- PICT0044
Sarah said hello to every dog we met in Europe, usually calling them "le chat" ("cat" in French). She wanted her picture with this one. He was pretty cool. - PICT0046
The market. The blue sky and 80 degree weather was very atypical. - PICT0050
Kacee buys olives, etc. - PICT0051
Dinner. - PICT0053
Attempt at a representative Amsterdam shot: red row buildings, bicycles, trees, the corner of a canal. - PICT0054
Another, featuring the canal more prominently. This was just outside the Anne Frank House. - PICT0056
You get the idea. - PICT0057
Sarah and Kacee with bikes! (EVERYONE rides a bike in Amsterdam. Usually a heavy, old one with a squishy seat and peddle brakes.) - PICT0060
We went on a long ride (well, long for us non-cyclists) through the Dutch countryside. We stopped for a photo-op with the sheep. It also features the perfectly aligned trees that mark most of the fields I saw in France, Belgium, and Holland. - PICT0061
We were riding out to see a (humble, Dutch) castle, but it was closed. So we just stopped for a cola in a pretty little town. - PICT0064
As the only first-timer in Amsterdam, I occasionally set off to sight-see by myself. The next few shots are in the Van Gogh museum. - PICT0065
Beautiful architecture, I thought. - PICT0066
This was an exhibit of photographs of places where Van Gogh lived and worked. - PICT0068
A little courtyard action. - PICT0069
Okay, I just thought it was a cool building. - PICT0070
I reunited with Sarah and Kacee, who found some nice frat boys from Georgia to hang out in the big park with us. - PICT0071
Bikes, trees, sunlight (informative caption) - PICT0072
Deciding she'd rather have fresh armpits than her dignity, Sarah applies some deodorant in the park while Gary watches, bemused. - PICT0073
The people watching in Amsterdam was world-class. We liked our neighbor picnickers--the gay skinheads. - PICT0074
The group. We didn't move for 6 hours. Except for very exciting trips to the bathroom. - PICT0076
Kacee, and a statue of Mr. Vondel (of Vondel Park, where we sat all day) - PICT0077
Sarah stocks up on snacks. Mmmm, stroop wafels... - PICT0079
In the Rijksmuseum, the huge national museum. Much of it was closed to get rid of asbestos, eek, but the highlights were open. - PICT0081
Rembradt's Nightwatch, probably the most famous in the museum. - PICT0082
Main gallery. - PICT0084
Deciding I need to lighten my load, I drop four shirts and a legal pad out the window. Kacee assures me that someone will pick it up for use within 15 minutes. She's right. - PICT0086
Sarah, Kacee, and Josh sit down to our last dinner--delicious salmon. - PICT0087
I took this one in a hurry and couldn't quite capture the horror of these stairs up to Kacee's apartment--very typical in Amsterdam. Narrow, steep, and shallow. Not pretty to get bikes up and down. - PICT0092
In our sleeper compartment, Sarah consults Let's Go, our bible, while some Lake Highlands kid looks on. - PICT0094
We looked out our train window as we passed Cologne in time to see a dream-like cathedral, which i photographed badly as we passed.