A New Adventure

San Jose, CA to Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Hello, all!  Meg here typing away on a train bound for Berlin, Germany.  It’s been over a year and a half since we last posted a blog, but I’m happy to report that Family Afar is back!  Well, back on the road that is.  For the time being, we’re traveling by planes and trains, but starting this Wednesday, we will be back on our trusty Co-Motion Tandems. Our plan this summer is relatively modest -- a ride from Berlin to Belgrade.  We’re calling it the "Capital Tour," as, over the course of four weeks, we'll pedal through six European capitals.  Starting in Berlin, we'll go first to Prague, then Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and lastly, Belgrade, the capitals of Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia.  We’re excited to be out and about on the bikes again and to see some of Eastern Europe this time.  

We arrived in Amsterdam yesterday morning (Friday), after a red-eye flight from Dallas. We stayed in a small Air B&B in the western part of Amsterdam, which is more residential and very easy to navigate.  It feels great to be exploring new places again.  Amsterdam is beautiful, despite some wet and chilly weather.  

Tired after a long flight

Bicycles, Bicycles everywhere

Outside our Air B&B with new rain jackets

The only item on our agenda was to see Anne Frank’s House.  Earlier this year, in preparation for the trip, we read the “The Diary of Anne Frank.”  There was a talk prior to going into the Annex, and we were all glad we had the background, as some of the information relayed from our kind, but heavily accented guide was lost.  Going through the dark and cramped spaces of the Annex was sobering. Of the few remaining things left behind after the Nazi’s cleaned out the space, the most moving for me were the growth chart for the nearly two years that Anne and Margot stayed there and the magazine photos that Anne pasted up in her room.  Much of the experience was haunting and heartbreaking, knowing that of the eight occupants of the annex, only the father, Otto, survived.   

"Anne Franks House" (Annex behind)

The secret "annex" -- top three floors on the right

Otto Frank (middle) -- the only survivor

We had some nice meals in Amsterdam and even got to visit a Cheese Museum.  You can bet that was a good stop for us Hoornaerts!  (You can take the girl out of Wisconsin, but you can't take the Wisconsin out of the girl.)  We enjoyed a nice dinner, though poor Kylie could hardly keep her eyes open.  Afterward, we started "prepping" for the bike ride by having gelato for dessert (calories good!) Walking back to our apartment, well after 9 p.m., the bright sky made it seem more like 6:00.  So good to be back in Europe!  We called it a day around 11:00 and were all grateful to be horizontal. 

This morning, the kids slept in until after 8:30 a.m. while Dean and I were awake by 3:00!  Looks like we’ve got a little more adjusting to do to get into the proper time zone. The only objective this morning was to catch our train to Berlin. Before the kids woke, I was able to find a nearby bakery with amazing breads, rolls, sweets, and muffins.  This is what I so love about travel, to see the differences in food, stores, restaurants, neighborhoods, etc! I’m grateful to be here and, as ever, grateful to you for joining us in our journey and for being a part of our circle of friends and family.

2100 bike parking spots outside the train station

Not traveling so light