Europe 2017 ramble. – Page 7

Fabulous Frank, fabulous Rotterdam, fabulous beer, fabulous day.

I awoke quite early on the morning of the 11th April and it wasn’t due to being in a communal room of six as all my young fellow travellers behaved in an exemplary manner, it had been the old man i.e. me that was last to bed but that is not unusual. I do not wish to be indelicate but I do not have need of an alarm clock because at my age I have a bladder to perform the function for me.

I wandered downstairs to the breakfast room where there was an excellent continental breakfast type spread laid on although I contented myself with some excellent coffee (another thing the Dutch do exceptionally well), some orange juice and a couple of slices of very tasty Dutch cheese. Is there anything the Dutch aren’t good at? Continue reading “Fabulous Frank, fabulous Rotterdam, fabulous beer, fabulous day.”

So where to next? Rotterdam maybe?

10th April and so I was already a bit past my vaguely considered return date but I just didn’t feel like going home. I had my debit cards, some cash and my passport. I had just about enough clothes to keep me going for a couple more days (this will prove to be critical later on) but it was all just becoming a little bit strange and I could see another one of my lunacies looming large on the horizon. I just wanted to keep moving and I was going to move this day. I am sure there are those amongst my admittedly limited numbers of readers that will understand. Continue reading “So where to next? Rotterdam maybe?”

A wasted day in Den Haag? Not at all.

The morning of the 9th April dawned as the previous day, bright but very chilly as I was to discover pretty quickly on my jaunt outside for my early morning cigarette. After a very decent breakfast of scrambled eggs, frankfurters and bread and chickpeas (what is that all about?) it was time for another wander and what was to prove to be another abortive attempt to make it into the centre of town which it seemed was more difficult than it appeared. Continue reading “A wasted day in Den Haag? Not at all.”

Den Haag? The Hague? Who cares?

I awoke on the morning of the 8th April at what is a ludicrously early hour for me and down to the basement level for what turned out to be an excellent breakfast which, again, is a remarkable occurrence in itself as I have already mentioned that it is a meal I rarely take although I did rather enjoy it. So, what to do with the day? Absolutely no clue as I had no idea that I was going to be there until shortly before I travelled from Leiden. Let’s just see how it pans out and it actually panned out pretty interestingly as I hope my fairly amateur blogging here will demonstrate. Continue reading “Den Haag? The Hague? Who cares?”

On my own again and off to Den Haag (or the Hague if you prefer).

The morning of the 7th April dawned and my friend was off ridiculously early to work and going straight from there to Schipol airport. I was on my own and so what to do? She had asked me the previous night what my plans were and I replied in all honesty that I had no idea. I really didn’t. Continue reading “On my own again and off to Den Haag (or the Hague if you prefer).”

Another great day and another great meal in Leiden

So another wonderful day had been had on the 5th of the month and up early in the morn ready for more of the same. I was still feeling pretty down and my natural enthusiasm for travelling had not fully returned due to online issues as previously discussed although it was coming back slowly but surely. I was rather enjoying myself in a lovely place with very good company. My friend was working again so I had the whole day to myself and not much idea what to do with it. I determined on another quick wander round the centre and then the rest of the time attempting to get productive with my TravBuddy writing (as it was then) as I was already falling behind. It always seems to happen no matter how diligent I try to be. Continue reading “Another great day and another great meal in Leiden”

Let’s look at Leiden.

The next day dawned and a quick look out the window of the hotel room onto the fairly uninspiring aspect of a carpark and some office blocks indicated that the day was bright, although I knew it was going to be chilly enough. The hotel certainly was not chosen for it’s amazing vistas!

A leisurely wash and brush up and it was time to go out and explore the delights of Leiden. I had the whole day to myself as my friend would not be back from work until about 1900 and I had absolutely no clue about what there might be to see or do in the city. Frankly that did not worry me as it is the way I love to travel. I derive great delight in just ambling about fairly aimlessly until I stumble upon something vaguely interesting and by doing so I have no doubt that I miss so many of the “sights” in any given place but by way of a trade-off I end up discovering some amazing places that regular travellers probably would never find. It is a compromise I am quite willing to make and it has served me well thus far. Continue reading “Let’s look at Leiden.”

I finally got there.

I was awoken in the morning by a Tannoy announcement piped into the cabin which informed me that we would be docking in Hoek van Holland in an hour and that breakfast was being served in the restaurant. Breakfast is a meal I rarely take so that was not a concern but the hour’s warning gave me ample time to have a lovely hot and leisurely shower, watch a bit of TV news and be ready to disembark at the gangway. Continue reading “I finally got there.”

A totally schoolboy error.

So, all was set. Get the ludicrously early 0638 train to Harwich for the Hoek van Holland boat on Monday morning. That in itself was not a problem as I have a sleep disorder and staying up all night is no problem for me. I managed to miss the bus by seconds as the driver (typically Transport for London) chose to ignore me running for it having obviously seen me so I jumped in a taxi from the local firm which I have used for 30 years and made the train with loads of time to spare. I don’t intend to make this site a marketplace but I like to pass on useful information as well as observations and I do recommend Dell Cars for a taxi in the East End. Continue reading “A totally schoolboy error.”

All Fools Day – why not plan a trip?

A quick word of explanation before I start this series of entries which refer to a trip I began in April 2017 and went on rather longer than initially expected. The entries were originally written for a travel website called TravBuddy which is now defunct and led me to creating this site. I have edited them slightly so they make better sense.

As always I shall post the entries back to the dates they refer to or I shall get completely lost. It will take some time to complete this series as it is quite long but I have some time on my hands now as I am staying with my Father in Northern Ireland and do not have much to do so it is a perfect opportunity. I do hope you enjoy it. Continue reading “All Fools Day – why not plan a trip?”