EU trip (Scotland), Days 24-31

Touch the Northern Tip of UK

DAY 24

It was a relaxing day, as the visit to the Peak District does not require a long drive. We contemplated where to go and the choices discussed were Liverpool, Blackpool, North Wales etc. but we settled with the closest option to Manchester and that was The Peak District.

With a fascinating historical and cultural heritage, this unique and diverse region is home to some of the country's finest stately homes, enchanting market towns and picturesque villages. (Courtesy http://www.visitpeakdistrict.com/)

Early morning Atif and myself went to drop off the rented car at the airport and as we would be driving Mrs. Atif’s car for the next few days and that was very generous of her. We dropped off the car at Manchester International Airport and then came back to have a breakfast before leaving for our day trip.

We were following Atif’s car so now in his shape we had a running gps and a guide with us. We drove through some nice scenic lush green areas and passed some water streams. Then had a stop at a hiking trail to give children some fun and enjoyment. Weather was really good and the track was covered with forest trees. This was an old train track filled up and converted into a trail. We reached a picturesque stream with a road crossing through a very high bridge over the stream, and to our amazement there was a group practicing rope-climbing up/down from this bridge. It was a good experience to see for the kids. This place was quite damp as it was in the middle of forest with a flowing stream gushing through the rocks. The whole of UK has some medieval kind of a feeling; there are old bridges, old buildings, and thin roads as the horse carriages used them several years ago. A ghostly place, we also saw a mine that has now been closed and is hiding behind the trees and vegetation making it more mysterious. The trek back was quite interesting with a passing quick shower sprinkled us. We reached our car and started towards another direction.

Now our destination was another dam and a lake full of ducks. It was another 30 minutes away and we didn’t even notice the time passing as the road was through nice scenery. It was a small park with a stream passing by deep through the gorge. There were several types of ducks here and great entertainment for the kids as they had been missing their own ducks back home for the last so many days. They fed them and played around with them. Then we walked across the park on a trail that led us to an old dam. It was a serene place and quite open and wide greenery filled landscape. Atif and myself continued for some hike further up in the hills before returning back where everyone else was just enjoying the environment and the fresh air.

Driving back to Manchester took us and hour or so and our chat session started again that continued later into the night before we crashed. Another exciting day was over with loads of memories left with us.

I didn’t mention any names of the places in Peak District as I don’t remember the names of the villages and the places we stopped at.

DAY 25

Atif excused for this day and we were at our own for the whole day. We decided to visit the historic town of Chester close to the North Wales. We reached Chester before noon and visited the whole town on foot. We walked on the walls around the city and through the old market place.

While we were on the wall of the city we saw a number of people going towards one side. Upon inquiry we got to know that there was a famous horse race taking place at Chester that day. So we also followed the crowd and saw some interesting races there. It was a carnival there and so many people visiting from all different areas. It was very lively environment. It was evening when we left Chester after doing some shopping there to reach Manchester in the dark.

DAY 26

The next few days were planned in Scotland and we left Manchester as per our plan early in the morning. The road went through the same hills closer to Lake District before entering into UK’s Switzerland (Scotland) as I would call it. The prettiness mesmerizes in Scotland. We were two vehicles. In one, it was our family and in the other one Atif and his wife. We passed very close to the Windermere Lake and Grasmeere where we were a couple of days back and continued our journey towards Scotland through the green hills. There was a forecast of rain but so far the skies were fine. We entered Scotland and a different feeling hit us as the scenery was hilly but there was some sort of difference that one would be able to experience only once you cross the border into Scotland. We had to cross through Glasgow but as soon as we headed towards the jungles of Scotland the rain started very heavily. It was raining cats and dogs though we continued our journey on a slower pace now. We had left the main highway and were going through the smaller roads to enjoy the trip and the rain even reduced our pace. But as we all love rain and unlike the UK people we were enjoying the rain and the drive.

