Our first full day in Amsterdam was spent exploring. We followed two walking tour routes, one an architectural tour of old buildings in the hotel’s neighborhood, and the other of the nine streets shopping area. The nine streets area has loads of small boutiques of all types of art, antiques, music, clothes, and accessories. We decided to window shop only and come back the next day if there was anything we couldn’t get out of our heads, and stopped for a bite to eat before heading back to the room for the night. 
On Wednesday morning, Terry decided that new boots were in order. Our friend Rosi was coming to Amsterdam to take us on the next leg of our journey, and we planned to meet at our hotel at 3:00. We found ourselves still shopping about a mile away at that time, so while Terry finished the purchase Ray took off at a fast pace to the hotel and got all turned around in the winding canalside streets … Terry actually made it back first, but it wasn’t too long until the three of us were together sharing a fine afternoon exploring the town and visiting over a couple beers. We ended the evening with a stroll through the streets in Amsterdam’s famous Red Light District – quite a spectacle! From there, Rosi took a taxi back to her hotel and we walked back to ours.
The next morning Rosi got stuck in traffic coming to pick us up – the heart of Amsterdam is less car friendly than any place we have ever been – so we left the city about 2 hours later than planned. On our way out of town we made a required stop at the Amsterdam Harley-Davidson dealership for a few souvenirs, and then headed through the Nederland countryside to visit with two of Ray’s aunts. Tanta Stein, who lives in Lichtenvoorde, took us to the family gravesite and fed us a wonderful home-cooked meal before we left. Tanta Rienie, who Ray had not seen since he was 3 years old, welcomed us into her home in Enchede where we visited over coffee with Rosi translating. Luckily Rienie speaks fluent German as we speak no Dutch and she speaks very little English!
From Echede it was a long, long drive in the dark and driving rain to Rosi’s home in Bimbach, Germany – and the autobahn was closed in a couple of places so the GPS in her car took us on a wild goose chase to find detours. Not sure where we would have ended up if that little computer was not onboard ... Rosi’s husband Lothar had fallen asleep waiting for us, yet was happy to sit and share a beer and conversation at 2:00 in the morning after we arrived. It was a good thing we could all sleep in the next morning!
Friday was our first full day in Germany, spent mostly sitting in our hosts’ kitchen visiting with friends and family who stopped by. This place is a real deja-vu experience for Ray, as Rosi and her family live in the same house that Ray lived in when he was stationed in Germany 32 years ago. Rosi’s parents Klaus and Lisa live on the main level, and Rosi, Lothar and their son Christopher (21) live on the upper two levels where there used to be three apartments. They have remodeled the middle floor over the years, and are just finishing an expansion of the top level where Christopher will have a bedroom suite and Lothar will have an office. Rosi’s sister Marion lives just 3 blocks up the hill with her husband Elmar and their two daughters, Annalisa (12) and Teresa (8).
Friday night we all went out for schnitzel at Tratzhof, a local guest house that was a barn for 300 years before it was converted 60 years ago. One thing we have noticed is that in Europe they do not tear down old buildings to develop something new, they adapt it or restore it or add onto it. Due to this practice, there is so much character in the homes and many business buildings, especially in the smaller towns and villages. Talk about sustainable building! Anyway – after dinner, Ray and Elmar (who would probably end up getting into trouble together if they lived in the same town) went to a party at the home of the head of the local H.O.G. (Harley Owner’s Group) chapter. He had a great time, and even ran into a few people he knew from back in the 70’s! What a small world we live in …
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