The Ibis Budget Hotel Schipol Airport

This is what you get for $240.00 Canadian at the Ibis Hotel.

Saturday, September 14 - Sunday 15 th

Woke up to just a stellar day.  Beautiful blue skies and sunshine. So we spent the day wandering around the town again. It was Market day so that meant lots of people. A cruise ship had also arrived so the town was full.  We took a walk along the water and through the park. Unbeknownst to us there is a lovely sandy beach.  It was pretty busy as well.  Lots of families as well as two weddings on the beach.  We had decided to leave one day early and start heading north to Amsterdam so as not to have    such a long drive on Monday. So we got up on Sunday morning and headed for Ghent where we had visited once before. We took the train from Antwerp to Ghent and had a really nice day there.  So we booked a hotel on the outskirts of Ghent close to the freeway so we could make a quick getaway in the morning. When we got off the freeway in Ghent almost immediately I spotted the

Holiday Inn.  We couldn’t believe how smoothly the day had gone. The area that the hotel was in was called the Loop.  Holiday Inn was wedged in between an IKEA and a huge building called the Expo. So we drove around the Loop about four times following our GPS’s instructions.  By this time the air was blue and we were both sweating with frustration. We did eventually get into the hotel parking lot, check in and then went in search of a restaurant. But seeing as how it was Sunday many places were closed.  So we decided to go back to the hotel and suck it up and pay the big dough for dinner.  Well we had the same darn problem that we had the first time. It sounds impossible but the roads, roundabouts and various exits were so confusing even the GPS gave up. Once again we got back to the hotel. They had a Happy Hour with free apples from six to seven so we thought it was about time we got something for free.  Had a nice time chatting to the bartender (Vasi) who was originally from Sri Lanka.  He has been living in Belgium for 31 years now and it was very interesting talking to him about the EU and all the new immigrants.  Anyway, we finally got to the dining room and ordered a bowl of spaghetti each and shared a bottle of wine.  $95.00 Canadian.  Yikes! And that was the cheapest thing on the menu.
This morning (Monday) we got up to head to Amsterdam.  As expected it took us just over an hour to get on the right freeway going in the right direction.  I thought Ian’s head was going to pop off.  The poor guy. And to top it off he has been suffering for about four days now with his sacroiliac. So sleeping has been tough too. We also ran into roadworks which slowed us down considerably as well.  We wound up getting the car back two hours late.  Luckily they didn’t charge us extra. So now we are tucked into our hotel room looking forward to getting a good night sleep and going home tomorrow. I just can’t express how much we are looking forward to being home.

September 12th, Honfleur

Today we stayed home and just puttered around the place.  Got the laundry done and ran the dishwasher.  I put the dishwasher on eco. It took 2 hours and 45 minutes. I wonder what the sani cycle would take?  The washing machine took 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Apparently it also has a cycle to dry the clothes. We ran that four times . Still not dry.  So everything is spread around the house.  Should be dry before we leave. In the morning while Ian was still sleeping I decided to go for a walk away from the Old Town. I feel I’m getting pretty familiar with the area and so thought I would venture out. So after an hour of walking I figured I was lost.  I was somewhere in the middle of farmland.  So I stopped a truck driver (a driver for the food chain Aldi).  He shrugged his shoulders and pretended not to understand and drove off. He may not speak English but I’m pretty sure he understood when I said “Honfleur?” and pointed to several directions.  Anyway, behind him came an old man and his dog. He couldn’t speak English either but he understood that I was lost and wanted to go to Honfleur.  He offered to drive me.  Now I know that was the wrong thing to do but he looked like Santa Claus and had a really cute dog.  So he drove me right to my corner.  A lovely old man.
In the afternoon we just strolled around Honfleur.  It truly is one of the prettiest places we have ever been.  It rained most of the afternoon so we took refuge in a pub right down by the water.  A cruise ship had come in and dropped off a ton of tourists so the people watching was very interesting. Although I said that it had rained most of the afternoon it was a very soft, fine, warm rain. And even in the rain it was pretty. Later in the afternoon we came home and cleaned up and headed back down the hill to look for a place to have dinner.  The rain had stopped and there was even a bit of sun. We found a little restaurant just a short distance off the waterfront that wasn’t crowded.  As a matter of fact we were the only people in there to begin with.  The food was good and the prices were reasonable.  After dinner we went for another walk around the town.  By now the light was really good for picture taking. Actually couldn’t stop taking pictures.

