Quick Post

Jim, Wanda, Jay and I just returned from a fabulous trip to the Netherlands. Spent five days there and two days traveling. I'll post more details in the next couple of days. For now we are just trying to catch up on some rest and get everything put back together from being gone. I took so many pictures I don't know if  I'll ever get through editing them. Thankfully they are digital and I don't have to pay to have them all developed and then discover 1/2 of them are not any good. I played with the camera settings some to try and get some night shots. I don't think I got any "wow" shots but I figure if I keep at it I'll get better with composition. I think I'll post several times about this trip dividing into different segments since I have so much to say one post might get way too long. I will say if you ever get the opportunity to travel outside the US do so - it will truly open your eyes. Fortunately, we traveled to a country that welcomes Americans and most everyone spoke English well enough for us to understand them and fortunately they could understand "Sumter County" English.  US currency is very weak compared to the Euro, it cost us about $1.60 for every 1 Euro. We learned how to get around the area pretty rapidly and the currency is very similar to ours. They use more coins than we do but they were easy: 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent; 1 euro; 2 euro; and then paper currency at 5,10, 20, and 50 euro. If an item totaled 1.98 they just rounded to 2 so there was no need for 1 cent. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and helpful. There is a natural beauty about the country but not what is considered classic beauty. The buildings are ancient and the architecture awesome. Everything is built multi-story because the land area is small. Buildings generally touch and most having common walls and this will go all the way down a block. A lot of the buildings are leaning or slumping in the  middle and at first you are not sure what you are seeing is true. Main transportation in the city of Amsterdam is by bicycle. The large parking lots are for bicycles and at Central Station there was a multi level parking area just packed with bicycles. Parents have seats on the front and back of the bike and for the little ones who can't sit up on their own there is a long basket on the front. This basket is also used to carry goods and is used as a delivery type vehicle. The cars are smaller and the streets are extremely narrow and only one way - there is no way two cars can pass on any street. The bicycles have the right of way (or take it) and no one goes slow on either bicycles, mopeds, cars or on foot. Their mass transit system is very well organized and we used the tram to get around most of the time. On one of our trips a bicycle rider ran into our tram. The driver stopped and talked with the person (no one was injured) and then just drove off. Seemed like a pretty routine event for both parties. It was definitely interesting. The other major form of transporation is walking. I was talking to a security guard and commented on the bicycles, he said most Americans are in awe of the number of bicycles. I think it is because we don't walk or bike anywhere. We get upset if we can't find a parking place just outside the front door of a store. Now the people over there that drive cars and trucks do drive on the sidewalk - can't help it because the streets are so narrow. An individual must very diligently watch for wheeled vehicles or be run over - they don't stop or yield to a pedestrian.

Enough for now - another installment to follow.