Day 11: Return Home

Day 11: Return Home

            Well, our luck from yesterday ran out.  Day 10 was going to be my last entry, but I had to add our return home.  The day started out as miserable as yesterday was beautiful, with heavy rain and cool temps.  The flight was fine and actually got in 45 minutes early.  We briefly thought we might catch the 1pm Dartmouth Coach.  Then things started to fall apart.  The passport control line was a mile long.  But as we approached the booth, we noted that if our luggage was through, we still had a fighting chance.  When we got to the luggage carousel, we waited and waited and......

We were eventually told that all the luggage had been off loaded.  There were still about 60 people waiting for luggage!  We later found out (thanks to our sleuth, Marty) that the luggage had been sent to Detroit.  Go figure. So then we got on line to put in a lost luggage claim.  Fortunately, we were close to the front of that line.  Otherwise, we may not have made the 2:55 shuttle.  Well, we are on the way back to Grantham and as long as the Dartmouth Coach doesn't breakdown or Marty's car won't start, we should make it-sans luggage.  Good thing we have clean underwear at home!

Some Random Thoughts about our trip:

1.  Dutch people are really tall.  We saw several in the 6'6" to 7' range.

2.  The Netherlands is very clean and neat. Even Amsterdam was pretty clean for a major city.

3.  If you plan to travel here (and this may hold true for the rest of Europe soon) some places do not take our credit cards.  They now require a special electronic chip with a pin number.  This is true for the trains (VERY IMPORTANT) and many smaller shops and restaurants.  So far, not a problem at major hotels of bigger restaurants.

4.  The houses in general have little in the way of curtains, and you can see into most houses.  The houses almost look like model apartments, everything in just the right place.  Reminded us a little of the movie "The Stepford Wives".  The people, though, were for the most part very nice and helpful.

5.  Cycles are everywhere.  Cycling in the city appeared to be tricky, but out in the country it is beautiful, even for non-cyclists.  It is flat as a pancake.  Walking in the city can be dangerous.  You really have to watch out for cyclists.   It is easy to forget that there are dedicated bike lanes            and we all had a tendency to wander off into the bike lane while walking.  They do not stop!

6.  The barge part of our trip was a great way to see parts of the country unavailable to most tourists.  The reaction on people in Amsterdam's faces was interesting when we told them we were going to Friesland.  Everyone gave a beaming smile and told us how lucky we were. 

7.  Although Le Boat says no prior experience is necessary to captain a barge, I would disagree.  If you plan to do this, I would recommend having someone aboard with some boat handling skills and at least 2 strong deck hands.  I would be more comfortable, now having done it  (so I'd be happy to hire out as your skipper as long as I could have my 1st mate aboard), but even with a fair amount of boat handling experience, I found there was a lot to absorb and get used to.