Netherlands to Germany

   Up and out to the bus by 8:30 this morning.  First we met our handsome driver Rene.  He also lives in the Netherlands.  Oh, and we are to call our vehicle a "coach" not a "bus" as it is very nice, has leather seats, and all sorts of comforts.  They even stock the little fridge with sodas, water, and beer that we can purchase for E$1.00.  Since I bought a bottle of Lipton green tea with lemon today and it cost about E$3.00 you can see this is a great bargain for us. 

   Our first and really only stop for today was Keukenhof.  This we did instead of the open air museum  because these wonderful gardens are only open for a few weeks in the Spring and it would be be a shame to miss such an event.  It was a beautiful stop and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  After entering we were on our own to see what we chose to see and return to the bus by noon.  We saw so many beautiful flowers, it is hard to describe.  Facts about Keukenhof:  Has won prizes as Europe's most valued attraction, famous throughout the world, has had 44 million visitors in the last 60 years (60K in one day last weekend), 100 varities of tulips, 15 kilometers of foot paths, 7 millions bulbs planted by hand, and more facts as well but I won't list them all.  I am glad it was not crowded when we visited. 

   From there we began our journey to Germany.  We were to be in the bus 7 hours today but by law the driver must take 2 half hour breaks during this time so we did also and it made the time go pretty fast.  Fortunately, it did not begin to rain before we left Keukenhof, but unfortunately it rained most of the way to our hotel in Bacharach.  We drove on the Autobahn and the drive was nice.  We made our two stops at rest areas that have so much to offer.  One thing, we must always pay E.20 to E.50 to use the toilets.  That is just how it is done in Europe.  The restrooms are clean and nice so one really does not mind.  We arrived about 6:30pm to the Hotel Kranenturm.  The building is a 700 year old castle, renovated into a hotel.  Thankfully we have a room on the 2nd floor (it would be the 3rd floor in the US as they call the 1st the "ground" floor).  We have a fantastic view of the Rhine River right out our window.   The view is briefly interrupted by the trains passing by quite frequently, but we don't believe it is a problem.  I am glad we are not on the fourth or fifth floor!  Remember, we carry our own luggage.  The weather was too poor to take a photo of our hotel but I took a photo of a painting of it in our room. 

   We were served dinner at the hotel; cream of asparagus soup to start, entree consisted of chicken  breast, white asparagus, and potatoes, dessert was a scoop of apple strudel ice cream.  All very filling, delicious, and very German. Our wine tonight was a delicious Riesling made right here in Bacharach.   Roelinka tried to teach us a song after dinner so we can sing it in a few days at  a beer hall in Munich.  We didn't sound too good.  We did have a nice day despite the rain and time on the bus.  Tomorrow is to be a strenuous  day of walking, so it was nice to have this rather quiet day.

Beautiful tulips: