2023 Trip to Germany and the Netherlands with a Side of Belgium

It was another early morning for me.  6:06 am I was awake.  The bed is not my friend.  Both Cathy and I can feel the coils.  I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone.  Comfortable beds are a must in my books. I decided today we would take a trip to Volendam.  We took the Metro and then a bus to the town.  It took about 30 minutes to get there.   It is 20 kilometres north of the centre of Amsterdam. It is the most famous fishing village in Holland and can be visited all year round. Especially the old harbour full of old Dutch ships is popular. Cathy got a coffee to go! We decided to have our picture taken so we had a permanent memory.  We bought the package which included a flash drive with all of the pictures taken by the photographer.  There are a lot of cute pictures. We were very lucky getting to the village on the bus.  I, inadvertently,  bought the wrong ticket for the area we were travelling to.  Within the city is zone 1.  Outside is zone 2.  I didn't understand that wh

Note :  This blog was written yesterday.  Except for a few minutes on Thursday, we are without WiFi which means no TV either. I can't upload a video to the blog without WiFi. I woke up at 6:06 am again this morning!  There is no doubt about it.  I, truly, am a princess.  Cathy told me so last night.  Even after trying to use pillows and my foam neck pillow under my hips, I could still feel the slate bed.  At this point, all I can do is dream of the moment I lay down in my own bed.  I may have to put a pillow over my face so the neighbours don't hear me moan! At 8 am, I decided to walk around the streets of the area we are staying in.  I wanted to capture images of Amsterdam when it is early and few people are around. The first thing I noticed is this is the time of day when trucks deliver goods to stores, hotel laundry is picked up or delivered and the streets are washed.  In a city this size, it makes sense that cleaning has to be done.  People drop their garbage even