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Old 6th December 2018, 00:29   #31
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Re: Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe

Amazing travelogue! Two eyes are not sufficient to see the pics! Awaiting eagerly for rest of the travelogue! Have sent across the link to my friends and colleagues and they are equally mesmerized!
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Old 7th December 2018, 22:43   #32
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Day 2 - Rotterdam

Day 2 - Rotterdam

Why Rotterdam? Rotterdam may not be as famous as Amsterdam, but, arguably, this city can be called the world capital when it comes to revolutionary architecture. It is full of buildings that are stunning, quirky, mind-boggling and sometimes plain crazy.

I like architecture. I am not an expert but I’m interested in both traditional and modern designs. I had heard a lot about the architecture of Rotterdam, most notably the cube houses designed by Piet Blom. So, when we were planning the trip, it seemed like an obvious decision to come here.

You can find interesting architecture in many parts of the city, but I think the best place to start is Rotterdam Centrum i.e. the city centre. Particularly the Binnenrotte street or the Blaak station square is full of interesting buildings. If you are short on time, like us, and just want to get a glimpse into the quirky architecture of the city then this is the place to visit.

Having been completely tired the day before, the next morning we started a bit late around 9:45 am and within 30 mins reached Rotterdam Centrum. I was a bit doubtful about finding parking easily, but to our surprise, it was very quiet that morning and we found a parking spot right next to the Market Hall. Most likely because it was a Sunday. I had enquired with the receptionist at the hotel whether parking is free on Sundays and she was quite sure that it was. However, I decided not to take any chances and checked instructions on the parking machine on the street. The instructions were in Dutch but with the help of the translations app, I figured that it was free on Sundays but only until noon. It was probably sufficient time to check out the area and be back, but I was glad that I checked. Parking fines can be hefty so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

The Market Hall (Markthal in Dutch) is a residential building with the Market hall underneath. The building is relatively new but it has already become an icon considering its unique shape and size. The building also boasts of a glass facade which is the largest of its kind in Europe.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7364.jpg

The inside of the building is adorned with artwork consisting of oversized fruits, flowers, vegetables, fish etc. Unfortunately, the market hall was closed that day and so we couldn’t go inside. You can probably see some of the artwork through the glass facade.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7424.jpg

We walked around the area capturing photographs of more buildings.

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Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7350.jpg

The old and the new:

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7365.jpg

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7430pano.jpg

Laurenskerk shown above was heavily damaged at the start of WW2. In fact, a large part of the Rotterdam city was destroyed in the German blitz of May 1940. The area surrounding Blaak was completely filled with debris for many years. What a way to rise from the ashes!


This building called Blaak 31 has a striking form. The volumes are slightly rotated relative to each other and shift a few meters every three floors.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7349.jpg

One more interesting building with pipes outside.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7361.jpg

The Rotterdam Blaak station.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7352.jpg

From another angle. Looks very futuristic.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7359pano.jpg

Blaaktoren - building with its pointy hat like a roof. It can also be called Pencil-shaped. If you are from either computer science or electronics background, you will find the windows to be shaped like an “AND gate”

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7362.jpg
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7432.jpg

Blaaktoren is designed by the same architect that designed the Cube Houses, where we will go next.

The Cube houses

Designed by architect Piet Blom between 1974 and 1977, these houses are based on the concept of "living as an urban roof": high-density housing with sufficient space on the ground level, since its main purpose is to optimize the space inside. Blom tilted the cube of a conventional house 45 degrees and rested it upon a hexagon-shaped pylon. His design represents a village within a city, where each house represents a tree, and all the houses together, a forest. The central idea of the cube houses around the world is mainly optimizing the space, as a house, to a better distribution of the rooms inside.

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Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7358.jpg

Something interesting kept in that window.
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Paper model of the cube house project.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7390.jpg

You can enter one of the cube houses for a small fee. I think we paid around 8 -10 Euros for all. You will appreciate the design even more once you are inside. There are four levels inside including the attic. The interior is cozy and also very creatively done. There is more space inside than you can imagine from the outside, and almost every inch is used efficiently.