Atif had a cottage booked in a small village called Cannich, close to Inverness, and that was still far. The drive continued and we crossed through Glasgow, it was a nice city. We drove across and clicked some pictures. The drive continued in a heavy rain on a very small road with Lockness on one side of the road and hills and jungle on the other side. The progress remained slow owing to the bad weather but it was fun. We had passed Fort Augustus where we planned to come in the next day or so to climb Ben Nevis – The tallest mountain in the UK. The weather started to open up soon and gave us a window to click some nice snaps with outstanding scenery of Scotland. It was towards the evening when we reached our last turn towards Cannich about 18 miles away. The cottages were right on the riverbank and these were just like mobile homes in the States but finished with wood from the outside. The three-bedroom cottage with one sitting and dining and a spacious and equipped kitchen was a real treat in this area. There was still moisture in the air and the evening brought a bit of chill with it. We off-loaded the cars and placed the cooking stuff in the refrigerator. We brought food to cook for the next 4 days as in remote areas it was difficult to find Halal meat and then we would have to live on Veges so we stocked enough for these few days. The dinner was served and it was a real treat followed by some excellent Pakistani mangos. We had an evening walk along the river before we sat in the sitting area inside our cottage for a long chat. We slept late to finish the lovely day.

DAY 27

The morning was a bit chilly but the sun was out so it looked like it was going to be a good day. We were going to climb Ben Nevis – the highest peak in the whole of UK. For reaching the base camp we had to drive back to Fort Augustus and then we reached a spot from where there were flying chairs going up and many cyclists were taking their bikes for mountain biking. We soon found out that this was not the Ben Nevis base camp rather it was further up a few kilometers, so we drove off to reach the Ben Nevis base camp in the next 10 minutes. We parked our cars in the big parking lot and set off to climb Ben Nevis. It was a fairly simple trek through the fields for the first 20 minutes and then it really started to climb high. At one stage half of the party returned back and myself, Atif, Sajeel and Iman continued our trek up the mountain. As we progressed we really got tired and cold as the temperature kept dropping and we were not properly equipped for the hike. We forgot to carry enough water and supplies to finish the hike. But we still continued our hike for a couple of hours before stopping and heading back, by then we had climbed well over half the distance and there was not much distance left to complete but due to short of supplies we returned. Before we headed back we clicked some nice shots of the surrounding landscape. It was a beautiful view, but the weather changed so rapidly and it started to rain making it more difficult for us to trek.

The drizzle continued for a while but we still pushed on to reach lower altitude to avoid freezing. By now there were a number of hikers on the trek and we passed all sorts of people, some hiking, some running, some tired and taking rest etc. It was a very nice hike and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. It took us a while to reach back the parking lot, where we laid down our lunch on a table and had a well deserved meal. It was already late afternoon; so after the lunch we visited the tourist shop and left for Fort Augustus high street.

We had a walk through the high street and did some window-shopping, clicked some pictures and drove off. The drive back was fun but we arrived back at our destination at night. We had planned a BBQ for that night so as soon as we arrived we started to prepare for the BBQ. The portable grills that we bought, back at Chester, didn’t work well so we had to half cook the meat before we used the gas oven inside the cottage to cook our meal properly. It definitely took a while for us to cook the meal that day but it was worth the effort as it turned out to be a very delicious meal. Of course, sweat mangoes followed it as a desert. It was a long day after that tiring hike so we hit the hay early as we had another long day ahead of us.

DAY 28

This was the day that we would be touching the northern most tip of the UK i.e. John O’Groats. We got up very early to get ready for the long drive to John O’Groats and loop around the northern tip to come back from the other side. We drove through some nice forested roads and bypassed Inverness to cross a long bridge to reach the northern country. Here the far away feeling was getting prominent as we continued our drive. The waterways came closer to the roads at times and at other times we drove far from the water. We made it to the last house on John O’Groats by afternoon; this was a small hut that has been converted into a pretty little souvenir shop. We had a small walk along the sea and just got to know in time that there was a cruise ride that was leaving in the next one minute. We had such frenzy at this stage requesting the counter to radio the cruise, not to leave us behind. The old lady really helped us and did a lot just to get us on this ride. Finally we managed to get on to the ship. Atif and his wife opted to stay behind, as they were not too keen for this cruise ride.

