Misadventures and Snow

Ugh.  That is all I have to say.  Okay no not really, but that one word pretty much sums up my feelings this weekend.  A group of us decided to pay a visit to Amsterdam.  Everything would have been great, and in fact, once we got to the city everything was spectacular, it was the getting to the city part that was the problem.

In Köln unsuspecting of the delays
 about to head our way

Everything started out great.  We had all managed to board the train from Bonn to Köln in one piece and even made it to our connection in Köln with minutes to spare.  This is where the trouble began.  Not long after taking off from the station, we were informed that due to unforeseen circumstances, the train would only take us to Münchengladbach, where buses would meet us to take us to Utrecht and there we could catch a train to Amsterdam.  There was no notice of what the problem was, and after confirming with the attendant that we could in fact eventually get to Amsterdam, we decided to press on.  The bus ride took a couple of hours, but it was enjoyable watching the snow-covered scenery flash by the windows.  We got to Utrecht successfully and thought that we would be home free from there.  We were wrong.

Now snow, ice, and cold weather are not uncommon occurrences in the Netherlands.  In fact, every single year there is at least one big freeze.  Apparently also every single year, the entire train system shuts down due to some sort of accident (switches freezing etc.).  Not just one train – every single train in the country.  Every year they claim to have fixed the problem and every year something else goes wrong.  So needless to say the Utrecht train station was packed with people.  The time tables were completely blank and all of the trains were eerily sitting empty at the platforms. We were stuck.

Out in front of the hotel

To cut a long story short, we did manage to find a bus going to Amsterdam, and then caught the train to the central station and walked to our hotel from there.  The four hour trip took us eight hours total.  Ugh.

Sunday things started to look up though!  We managed to visit the Anne Frank House, Rijks Museum, Van Gogh museum (on one person’s part), and explore the city some before having to catch our train back to Bonn.  I had already been to the Netherlands a couple of times before with family, but this time was completely different.  I was old enough to really look at artwork and museums with genuine interest and minimal fidgeting, which is definitely a plus.  Despite the sub-zero weather we managed to stay (relatively) warm and have a good time.  My favorite part by far was visting Vogel Park.  Yes my toes froze, yes my cheeks turned red, and yes it was way too cold outside, but who cares? None of that matters when there is a WHOLE FROZEN POND/CANAL TO SKATE ON!!! :D Yes sir, you heard right, I was skating on naturally frozen water.  I know this isn’t that shocking to those of you up north, but to a born ‘n bred Texan, this is freaking amazing!!!  Sadly I did not have ice skates, but I was perfectly happy to join the other park-goers in walking around on the ice and skating with my shoes. Unfortunately we had to keep moving to stay warm (and I don’t think the guys were quite as fascinated/childishly gleeful as I was while skating) so we soon headed off to explore some more and meet up with the rest of the group.

On the frozen pond

 Soon enough it was time to head back to the station to head home.  Luckily the trains were up and running, and we did not have nearly as many delays getting home, although we were a couple of hours behind schedule.  Apparently another train had broken down and we had to make a detour to pick them up.

All is good though! We made it home safe and sound, if a little tired, although I think I am planning to stay relatively close to Bonn/this area of Germany for a while until I begin to trust that the trains will be on time.

Grateful to be home,
M