September 28, 2025

The next day was the group tour at the Anne Frank house. Quite sobering to learn of the impact on this poor family and the millions like them. To walk through the secret hidden bookcase and up the stairs to their hiding place was dramatic. The tiny size of the rooms that the family of 4 and their 4 friends hid in for 2 years was crazy. Ironic with the current antisemitism pervasive in many parts of the world. Walked quite a bit throughout the city, canals and neighborhoods.  Dinner at Poke bowl restaurant before taking the train back.  There are many small sized cars that are not quite as big as our F350 quad cab with 8 foot bed :). Perhaps the $8 per gallon gas is a factor? 

Our final day in Amsterdam was a guided tour of the windmills in Zaanse Schans. These are 350 - 400 year old windmills relocated there along a canal.  Some were still working windmills (sawmill, paint pigment mill) while other retired mills previously crushed wheat, seeds and other commodities. Additionally, we had a demonstration of making traditional Dutch wooden clogs as well as cheese making.  The previous generations carved clogs from hand and those skilled craftsmen would spend 4 hours per pair. Now with modern woodworking machinery it takes a mere 5 minutes. The cheese demonstration of making Gouda cheese where it was invented (actually pronounced Houda - as the man made fun of how us Americans pronounce it) was followed with cheese tastings of 10 different types (from goat, sheep, and cows). Many different flavors both smoked and regular - Yum. Saw many Dutch tulips but didn't speculate on their pricing :). 

Zwolle, Netherlands (August 17 - 20)

We took a 1.5 hour train to Dana's nephew Jack and his kind wife Erin's house. We stayed 3 nights and had fantastic guided tours from Jack.  He picked us up at the train station where we mounted bikes and rode to their fantastic home. Erin is an expat working for an international pharmaceutical company on a 3 year assignment. Zwolle is a wonderful town full of awesome architecture and a cute city center surrounded by man made canals to protect in from invaders back in the middle century. The best tour was by rented canoe as we paddled leisurely for 90 minutes around the city. Other highlights included biking the city, a gluttonous sushi dinner in a former cathedral, church tower climb, 10 mile run with Jack and track night sprints with his running club, as well as kicking back with an ice cream treat on the old city wall.  Very cool town and many thanks to our wonderful hosts. 

Ghent, Belgium (August 20 - 22)

After a 3.5 hour train ride and missing our connecting train (turned in a 5 hour journey), we were back to an old stomping ground in the city of Ghent where Jim stayed many times while working for his Belgian (Barco) employer of 8 years. It's a wonderful university town in the Flemish region of Belgium with a great town square and awesome architecture. In the middle ages it was a large wealthy town as it was the center of a two river confluence. We enjoyed a good fish dinner in the town square.  Then we met with an old work colleague of Jim's (Bas van Heek) for drinks and catching up for a few hours - great to see him. 

We took a 2.5 hour walking tour of the city with a guide and logged 6 miles that day. After the tour we experienced a very cool VR (Virtual Reality) all about a famous painting (Mystic Lamb) that was stolen twice in its history - the second time recovered by American troops from the Nazi's in the Austrian salt caves. The VR gave a great history and explanation of all the amazing parts of the painting. Also briefly checked out the castle in town from the 1400's. 

We went out for Frites (French fries) based on a recommendation - we ordered a size medium to share between us as we were warned that they are large.  Didn't imagine it would be as big as picture.  Ended up being our lunch for the day (real healthy choice:)). Hotel room was the smallest Jim has ever stayed at in all his work travels, but did the trick for just sleeping. Great morning hotel breakfasts. 

Paris, France (August 22 - 28)

Had a fun action packed 6 days in Paris. A whirlwind of touristy activities and exploring the city on our own.  Hotel was decent and had a kitchenette so we could make our own food at times, which we prefer. It was a bit out in the suburbs, but the subway and train system were great and a breeze to use (thanks Google maps). 