The circular staircase:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7392.jpg

Living room:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7373.jpg

The Kitchen:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7375.jpg
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7376.jpg

Bedroom:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7379.jpg

Library:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7388.jpg

Work area:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7377.jpg
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7384.jpg

The attic:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7395.jpg

Neighboring cube houses:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7404.jpg

Views outside:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7409.jpg
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Old 7th December 2018, 23:11   #33
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Day 2 - Rotterdam Continued

Day 2 - Rotterdam Continued

Our plan was to drive to Amsterdam, return the car and check in to our hotel by late afternoon. We were done with the cube house and that area by noon, So we decided to explore the city a bit more before heading out. It was raining again so we were not in a mood to walk. We decided to drive around the town and see/drive over the Erasmus bridge.

Erasmus bridge:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7457.jpg

The bridge at night.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-haroldwijnholds390940unsplash.jpg
(Photo Credit - Harold Wijnholds on Unsplash)

Talking of the Erasmus bridge, it was recently in news in India for unlikely reasons. You might know that very recently, the Delhi govt tried to pass off photos of the Erasmus bridge as that of the newly constructed Signature Bridge in Delhi. The bridges share similar characteristics but the social media was quick to point the goof up.

Other highlights of Rotterdam:

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Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7445.jpg

See how the balconies are jutting out of this building:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7446.jpg

Up close:
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Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7449.jpg

This one with a large cantilever:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7460.jpg

After a while, we felt like we had seen enough and headed straight to Amsterdam. Actually, not straight to Amsterdam but via mini Amsterdam i.e. Delft.

More on Delft in the next post.

Last edited by MandarMax : 7th December 2018 at 23:14.
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Old 8th December 2018, 14:22   #34
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Re: Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe

Quote:
Originally Posted by androdev View Post
Hey @MandarMax, fantastic travelogue with stunning photos. For a lazy person like me, all my overseas trips with family remind me of semi-painful memories of planning, logistics, shepherding, etc. But photos such as yours always remind me it was worth all the hassle. Great stuff!
Thanks, I know the feeling. But the memories make it worth all the hassles.

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Originally Posted by deepfreak15 View Post
Lovely pictures! Can't wait to see the rest.
Thanks.

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Originally Posted by deepakc View Post
Beautiful pictures. Looking forward to the rest of your travelogue, and especially your Rotterdam pictures and experiences, as I live in Rotterdam.
Thanks. Rotterdam is a lovely city and I am sure you are enjoying it. Please check out my Rotterdam post added yesterday.

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Hey Mandar,

Awesome pics. Eagerly waiting for the whole travelogue.

One hour for immigration in UK is horror. And here we complain that it took 10 minutes to complete immigration at Indian airports.
Thanks. Regarding the immigration, I have seen worse. Sometimes I think our airports are not as bad as we think they are.

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Originally Posted by Ananthc View Post
Amazing travelogue! Two eyes are not sufficient to see the pics! Awaiting eagerly for rest of the travelogue! Have sent across the link to my friends and colleagues and they are equally mesmerized!
Thank you. That's very kind of you.
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Old 9th December 2018, 03:50   #35
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Re: Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe

Amazing and very well written. Seems like you enjoyed every bit of it even when being on work.

What software/editor did you use for the video editing? What gear did you use for photography and videos

Last edited by aditya_rao : 9th December 2018 at 03:51. Reason: corrections
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Old 9th December 2018, 06:39   #36
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Re: Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe

Amazing travelog
breath taking Pictures
thanks for igniting the thoughts of Euro trip in all of us
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Old 10th December 2018, 21:14   #37
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Re: Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe

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Amazing and very well written. Seems like you enjoyed every bit of it even when being on work.
Thank you. I was working before and after the trip from London. During the trip, I wasn't working. It wouldn't have been so enjoyable otherwise.

Quote:
Originally Posted by anilkumar View Post
Amazing travelog
breath taking Pictures
thanks for igniting the thoughts of Euro trip in all of us
Thank you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by aditya_rao View Post
What software/editor did you use for the video editing? What gear did you use for photography and videos
I use iMovie on my MacBook Pro for video editing. The videos were mostly shot using a mobile phone and my good old Canon video camera.

