Europe - books, river cruising and flight sims!

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks to some further searching, due to chaos of seat availability and pricing, we've finally got tickets with Cathay Pacific. We have a 9 hour layover in Hong Kong on the way, which is not ideal, but we'll find a lounge to relax/nap in. I think I can get us into the Amex lounge, so we'll find out.

Just need to organise the bus to and from Sydney, then start thinking about what to pack!

If you can get into the Amex lounge in hong kong - super lounge by the way with an exceptional bar - they have showers!

 

[Drakecula]

Huizen was nice, though it being a Sunday everything was shut. But it was a gorgeous day, and we went for a walk through the nautical quarter and into the old town to just enjoy the architecture of older buildings.

After lunch we joined the tour out to Zaanse Schans, an open air museum that maintains the historical buildings and showcase some traditional Dutch crafts such as clog making and cheese making. The tour was in German, but I didn't want to miss out on getting to the museum. So even though I didn't understand the guide, I got some of the gist, and looking at the buildings and enjoying the scenery can be done in any language.

Today we stopped at Emmerich, back in Germany again. Another sleepy little town, but we wandered through anyway. The wind was blowing a bit, so we decided to just spend the day on the boat in the warmth. But not before buying a bunch of gummy candy at a local shop. Treats to take home!

Have still had no issues with seasickness, so after a few days, I think it's definitely safe to say river cruises are a win.

We're sailing back to Cologne, and we'll disembark tomorrow and then it'll be off to our last destination of the trip, Almere.

 

[Drakecula]

Rotterdam pics

 

[Drakecula]

Huizen pics

 

[Drakecula]

Zaanse Schans pics. I really liked this place and could have stayed longer but was on the tour schedule, but I think we saw enough. If you're visiting Amsterdam and are interested in old architecture/history, it is pretty cool.

 

[Drakecula]

Emmerich pics. It was a nice enough spot, but not that much to see/do which is why we mostly spent the day on board relaxing.
There is a Katjes outlet if you like vegan gummy candy and they're priced really well, so that's worth a visit if you find yourself here.

 

[Drakecula]

Almere is quite nice, weather wise it's similar to Canberra. We're staying at a Holiday Inn Express which is right near the train station (no train noise though) which is handy. Our first day here the morning was spent helping them flight sim crew build some equipment for their stand at the show.

The afternoon was spent doing laundry.

Second day I left Daniel to keep prepping with flight sim crew while I hopped a train to Almere Centraal to have a wander. There's a nice outdoor shopping centre and I found a cat cafe! So had to stop in.