2 C D

I know I am late with this post (actually most posts) but better late than never. Last weekend I met D in Amsterdam before he went back to the States… don’t worry we were good. It was fabulous to see him, visit about his adventures around Europe, and hear how much he missed his girl (sorry D).
I hadn’t realized beforehand, but Amsterdam is a canal city like Venice, which made it even more beautiful than imagined. We spent much of the time just walking around taking in the city, but to my delight we also had some great beer adventures.


Canals, canel bridges, and very crazy stairs to our hotel.


No trip is complete without trying the food. Yes, that is Mayonnaise on my fries.


As a part of what turned out to be our great beer adventure, D and I decided to visit the original Heineken brewery. It is no longer operational, but has been converted into a wonderful tourist trap that explains Heineken’s history and the brewing process. The picture that looks like the inside of a pub is actually inside an old beer fermenter. I must say it was surreal drinking beer inside a beer fermenter.


The pinnacle of our unexpected beer adventure occurred when we stumbled upon an amazing pub. There are a number of elusive beers that are considered the best in the world; many are made by Belgian monks. To my delight this pub had almost all of them. We were in beer heaven and sampled away. This turned out to be quite a feat considering most of the beers were 9%+. I encourage anyone to try every uncommon and/or uncommercial beer you come across especially any Belgians…just steer clear of the lambics (right D).

It was great spending time with my bro. The only sad part was saying good-bye and knowing how long it will be until the next time.

Hogmanay (New Years Eve)

During the day we went to a museum and some shops. Mom loved this little Indian shop where they sold very unique hand made items. I think Mom bought one of everything, Dad got a chess board. I showed them a few sights like the Elephant House. It is a restaurant where supposedly J.K. Rowlings wrote much of the first Harry potter book.
In the evening we did an underground tour. As I have mentioned before Edinburgh is a city built on top of an old city. Long ago they knocked off the tops of buildings on a hillside and built on top to make a more level city. The tour we took focused on Mary Kings Close. You actually go underground and walk down a street that is still largely as it was. You can even go in old houses and shops. Very spooky.


At midnight the city shoots off fireworks from seven hills around the city. The folks decided to stay away from the drunken fools and stay inside. The younger of us also decided to get away and watch the fireworks. We climbed the Salisbury Crags that overlook the city. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but on that day there were gale force winds. It was the most unbelievable experience. We walked up the back side of the hill, so the wind wasn't too bad (gusts would still knock you over). But as soon as we approached the peak, standing was nearly impossible. As we belly crawled to the edge the most amazing thing happened. About five feet way there was a pocket that was almost calm. You could still hear the roar of the wind, but we were able to lay down and enjoy hot chocolate (with Baileys) and watch the fireworks. I just wish the pictures could do the experience justice.

D hike

The last few days, I have had to work. Because I am the only driver, this kind of stuck Janna and D in town. But today my vacation finally started, so we headed out. We went on an 8 mile hike to the top of some hills (only 1350ft).



D has may skills and one of them is picture taking. We just turned the camera over to him.


At the end of the hike we toured an old Abbey. Just like everything else around here it was old, yet cool.

D

Sorry for the late update. Things have been really boring lately until a few days ago. Then a whirl wind hit. D came and we have been out and about.







One of the funner things we did was go to a pub where they played traditional Scottish music. The beer was so dang good, that we may have drank a few too many. With the music in the back ground, it was a great night.