For photography, I use Canon EOS 70D with a Sigma Art 18-35mm f1.8 lens. I shoot RAW and use Adobe Lightroom (sometimes Photoshop) for post-processing.
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Old 12th December 2018, 19:35   #38
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Re: Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe

When is the next update coming in?? I know it's difficult to finish it at one go but you have to for the sake of others!
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Old 12th December 2018, 23:00   #39
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Day 2 - Delft

Day 2 - Delft

Delft wasn’t part of our initial plan, but we were done with Rotterdam relatively quickly and were on our way to Amsterdam by 12:15 pm, so when I saw the exit towards Delft I thought since we have time why not explore one more place? We were off the highway and in just a few hundred meters we were in front of the iconic Oostpoort meaning Eastern Gate in Dutch.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7469.jpg

The roads had very little traffic and though it was overcast, it was no longer raining, which was great. We soon found a parking spot for our car. Free or paid parking? I wasn't sure. There were other cars too and no parking meter was in sight. And no "No parking" boards either. But sometimes I am overcautious and so I checked other cars' windshields for any parking tickets. Did not see any. It was free after all. Cool!

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Just across the road was a large canal, so we started walking along and we were soon in front of the Oostpoort again.

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Oostpoort panorama:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7470pano.jpg

This gate was one of the several built during the 14th century, but all the remaining gates were demolished during the 19th century and this is the only one that has survived. This corner of Delft is considered the most enchanting and has attracted the attention of numerous artists over the centuries. It is not difficult to imagine why. The gate is an example of Brick Gothic architecture and looks quite imposing with those steep spires. The gate is connected using a drawbridge, which we soon cross.

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Bicycles are very popular in the Netherlands, and on an average, the Dutch are considered the tallest people.

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The road towards the left of the bridge seemed to go to the new part of the town, but we decided to explore the old part and we soon crossed the drawbridge and entered through the gate.

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We started walking along the canal which also runs parallel to the Eastern gate. The roads were virtually empty save for that odd bicycle once in a while.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7498.jpg

Oostpoort from the other side:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7497.jpg

It seemed just like Amsterdam which until then I had only seen in pictures.
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Brick homes, little roads, cars, canal, trees. It was so picturesque.
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Lucky those students who get to study in this school:
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A series of bridges. One after the other as long as the eye could see.
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We continued walking and came across more bridges.
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As we kept walking, we saw two very tall church spires and headed in that direction.

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We soon reached near the church, which also happened to be an area full of cafes, restaurants, and bars.

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It was almost lunchtime, but we decided to check out the church first.

The church of Maria van Jessekerk was built in 1875. Its towers are quite tall. It’s probably the tallest church in Delft. One thing you will notice is that the left and the right towers are not the same, they have different style/design. This is because the towers are inspired by other older churches.

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Check the towers again. They are different. The left tower is inspired by the tower of the New Church, and the right on that of the Old Church (Oude Kerk).
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7528.jpg

As you can judge from the tower sizes, the church is quite grand on the inside.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7529.jpg

Did you see the ceiling fan in the first picture? Don’t worry, if you didn't.

Hopefully, you will see it in the next picture.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7544.jpg

Can you feel the air thrown from so high up? But maybe it served some purpose that I wasn't sure. I immediately named it “Birbal’s fan” (you know the story of Birbal’s Khichdi, right?)

It was 1:15 pm and we were quite hungry due to all the walking. There were many restaurants to choose from, but how many of them served vegetarian food?

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So we checked some menus and their rates and finally zeroed in on one Italian restaurant.

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The food was excellent.
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After enjoying a sumptuous meal of ravioli and pizza, we continued walking and took a slightly longer route to go back to our car.

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People rowing boat:
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It had started drizzling now. We bade adieu to the lovely old town of Delft.

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It was time to head to Amsterdam, one of the main attractions of our trip.
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Old 12th December 2018, 23:31   #40
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Day 2 - Amsterdam

Day 2 - Amsterdam

We were supposed to return the car in Amsterdam that afternoon, but when I called them just before leaving Delft, they told me that it was Sunday and so they were closing early. They allowed me to keep the car for free of charge for another day as long as I can return it before noon. I was very happy with the deal, however, that bubble was to burst soon as you will find out later.

After driving for less than an hour we arrived in Amsterdam. It's a very small country!