After arriving at the hotel we decided to immediately do our grocery shopping for the week.  Aldi market was only 1 mile away so we emptied our big backpacks and off we went. While only a mile, the 45 degree sloped street felt like we were climbing a mountain:). The following morning we were off to the Palace of Versailles after a quick 2 train subway trip. The size of the palace (1100 rooms) and the gardens (2,000 acres) was absolutely ridiculous.  No wonder Louis the 16th a Marie Antoinette were killed during the French Revolution.  Fascinating how someone could live in that opulence in everyday life. 

Other site seeing and activities included Notre Dame Cathedral (still exterior renovation going on after the 2019 fire), a Seine River cruise, of course a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower, Lourve Museum, checking out the Arc de Triomphe and walking the Champs-Elysees, enjoying some good French food and logging numerous walking miles. One of the highlights of our trip was getting together with our "French Son", Guillaume Bichon who lived with us for 3 summers in Sacramento 20 years ago. The first summer was as a foreign exchange program and we liked him so much that he stayed with us the next 2 summers. We had great French food at a place he took us to on a private roof top terrace, then had a guided walking tour together of Moulin Rouge and the Montmartre part of Paris with the artist community.  What an awesome time in France. Jim is getting used to Sherpa duties of carrying his backpacks and Dana's big pack. Dana has started call Jim "Tenzing" - sir Edmond Hillary's trusted guide climbing Everest.

Munich, Germany (August 28 - 31)

After a 5 hour train ride from Paris to Munich, we arrived late enough that we were happy to get to bed immediately. After using the hotel gym for a quick workout and eating at their breakfast buffet, we were off to explore the old town of Munich and grabbed a light rail train for a short hop. We had a 3 hour guided walking tour by a very knowledgeable local that gave us incredible insight into the history, customs and food scene. We saw the famous Glockenspiel in city center, the original Hofbrauhas - one of the many beer halls where the Nazi regime was born, numerous churches, a palace, the beer garden where the upcoming Octoberfest happens and a large food market. 

Unfortunately being a vegetarian that doesn't drink alcohol was not a good fit in Munich.  Most restaurant had a limited food choices of either meat, meat wrapped in another meat, and many side orders of meat dishes. All to be washed down with lots of local beers. Luckily we found some non-German restaurants to eat. After a very busy Friday, we used Saturday to recover from all the activities over the last couple weeks and just chilled out on a cloudy day. We ran through the old 1972 Olympic park area. We had breakfast in the hotel with a British couple (John and Julie) that are ex-pats living in Cypress. Very interesting conversations and we spent hours together each morning. 

Munich was probably our least favorite city. There was not much in the way of architecture and we wouldn't put that on our of list of places to go back to visit. 

Salzburg, Austria (Aug 31 - Sept 3)

Very short 90 minute train ride to Salzburg.  Incredible weather and a quick 1/2 mile walk to our hotel.  Checking into the hotel was a bit of a challenge. There are no employees on site. You must download their app to your phone after joining their wifi network. Not sure what you do if you don't own a smart phone.  Tried helping a much older German couple as they were tech averse, but gave up as their phone and app was all in German. Eventually we got into our room after about 45 minutes.  Decent place with small kitchen. That first night we were abruptly woken up by the fire alarm at 11 pm.  I grabbed our passports and laptop while we quickly dressed to get outside. A hundred guest were outside on the sidewalk in various states of dress. Their fire department took their time and arrived 45 minutes later. Turns out someone in the kitchen of the restaurant attached to the hotel accidentally unplugged something. Everyone went back to their room - good times.

The next day we went on the "Sound of Music" tour.  Filming for the 1960's musical was done throughout this beautiful town. The tour bus was full of fans from around the world.  We didn't realize the impact this musical had with fans from Asia, Latin America and elsewhere. We visited a church that was used for its inside where Captain VonTropp and Maria were married.  The abbey in town is from the year 714 is still in good condition. We went to the house on the lake, saw the gazebo, and drove to many other filming locations.  On the drive up to the Alps Mountains the tour guide led the 60 person bus on many of the musical's songs and everyone sang along. There are a lot of inaccuracies from the musical story to what happened in real life. For example the real Captain Von Tropp (age 47) and Maria (age 22) were married 10 years before WWII.

