Inside The Perimeter

Spent a low key day in Amsterdam yesterday. The Gand of Four, now separated from the tour group, did a cheese and wine tasting which was arranged by ITP-Reader Barb. We wandered into three wine shops, identifying the “tourist trap” chain first, picking up cheeses which we took to a wine shop. We sampled four cheeses (identities to revealed when I find out exactly what we ate) while drinking pours of Dutch wine (which was surprisingly good). The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering and people watching, before I ate frites for dinner.

Oh, and I am now the proud owner of three new pair of underwear thanks to a purchase at TK Maxx (as it is called on this side of the Atlantic).

Today Haarlem? A brewery in Amsterdam? I’ll figure that out once my nose stops running this morning.

My next “plan”, to start tomorrow, was to spend two nights in a westernmost German town called Emmerich. That plan failed when I discovered they had no available hotels anywhere near the train station. “Plan B” fell through because I don’t want to spend over four hours (one way) on a journey to Bremen that will last only two days. Trying to make an alternative plan… Find out what I did when I return to Amsterdam on Monday in preparation for my return flight on Tuesday.

Wordle: two, my starter was CURVE
Connections: perfect, Green > Yellow > Blue > Purple

Amsterdam: today we are doing a cheese and wine tour.

Still trying to plan my weekend. I will be staying until Tuesday because I’ve booked a non-refundable hotel for Monday night.

Wordle: five, my starter was CHAIR
Connections: perfect, Green > Blue > Yellow > Purple

Even though the weather wasn’t perfect yesterday we did get to ride on Kinderdijk and see the windmills built in the 1740s. It was very neat.

“Home Automation, 1740s Style”

We also rode through some stunning farm land, stopped at a dairy farm for lunch, and even bought some strawberries from an automat at an orchard.

My hip hurts a little today. I did it no favors by running back to the ship when it started raining on my post-dinner walk.

Today is the last riding day of the tour. Were this a driving trip I’d be returning home a few days early, but since I don’t want to pay airline change fees I will stick it out until Tuesday. I’m ready to return to my routines, knowing that they will be interrupted again almost immediately after I return to the US.

Destination: Amsterdam

I’ve learned some valuable lessons on this trip. Apparently I can no longer slather sunscreen on my arms when I ride in heat because it blocks the pores and causes me to get heat rash. I’ll be trying more lightweight arm sleeves next year.

I’ve also learned that I am not like most of the others on this trip and this environment is very hard for an introvert. Actually I knew this previously, but I guess I thought the riding would break down some of my social hurdles but it hasn’t.

And finally I learned that I packed too many shirts and not enough underwear. The dream of washing clothes in sinks never materialized.

Though I’ve no one but myself to blame, I’m feeling a little like a hog ready for slaughter.

Wordle: three, my starter was WEIRD
Connections: one mistake, X > Purple > Blue > Yellow > Green

Yesterday was the first day we opened up and pedaled fast for a little while, averaging about 20mph for a few miles. Due to the fact that we lost about three hours waiting to get through a lock, and that our ship could only dock briefly where we stopped riding, we skipped one planned stop and plowed through the rest of the day.

Today we take our bikes onto a water us to see the historic windmills on Kinderdijk. Unfortunately it’s overcast, but at least I don’t think that it will rain.

Destination: Vianen, Netherlands

Wordle: four, my starter was STEAM
Connections: perfect, Blue > Yellow > Green > Purple

Fanatic readers, of which I have trained none of you to be, will have noticed that I posted on Saturday… by mistake.

So far the trip has been wonderful. I am drinking and eating more than I should, but fuck it, I am having fun. Included in the trip was a fancy dinner in Antwerp. However, I needed some time alone so I wound up in an Indian restaurant called “Curryosity”. Given that I would have paid for my drinks at the fancy restaurant, I *might* have saved a euro or two by dining alone and spending €31. OMFG my lamb vindaloo was one of the spiciest Indian dishes that I’ve eaten in a long time and was sublime! After dinner I started to wander to a pub for a nightcap, but was full and experiencing hip pain, so I beat the dinner participants back to the ship. Time will tell how the lamb vindaloo treats me today…

As I type this on Sunday evening my mental state is low. Hopefully when you read this there will have been at least a minor correction.

Today we cross the Netherlands border by ship, leaving Belgium behind.

Destination: Dordrecht, Netherlands (but not all travel by bike today)

I’m growing a bit weary of the traveling lifestyle; that might be the beer talking.