I had booked our hotel in the Amsterdam RAI area, which is like a business district. When we were trying to book hotels in Amsterdam, I realized how expensive the city was. For the record, I was able to find better and cheaper options in London, Paris and other famous places. I do not know why, but it seemed like a very busy period towards the end of April. The availability was low and there were hardly any deals available online. I considered several options including backpacker hostels, Airbnb but couldn’t find a decent, value for money option. As I have said before, we preferred Airbnb over hotels because most hotels would not accommodate four persons per room and booking two rooms in a place like Amsterdam made for a very expensive proposition. Anyway, to cut the long story short, I couldn’t find a cheaper Airbnb near the central area so we chose this hotel as it provided larger family rooms for a relatively good price.

Amsterdam RAI is just on the outer edge of the city, and the transport options here are excellent. It is very well connected by a network of trams, buses, metro and train lines. It is also adjacent to the Amsterdam ring road, so when coming from Delft, we just had to exit the hotel and after a few hundred meters we were at the hotel. Similarly, when leaving Amsterdam after two days, we got a train to Germany from the RAI station which was just next to our hotel.

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We completed the check-in formalities and I was very happy that the hotel had plenty of parking available. When I asked the parking charges they told me that the “special rate” for their guests was “only 30 Euros” for overnight parking. I was shocked so I asked the manager whether I can find cheaper parking nearby and he said it would cost me at least 50 Euros in that area and their rates were the best. I believed him. I had no use for the car in Amsterdam so the “free ” car for another day cost me nearly the same as extending the rental by a day.

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It was our anniversary that day and we were very happy to be celebrating it in Amsterdam. One week away from India is probably long enough to start craving for Indian food, especially for kids.

We checked the hotel’s restaurant and although the reviews were good, they didn’t have Indian food options. After a bit of Googling, we found several Indian restaurants nearby. We decided on “Tulsi” which had pretty good reviews. We could have driven there, but because it was in the city area and secondly, it would have limited my food and "other" options, we decided to take the tram.

It was overcast that evening but having experienced rain all way, we were happy that it wasn’t raining. There was a good amount of light considering that it was nearly 8 pm.

Europaboulevard. You can probably see the RAI train station in the background, and the tram stop as well.
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The tram stop was just a short walk away from our hotel. We purchased day tickets (24 hours) on board. Paid 7.5 Euros per adult and 3.75 per child. (Total EUR 22.5). The tickets work on trams, metros, buses and probably ferries as well. So, if you are in Amsterdam for a day or more it is better to take a day / multi-day pass because public transport is the best option to get around in Amsterdam.

I was riding a tram after a long time. I used to travel by trams regularly in Melbourne where I had spent a couple of years in the early 2000s.

Taken from the tram. Some really long word on that board. Probably a doctor's clinic from the word Hygiene. I used to think there could be no longer words than South Indian town names when written in English (like "Thiruvananthapuram" :-))
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The restaurant and the ambiance were good. For some reason, I clicked very few pictures inside.

The road outside of the restaurant.
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After having excellent dinner we took a short stroll to the next tram stop.

I felt an uncanny resemblance with Melbourne as I was walking. Maybe it was the great dinner, or the weather or the sound of trams, for a few moments I thought I had traveled back in time and landed in Melbourne, a city I so dearly loved during my younger days. I felt very nostalgic.

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Some cities have this magical quality where you get this sense of belonging. Amsterdam seemed like that kind of place.

We hoped for a better day tomorrow even though the forecast said “Cloudy”. We prayed to the weather gods - please let tomorrow be a bright, sunny day.

Last edited by MandarMax : 12th December 2018 at 23:39.
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Old 14th December 2018, 08:32   #41
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Re: Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe

Wonderful snaps mander max!
Please keep the travelogue rolling. I really cant wait to read your complete travelogue.
I have read so much and but still covered only 3 days and 15 days left!! Thanks is a less word for your efforts.
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Old 14th December 2018, 12:47   #42
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Re: Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe

Very nice to see you enjoying my country. Glad you got to see Delft. We used to live just outside Delft in (what was then) a small village called Nootdorp. We used to ride on our bicycles into Delft. 15 minutes.

My two sons live in Rotterdam and I was born and grew up in and around Amsterdam. So lots of familiar places for me.

The parking charges in Amsterdam are out of this world. Some time ago my wife and I met friends of ours and we had a nice afternoon in Amsterdam at the Rijksmuseum and afterwards a dinner for the four of us. The parking was more expensive than the dinner.

