Going Dutch

Well, it’s not starting as we expected. Not a bad trip, just harder than we thought. It’s all part of the challenge and I think we are both already appreciating how easy life really was for us. We planned this trip for about 5 months. We did research on almost a daily basis and yet we are here now and we feel as though we hardly did any. We are members of a networking site called ‘couchsurfing’ and we expected that finding hosts would be well maybe not easy, but at least somewhat reliable. This is not exactly the case. We are finding that we cannot seem to get answers from most people and those we get are almost all ‘sorry- not available.’ We did stay with a nice couple in England who were very gracious, but we couldn’t relax. I think we also underestimated what it would feel like to be in some strangers home. This lack of answers left us with no accommodation for the coming weekend which is apparently quite busy in Amsterdam. So, we had to suck up the cost of one of the only remaining hostels we could find. Gulp.

On a side note, we did do and see some amazing things. On our first night on a total whim we ended up doing one of the most special things we had ever done. Yes, I realize that most special sounds weird but forget about correcting my (ken’s) grammar and keep reading, it gets good. We were exploring the parliament area. As expected Westminster Abbey cost more than a few pounds…unless you attend a sermon, so we did. We sat in the middle of one of the most glorious historical churches in the world. We are each not particularly religious but this was an opportunity not easily passed up. We were both so moved at the experience. It was quite special and definitely the highlight so far.

A close second would have to be the tower of London, which as the name does not suggest is not a tower at all. Maybe it was centuries ago when the tallest thing in the city was a tree. Nowadays, it is dwarfed by the skyline of downtown London. We each paid a small fortune and explored the castle where Anne Boleyn was beheaded, and a few princes disappeared amidst a conspiracy involving the monarchy. Look it up yourself!

We bought a travel guide which we follow and have found cheap food, cheaper drinks, and other useful tips on hostels, trains, planes and automobiles. We are now in Stansted airport terminal awaiting our flight to Amsterdam and our real European trip to begin. So far we have been spoiled by the fact that everywhere we went was English speaking….well almost. The locals sometimes mumble their way through explaining directions for us. But we’re grateful anyway. The past two days have been about adjusting to this new phase in our lives which has been good, albeit bumpy. Starting tonight when we land in Amsterdam, we are working on the adventure!

We crammed as much crap into Kalene’s larger/less cool backpack so we could use the other one as a carry on. It was a tight fit (giggity!) but we managed to save a few pounds on luggage check in (Ken and Kalene pat themselves on the back).

So on our way to Amsterdam.... bring on all things Dutch!