Spring Break in Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam

Driving to Frankfurt from Amsterdam, we spotted a castle from the Autobahn. We decided to stop and stretch our legs. The little town was adorable and it was free to look around the grounds. The garden outside was quaint and it overlooked a river valley for stunning views. A great pit stop on a road trip in Germany!

The Frankfurt Zoo was cute but fairly unremarkable. They had your run of the mill aquarium and reptile house along with the typical lions, tigers, and bears. They did feature a neat little "shrub maze" that entertained us. The admission was cheap so it wasn't a total waste, but this is definitely an activity for the kids--and there were lots of them there.

We weren't really sure where to stay in Hamburg, so we took advice from a local and stayed at the Novotel. We had to stay somewhere affordable since we were on a tight budget and I think this room ran us around 80 E a night for a two bedded room. The room was clean and comfortable with good TV stations. The bar downstairs was open late and was quiet and cozy. The front desk was very knowledgeable and helpful to us concerning bus schedules and restaurants open around town--and the Novotel was within blocks of the bus system. One night we just hung out at the hot tub downstairs. They even had a tanning bed. We had such a nice experience there, we stayed in Novotels for the remainder of our journeys throughout Germany.

I could have spent all afternoon in this museum. While it is primarily dedicated to housing the major works of Vincent Van Gogh that are not at the other big museums, it also contains special exhibits as well as other famous artists from the Netherlands and Germany. It is situated on a beautiful park near lots of cafes to treat yourself after you've been on your feet for hours admiring truly amazing art.

Apparently if you've been out partying on Saturday night, the fun doesn't have to stop. Sunday morning at the Hamburg Fischmarkt there is a warehouse with tons of stuff for sale including beer, coffee, and delicious greasy food like fish and chips. They have a band play dance music and people keep the party going straight through Sunday afternoon. Also, there is an actual market along the riverfront in case you actually need to buy fresh fish, fruits, produce, or clothes. An absolute treat for the jet-lagged tourist who is hungry for dinner at 6am on Sunday morning.

We woke up early to take pictures of the skyscrapers of Frankfurt when the city wasn't busy. I found a store that sold gummy bears and bought about 3 pounds of them...German gummy bears are truly delicious. We crossed a footbridge over to the other side of the river. When we got there, we descended upon a huge flea marked that extended down the entire riverfront. It was mainly a bunch of junk. Turned out we were on Museum row. I went to Das Studel--Kirschner, Bocklin, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet, Rousseau, Giacometti, Emil Eck, Cezanne, and Degas...very cool art museum. We took the train to the zoo. Basically your run-of-the-mill zoo, but still cool to see in another country. There was a labyrinth with shoulder-height bushes so we all went in. Near the end, this little German girl started waving us on behind her to show us the exit--though it wasn't that hard because we could see over the bushes. We ate lunch at a little Spanish cafe across from the zoo.

We got to Koln by car. It is very confusing to read directions on German maps because they just have names of exits, but not whether you are supposed to take it or which direction to take it in. However, the trip to the chocolate factory made us feel better. Or, more accurately, the trip to the chocolate factory gift shop where we bought chocolate and marzipan delights of many shapes and flavors. Then we went to the largest church in Germany. It was about eight stories high on the inside. It was typical Gothic architecture, and combined with the large number of bodies interred inside, the church was very dark and ominous. After visiting, we ate doners at Doner King.

We rode the train into the heart of Amsterdam's central station from our Novotel. The plan was to start from there and work our way back to the city. We found Dam Square, home of Madame Toussaud and the Neove Kerk. We also went into de Bujenben Department store because an advertisement outside said "If you don't come inside, you haven't been to Amsterdam." I really like the houses in Amsterdam. The people here are pretty nice (but not as nice as the people in Hamburg). The city seems to be built on nothing, it just rises from the water. It's just a big bunch of concentric circles (which makes it very difficult to get around). Everybody rides bikes here. Between the bikes, trolleys, and streetcars, it was very difficult to get around on foot as a tourist. We found the old Kerk and meditated inside of it for a while. We randomly found an art exhibit at this place called "Arti et Amicitiae." It was stuff by a guy called Hellenius and it was a bunch of patterns and shade gradients and naked female figures. I like it. At the Van Gogh museum there was a special exhibit featuring Dante Gabriel Rosetti--I liked his pictures of Venus. We saw all the famous works of Van Gogh with the exception of Starry Night. They also had works by Monet, Bernard, and Pissaro. After the museum, we got kabob for dinner and sat at the "Small Talk Pub" and had some port before turning in for the night back at the Novotel.

We got up really early and ventured out into the 30 degree weather and six inch deep snow to see the Hamburg Fischmarkt. Some nice ladies out at 5am on a Sunday morning told us which bus to take to get there. It was so cold, and just when we were about to leave, I found a nice hat for sale for 5 E. This compelled me to stick it out in the weather. We stumbled upon a big warehouse where there was food and an 80s cover band called "Touch Down" playing. We got some delicious fish and chips and then danced to the music. We toured the city and looked at all the statues situated along the water. We stumbled upon an old cathedral that had been partly destroyed in World War II. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant called "Pappa Razzi." It was very quaint. We then set out to see the Reeperbahn to hit the bars. Among the strip clubs, we found a little bar that was quiet to take in a Ramazzolata and some "Kleiner Feigling." Overall an eventful and exciting journey.