There are other options though, the so called park and ride. There are several huge parking places on the outskirts of the town. You park you car really cheap there and get a free tram ride in- and out of the center for two persons.

Jeroen

Last edited by Jeroen : 14th December 2018 at 12:50.
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Old 15th December 2018, 13:09   #43
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Re: Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe

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Originally Posted by Ananthc View Post
When is the next update coming in?? I know it's difficult to finish it at one go but you have to for the sake of others!
Quote:
Originally Posted by coolmind View Post
Wonderful snaps mander max!
Please keep the travelogue rolling. I really can't wait to read your complete travelogue.
I have read so much and but still covered only 3 days and 15 days left!! Thanks is a less word for your efforts.
Thank you. Knowing that there are bhpian friends like you eagerly waiting for the next update gives me more energy and the motivation to complete the rest of the blog. I never thought I will be writing even this much considering my busy schedule. It's hard work but I will do my best to keep it rolling.

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Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
Very nice to see you enjoying my country. Glad you got to see Delft. We used to live just outside Delft in (what was then) a small village called Nootdorp. We used to ride on our bicycles into Delft. 15 minutes.

My two sons live in Rotterdam and I was born and grew up in and around Amsterdam. So lots of familiar places for me.
Thank you, Jeroen! As a regular reader of your blogs on this forum, I certainly remembered you when I arrived in the country.

I am also glad that we went to Delft, even though it was a short visit, it was a very memorable experience for us.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
The parking charges in Amsterdam are out of this world. Some time ago my wife and I met friends of ours and we had a nice afternoon in Amsterdam at the Rijksmuseum and afterwards a dinner for the four of us. The parking was more expensive than the dinner.
I had heard about the parking charges in Amsterdam being astronomically high, but it still came as a shock.

My original plan was to be in Amsterdam by noon and return the car immediately after dropping the bags at the hotel. I thought that way we could have avoided paying for the parking. On the other hand, though, we couldn't have done Delft. My main reason for renting cars during this trip was to have more flexibility as I am not very comfortable with point A - B kind of planning. I am glad that I did Delft and so comparatively I thought that paying 30 Euros was a small cost.

Last edited by MandarMax : 15th December 2018 at 13:17.
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Old 22nd December 2018, 20:02   #44
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Day 3 - Amsterdam

Day 3 - Amsterdam

We had seen only rain since arriving in the Netherlands. I hoped that today would be our lucky day, so when I slid the curtains and looked out of the large hotel window, I hoped for a miracle, but this is what I saw.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7618.jpg

It was cloudy as hell!

We had a long day ahead of us. Our original plan was to get ready, have breakfast, drive to the city and continue to the central area using public transport. It was still early morning. Daughters were still asleep, so I decided to go ahead, refuel the car and return it to the city while they get ready.

The Hertz drop off location was in Overtoom, on the western side of Amsterdam. It was about 8 km from the hotel. I filled the car up by taking a slight detour at Shell petrol pump nearby.

The car required 95-RON petrol, costing nearly 20 Euros. I drove the car for only one and a half days covering about 180 kilometers. The S90 wasn't particularly fuel-efficient, but I think it was kind of expected from the powerful 2-liter petrol engine.

Driving in Amsterdam city can be a daunting task even for the most experienced driver. For an outsider, it can be more challenging as you have to navigate through the narrow streets consisting of trams, bicycles and all the other traffic. Since it was Monday morning, there was considerable traffic. While a major part of the route was via the ring road, the street I had to go to wasn't too wide and had tram and bicycle tracks on both sides of the street and only one lane for cars. As you can imagine, this city gives more priority to public transport and cyclists than cars.

I had done my homework before leaving by checking the Google street view. I had marked the location on the car's navigation system but in a strange city, you can’t completely rely on the GPS. Sometimes the coordinates are not correctly marked so until you see the destination with your eyes, you cannot be too sure, so I was a bit apprehensive about missing the Hertz entrance. In a city like Amsterdam, it’s not always easy to go around or take a U-turn, so it’s important to not miss. Fortunately, the traffic wasn’t as bad as I thought and after about 30 minutes I was near Hertz Overtoom. I saw the board and was about to turn right and I almost got hit by a cyclist who had not noticed my turn indicator. He was in my blind spot for some time, but I braked as soon as I noticed him. It was a close shave! It’s possible that I was looking for the Hertz board and I turned my indicator a little too late thereby not giving him enough warning. Lesson learned - avoid driving in Amsterdam and don’t select a drop-off point so close to the center of any city in Europe.

