Summer 2019 - Long Summer Days and Urban Life in Netherlands and Germany
 

Following our journey to Hong Kong and Singapore, in late April, we returned to the USA, first to Scottsdale to begin to write and create webpages for our Asia Adventure. Making sense of all that we had experienced there required research, rather intense thought and much consultation together.

After Scottsdale, we moved to Albuquerque for doctor consultations and visits with friends, and to continue work on the Asia Adventure. Next, on to Iowa for a lovely two weeks of delving into our family histories and meeting up with family at the best Family Reunion ever!

The Nomads then returned to Europe for the thirteenth summer and found the long summer days and urban life just as delightful and charming as always!

Den Haag (The Hague)
We began with a stay in Den Haag (The Hague), a city where we had lived for a month back in 2010.
Click here to read our story of that visit (opens in a new window))

Arriving by train , we quickly realized that many of the avant guard towers that had been under construction, were now completed, but looking around we discovered that even more were now in process. A return to the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis revealed that the elegant building and the artworks were just as marvelous as we recalled!

Delft and Lisse
A day trip took us to Delft, another city where we lived in 2010. We enjoyed views of the newly completed modern City Hall, with it's now underground Railway Station. Nearby the historic former railway station stood as grand as ever.

A visit to Lisse, home of the Keukenhof Gardens and also Susan's cousins offered yet another delightful family reunion to our travels!

Leiden
From Den Haag, we traveled to Leiden, with a detour to Haarlem for a day with our friend, Dave. We stayed a week in a very Dutch small hotel a bit beyond the city centre. Our main mission was to relax a bit and work on writing and correspondence.

Of course, historic Leiden lured us out to explore. In Pieterskerk the memorial tablets offer fascinating glimpses of Leiden's leading citizens, including pilgrims from England that later went to America. We also visited the just reopened Lakenhal, the former cloth hall, now filled with an incrediible collection of art.

This city is also home to Leiden University, which has been a source of notable Dutch citizens for hundreds of years. Its campus includes historic and contemporary architecture as well as the Hortus Botanicus, an enchanting place for strolls and essential botanical research.

On to Hamburg, Germany
After Leiden, we traveled by bus from Netherlands to Altona near Hamburg in Germany. We enjoyed hanging out with our good friend, Gabor, and savoring urban living. We included visits to the expansive gardens and green houses of Planten un Blomen, and the amazing model railway of Miniatur Wunderland.

Nuremberg
A comfy train ride then took us across Germany to Nuremberg, where we stayed for three weeks. The museums, churches, and the Kaiserburg fortress of this Free Imperial City has expanded our knowledge, appreciation and awareness of the architectural and artistic, cultural, political and spiritual history of the Holy Roman Empire and this region of Germany . . .

The Nazi Party Rally Grounds where we explored the ruins and remains of the megalomaniac construction projects of the Nazi Party, and the Documentation Centre where the story of the Nazi Party Rallies that were held here from 1933-38 expanded our understanding of Hitler's power and the roots of Tyranny.

Click here to view our Flickr Album of many more pictures of Nuremberg.

Wurzburg
After our stay in Nuremberg, we headed west to Wurzburg. Along the way, fields of grain and sunflowers gave way to hillsides with rows of vines climbing straight up them. We were in wine country now! Here, the city suffered total destruction by Allied bombs on March 16, 1945, including many historic medieval buildings. Reconstruction began right after the end of the war and today the city's great churches and the Residenz, one of Germany's great baroque palaces, have been restored with love and care. We visited and marveled, then contemplated their beauty sitting in a sidewalk cafe that offered generous glasses of the local wine for our further enjoyment.

Bamberg
Back in beer country, this charming city sits in a valley along the river Regnitz, surrounded by hills, overlooked by the grand Altenburg fortress. Never bombed, the city maintains a feeling of authenticity with many buildings that, while displaying the patina of age, retain their grace and beauty. During our short stay, we explored the Altstadt with its historic Town Hall on a tiny island in the middle of the rive, watched barges and cruise boats plying the Rhine-Danube Canal that passes right by, visited the Dom, the great cathedral of the city.

We Head Home
As July came to an end, so did our summer in Europe. We returned to Schiphol by train and flew back to Home Base Albuquerque to contemplate all that we experienced. More stories will follow so check back soon!

Click here to return to our 'Searching the World for People Friendly Cities' page