FUN-travel: Cologne, Germany to Amsterdam, Holland
August 22, 2014 by Susan Clarke
Day 34 – Sunday, August 3 – Cologne, Germany to Amsterdam, Netherlands – full sun – high 70’s
What I LIKE
- 7:30 – Chris gives me last Via – I’m so spoiled
- 8:30 – check out – Hilton Cologne says self parking is 28 Euro
- – but they park it for you at no additional charge
- 9:00 – both navigations work
- Sunday morning & no traffic – blast out of city
Bremen, Germany
- 10:30 – McDonalds’ for toilet & cappuccino w/add shot – not bad
- Only takes 1 min to get ipod to connect to station!
- No tolls on any roads
- 12:15 – arrive Doubletree – great location next to central station
- – drop bags
- 12:45 – head to Hertz downtown – only 20 mins
- *Auto Europe tells where Hertz is & where to get gas
- 1:30 – drop car
- 1:40 – catch tram 2.80 Euro one way (7.50 for 24 hr)
- 2:25 – lunch @ B&B – chain restaurant w/fresh salads & sandwiches
Bremen
- – 1 smoked chicken & 1 tuna fish salad w/2 Heinekens = 27 Euro
- 3:00 – room check in
- 4:20 – internet is free & fast
- MY EMAIL WORKS!
- Room R & R – awaiting arrival of Cinzia (Chris’ half sister) & Fabio her new love
- – so excited to see her again
- 6:45 – go to concierge to call Cinzia
- – no answer – discuss dinner options
- 7:00 – try to call her again – she is standing behind me!
Cologne
- 8:00 – walk to dinner – Noordwest – 8:30 reservation
- – suggested by hotel – 4 glasses sparkling wine on house
- – dorado & pulpo salad – French red wine (forgot my notepad) – 102 Euro
- 11:00 – walk back
What I DON’T LIKE
- 11:15 – traffic @ standstill – 2 lanes to 1 – accident clearing
- Germany has terrible graffiti problem
- *address #’s don’t match across street (silly me for assuming that)
- Should have gotten their flight info to check arrival
Amsterdam
FUN-fact – We have been carrying “good weather karma” since we started this trip. We never had any rain other than a few sprinkles when we were out and about. When it did rain, we were inside.
Major FUN-fact – We will never drive in a foreign country again! We’re done! We had a 5 door, full size, automatic Opal and it was one of the most uncomfortable cars we have ever been in. The VW we drove in Scotland in 2011 was the best and the Ford we just had in Berlin wasn’t bad.
More FF – We love the freedom of having a car but hate the expense of it. We had to pay a 350 Euro drop fee in Amsterdam and as expensive as it was it was cheaper than the train. Unless you buy a Eurail pass and plan on riding it a lot, it just doesn’t pencil out. It’s cheaper to fly these days.
FYI – Enterprise has been the best value for pick up & return same city, same day.
Not so FF – We’ve never had a rental car that had a USB port like our Tundra which makes using the Ipod a whole lot easier.