As soon as we stepped on the ship it left the dock, as it was already a few minutes late for its trip. We climbed up to the deck where soon a gentleman came to us for the tickets, since we didn’t have the tickets we bought them while on the ship. This ride goes around a large and abandoned, old island. This was an amazing ride as it went through many fascinating whirlpools that we had never seen before.  In these two hours on the ship we saw some really nice sceneries and wild life including several types of birds, seals, fish etc. Before, whenever we have done some short cruise trips we always got bored after an hour but this one was the first one in which we enjoyed the whole time. The kids loved it because of the nature and sceneries. We even saw some baby seagulls. It remained a very windy day.

Once we were back, we had a nice little lunch of the chicken tikkas, which we brought with us, on a picnic table right by the sea, but the winds kept blowing at high speeds and making it difficult for us to eat.

After lunch we headed to the Castle of Mey for the loop drive back to Inverness. It was already late afternoon and we still had a long drive back to our cottage beyond Inverness.

We were on the road back to Inverness by early evening. The road was long and the drive was tiring and boring on the way back. We made progress slowly and at night we reached back to our cottage. On the way we also saw a bag piper’s band while driving through Inverness, kids really liked it live. This was our last night in Scotland and we were heading back to Manchester and eventually to Milton Keynes the next morning. So we had a very long drive followed by a train ride the next day. We enjoyed our last evening in Scotland to the max before we slept that night. We had another walk along the river just behind our cottage. This was our way to say goodbye to this beautiful area. We slept tight to get up fresh for the drive back to Manchester the next day.

DAY 29

The drive was a pleasure for the first phase of 200 kms but then it turned back into a regular drive on the highway. We stopped at a few places on the way to click pictures but continued our journey, as we had to catch an evening train back to Milton Keynes. Atif booked tickets for us before we left for Scotland and he didn’t even took the payment from us. His hospitality definitely needs appreciation.

We made it back to Manchester well in time and still had a couple of hours to kill so we took this advantage and had a nice late lunch. This was a very hearty meal and then we went out to a park to kill the rest of the time. Kids got another chance for chasing ducks and birds, they don’t get tired do they?

Mr. and Mrs. Atif had been wonderful hosts and we could not thank them enough for their time and love they extended to us and our children in those few days we stayed with them. Hats off to this wonderful couple, you remain in our prayers.

We reached the train station in time to collect our tickets that were booked online. While Atif collected the tickets we tried figuring out which platform was our train coming at. This was our first intercity travel on train in the UK therefore the kids were really excited despite that they were very tired from the long journey. We were into the 29^th day of our trip already. The train journey was fun and it just took us a couple of hours before we reached our destinations where Waseem was already there to pick us up from the station.

DAY 30 -31

We spent most of the time during our last two days in the UK shopping as we were traveling on the 31st back to the U.A.E. We visited a number of malls and areas. The packing was really crucial as 3 of our main suitcases were filled with the camping stuff that we brought with us. And now we had a number of things to fit in the other three bags. We spent hours packing our stuff and finally the time came to go to the airport that was Gatwick this time around. We left very early in the morning but still couldn’t beat the traffic and got stuck on the famous London highways. We hardly made it to the airport in time for us to catch the plane. We all came into the terminal running with our entire luggage in the fear of missing our flight but finally made it to the plane just in time. The flight back home was all right despite the airhostess made Hassan angry by not giving him the kiddy pack despite several requests. I had to complain with Emirates Air after reaching back and they sent us a cheap teddy bear by post without any apology. This was unlike Emirates Air, which is generally good at service during the flight. Otherwise the flight was on time and we made it home by evening not without a traffic ticket while my cousine driving us home from the airport and did speeding in excitement so add another 100 dollars to the expense. Cheers!