The Salzach river in the center of town provided a great place to walk, site see and take morning runs. The running/bike path reminded us of the American River Parkway in Sacramento. It's a relatively small city of 150,000 that is dominated by tourists in the summer months. Dana walked past the home where Wolfgang Ameddus Mozart was born. We really enjoyed our time in Salzburg.

Budapest, Hungary (Sept 3 - 9)

It was lengthy 5 hour train ride to Budapest. Upon arrival, it became clear that finding English speakers was a bit of a challenge. It took us a half hour to find someone and figure out how to access and use local transportation. But once we figured it out, transportation was great as we only paid $15 each for the week and it allowed us to travel by tram, subway or bus anywhere we wanted to go. 

We stayed in a loft style apartment in the heart of the old Jewish section of downtown on the Pest side of the Danube River. Great apartment with decent kitchen and a washing machine to do our laundry (no dryer, so we hung our clothing all over the apartment to dry clothes out). The loft with the bed above the kitchen had a low ceiling, so we had to duck when upstairs to avoid smacking our heads. The location was ideal in that we were central in the heart of the city. 

The first day we paid for the Hop On/Hop Off bus pass with an audio tour guide.  It is a great way to see the whole city and learn all the place to spend more time.  We visited all over both the Buda side and the Pest side of the city. Sitting on the upper deck of the open roofed bus provided amazing views. We discovered the longest rubberized running track in the world (3.2miles) dedicated only to runners on Margaret Island.

We signed up for a running race 2 months prior to our visit as a training run.  Jim ran the half marathon and Dana the 10k (6.2 miles). Jim's start time for the 13 mile race was at 8 am while it was still somewhat cool. The course throughout the city was spectacular. He crossed the Danube River 3 times as well as running on Margaret Island for a few miles. He ran his expected time of 1 hour, 35 minutes so as not to tire out prior to the Berlin Marathon in 2 weeks.  Dana had a different experience!  Unfortunately her race didn't start until noon and the weather was very hot. The heat severely impacted her and she got heat exhaustion. She also fell down on the race course after trying to get water for her hat.  Jim finally found her 45 minutes after her finish in the medical tent and 3 IV bags later. A scary situation and proof that heat is difficult to run in.

Budapest is an amazing city with incredible architecture and incredible sites.  We had a river cruise on the Danube to take it all in.  We also went the Castle on the Buda side and saw the "changing of the guards", went into a few art galleries and snagged a gelato treat. Highly recommend visiting this city as it was relatively unscathed by WWII. 

Krakow, Poland (Sept 9 - 12)

Very long 9 hour train ride with lots of card games and an audiobook.  Exhausted by the time we got there. Back packed a short 1 mile walk from the train station to our apartment.  The location of the apartment was awesome as it was in the heart of the city. That evening we explored the main square, bought some groceries and enjoyed the great weather. 

The following morning we had a walking tour of the city with a guide and it brought to life history and struggles during WWII as well as the post war Soviet occupation. That afternoon we were fortunate to meet up with our friends Andrew and Ivana to walk around the city and grab a tasty Indian food dinner. Jim worked with Andrew for 8 years and we've gotten together with them socially many times when they lived in Folsom. They retired back to their native Poland a few years ago.  Great perspective from them added to our tours on living behind the iron curtain before they escaped to Canada at age 21. 

We scheduled a tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp for the next morning. The tour was scheduled for 9 am and would last all day.  The night before they informed us the would pick us up at 4 am - WTF?  They wouldn't explain why, so we cancelled the tour and booked with another tour operator for a very early 6 am tour - but after booking, they informed us they would need to pick us up at 3 am with no explanation of why. So we cancelled that one as well and were just very disappointed with not being able to see that historical site. Instead, Jim scheduled a tour of Oskar Schindler's factory (think Schindler's List movie) and it was very good.  We also toured the Jewish ghetto and got perspective of life of the former 70,000 Jewish residents (now 150 in the city). Very sobering and sad to realize how humans can treat each other. Finally we got extensive perspective on life during the Soviet occupation. The cities apartments were crumbling since they were assigned and individuals didn't own them.  Getting on the "Dreaded List" for repairs for leaking roofs and problems was a multi-year test of patience to residents.