September 11th Juno Beach

Mix of sun and cloud today.  Showered forecast for later in the day.  Still nice but fall is definitely in the air.  I got out for a nice walk this morning and when I got back Ian was up and looking at the map.    This usually means we are going somewhere.  It’s a bit like the dog when he sees the leash in his masters hand. After our long drive the other day we said the car was not moving until we headed back to Amsterdam but we changed our minds.  We couldn’t drive all the way here and not see Juno Beach. So off we went.  The GPS wouldn’t bring up Juno Beach so we had to find a town that we thought was in the area and go from there.  We were really surprised at how hard it was to find.  Anyway, the town we chose as our destination was Arromanche.  It was a very convoluted drive through fields and farmland.  Very pretty but very narrow roads.  When we arrived in Arromanche we couldn’t believe this beautiful town right on the sea.  There were lots of tourists but it wasn’t overwhelming. I can just imagine what it would be like in high season. So we got the car parked in a lot and started walking.  The beaches are stunningly beautiful.  Miles of soft, white sand.  But looking out at the water and trying to imagine what it must have been like for all those thousands of young men facing German machine guns and trying to take that beach ........well, it’s impossible to imagine. The beach at Arromanche, we think, is actually Omaha Beach, where the Americans landed. So we found a little restaurant and stopped for lunch.  After lunch we were going to go find Juno Beach where our Canadians landed.  It was 14 kilometres further up the beach. So we get back to the car and try to scan our ticket to get out of the parking lot and it doesn’t work. After scratching our heads for a while and wandering around the lot we sound a machine where you are supposed to scan your ticket and pay for it.  Then you go to the exit and scan it again to show that you have paid.  Seems a bit much to me. And of course all the instructions on the machine are in French.  Whatever.........there were two slots in the machine......one for money and one for a credit card.  So Ian mistakenly put the credit card into the money slot.  Oops!  The machine wouldn’t return the card and the button you push for help is a recorded message in French.  Meanwhile a nice young French girl came over to see what our problem was.  She and her partner were having some kind of a problem as well. And she had a phone.  Smart girl.  But when she called the help number it was a recorded message.  And the mailbox was full.  Good system eh?  Anyway, we then paid cash so we could get the car out of the lot.  Ian was prepared to just leave the card in the machine and cancel it.  But this woman suggested we go to the Tourist information to see if they could help.  Well, by the time we found another parking spot, (which we didn’t pay for) and found the Tourist information office,  this lovely young woman had managed to extract our card from the machine and took it to the TI office.  We thought this was too good to be true and figured by the time we got back to our car it would have been towed.  But not this time!  So off we went to Juno Beach where there were way fewer people and no pay parking lots.  Such a sad place. So we walked the beach,  looked at the memorials and took some pictures.

On the way home we stopped at a MacDonald’ to pick up a bite to eat.  Ian was actually excited to be getting a hamburger.  And by this time it was about 7:30.  Now, I don’t know if we have these self service machines in our MacDonald’s at home, but if they do they have lost two customers.  So we tried to order just two hamburgers and two diet cokes.  Shouldn’t be too complicated. And we were able to get English on the machine.  At least for the ordering part.  It switched back to French before completing the order. There were about 8 young people working there and only one came to our assistance.  And he gave us about 15 seconds of his time. So after the second failure we left and found a grocery store.  Cheese and onion sandwich for Ian and store bought salad for me!

Some pictures of Honfleur

Along the waterfront.