EU trip (Milton Keynes - Manchester), Days 23

DAY – 23 Heading North

We had to reach Manchester by the night; a rental car was booked last night for the travel today. It was 7:30am when we all packed our luggage in Wasim’s van to get dropped off at the car rental office. When we reached the rental company and found out that the car we booked was not available and they finally gave us a smaller car with a difference of two pounds only. It could hardly take the entire luggage we had for the next one-week. I was driving a manual transmission vehicle after several years. It took me a few minutes to get used to the car but we were already on the highway by then.

We left early to have a visit to the Lake District area before heading back to Manchester. M1 was not that crowded as we expected so we covered a good distance quickly. At Birmingham we took the toll road to save some more time. When we bypassed Manchester the scenery became hillier with green pastures and sheep dotted all over grazing over the grass.

Our first stop was Lake Windermere and we were already on M6 going towards it. We reached Windermere after a pleasure drive of 3-4 hours and visited the tourist information center for some brochures. I love the Lake District not only for its greenery and mountains but also for the outdoor shops it has in abundance. You would find a number of hiking, camping things that you don’t find otherwise at other outdoor stores. We had a drive along the lake and parked at one point to have a good walk in the town. Due to summer vacations it was quite busy and we found parking with great difficulty. This lake had several types of birds including the great Swans, Geese, and Ducks etc. Our kids went crazy after these animals especially as these birds are quite domesticated because of so many tourists visiting this place and feeding them with all sorts of stuff. Kids were able to touch the birds and this was the most fun for them and they were not ready to go anywhere else now. Finally they were convinced to have a walk in the town with a promise of stopping here on the way back. This was a very nice little town with streets going up and down with tourist related and other shops. We found some nice things, which are hard to find otherwise so we picked them up immediately. This shopping took a long time to finish and then we came back to the lake. It’s a very nice lake having a cruise service that goes to Amble side and to another stop as well. Lake is about 10 km long and deep enough to transport heavy stuff via small ships. There are mansions of wealthy people of one side and small towns on the other.

We bought fish n chips as snacks and came back to the lake. However children could not eat their fish n chips as a swan attached their food and then all those birds just ate the stuff with pleasure, we all watched them from around. After the fish n chips break, we hopped into our car and started our drive towards Ambleside, which is another small town on the lake with a number of outdoor shops. The drive was on a small road along the lake. It didn’t take us long to reach there and after parking we peeped into different shops and enjoyed the town.

“Although there has been a settlement since pre-Roman times, Ambleside is largely Victorian. A fort beside Borrans Park - named Galava - was built in Ambleside by the Romans, housing some 500 soldiers. It was built to defend the lower fells of South Lakeland from invasion by the Picts and Scots, and to guard the road to the Roman Port at Ravenglass via Hard Knott Pass.”

Coutesy http://www.visitcumbria.com/amb/amble.htm

In England all the towns seem to look alike due to their similar architecture. I don’t think so that there were any great architects born in this part of the world. But despite this all the towns look pretty and the old buildings are really preserved well. Another interesting thing we noticed was the parking ticket. One had to get a parking card from any of the shops and set it at the arrival time on it before putting it on the dashboard. The parking’s are usually for half an hour so the policeman may give you a parking ticket, had he found the time of arrival been more than 30 minutes earlier. It was interesting way of putting parking tickets. The tickets were just like the clocks that we usually use to teach children read time.

By the time we were done roaming around here it was late afternoon and we had one more place to visit in our today’s agenda and that was Grasmere. Its small town on one of the lakes but lush green and very pretty. It was 30 minutes drive away and we enjoyed this drive more than the town itself. It was a short stop in the town before we drove back towards Manchester and had to go through the same route to Ambleside and Windermere to catch the highway. The return drive to Manchester was boring comparatively as it was always on return journeys. We were sleepy and tired.

We had put Atif’s address in the GPS, which was very close to the Manchester Airport so we were cruising towards their place. We reached there without any glitch and knocked at the door to find our friends waiting for us, they couldn’t reach us earlier as our cell phone battery died in the afternoon. After we settled down an amazing dinner was ready and it was the best end to a long day. The night was long with chatting between old friends; there was so much to catch up.

