(Story 11) Bullfrog's (AKA Gordy Snyder) really great world tour.  Spain, Germany and The Netherlands
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Over the Pyrenees Mountains to reach Bilbao, Spain

Right.
Luggage claim area of the Bilbao airport.
A "Spartan room" at the Hotel Andrea, Derio, Spain compared to
others that I've stayed in.

 

 

 

 

Right. The Faro de Machichaco lighthouse is high above the waters of
the Atlantic.  I had to walk through heavy underbrush and "stickers" to get
a picture with the ocean in the background.
The graceful, flowing lines of the Bilbao airport. Somewhere,
there's a package that I misplaced.

Right.
Exterior of the Bilbao airport.
Landing in Frankfort, Germany.

Right.
Dramatic cloud formations.

 
Landing in Hamburg, Germany.

 

 

 

 

 

Right.
Guys are lucky; we can have target practice while performing essential duties.
The hat makes its final appearance for this trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right.
Modern bridge over the Elbe River

 
Warehouses from the 1800s along the docks of Hamburg are being
renovated into modern apartments and condominiums.

Description below in green.
Hamburg is a thriving port for both commercial and pleasure boaters. The Elbe River flows north for 80 km before reaching the ocean.  While standing on the wharf, several huge, I mean huge, container vessels and numerous pleasure boats passed by.

In Hamburg, you must insert a 1 Euro coin into the slot to
release the chain which allows taking the lorry. Return it and get your
money back. People leave the carts; others gather and return then,
pocketing the money for themselves. Leave it to the Germans.

 

Right.
The baggage handler gives a look into the luggage compartment of
the small, prop plane. I watched as my suitcases were loaded.
 
Interesting land-canal patterns as we approach Amsterdam.

Right.
Flower warehouses.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we're about to land.

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Taking the picture of the plane as a "shadow" changed the perspective.
Amsterdam Schiphol airport is also a major railway station.

Right.
The rental car I used Friday and Saturday, a Mercedes.
The Holiday Inn, IJmuiden (the "J" is silent) earns my vote for the best water temperature controls for taking showers the entire trip.  The water volume is controlled on the left and the temperature on the right. Great engineering.
The view from Room 301 of the Holiday Inn.

The 670-foot long Seven Seas Voyager sailing out of Nassau made a 180 degree turn-around in the basin of the harbor of IJmuiden and reversed into the dock.
The A22 tunnel under the Noordzeekannal.
Wind generators are found throughout Holland.

Right.
Rather than 4-way, come-to-a-complete-stop intersections, the
Dutch prefer round-abouts.
A 27 km long dike commects Noord-Holland with Fryslan. Numerous joggers and bicyclers were seen along the wide, paved footpath alongside the roadway.

 
A lovely place to own a boat on a canal in Harlingen.
Trains are a popular way to travel between cities in Holland.

 

 

 

 

 

Right.
In its former life, this was a working lighthouse in Harlingen. It's now a hotel for a maximum of two people. I was also told that it is booked solid for over a year; the rate is listed at 239 Euros per night, and you cook your own breakfast.

 
Happy cows give good milk.

 

Description below in green.
Get off the main roads; go through large and small villages, roads that are wide and those that have just barely enough space for 2 cars to pass. Ones that are in open country and those that go through tightly spaced trees. Once you get the hang of the road signs and highway numbering, it's easy to get around.

Yes, there are working windmills in Holland. I did not, however, see anyone wearing wooden shoes.

Description below in green.
 In a few hours I'll be back at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport for the flight home. For those who are interested in statistics, in 60 days I've been in 13 countries, 2 of those - Kenya and Sudan - just passing through, taken 29 airplane flights and stayed in 33 different hotels. It's been a wonderful experience.

Street cars operate throughout Amsterdam.


Right.
A long, uncrowded corridor in the Amsterdam airport leads to the
plane.
An interesting pattern was made by the gangways used for boarding
passengers.

 



 

 
Over New Foundland at 36,000 feet; about 3 hours remaining until landing at Washington, DC.
Security at Dullas International Airport included a dog trained to locate "contraband" in luggage. The puppy "found" a banana in my carry-on bag. I ate the fruit during the flight yet the scent remained.
Slow and inefficient people-movers transport passengers between terminals at Dullas. A subway system is under construction.

Right.
Description below in green.
Dullas was, without a doubt, the worst airport the entire trip.
The "connecting-flight" Terminal G was over-crowded and hot, flights were late or cancelled, and passengers were asked to give up seats because of "over sold" conditions. Passengers who missed flights said that it took upwards of 1-1/2 hours to clear through security. I had about 1-1/2 hours between flights; I was to meet my brother, Harvey, in the main terminal.
The guards told me not to do it, that I would never get back in time for the flight to Pittsburgh. I remarked to a pilot that the architects should go to China or Malaysia to see how to design an airport.





Scally's driving range just outside the eastern boundary of
Pittsburgh International Airport.

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