Getting back to the hotel was a lot easier - just a tram and train ride of 30 mins which dropped me to the Amsterdam RAI station near our hotel.

On the way back. Amsterdam Lelylaan station:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_20180430_093255.jpg

Amsterdam Metro:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_20180430_093658.jpg

After a quick breakfast, we got back to the metro station again. Our destination was one of the most well-known museums in Europe, the Rijksmuseum.

Rijksmuseum

Our bad luck with the weather continued and it was raining heavily by the time we reached the Rijksmuseum. There was a big queue at the entrance. When the weather is bad, everyone flocks to indoor attractions.

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Rijksmuseum:
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Fortunately, there was no need to queue for the tickets. We purchased ours from a shop along the canal in front of the museum. Actually, we purchased combo tickets for the museum and hop-on-hop-off canal cruise for about 100 Euros. We thought since it was raining, at least we will have a new experience and we’ll get to see the city through the glass cover while enjoying the warm comfort of the boat.

The queue had now extended all the way towards the “I Amsterdam” sign.

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The "I Amsterdam" sign. For some reason, I forgot to shoot a panorama, but I managed to cobble the following together using Adobe Lightroom.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7734pano.jpg

After a braving the rain and cold for nearly 30 minutes we entered the museum. The museum was a bit chaotic than I had anticipated. We had to stand in another queue for putting our coats and bags in the cloakroom.

One of the two atriums inside the museum:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7637.jpg

The atrium roof:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7638.jpg

The Rijksmuseum consists of 1 million objects and is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history from the years 1200 to 2000. The collection contains more than 2,000 paintings from the Dutch Golden Age by notable painters such as Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt etc.

I was more interested in Rembrandt particularly "The Nightwatch" and the paintings of Vermeer. Everything else was just a bonus.

The Nightwatch:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7659.jpg

The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7679.jpg

Vincent van Gogh - Self-portrait:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7694.jpg

Another lovely painting depicting contemporary life in the 17th century - The Merry Family by Jan Havicksz Steen:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7685.jpg

Two mothers by Frans Stracke. Do you see the two mothers below?

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7702.jpg

This sweet terracotta statue shows a young fisherwoman holding her child, with her dog’s puppies gathered in her apron and the dog (the other mother) walking close to her feet. The statue depicts the harsh realities of life. You will notice that she's walking barefoot, has only two fish in her pouch, and the net that she drags behind her is empty.

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Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7705.jpg

Cannons seized during wars in Asia:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7713.jpg

They have a great collection, we saw everything we could, with great enthusiasm, but too much of anything gets tiresome. If you are an art connoisseur and want to see everything then you need to plan to spend much more time, probably a few days. We had been walking for more than an hour and we, particularly kids were getting bored. We thought we had seen enough and so we decided to go out.

After standing in two more queues - one for the bathroom (not so much for gents but a huge queue for the ladies) and the second for collecting our belongings - we were finally out by noon.

The canals of Amsterdam were waiting for us.

It was still raining, so we decided to head straight towards the hop on hop off boat stop. One boat was already waiting and soon we started our maiden trip on the famous Amsterdam canals.

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Picturesque canals and houses:
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The canals were quite busy. Boats, boats, boats everywhere:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7775.jpg

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7777.jpg

After riding for about 20 mins the rain stopped, so we decide to get out and continue exploring the charming city.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7795.jpg

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Last edited by MandarMax : 22nd December 2018 at 20:12.
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Old 5th January 2019, 13:29   #45
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Day 3 - Amsterdam (Continued)

Day 3 - Amsterdam (Continued)

We got off the boat and started exploring. When exploring a new city, I tend to wander aimlessly. You never know what you will discover. It's more like Google's "I'm feeling lucky" option.

We came across a very tempting looking chocolate shop "Puccini Bomboni". Forget my daughters, even I couldn't resist the temptation and so we decided to enter.

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With so much to choose from, we pick up a variety of chocolates and continue walking.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7824.jpgPlanes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7827.jpg

We crossed a smallish looking canal and came across another interesting shop selling toy ducks.

