Hello fellow travelers,
Friday, in Amsterdam, we did so little because we were just so darn tired. I did manage to mail more stuff home. I learned at the post office that it didn't matter if I sent 2 kilos, 5 kilos, or 10 kilos; it would cost the same. My stuff came to about 5 1/2 kilos, so I went to the cheese shop next door and bought a big old hunk of cheese to send. I forgot to claim cheese on the customs form, but I did claim clothes. When the box arrives in the US some poor customs agent is going to get that box, smell some stinky cheese, and wonder why someone would mail such stinky clothes across the world.
We were going to Our Lord in the Attic church, which is near a bunch of head shops... er I mean coffee shops, but I didn't go in. You get to decide if I went to the red light district or not.
After a visit to a park we returned to the house and I fell asleep around midnight. I set my clock to go off at 7:00 AM, the problem was that was EASTERN STANDARD TIME!!! I woke up on my own at 7:30 and started running around like a crazy person, "HANNAH get up!! We're going to miss our train!!" Our host Marta ended up driving us to the ferry station and we made it on time.
Saturday was European Make Diana Cry Day. It started when the German train crew were an hour late arriving and our train arrived in Hannover Germany an hour late; a half hour AFTER our next train departed. They dropped us off and said, "Good bye and thank you,"or rather, "Auf wiedersehn und danke schoen."
I stepped off the train, looked around, found some police, and tried unsuccessfully to hold back my tears. I had no idea where I was going and how I was going to get there. They helped me, and sent me in the right direction.
I learned that the next train was full so they could not give us exact seats. After my fiasco on our way to Harwich I was not willing to leave my luggage, so we sat on the floor for five hours. Then onto the next train in Basel (rhymes with dazzle, and Hannah likes to call it Basel Dazzle) where we accidentally sat in first class until someone came and made us move. I dropped my heavy luggage on my toe which made me shout in pain. I dropped it again on my toe which made me curse out in pain. An hour later we were in Zurich. We stepped off the train, I saw my friend Simone, ran to her arms, cried and cried, and wouldn't let her go. For those of you who know me well, believe me when say that was only one of a few hugs I've ever really needed, and boy did I need it.
We hiked what I call a mountain, and Simone calls a hill yesterday, went to two old churches, and swam in Lake Zurich yesterday. More to come, I promise.
Her wonderful daughters are with me in Starbucks, waiting patiently for me to finish this email. We are staying with Simone for a few days and she doesn't have wi-fi, so my internet usage is limited. I tried to send photos with this, but it just didn't happen. We will be moving to a bed and breakfast soon, where there is wi-fi. I promise to send photos.