Krakow was a very nice town, wish we spent more time there.  We would definitely recommend. We were there when the Russians flew into Polish air space with drones in the fight with Ukraine.  Definitely triggered the community and brought back many feelings during Soviet occupation.

Prague, Czech Republic (Sept 12 - 16)

What a beautiful city on the Vltava River running through the city. This city was untouched during WWII and the architecture and vibe is sensational. Some of the buildings from the 9th century make it so special.  Our studio apartment was in the heart of the city and a few hundred meters to the main city square with the Astronomical Clock and church. We found an amazing large city park on a hill above the city with incredible views for our morning runs. They had a tennis academy there for the competitive kids  playing on 10 clay courts, there was also a skateboarding/scooter area where there were tons of kids showing their tricks. 

We did another guided walking tour of the Castle where the previous kings lived, saw the Changing of the Guards, checked out where the commoners lived in tiny houses with short doors to service the royals.  We also visited the John Lennon tribute wall with graffiti everywhere - neat to see.

Berlin, Germany (Sept 16 - 24)

Only a 5 hour train ride to Berlin.  As usual, it was relaxing and interesting to watch the scenery outside. Berlin is not as amazing to see since 90% of it was destroyed during WWII. However, the history and monuments are pretty cool to explore. Our apartment on the 5th floor (luckily with a working elevator) was great and had everything we needed.  Grocery stores were convenient as were the restaurants nearby. The trains and subways were simple to navigate and very convenient to take us where we wanted to go. 

Again we did the Hop On/Hop Off bus tour to get an overview of the entire city. Below is the remnants of the Berlin wall and the Brandenburg Gate. 

Below is a picture where Hitler's bunker used to be, it is now a parking lot. There is no marking or acknowledgement of him (as there shouldn't be). The middle picture is the remains of the old train station where they loaded Jewish people into cars to send East to concentration camps. The picture on the right below is a memorial to the Jewish victims from the war.  There was an amazing museum underground the memorial that put things into perspective of what the Final Solution meant and the results with stories of personal tragedy. 

We did a decent walking tour that overviewed both the WWII history as well as rule by the Soviets post war. Below is the original Check Point Charlie that separated East/West Berlin. A tribute to classic Soviet "Lada" automobile.  Good news: these cars were given to any East Berliner that wanted one, Bad News: there was a 9 year waiting list. Good News: they were easy to fix yourself, Bad News: they broke down frequently:).

And finally, the Berlin Marathon.  As the fastest course amongst the majors, Jim's expectations were high especially after running a decent half marathon in Budapest. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate.  Ideal race temperature is around 55 degrees. At start time it was 71 degrees and rose to 81 at finish time. The weather definitely impacted his performance as he finished the worst of the 10 marathon's he has completed at a miserable 3:49.  The goal was sub 3:15 going into the race. The medical tents were full with people from heat exhaustion. Jim has never seen that many runners on the side of the road laying down, others screaming in pain from muscle cramps, and too many to count that were being carried off the course. He felt lucky just to survive and finish as he thought about quitting many times. The water stands were a mess as people were using the water to pour on their heads and body as well as drink.  Jim didn't see it, but a guy on the subway ride back home another runner said they saw 2 people getting chest compressions for heart attacks.  Yikes.  Still an amazing experience to run through Brandenburg Gate to the finish line.  The crowds were electric and it was packed throughout the 26 mile course as as they cheered on the 55,000 runners. Tough but glad to complete. Dana ran a 5k the day before and ran slower than expected due to heavy traffic (10,000 runners) from slower runners on the course. We stayed after to watch people on rollerblades doing a marathon (very cool to see). 

Wrap up

Successful 6 week trip overseas.  Saw amazing sites, met many friends/family and new people. Missed our dog. The Euro Rail system was great and the local cities public transportation was fantastic. We are happy to be home.  We pulled our RV and truck out of storage and are heading back on the road now.  Special thanks to Dana's sister Kelly and her husband Tim for taking care of our dog Gracie while we traveled.  They even took her camping to Lake Michigan in their classic 1947 RV so she wouldn't miss it:).  We are heading to Northern Indiana to get our RV repaired at the manufacturers before getting back to full time travel.