EU trip (England), Days 19-22

DAYS 19 – 22

We did not plan much during these few days and just relaxed and enjoyed around the area. First of all we called our friends Rehman and Samha who happily came to Milton Keynes to spend a couple of days with us. We had a seekh kababs session one evening and ate as much as our stomachs could fill up. Kababs were really delicious specially when we had such kababs after so many days and made them ourselves to our liking.

We visited the malls close by to do some shopping. We also visited the outlet mall Bister Village that offers nice outlet stores selling things at a bit cheaper prices than the regular mall stores.

One day we planned the whole day out to the Woburn Animal Safari. Our kids have grown a tremendous love for animals specially since they started keeping several pets at home therefore this safari tour was a real treat for them. We left early with Waseem to drop him off at his office. After leaving his office we went to the super market to get some stuff for children and some picnic for the day. The day was cloudy and rain was expected today but we had only this day before leaving for Manchester tomorrow so we just went ahead to Woburn and got in the line before its opening. There were about 15 cars ahead of us at the opening of the safari park.

We drove in at the opening time and started our car safari right away. We saw some nice and healthy animals. Giraffes, Zebras, Lions, Tigers, Monkeys to name some. We did the safari really slow as the kids wanted to spend time at each animal enclosure. The beauty of safari is that you are face to face with the animals without having any barrier or cage between you and the nature. The animals really got closer to our car and we all had good time here. Once we completed this round on the car in about 1.5 hours we parked our car to have the foot safari in which we went through tracks going through lush gardens with different kind of animals. As close to the natural habitat has been provided to the White Kangaroos, Squirrel Monkeys and many more. It was real fun when the kids found three squirrel monkeys outside sitting next to the track and they were able to touch them. These were tiny monkey of the size of a hand – very pretty.

After finishing the foot safari we saw a bird show followed by a paddleboat ride in the small lake with ducks and swans around us. There were few very small ducklings with their moms. Rain had started by now; we were lucky to have lunch break during the bird show without rain. After the boat we got in line for the train ride around the park and that’s when the real showers started and lasted until evening. We got off at a station closer to the parking and drove off for another round of the safari to enjoy and see the animals in rain. After completing the circuit we stopped at the big birds show. Although it was raining and we were the only spectators, the lady was nice to display some birds including a falcon and a big owl. As we were the only ones there she let the kids to hold the animals on their hands. One could imagine their joy at this point. It was 5pm and that was the time to pick up Waseem from his office so we said bye to the animals and drove off. One more fun filled exciting day was over once we reached home after picking up Waseem. This day ended with the famous fish n chips from Milton Keynes.

EU trip (Holland & Belgium), Days 18

DAY 18

By today evening we would be in Milton Keynes England from where we started our first leg of the trip. The car was loaded up with all the stuff including our sleeping mats and sleeping bags those we used in our stay in Holland. It was around 8’o clock when we left from our host’s place after very warm good byes.

We came out of the city in no time as it was Saturday and most people were still sleeping. And it was hard to distinguish when we entered Belgium from Holland. Our next stop was Brussels that we planned to stop only for a few hours. Drive to Brussels was about two hours and that we completed without anything important and just watched the scenery around the highways.

First of all after reaching Brussels we stopped at the Mini Europe, which is a major attraction in this city. Mini Europe and Atomium are the two attractions next to each other. Mini EU consisted of all-important buildings of Europe build at miniature size. There was a fee to enter this park. I would rate it as an ordinary place to see, may be I was so tired of this EU trip that I didn’t really got excited about this place and all the more this trip of ours had been more of outdoors and nature dominant and this place was definitely not one fitting into the trip discription.

The Atomium was a large metallic structure that was built for the World Fair in the 1950's. This was made to celebrate the discovery of a certain atom by scientists. These were huge nine metallic balls joined with each other in the shape of an Atom. It was accessible via lifts for viewing of the city from inside the balls.

