April 24, 2024: It's been 6 years since Janet and I have gone on a trip of any length and longer than that since we've traveled outside the USA. Two knee replacements, thumb reconstruction, broken wrist, Covid and Breast Cancer will slow a person down. But Janet felt like it might be a good time, health wise, to venture out again. We opted to do this trip on our own as kind of a shake down to see how we would hold up. And I'm grateful to say, I think that overall, given our age, we did pretty well.
It's been 50 years since we were last in Amsterdam. And that time it was only for a few short hours. There was also something I've been wanting to truly experience in Hamburg, Germany in person. That being Miniatur Wunderland, the largest model train layout in the world. It was started by two brothers in the early 2000's and is now the #1 attraction in Germany. So we thought maybe we could combine the two. So that's what Janet started planning. Spring seemed to be an ideal time, especially in order to see the flowers in the Netherlands. They so beautiful.
We opted for trip/health insurance and I'm glad to say we didn't need it. Though we did both get Covid at some point on the trip. Seemed like a mild cold to me, but Janet tested when we got home and she tested positive and so did I. Hopefully, our imune systems will be able to handle the virus. So far, so good.
We learned that we would be in Amsterdam for King's Day (didn't know what that was) and it turned out being an amazing experience. Absolutely the biggest party I've ever seen. Everyone seemed to have a very good time in a responsible manner.
We were also in Hamburg over another major public holiday, May Day (May 1st) or Labour Day or International Workers' Day. It was just the opposite of King's Day, because the streets were pretty empty. Everyone seemed to just disappear and enjoy the day off on their own time.
All in all, I'd say this trip was a success and gave us hope for future undertakings. And we lucked out on the weather which was very pleasant for the most part.
Below are the videos (just getting started on this process), these can also be found on YouTube.
iPhone movie Trip overview 4/26/2024 (1:06 min)
Walking around Amsterdam 4/26/2024 (2:24 min)
Mouse Mansion Amsterdam 4/26/2024 (4:13 min)
Keukenhof Gardens 4/27/2024 (1:54 min)
King Day in Amsterdam - Part 0 - 4/27/2024 (3:10 min)
King Day in Amsterdam - Part 1 - 4/27/2024 (5:40 min)
King Day in Amsterdam - Part 2 - 4/27/2024 (4:52 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 1 Italy- 4/29/2024 (1:25 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 2 Italy & Venice - 4/29/2024 (3:36 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 3 Switzerland - 4/29/2024 (1:41 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 4 Italy - 4/29/2024 (5:15 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 5 Italy - 4/29/2024 (4:53 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 6 Italy - 4/29/2024 (4:36 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 7 Italy - 4/29/2024 (2:48 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 8 Italy - 4/29/2024 (4:22 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 8b Italy - 4/29/2024 (4:02 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 9 Monoco - 4/29/2024 (5:20 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 9b Monoco - 4/29/2024 (3:45 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 9c Monoco - 4/29/2024 (4:07 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 10 Provence - 4/29/2024 (5:02 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 11 Stadium, Awards, Work & Rest - 4/29/2024 (2:13 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 12 Rio De Janeiro - 4/29/2024 (3:46 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 12b Rio De Janeiro - 4/29/2024 (2:27 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 12c Rio De Janeiro - 4/29/2024 (4:54 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 13 Patagonia & Antartica - 4/29/2024 (4:41 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 13b Patagonia & Antartica - 4/29/2024 (3:00 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 14 Command & Control - 4/29/2024 (2:31 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 15 Austria & Switzerland - 4/29/2024 (4:59 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 15b Switzerland & Bavaria - 4/29/2024 (3:47 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 16 Knuffingen Airport - 4/29/2024 (6:32 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 16b Knuffingen Airport - 4/29/2024 (5:27 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 17 Central Germany & Hamburg - 4/29/2024 (2:32 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 17b Central Germany & Hamburg - 4/29/2024 (4:18 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 18 Scandinavia - 4/29/2024 (2:47 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 18b Scandinavia - 4/29/2024 (2:36 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 19 America - 4/29/2024 (3:11 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 19b America - 4/29/2024 (2:15 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 19c America - 4/29/2024 (2:20 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 20 Knuffingen - 4/29/2024 (6:07 min)
Miniatur Wunderland - Hamburg, Germany - Part 20b Knuffingen - 4/29/2024 (2:08 min)
Hamburg Harbor Boat Tour - Hamburg, Germany - 4/30/2024 (5:45 min)
Hamburg Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour - Hamburg, Germany - 4/30/2024 (2:58 min)
Hamburg Walking Tour - Hamburg, Germany - 5/1/2024 (2:39 min)
Amsterdam Walking Tour - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Vertical 5/2/2024 (5:04 min)
Amsterdam Walking Tour - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Horizontal 5/2/2024 (2:41 min)