Wordle: four, my starter was AWARE
Connections: perfect, Yellow > Green > Blue > Purple

Yesterday we rode from Bruges to Ghent; mileage total about 39 miles. Essentially the large group split into two, intermingling more often than expected. The riding styles and capabilities vary far more than the average age of the participants. A few riders, like our own ITP-Reader Barb, were blessed with bicycles whose brakes dragged making it very hard to pedal.

We rode through some beautiful countryside and busy streets, stopping once for lunch at a lovely little cafe at which I ate my pack lunch as well as ice cream and beer I bought from the cafe.

Today’s Destination: Sint Armands

Connections and I are going through a rough patch…

Wordle: three, my starter was SMOKE
Connections: fail, X > X > Blue > X > X

Day 0 saw no bike riding. The Gang of Four did a little more sightseeing in Bruges, including having a beer at the brewery famous for having a 3.3 meter underground pipe to ship its beer from one facility to another.

With plenty of time we boarded a city bus to get to the BRAG boat. What we didn’t realize that we boarded the bus on its way out out the center town, so we wound up being late.

In one of those weird life coincides out hashing friends Andrea and Miles have been traveling in Europe too, so we said hello at the train station, and may run into them again in Amsterdam.

Today’s Destination: Ghent

Wordle: five, my starter was DAILY
Connections: one mistake, Yellow > X > Purple > Green > Blue

Yesterday was started with a sweet breakfast, followed by a very educational and entertaining journey around the Belgium World of Beer. While doing the tour we were able to go into the lower level which was a historical tour of the structures which occupied the area centuries ago, answering all of my questions I had about Brussels.

Dateline: Bruges (Brugge)
After a short delay in train travel, we arrived in Bruges in time to check into our hotel and go to an early dinner. I had Flemish stew, beef cooked in a beer, which was fine if not a bit boring. The only negative for the meal was the feeling of being taken advantage of by the waitress who played the peer pressure game be asking us if we wanted to add a 15%, or 20% tip. Unfortunately, we let her win the game even though we all knew the gratuity was included in the price of the meals.

Sal and Allan climbed the famous belfry as Barb and I (the painful hip club) sat and did some people watching.

It was an early night, I may have fallen asleep by 8:45pm.

The BRAG journey starts today. We don’t leave Bruges today, instead today is a meet and greet, walking tour, bike fitting, and canal boat check-in.

Wordle: four, my starter was FLOUR
Connections: perfect, Yellow > Blue > Green > Purple

After breakfast we four spent the morning wandering Brussels looking for a bank/ATM to get cash. I might be doing the same later this week as I continue to quickly drain the euros I brought with me. I didn’t get cash yesterday because I am still not sure that I will need to, but more importantly I don’t know if I have the facilities to do so. I suppose I could accept to get screwed by exchanging USD for Euro.

One of the reasons for the need for cash was the chocolate and beer tour on which we embarked in the afternoon. The tour was really fun. I was surprised how many of the participants were from the US, including a couple from Charlotte, North Carolina and two young women who are roommates in St Petersburg, Florida. We stopped into three chocolatiers, sampling a couple of their sweets in each. From there we ambled around Brussels learning a bit of history. At one stop there was a very friendly cat that sauntered up to the group, and although I wanted to pet it, I resisted the urge. At that point we saw the statue of the peeing boy and started drinking beer. The group stopped into three beer places, drinking a couple of beers (short pours) in each. Wisely in the second bar we were served some cheese, meat, fries, and bread. Unwisely I volunteered to challenge the tour director in a down down contest. Being the suspicious type I saw that she was going to cheat by raising her glass before the time she claimed we’d start drinking, so it was game on and I gulped my small glass in one shot, defeating her (at least in my mind). I still have some skills from my hashing days…

Today is another travel day, destination Bruges via train. The BRAG tour officially starts tomorrow with a “get to know one another, get situated” day. On Friday we begin our migratory riding.

Wordle: five, my starter was CURSE
Connections: fail, Blue > Purple > X > X > X > X

Unfortunately I have a lot to health issues fix when I get home. Where I will find the time to address my issues is unknown, but it may have to take priority.

On a brighter note… I spent a fun day kicking around Brussels, visiting the Atomium and Mini-Europe, the latter of which impressed me far more than I had expected. But apparently you knew this because i mentioned it in a comment? Ah beer… So far the downside of Brussels has been the cost of public transportation. It was $8.50(ish) each way for the tram/train to the area housing the two attractions. To add further cost, I was charged entry and the gate didn’t open, so I hat to pay $17.00 to get there; I may dispute the initial charge, or I may just chalk it up to the high price of travel in 2024.

Yesterday marked the 365th day since my relaunch of Duolingo German studies. I still can’t speak the language very well.

Wordle: five, my starter was LEAST
Connections: one mistake, X > Blue > Yellow > Green > Purple