September 10th. First full day in Honfleur

So we did get to the Black Forest on Saturday.  We started off on backroads rather than freeway again but we only got to the second village before we ran into streets that were dug up and our gps got all confused.  We gave up and hit the freeway. When we left the freeway we drove through a couple of villages that were really pretty.  Already I can’t remember their names.  Can’t pronounce them either. Anyway, Freiburg was the destination.  Supposedly the nicest city in the Back Forest.  We arrived to the usual crowds of people and crazy traffic.  Parked in an underground parking lot and went off to explore.  It turns out that it was Market Day and was even more crowded than usual.  Ian hated the place.  I loved it except for the crowds of people.  The buildings were like something out of a Hansel and Gretel story.  Tons of shops that I would love to have poked through.  But it was not to be.  Also it was late in the day and we had an hours drive back to Baden Baden.  Our last day in Baden Baden was spent doing laundry and packing for the next move.  Also it was raining.  Something we haven’t seen much of.  Off to Toni’s for a very good Italian dinner and then an early night.
We were up early next morning (for us) , quick breakfast and on the road before 9:00.
We were prepared for and dreading the long drive dodging big trucks and maniac drivers.  So were pleasantly surprised to find quite the opposite.  Not that there wasn’t traffic.....there was but quite normal for us.  We soon discovered why.  We were on toll highways.  Seven tolls altogether that we went through, including over the bridge from LeHavre to Honfleur.  The problem with the tolls was that they are unmanned and ......surprise!  in French.  We were stuck in the first one for quite a while before Ian figured it out.  We only needed to grab a ticket, not make a payment yet.  We were not alone.  We never went through one toll booth where there weren’t at least two or three people stuck in there.  People were trying to back up to use another booth.  You can imagine that not all motorists are helpful.  Anyway, we are e parts now.  The only other glitch was when we came through one of the toll booths and there were armed police there pulling some people over to be questioned and searched.  Of course we were one of them.  They were confused by our Dutch license plates , coming from Germany and we couldn’t speak Dutch, German or French.  When the officer asked Ian where we came from he said “Canada”.  The officer said “surely not today?”  Anyway, they quickly realized we were not terrorists......just dumb Canadians.  Searched our suitcases, wished us a good holiday and then sent us on our way.
We arrived in Honfleur at just after 4:30.  Our host’s representative was not here to meet us.  When finally after 45 minutes ,Jessy arrived, we were getting a little bit ticked.  Apparently she had sent is a message telling us to call her when we arrived.  But we don’t have a phone.  She could not believe it! Anyway, she showed us around our new home.  It’s  called “The Tiny House”.  And for good reason. You can hardly turn around in it.  Supposedly it can accommodate four people.  I’d love to see how they fit four into there.  Anyway, when you go through the front door there is a tablet attached to the wall that controls everything from lights to tv to heat to shutters.  You name it.  So we got a ten minute lesson.  Which we forgot ten minutes after Jessy left of course.  Also, no explanation of what to do when the internet disconnects.  WHICH IT DOES!  So now Jessy won’t reply to us and the owner lives in Paris.  So, by email this morning. Ian spoke to Francois.  He only wants us to be happy.  So he asked us “what would be a good time to do a FaceTime call?”  Ian said “how about 5:00”.  Francois said oh no, that’s not good for me.  I can only make it for 6:30.  So......why did he ask.
So we’ve had a pretty good day so far.  We’ve found a grocery store, a nice pub, had a good walk and taken some good pictures.  They will follow

Still September 6th

Well, that was fun.  Decided to drive to  Heppenheim today.  It’s about an hour and a half drive from Baden Baden.  It’s only an hour and a half drive if there are no accidents or road works.  We were about an hour into our trip when all of a sudden traffic came to a stop.  We were stopped for a good twenty minutes when we had huge emergency vehicles screaming up behind us.  We all had to squeeze to one side or another to let them through.  So we knew it had to be a pretty serious accident. After another twenty five minutes of stopping and going we came to the scene of the accident.  There were four cars and one huge transport truck involved.  The transport trucks windshield was shattered. We don’t know what happened but it was a mess.  Anyway, we finally arrived in Heppenheim.  And what a treat it was.  Like something out of a fairytale.  Winding streets, half timbered houses, cute shops.  They were setting up for some big event for the weekend.  We aren’t sure what but possibly a cycling race or something of the sort.  Good thing we went today and not tomorrow or Sunday.  We had lunch,  walked around, took lots of pictures and I even found a couple of sundresses on sale.  Then we headed home again.  The autobahns here are unbelievable.  They may have worked years ago but they can’t handle the number of cars and trucks anymore.  I have never seen so many trucks in my life.  They have lots of rest areas and you can’t pass one that is not filled with trucks.  I guess they no longer use freight trains to transport goods so it is all handled by trucks.  I would not want to be a truck driver over here.  Or to have to commute for work.  Driving is very stressful.  Anyway, we made it home alive and only have two more long drives left.  We leave here on Monday for Honfleur, France. It’s about a 7 hour drive, barring accidents and road works.  We will be there for one week and then another long drive back to Amsterdam to fly home on the 17th.  It feels as if we have been away forever but now the time is flying.  We both agree that this is probably our last trip to Europe.  It’s been fun but too many people, cars, trucks and bicycles.  Hopefully the Black Forest tomorrow.

