Heading South to Switzerland

FRIDAY, 11 JULY 2014 SEAHOUSES TO NEWCASTLE

Did our final packing and clean up at Seahouses and got to Newcastle about lunchtime.  Left our luggage at the Hotel and returned the car to the Hertz depot in Newcastle. We were lucky that a man who knew what he was doing was on duty. There had been an odd entry in the account and when we got there the Newcastle computer system was down. The man we dealt with rang the accounts section in Middlesex and talked the person on the other end of the line through the issue. 

That gave the Newcastle man the information he needed to explain it to Brian. He could not understand why it had happened the way it did, but Brian and he agreed that the end result was okay. Brian of course went on to me about the new way that business is conducted these days - my response was that he sounds like my parents when the world around them was changing - but of course that is no answer or consolation to Brian.

After checking into the hotel we had lunch at a little coffee shop, then I had some retail therapy while Brian went walking around the river. Met up in time for a drink and back to he Hotel for dinner.

SATURDAY, 12 JULY 2014. NEWCASTLE TO AMSTERDAM

Had breakfast at a small cafe near the hotel. Walked around for a while in the city and then down along the river before retreating to the Wetherspoons Hotel on the river bank where we discovered the woo woo cocktails. Got a shady spot - it was not as a Queensland summer - and started a game of scrabble. At 2.45 we caught the double decker bus to the North Shields port to board the ferry for Amsterdam. Everything went smoothly. Found our cabin, settled in and went on a tour of discovery. There were some very nice lounges and we spent most of our time in the Commodore lounge. Had a booking for the buffet dinner which was the usual smorgasbord, but okay, then finished the scrabble game. Brian is happy about it again - he has won the last three games. It has been a long time coming though! 

Transfer from the ferry to the bus went smoothly and we arrived at Amsterdam Central Station about 11.00. The owner of the B&B had given us the tram no. But with our heavy cases and the crowds of people, we decided to take a taxi. The response of the driver was that it was not worth us taking a taxi as it was not far to walk. It was actually quite a long way but we have done more uncomfortable walks with luggage so it wasn't too bad. I think the driver didn't like the look of our cases. They are heavier than we usually have with us. Brian had the notebook in his which makes it even heavier.

We had arrived before check in time, but we stored the bags at the house, were given the entrance code for the front door and headed off for a beer. We couldn't get over how busy Amsterdam is now. It is nearly 20 years since we were there last. Brian puts it down to the sex and drugs that are so freely available there. 

Our room was delightful. In the photo it is the one at the top of the house with the flowers on the balcony. It covered the whole floor with a giant bed - we've found that you get either a double bed or what we would call the equivalent of two three quarter singles pushed together to form something I think is slightly wider than our king sized beds. It has a large shower in a good sized bathroom which is very modern with a square washbasin, and two armchairs plus a dining room table and four chairs. There were no cooking facilities, but we bought antipasto and wine so we were very comfortable. 

The only intimidating thing was the entrance stairway. It goes almost straight up and is even worse than the stairs at Danielle Cox's house! Breakfast was served in the room below ours and Martjin (Martin) the owner told us that he looked after the flowers on the bridge as well as the ones on his balcony. The local authority help out by providing the pots, but he has to pay for and look after the flowers.

 












The two tiny creatures huddle together at the top of the stairs are Martin's miniature Pinzer dogs.


MONDAY 13 JULY 2014


 After the usual continental breakfast prepared by Martjin we headed of to the Rijks Museum. Last time we were in Amsterdam it was closed for a huge make over. It is now a much larger building and most of the Rembrandts etc. that we could not see then are now on display. It is a truly impressive collection and the new parts of the building are very modern. They are still working on the gardens which can be viewed through huge windows at the lower level. 

We had a bit of a discussion about some of the labels. One of my pet hates with art galleries is that they are very elitist in their approach to the general public. Usually you get the name of the artist, the material used, and the date the institution collected it and whether that institution purchased it or whether it was donated. If donated, the name of the donor is added. 

The objective of other museums is to help to educate the visitors about the items in the collection and to put them in some historical, or social context. One of my favourite art exhibitions that did this was one I saw about 4 years ago at the Queensland Gallery. The exhibition was the work of two artists who were married. Fox was the main painter and very famous for some of his works, his wife, named Carrick was more of an impressionist, and when he died she ensured that his work was appreciated and displayed. What I liked most was that the curators had gone to the trouble to explain the different approach each took to their work and also gave social context information about where the paintings were created and in general the lives of the two people involved. At the Rijks Museum at the moment they have an exhibition entitled Art is Therapy. The two curators who created it want to provoke the visitor into "rethinking some crucial assumptions about what a visit to the museum is for." I found their labels provocative and interesting. Brian found them patronising. I know that most of the designers and curators I worked with would have hated the labels. They are typed on plain bright yellow paper and are stuck on in a temporary fashion under some fantastic and famous works of art. One Museum Director I know would have said that the content is too didactic and the designers I worked with would be horrified. They would describe the as "post it notes". I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when the exhibition was being discussed!

