Geilenkirchen, DE & Amsterdam, NL

Germany

Once again, I found myself in Germany for a softball tournament. This time, near Geilenkirchen. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very cooperative for softball or camping! Though it's quite smaller an not as pretty as Trier, the city is still charming and quaint. I greatly enjoyed strolling around the city and had the most wonderful breakfast at Cafe Schleypen! About the only wonderful experience during the tournament.

The weather proved to be as bipolar as that of England. About a week prior, I began checking the weather which was full of potential for a nice weekend. However, as it drew near, rain chances increased. And rain it did! While it wasn't so bad playing in the rain, camping was another story. It was quite difficult trying to stay warm after continuously being drenched, and the mud was miserable. Sunday though, the clouds gave way to some sun and warm weather. We finished our tournament early and packed our belongings and booked it to a nice cozy hotel in Amsterdam, fully equipped with beds and dry floors.

Amsterdam

The rain seemed to have followed us to Amsterdam. Our last hope for a sunny day, or at least a day without rain, was in vain. It rained the whole day! Luckily, for our group, we booked a bus tour so we weren't always walking in the rain to our destinations. The city is beautifully blended mix of old and new and just has an abundance of charm. Some of the houses are very crooked!

Now, some people associate Amsterdam with cannabis and prostitution. Yes, one does smell odors and see shops carrying all kinds of exotic goods. The Red Light District area is known for such; however, there is much more: the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank's House, Rembrant's House, Tulip Festival, diamonds (Amsterdam is called the city of Diamonds), etc. We saw some of these historic places, which due to the weather and limited time, we didn't really experience. We did tour the diamond company, Gassan. It was pretty interesting. We got to see some of the workers polishing diamonds and got an up close look at various styles (cuts, clarity, etc); one even worth €14,000! I'll take 2 please!

Because of the rain, we opted to eat and drink our way through Amsterdam. I highly recommend Bierfabriek for it's amazing, delicious, tender, farm bbq chicken and beers, Brouwerij 't IJ microbrewery for the beers and windmill (the last windmill within the city of Amsterdam). We also stopped at Rembrant's Bistro which was pretty good too! I enjoyed my pancakes cooked with bacon and sweet wine!

Despite the rain, the trip overall was fun! It's one that (eventually) will be looked upon in amusement on surviving the miserable, torrential downpours. However, it's the people that make the adventure, and I know some pretty great people!