July 20th – Amsterdam, Netherlands

We arrived in Amsterdam in the early afternoon and enjoyed walking around the old city area. It is the capital of the Netherlands and has over a million people.




It is very low land which is covered with lovely canals that criss cross the city.








The streets are narrow and are lined with an impressive architecture of buildings.










Some of these buildings look like they are shifting forward but they are a delight to view. Look at the 3rd one from the left.











Everyone ride bikes, boats or walk and cars are not very welcomed. There are large open areas in which people gather and many outdoor Cafes.





















With all the canals and waterway, it reminded us of Venice. We even saw one gondolier and she was a woman. This is the only one we say but there are a lot of boats.



















We took a tour of the house Anne Frank and 7 other people hid out in until they were found. It was a sad but an in-lighting tour, viewing pages from her diary and other artifacts. The outside of the house has been changed some but they have tried to maintain the walls, floor, etc. as it was. I really enjoyed the tour.










Before we left Amsterdam the next morning, we had to drive out into the countryside to view the windmills. They were impressive but we didn't see as many as I thought we would see. I guess modern technology has taken over.

July 20th - Leaving Germany

We are now leaving Germany, probably never to return, but I have one question to ask my Grandkids.

As we traveled on the Autobabns (freeways), we kept seeing these signs.

How would you pronounce it? (don't laugh) and what does it mean?








(If it was up to me, I think I would change the name)

July 19th - Koln (Cologne), Germany

July 19th – We have now traveled back to West Germany to the city on Koln (Cologne). It was originally founded by the Romans and is one of the oldest settlements in Germany. It has 12 Romanesque churches and also the Koln Cathedral, the greatest Gothic cathedral in Germany and the 3rd tallest in Germany.










We arrived in the early evening and we stayed in a hotel in walking distance of the large Koln Cathedral. The first picture of the Koln Cathedral is with the setting sun shining on it. The rest of the pictures were taken the next morning.

(The Cathedral was standing very straight but my camera shot makes it look like it is leaning. Sorry)


















The outside detail was magnificent, from the steeples to the entrance.

























The inside was also very ornate with lots to see. There were also lots of tall, stain glass windows, that were beautifully done, and told the story of Christ.















As we drove away, you can see how close it stands by the Rhine River.

July 18th Continued

We are now at the famous Brandenburg Gate. I've include an old photo of how it looked before the wall was taken down and how it looks today.












There is a busy road in front of it on the West side but on the East side is a long paved area for tourist to gather and take pictures.




















There were lots of people dressed for tourist to take pictures with them and Judy fit right in.

July 18th - Berlin, Germany continued

It didn't seem that I could post more than 4 or 5 pictures in one blog so I am making continued blogs. Brad, is there a way to put more on a blog?

Berlin Continued – The area where the wall had been was left vacant for a long time but now it is a nice park and path area with trees, benches, etc. They are trying to bring it back the way it used to look.

July 18th - Berlin, Germany

Berlin, Germany - As you know, Berlin has a very interesting history with the division of East and West Berlin. As we were driving around (lost) trying to get to the Brandenburg Gate, we came upon a unique church so we stopped to take pictures. The doors were open so we went inside. There was an array of posters with old pictures on them with this church in the background. The church sat right on the West Boarder of the wall dividing West and East Germany. These are just a few of the photos that were on display.

The large poster was of the city with the church in the lower left hand corner. Notice where the wall had been just behind the church.



The next two black and white photos were taken as they were taking down the wall.

July 18th - Berlin, Germany

July 18th – We are now in Berlin, Germany. Since it is Sunday, we went to church in a small, quant, LDS chapel which had a very interesting history to it. It was built in 1950 by a wealthy man and then given to the church. It has three floors to it and years later they were told it did not meet the handicap requirement to be a church and that they would need to tear it down. The members did not want that so they earned enough money to put an elevator inside and built a handicap ramp on the outside. The members are very proud of their chapel.

They gave us ear phones to wear so we could understand the speakers. There were about 50 people in attendance and all were very friendly and most could speak very good English. We enjoyed visiting with the members after church.