Just a P.S.

Also forgot to mention that after I went to bed the other night Ian continued playing around on my IPad.  We think he may have joined Facebook!  What a hoot!

Thursday, September 5th

We’ve had a day of rest......sort of.  The other evening we decided to video call people on messenger. Ian was amazed!  Oh, the technology. So we started with Karen Schick.  Was she surprised?  Yes, she was.  Had a few laughs with her..as always.  Next was my son Cam.  It was good talking to him.  He’s a busy boy these days working on his house.  We spent over an hour with him.  Then on to Craig and Judy.  Caught up on family news with them. Then we tried Georgina, Kathy Cutting, Jason Tycho and David Tycho.  None of them were receiving. David Tycho actually thought he was being hacked so he closed his account, changed passwords and did whatever he thought was necessary so thwart the hackers.  Sorry David.  Did I mention that we were sampling some lovely white wines during this time? So that’s why we had a day of rest.  It was all fun though. One thing that was really good was that we found a huge grocery store just 2 kilometres down the back street from us.  So I think I’ll shop ahead for France just in case I can’t find a grocery store when we arrive.  I also read that most of their stores are closed on Sundays and some even on Mondays.  So groceries and wine will be stockpiled.
Now.....today is Friday the 6th of September.  Happy Birthday to our dear friend Basil!
We are going to take a drive today and explore some of the small villages near to us. Also want to get to see the Black Forest.
P.S.  forgot to mention that the other day we thought it would be nice to go to a beach seeing as how it was a beautiful 27 degrees.  So Ian googled beaches near us.  They were all in France and the nearest one was only 16 kilometres away.  So off we went.  Bummer.......the beach was closed!  But we did find an outlet mall just like they have in the States.  So all was not lost.

Tuesday, September 3rd. First full day in Baden Baden

They say here that this place is so good that they had to name it twice.  And we would have to agree with that.  Sun is shining again and the temperatures reached 26 degrees.  It’s a more comfortable 26 than in Amsterdam or Antwerp or anywhere in the Netherlands because the climate here is drier.  So we had a lovely day just wandering the streets of Old Town and through a beautiful park.  It was just nice to be walking on soft green grass for a change.  We have put on plenty of miles walking on cobblestones and cement. The one thing here, that is so far hard to find, is a decent grocery store.  There is a couple of pricey markets close to us and one Asian market that is pretty good.  But there are a lot of things that are hard to find. We did eventually find the spices that I was looking for and some herbs.  Of which fresh basil was one.  You can only get it fresh here by buying the whole plant. When I told the clerk that we were travelling she said that she could cut the basil leaves for me.  Great says I........I only need a few branches.  Oh no says she.  She has to cut all the branches.  How much will that be I ask.  Well the same as buying the whole plant.  So I have a lovely basil plant.  That will, by the way , come to France with me! When we got home Ian googled “where to find a grocery store near us” and found an Aldi only four kilometres away. So off we went.  We have shopped in Aldi lots of times in Britain and they are pretty good.  We both agreed that it was the worst grocery store we have ever been in.  Selection was poor and everything was so mixed up it was hard to find. No such thing as an Asian isle.  Anyway in the end we got enough groceries to put together a curry.  (Ian’s specialty). It only took about four stores.  So tomorrow we are going to search for a “real” grocery store and just do some more exploring.  Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer.
We needed the assistance of our hostess Susan again this evening as we could not figure out the can opener.  Turns out neither could she.  So she brought us a new one.  She is unbelievable.  She has told us to call her whenever we want all our towels or sheets washed.  Or anything else we need.  I would recommend this Air bob to anyone.