We spent a couple of hours at these two attractions and then rode towards the main squares of the city. I didn’t hear or read much about this city until I saw it but found this to be very impressive city indeed. The roads were not crowded due to weekend so we found parking very close to the main area in the city. Then off course it was all walk if you would like to see the city including the Grand Place (the main square). There were many small streets leading to the Grand Place. All these streets were full of small shops full of tourist items, eatables, clothing etc. This area was really busy with tourists from all over. We enjoyed this part of the city. In the main square there were several ancient buildings attached to each other. We also had a walk in other areas of the main city.

We had to catch a 6’o clock ferry to Dover from Calais so had to leave early as we were still 1.5 hours from Calais. So we came back to the car and drove in few more areas of the city before catching the highway towards France. The drive was straightforward and we were parked in the line to enter the Ferry with in 1.5 hours. But the Ferry was late and we had to wait for an extra hour for that.

After parking our car in the ship we went up to the deck to enjoy and then settled at one place where they had some children activities. Therefore this time was passed quite nicely as kids got their faces painted with their favorite characters and remained busy with their painting and stuff. We came out at Dover in the evening but still had a good couple of hours drive to Wasim’s place. Roads were familiar so Wasim drove happily and reached his place fairly quickly. We picked up a food order that he placed over the phone on the way. Unloading the car was done after dinner and everyone relaxed after that and was happy to finish the first leg of the trip successfully and collected memories for life.

EU trip (Holland), Days 16-17

DAY 16 and 17 - A Country of Windmills and Canals

Despite we slept almost closer to the morning light, we got up fairly early to explore Amsterdam and around. We were staying in Zaandam area and had no idea at nighttime where it was. Later we found out that it was the main place to see the famous windmills.

Once ready we drove to the city center of Zaandam, which was on the river. It was a nice walk there however we couldn’t find any information center to get some maps and stuff. One travel agent gave us some information but also sent us to the main station Amsterdam for further info. The drive was about 15 minutes through some under construction roads and a lot of zig zags. When we reached our destination it was hard to find the parking but finally we managed to find one but it was quite an expensive one.

We walked to the station for info and received all necessary advise from the young lady along with the direction maps. We decided to go to the fishing and picturesque villages before exploring the main city. Therefore after walking back to the car we drove off to the first place right on the shores of Sea named as Volendam. This was a very beautiful old village sitting right on the shores; the walk in the tourist village was very interesting. There were several shops and restaurants dotted on the Oceanside some having the sea view, selling either eateries or things for the tourists. The arrangements in the stores were very pretty and village like. The stuff that they sell were mostly different types of windmills, famous Dutch shoes models, models of cows etc. The birds here were very friendly and we all played with the little sparrows, seagulls etc. for a long time. There were small houses in the whole village joined together like artificial Lego houses. The designs did not look different from each other but pretty colors used for the finish gave them a unique look. There were canals everywhere in Holland including these small villages on the sea. Boats looked like a major mean of transport here or at least was one of the major means of transport earlier. We really like Volendam and this few hour’s trips was a memorable one.

We left Volendam and drove towards Edam another beautiful village through the smaller roads. It was a green country but in another manner. I couldn’t really compare Switzerland with Holland, as these are two distinct countries with two entirely different landscapes.  The roads other than the highways were really small but maintained.

Most of the area in this country is well below the sea level and how it has survived centuries is because of the system that they have developed to channelize the water.

Edam was also a wonderful village but different from Volendam as it had the big canal dissecting the town and then smaller canals in few streets. It seemed like a village of medieval time. Very quite and elegant but still people living in it. A few shops here and there but with a great décor. We first drove through the streets wherever we could go and then parked our car to have a walking tour that was worth the effort from tired bodies. We saw the old buildings and streets, stroll on the canal banks and enjoyed the fresh air. Luckily today was the sunny day and we could really enjoy the walks, as when we started the day in the morning it was raining but it stopped by noon since when we started walking.

The first infamous round cheeses were exported from Edam to all corners of the world many centuries ago. Traditional cheese markets take place every week during the high season, and the few remaining cheese warehouses keep the memory of this colorful past alive. Edam is a town rich with history, monumental buildings, beautiful squares, shopping streets and outdoor cafés.

It was 5pm and the shops were closing already like rest of the EU. So we drove off to go to Merken another fishing village.

