bye bye Holland

Yesterday was a blast, we went to cafe Americain and had a nice dinner, and walked around a bit ending up in the Rembrandt square. In Rembrandt square there's a lot of pubs and clubs. We sat in a cozy, small pub which seemed to be filled with locals (dutch people at least). They had some good music, but mostly cooky dutch songs. We tried as best we could to hymn along, to at least give the impression we were Good Party People

Today which was supposed to have a more cultural content with the Anne Frank and van Gogh museums, but unfortunately the weather was rainy. This prompted us to have another long and elaborate breakfast. After we had finished eating we went downtown to buy some cheezy souvenirs before checking out of the hotel and head toward the airport.

It's been a kick-ass trip, with lots of nice things to see, nice driving, nice music, good company and everything I could hope for in a vacation. A shame I couldn't stay on with Victor longer, but alas - I need to go home. Victor has another week of driving through Europe before he ships the car back to LA and continues his vacation in Chania, Greece.

Lucky bastard :-)

Amsterdam

We left Frankfurt around noon, and headed out of town in the general direction of Holland. The weather was nice and we drove once again with the top down getting some sun on our pale skin. Having the wind ruffle your hair and hear the roar of the V8 engine is an experience I won't easily forget.. Neither will Victor. He got the car up to 125 mph. That means 200 km/h for us metric people ;-)

Once again it started raining about half way to Amsterdam, this time while we were still driving with the top down. Even though it was refreshing with some raidrops protecting the interior of the car is essential and hence we put the top back up. After putting the top back up, we switched seats, and I drove the rest of the way to Amsterdam (about 200 km both legs).

Finally in Amsterdam, we checked into our Hotel. After a little rest it was time to go out and check the night-life. We wandered a few blocks from the hotel and found a decent restaurant where we got some nice food and some beers. Not quite sure how many for some strange reason.. Amsterdam is a really nice city with all of its nice canals and small bars and cafés. The night life is really vibrant, but they close at 01, which is unusual for me coming from Norway where the closing time is 03 in the morning. We'll just have to compensate for that tonight :-)

We'll try to do some sights today, but as we got up fairly late today and spent the better part of two hours walking downtown and getting some breakfast, we might have to postpone the cultural aspect of our Amsterdam visit until tomorrow..

Frankfurt

Longer post today, better with one-day summaries ;-)

Touring Munich was a no-go, we got too caught up in driving and quickly headed for Stuttgart. The weather was amazing, we drove with the top down and in T-shirts almost all the way. When we were getting close to Stuttgart, some dark clouds formed on the horizon, providing the cue to stop at the first rest-stop and put up the top. Five minutes after we got back on the road, it started pouring down. Still, we were doing about 90 mph (145 km/h) on the autobahn.

When we arrived in Stuttgart, the weather cleared up significantly, and blue patches started appearing in the sky. From Stuttgart, Victor took a break from driving, and I got a chance to man-handle this beautiful machine... it was all bliss. Although I'm not a big fan of automatic transmission, this was well done. The car is extremely responsive and a true pleasure to drive. The controls are designed around the driver, so everything has it's place and is easy to operate. The HUD is a very nice feature, which means you don't have to take your eyes off the road to see the next exit (GPS input in the HUD), your speed, gas meter, or your cruise control target.

Frankfurt is a very nice city, it has a nice sky-line, and the city is very clean. It actually seems brand spankin' new.. We went to the Adolf Wagner restaurant which specializes in their own apple-wine. The food was very good, but the wine was a bit rancid.Perhaps our palettes aren't used to this traditional brew, but I must admint that I like the German beer better. After the restaurant, we went down town to have a couple of beers. On the way we met two friendly (drunk) guys who wanted to show us the hotspots of Frankfurt. We ended up in a traditional (shady) pub and bought them a couple of beers before heading back. Now we need a good nights sleep, and a good breakfast before hitting the road once more.

Munich

Last night we went to a nearby Bavarian restaurant. They had a very typical Biergarten outside of the restaurant, where we found a table with benches. We ordered Schweinbraten and Schnizeln, which was delicious! Victor loved the German beer, which incidentally spurred a spontaneous burping contest when we were walking back to our Hotel.

After a good nights sleep, and a long and delicious breakfast at the Munich Mariott, we are on our way to Frankfurt, but touring Munich a bit first. The weather in Germany has been very nice so far. Sunny and/or light clouds all the time, and nice temperatures. Today will be roof-down-day, so from this moment on my hair will probably be permanently drawn backwards..

Car picked up

Finally the car is safe in Victor's custody, and we're at the hotel! I have to say... this is a beast of a car!!! 4.7 Litre V8 engine, 367hp, and it's soooooo beautiful. It has a great onboard system with everything you can dream of, GPS navigation, live traffic information, bluetooth integration with your phone, multimedia, cup holder... I could go on and on, but one thing I didn't quite expect - this car has a HUD.. yes, a Heads Up Display showing your speed, your next exit and so on. Victor is totally extatic, and I'm mr. green face, jealousy doesn't even start to describe me :-)

We'll take it easy for a while and get some rest before going out to get something to eat, and introduce Victor to the wonderfulness that is german beer!

Oh, and of course, we'll be driving "harry" around Munich and further up Germany, turning a lot of heads!

In Munich, but poor Victor..

Alright, I've arrived in Munich without a hitch, but poor Victor... after enduring the flight across the pond, his flight from Frankfurt experienced engine troubles and had to turn back. He's arriving in 30 minutes or so which gives me time to enjoy a Dunkel Erdinger and blog about it, much to the envy of my peers who know and love this brew.

On another note, happy 15th birthday WWW!

Copenhagen pit-stop

Brief pit-stop in Copenhagen now. Standing in a smokers area by my gate and contemplating whether I should have a smoke or not.. Ah, the joys of quitting smoking. Doing reasonably well these days, I mostly manage postponing the first cigarette to 2pm. No word from Victor yet, he is probably just getting off the plane in Munich. Now I think I need to find myself a pub to spend the last 30 minutes before my flight in, 10am is a good time to start drinking when you're on vacation..

Vacation commencing

Finally I'm taking two weeks off for vacation!!

I'm leaving for Munich, meeting my friend Victor from Los Angeles. We're driving his new BMW up through Germany, a proper road-trip. On the way through Germany we'll stop a number of places and take in both nice sights & sounds, as well as some nice German beers and food. Will be posting from this trip in the upcoming week, so check back here for travel reports ;-)