Some of the issues raised were how do we distinguish good painting? Is it only because someone else has decided that it is good. Why can't we just enjoy looking at the painting and enjoying it for what it is rather than because someone else has said it is good. What does looking at a painting tell you about the time when it was created e.g. Middle class paintings of poor peasants etc. 


I only took a couple of photos in the Museum - one of a statue of St Ursula for Therese because that was the name of the secondary school she went to. Saint Urusla's College, Kingsgrove (SUCKS) to the students. 

The label reads :

St Ursula and her maidens. According to the legend Princess Ursula and her retinue of 11,000 women were murdered by Huns near Cologne. This statue depicts her as a well to do woman dressed in the latest fashion of the Renaissance. Some of her companions seek protection under her cloak.

TUESDAY 14 JULY 2014.  AMSTERDAM TO BERN

Packed everything again.  Left our cases at the house and Martin arranged for a taxi to come to pick us up at 7.30 pm.  We went to Vondel Park where there is a community art exhibition.  We didn't understand them all, but they appear to be about the environment.  Vondel Park is a large park and very popular for walking and riding bicycles.  So we wandered and took lots of photos.  Then went looking for somewhere for lunch, then pack to the park where we played Scrabble until it was time to get back to pick up the bags.

 

Tulip Island where you can have high tea.

Only Two Stars Dianne you'll have to improve

 















 














There are lots of parking stations for bicycles
 in Amsterdam. 


Everything went smoothly with the transfer from the house to the railway station, but it was a bit of a shock when we got onto the train to discover how small the space was.  We thought that we could store our bags in the bicycle compartment but the guard said that was not a good idea as during the night the staff on the train changed and they could remove them.  With a bit of fiddling around we managed to put one case under the bed and stack the other under the wash basin.  The train left at 8.30 pm so there was not a lot of daylight left, so we ended up going to bed fairly early.  Brian had the top bunk.  We were awake about 5.00 and the guard bought us breakfast at 6.00, then we arrived in Basel at 6.45 am.

 This was the first shop window we saw at Basle Railway Station.  Eat your heart out all you chocaholics.









Had coffee at the station, got some money from the ATM, and when the Railway information office opened at 8.00 am, we activated our Swiss Rail card and waited for the train to Bern.  The Swiss trains are always on time apparently and once you understand the system they are easy to follow.  Ours are second class tickets, but they have signs on the platform which tell you where the first and second class carriages will be when the train pulls into the platform.  I seem to remember that there was a similar system in Germany when we were there.

Arrived in Bern around lunch time, and walked to the Hotel National - it was about 15 mins walk but by the time we arrived in Bern summer had arrived with a vengence.  It was 30 degrees and very very humid, and at the time of writing it has remained pretty much the same.

As check in time was around three, we left our luggage at the hotel and explored the old town of Bern.  It looked to us to be about the same size as Canberra - appropriate as they are both the capital cities in their respective countries.  We had a look at the Parliamentary building but didn't go inside, and just did the tourist thing for most of the time we were there.

 Walked around the botanic gardens, but were not impressed.  However, it was interesting to see that they have a section devoted to Australian and New Zealand plants. 


 

 Aare River, with old Bern in background.  The National Hotel.  Our room was on the top floor which I seem to have cut off in the photo, but it had a balcony without flowers.

THURSDAY 16 JULY, 2014.

Caught the tram out to Gurten following the recommendation of one of the owners of the Hotel.  Were astounded when we got there because there were hundreds of young people around the bottom of the funicular railway that is reportedly the fastest in Europe.  They had signs saying they wanted tickets, and we thought that the railway must have been a really big attraction, but it turned out that there is a Rock Festival being held there at the weekend.  We looked way out of place with all the youngsters carrying their camping gear.  The organisation looked pretty good and I took a few photos of things that appealled to me.






Your next car Therese?

   

 The Sleeping Zone, and the Minibar was giving out apple juice.



 

The Hotel at the top of the funicular, and the funicular from the deck.


 FRIDAY 17 JULY 2014.  BERN TO WILDERSWIL VIA INTERLAKEN.

Another easy transfer.  Tram to the station, and caught the train to Interlaken.  Switzerland is really beautiful and as you can see from the photos we arrived to beautiful blue skies and sunshine even it it does feel as though we are in the middle of a Queensland summer!  At Interlaken Station we caught a bus to Wilderswil, rang Fritz and he picked us up at the bus stop and brought us to the lovely chalet he and his wife own in this small village at the foot of the Swiss Alps.  From our front balcony we can look up to the Eiger Mountain - absolutely fantastic.

 From our balcony, and on a walk down to the village.