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

Worst sleep last night.  I was not smiling!  I think the bed was made in the stoneage because it felt like I was sleeping on a piece of slate. I tried putting pillows under my body because my hips were killing me.  That wasn't a success.  I gave up trying to sleep at 6:06 am.  I would like to hunt down the person on Booking.com whose review said the beds are comfortable!  When I look to reserve a hotel, I always look at reviews to see what people say about the beds.  Everything I read about comfortable beds was a lie! I learned another reason having a European SIM.  Having data is important, especially if you aren't part of a tour group.  This morning the hotel's internet is down.  They are waiting for someone to restore it.  It is now 5:49 pm and no WiFi.  This means no TV either because it works through the internet.  The staff aren't sure when it will be restored.  They told me they have been too busy t...

We left Heerlen on the 6:19 am train this morning.  Arrived at Amsterdam Centraal train station at 8:45.  No hiccups this time.  One train all the way. We walked eight minutes to get to our hotel.  We are very close to the train station AND 700 m to the Red Light District! Cathy might be working tonight to make some money. haha She's bought a lot of souvenirs. Although check in wasn't until 3, we were able to leave our luggage in a secure room at the hotel.  That was nice as Cathy had a ticket to go to Anne Frank House at 12:15. We turned right out of our hotel to go in search of a place to have breakfast.  What a lovely surprise to see a chalkboard with the words pancakes, breakfast & more on it.  In we go.  It was like walking back in time.  The restaurant is called Schreierstoren. We had a table overlooking one of many canals in ...