Week 10 - Germany and The Netherlands

Week nine got sent early, so this is actually the end of that week and start of the next. Thursday we went to Osterburg Castle, just a couple bus stops away in Groothusen. The castle is a private residence and the museum was closed, so we just walked around the grounds and went to the cafe. It was a pretty day, and we enjoyed our walk in the woods, since pretty much everything else around here is open fields 

We had lunch at the cafe, but missed the bus back and walked rather than wait for the next one. It's not that far, but we hadn't brought the wagon and I was really proud of the kids for walking without complaining, since that's not something they're used to.

Little C woke up sick with a stomach bug early Friday morning so we didn't do anything that day. Big C left for Brussels that evening to meet up with a friend. He gets back Monday. 

Saturday little C was fine so we walked into Campen to a museum of agriculture. Two barns full of antique farm equipment were obviously right up J, little C, and S's alley. For some reason S later insisted that it wasn't fun, but he was pretty engaged at the time.

See the thatching still on the roof underneath the clay tile? 

That was a short trip, so J and I had the afternoon to work on planning future stops and work out some Airbnb glitches. 

Sunday was a rainy stay home day.

Monday J, the two little boys and I went to Greetsiel for a boat ride. We actually met big C getting off the bus as we were getting on. It worked out well for us to be gone all day so he could rest after being on buses and trains all night. It was a beautiful day and a fun trip — at least I thought so. S said it wasn't fun. Hmmm, I see a pattern emerging here. Actually, I think he's homesick. He's my kid who likes routine, so this is all harder for him than the others. 

One thing I noticed while waiting for the boat was how many kids, including toddlers, were allowed to walk on the harbor wall. This was about two feet wide and only four feet from the sidewalk on one side, but about twenty feet down straight into the water on the other side. In the states I usually feel like I'm the least hovering of the parents I see in any public setting. In Europe I'm practically a helicopter mom! 

The boat ride went through Leyhörn nature preserve and through the Greetsiel sea lock.

We circled around a couple of the Wadden (Frisian) Islands, Memmert which is a bird sanctuary, and Borkum which is populated, but also has seals which were fun to watch. We actually got even closer than we were able to on the Farne Island tour.

Tuesday we went to Bourtange Fortress across the border in the Netherlands. This was one of the best day trips we've done from here. We found the Dutch people to be very friendly and proficient in English, so getting around was easier than up here. I wish we had actually booked a stay there, but their COVID levels were pretty high when we were in the planning stages. We've since realized that planning around COVID is a losing proposition because levels change too much on the time that passes between being able to book something remotely affordable and the time we actually get there. We take precautions everywhere, but as long as borders are open we might as well at least try to go wherever we want. But of course, that's all something we only realized after traveling, and this stop in Germany is the last we booked from Ohio before setting off. I'm not sorry we booked it either, but might have added a few more places had we known what we know now.

Anyway, back to Bourtange. It was built in the 1500s during the Eighty Years War to prevent the Spanish from gaining control of the only road through a marsh separating Holland from Germany. It's star shaped with embankments and moats, and now a little village is in the center. It's a beautiful place and the kids loved it. There are a few different museums, a church, a synagogue, and a windmill that you can go in, but the kids mostly enjoyed running up and down the embankments.

And again, we found sheep. I think we've made friends with at least one sheep in every country we've visited so far.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent packing, organizing and beginning research for possible stops in Africa. 

Friday we left the apartment and took the train to Bremen. The trip itself was easy and our hotel is right by the station. Still, we have so much luggage that just getting into the room was a bit of a production. We got it done though, and then took another short train ride to the home of some relatives we had never met before. The gentleman is a doctor and when I had asked him to recommend a clinic where we could get flu shots he simply offered to give them to us. Naturally, the kids don't love shots, but shots followed by cake and an opportunity to play on a trampoline are not nearly so bad. And J and I are relieved to have everyone protected from the flu. Dr. Felix, his wife Ingrid, and daughter Tine are lovely people and we enjoyed our visit. 

On their recommendation, after taking the train back to the city center we took a short walk to the market hall for supper. There were many food stalls so everyone got what he liked best and it was warm enough to eat outside with the backdrop of historical buildings. Big C stayed out a bit, but J, the little boys and I headed back to the hotel and bed. 

Saturday we did some errands in Bremen, including getting new sneakers for the little boys. Finding English speaking people in the city was easy, so our previous difficulty was just due to being in a very rural area. I'm glad we had the experience. Bremen is a very pretty town. We enjoyed doing our errands on foot and seeing the city. We found a park to relax for a while by the canal. It was a beautiful fall day. I'm glad we're going to Spain, because we really didn't pack a lot of warm clothes since they're so bulky, but it does seem we're leaving just as the leaves are turning.

We went back to the market hall for lunch, and really got to see the historic buildings in the daylight this time.

Here's tired Sean waiting for lunch. After lunch we went back to the hotel to collect our mound of luggage and ferried it back to the train station to catch a train to Hamburg. Because we liked Breman so much we're not going to see much more of Hamburg than what we saw in the taxi from the train station to the hotel which is near the airport. We're all settled in and tired so we're just ordering some supper and then heading to the airport early tomorrow morning. Germany was a good experience, but it's time to trade the North Sea for the Mediterranean.