Let me briefly put some more info about these villages. The historic fishing villages of Volendam and Marken are best known for their characteristic wooden houses, water sports, traditional costumes and fresh fish. Tucked away on the coast of the former Zuiderzee (a North Sea inlet), now the IJsselmeer (Lake IJssel), these villages have preserved their character for many centuries. The quaint houses, winding canals and drawbridges create a truly romantic, winsome atmosphere.

These old villages still have life in them and a very well preserved one. These people really respect their assets and in this case their history and the buildings. You could still see centuries old houses in good shape and livable condition. I found people quite simple here.

After Merken we continued driving to another village, which is on the island joined via road. Here we had to park outside the village in designated parking lots for 10 Euros as there were no visitor cars allowed in the village. The gardens here were one the most beautiful ones as we saw in Swiss but here the difference was that they have converted their small gardens into pieces of art by putting so many different kind of plants in a very artistic manner. It was one amazing sight for us. We walked around and enjoyed the village tour thoroughly. Evening was falling in so we started walking back to the car although we wanted to stay here for more time.

We were staying at one of Waseem’s friends from today for the next two nights. So we drove back to their place that was about 45 minutes from here. GPS took us straight to their location and found that they were out for groceries, usually people don’t come in time when they give a particular time but that’s not us, we are always in time, so we had to wait for 30-40 minutes for them to reach back. They were a very nice family of husband and wife with their three children. I sincerely thank them for their hospitality and for having us at their place.

The evening was spent chatting with our hosts and late at night we crashed into our beds. It was a semi camping kind of a thing as we were using our camping mats and sleeping bags on the floor.

We got up in the morning, got ready, had breakfast and left for Amsterdam on a train for which we had bought tickets the day before when we visited the station information center. Today we were planning to cover Amsterdam as much as we could despite being the rainy day. It started to rain early morning and even when we left for the station that was not too far it was still raining. We used our raincoats and continued. Train took 40 minutes to reach the main station right in the heart of the city. We had bought the full day tickets for the buses or trains for today. Rain didn’t stop at all so we came out and started our walk according to the city walking tour guide from one place to another and from one square to another.

Amsterdam was built several years ago as a fishing village and then rose to the level of one of the modern and important cities of the world. Today I see it as a run down city. This city has big networks of canals in a grid system. Must be an elegantly lay out once but now with time and age it is all getting dirty and is breaking down. There was lot of maintenance and construction going on but my views are according to what I saw and felt about the city. It’s a youngster’s city as smoking of even pot and other stuff is allowed here. So it’s a heaven for drinkers and smokers, as I would call it. Another business is thriving in this town is the sex business, as this business is rated as a trade here. We walked quite a bit in rain when we decided to have a break and for that the best thing to do was to hop on to a bus and enjoy the city while drying the cloths, so we did the same. The bus conductor suggested us a couple of places to see and dropped us off at one point where there was a flea market going on. It was pathetic by the way so we had a coffee break instead and used their bathrooms instead of paying euro a person elsewhere, we used this Euro per person towards our cofee.

We came out and started walking when the rain started off again at great pace. We kept walking in different streets, along the canals and crossed several monuments and squares. It was by afternoon when we decided to go back and get the car for further exploration. We had yet to see the famous windmills. The train came right after we entered the station so after 45 minutes we were driving our car and going towards Zaandam where the famous old-fashioned windmills were located.

We stopped just before a bridge where construction was going on and parked our car on the road and walked across. There were several windmills here making beautiful scenery. The houses were along the water and on the other side few more houses and many wind mills. We took a walk in the pretty village along the water and then through the village. There were a couple of small windmills with in the village as well. And no need to mention that there are smaller sized canals everywhere and the birds of so many kinds were in abundance all over Holland. Rain stopped and gave us a chance to explore this village and enjoy the nature. Green pastures looked absolutely amazing with cows grazing in them. On our return we saw the bridge opened up fully to let one ship go under it and that made kids very excited as well because they had not seen this before. Walk to the car took us 10 minutes and then we headed home.