

Nous avons apprécié vous rencontrer, Pascal et Muriel. Merci pour votre hospitalité et une visite amusante. Nous chérirons nos souvenirs de notre réunion, et peut-être nous nous reverrons un jour. Merci, mes ami!

The Art

Of course there's art about everywhere you turn in Paris.  On every street corner, the bridges, the buildings.  We also went to the Musee Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Musee l'Orangerie, and the Rodin Museum.  The Picasso Museum was near our flat, but was closed on the day we went.  We were very surprised that you could take photos in the Louvre.  You have to make yourself put the camera away though and just enjoy.

Endless art.  A month wouldn't do the Louvre justice.

We adopted enigmatic countenances and posed with La Jaconde.

If this is what Winged Victory looks like...

Honestly?  They wouldn't accept any of my works?

At least the fruit in my still life's is in a bowl.

Inside the clock at the Orsay.

And the obligatory chess set...

We took a Pedicab to the Rodin Museum and barely had time to see the gardens as it was.  Most of the inside of the museum was being renovated, and so was closed.  Rodin's subject matter and themes weren't exactly Hallmark Channel stuff!

What if the Hokey Pokey is really what it's all about?

Les Penseurs

All ye who enter here...

Rodin's 'Gates of Hell' inspired by Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy

Below, The Three Shades (Les Trois Ombres)

Ugolino and His Children

Ugolino eating the corpses of his children who died of starvation...

I said it wasn't Hallmark stuff!

Finally, an affirmation of life at the Rodin Museum...

Apparently 'Pixel Art' is all the rage in Paris.

Below, to the left of the Brasserie sign, is the only one we saw.

Birds will always sing, and balls will always fly...

And of course the Batobus stops at The Garden of Plants - what will they think of next?!!

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