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Tempting as it was to buy some ducks, we fight the temptation and do not enter.

More pictures of Amsterdam:
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We walked and walked exploring the canals, bridges, roads, and bylanes.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7846.jpgPlanes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7853.jpg
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Check out the panorama below. Click to see the higher resolution version.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7859pano.jpg

We stopped for a lunch break on Damstraat, which is a small street or rather a lane full of different food joints. Amsterdam is very expensive but you have a better chance of finding food at a decent price here. This street is right on the border of the infamous De Wallen area of Amsterdam (you can guess why), but since we had to keep it at the PG-13 level, we head in a different direction.

Damstraat. Restaurants etc.
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After a quick bite, we head towards the Dam Square.
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Dam Square:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7879pano.jpg

Damrak - One of the main streets of Amsterdam.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7887.jpg

You can see the Amsterdam Centraal station in the background:
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Amsterdam Centraal
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We didn’t want to head back yet, but it was extremely cold and suddenly the rain was back, so we decided to board our HoHo boat again. Keep in mind that there are many hop-on-hop-off boat companies, sometimes having similar colours or logos so it can be difficult to identify which one is yours. Most of the boat traffic congregates at the central area so there are several boarding areas within a short distance of each other. So it took us some time to figure out where to board from.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7894pano.jpgPlanes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7903.jpg

There were more queues once we figured out our stop. We were getting tired by now and seeing another queue wasn’t great.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7904.jpg

Anyway, after waiting for a good 30 minutes we were on our way through the canals.

Interesting cloud formation:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7910.jpg

We wanted to go to the Ann Frank Museum and it was on our HoHo route.

Boat stop outside of the Ann Frank Museum:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7923.jpg

Unfortunately, there was a huge queue and we just didn’t have the patience, so with a heavy heart, we decided to skip the museum. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the clouds were going away and we got our first glimpse of Sun that day. The rain had completely stopped so we continued our boat journey and got off to the same point from where we had started.

Rijksmuseum in the background:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7987.jpg

Waterkant, Rajni's Dutch cousin
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_7939.jpg

We purchased souvenirs from a souvenir shop:
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They also had an abundance of other "stuff", things you can only find so openly sold in Amsterdam:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - My Tour of Europe-img_20180430_190030.jpg

By this time it was evening and we were tired from all the rain and walking and the waiting in the queues. A tram and two train changes later we were back to our hotel.

One day is definitely not enough to see Amsterdam, but we got a glimpse and we promised to come back to this lovely city.

An example of how I was doing things at the 11th hour is that tomorrow morning we were planning to go to Germany and I had still not booked our train tickets. I could have extended the stay by a day here, but the weather forecast wasn’t good, so we decided to stick to our original plan. We had kept a couple of days of flexibility in our plan, so we decided to use those days elsewhere, which was a good call as you will find out later.

The problem with booking train tickets is that when you Google for train tickets, most often you will find third-party websites that advertise cheaper tickets are ranked higher in search results. After comparing the rates I found that they try to sell fares that are expensive. I found that on an average the ticket price was more than 100 Euros for direct connections or trains with one stopover, other options were simply not presented. This could have been due to their algorithms or because I was looking for trains from the Amsterdam RAI station next to the hotel. I don’t know for sure. When I checked using DB i.e. Deutsche Bahn, the German railway company, I found more options. We paid only Euro 60 for the four of us. The downside was that we had to change train three times, and it was overall slower by about 45 mins as compared to direct trains, which we didn’t mind because there was no direct train from the RAI station, and going to Centraal would have required similar time.

We had one of the worst food experiences of our trip that night at our Hotel’s restaurant. They had “Dal and Pilau” somewhere in their menu, but what we received was something entirely different. I can’t describe what it was, but it was extremely spicy. We tried eating it, but when we couldn’t, we complained to the maître d' immediately. He noticed our runny noses and eyes and he apologized profusely. We opted for less spicy food - pasta and dessert. After the dinner, we asked for the cheque and the waiter politely said: “Sir, your food and drinks are on the house!”. He apologized again and in return, we too thanked him for the prompt attention and for handling everything professionally.

Bags packed again. Tomorrow morning we would be going to Deutschland!

Last edited by MandarMax : 5th January 2019 at 13:36.
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