Europe 2018 - August 8 - Portland to Sweet Home

Wednesday - August 8
"What time zone are we in", said our bodies. All of us were awake by 4 am so we decided to pack up and leave right after breakfast. The hotel breakfast crew did not show up at 6:00 as scheduled, so we checked out instead and left for downtown at 6:15. It was already 68F and the sun was rising.

It was a quiet ride through the neighborhoods at that hour.

We joined the early commuters on the bridge over the Willamette River.

We had a lovely breakfast at Lovejoy Bakery, so we were glad the hotel breakfast did not work out. We were blocked by construction one block from the train station and had to take a detour. This was a fitting event since this happened to us so many times in Europe too. 

We had about an hour wait for our train.

It is so nice that we didn't have to box the bikes for our ride on the Amtrak Cascades.

Red Lion Inn at Portland Airport to Portland Amtrak Train Station

We arrived in Albany on time and were packed and ready to roll by 11:45. It was supposed to get to the mid 90's later in the day so we decided to forego lunch until we got to Lebanon.

All these fancy turkeys were strutting around Lebanon, new arrivals since we left in June.

Almost there! It was 96F and the shower felt especially good. Then it was a celebratory dinner and early to bed since our bodies were still in a different time zone, we just weren't sure which one.

Trip of the 10 C's
Cycling, Camping, Canals, (World) Cup, Churches, Castles, Construction, Clarions, Chocolate, and Cheese.

June 19 to August 8
1319 miles (2127 kilometers)
Doug - 4,577 pictures
Donna - 3,683 pictures
And miles of smiles!

Paris, France to Bruges, Belgium

Bruges, Belgium to Amsterdam, Netherlands

Lori left for Montana the next morning and we had to drive to Salem for an eye doctor appointment. It felt a little strange to be in a car and doing our "ordinary" life again so soon. We are ever so grateful that we got to share this trip with our daughters!!

Postscript: On August 16, we went to the coast to get out of the smoke for a day. We almost stayed the night but the sunset was looking blah and our own bed sounded much better. We decided to do the two-hour drive home. At 1:30 am, our upstairs toilet water pipe broke, flooding our kitchen and sunroom. This sent us on a whole different adventure for the next year. 

Timing is everything!

Europe 2018 - August 7 - Headed Back Across the Ocean

Tuesday - August 7
Today we get to go under airplanes instead of boats.

And one more bit of a construction detour. 

Luckily, we had checked it out the other day so were not surprised.

This is the complicated part, like putting together a puzzle.

We were able to help a fellow traveler headed to Norway with his bike....he didn't have any tools. 

Hurray! Bikes all boxed and ready to go.

Notice that we have changed from our bike clothes to regular clothes.

One more line. We were at check-in before the desk even opened but that was OK.

Through security and feeling a bit more relaxed. And lighter as we literally left a bunch of weight behind.

We had time for lunch before boarding the plane. The interesting thing was our disposable bowls were made out of wood.

Hotel to Schiphol Airport - 4 miles

We left Schiphol Airport a little late. Our seats didn't have any windows so we could only watch our progress on the seat screen as we left the Netherlands and flew over Scotland.

We got to Keflavik in Iceland on time. We grabbed a snack and headed for passport control. We thought we were making good time until the last turnstile would not let Lori through. She had been randomly selected for an additional security check. It was a bit of an anxious moment because we just had to move on and wait for her at the terminal junction.

 Fortunately, this flight left a little late too. 

It looked like a lovely day but we couldn't see the wind. 

Goodby Iceland.

Hello Greenland.

After Greenland, it got really cloudy so we missed northern Canada.

Hello British Columbia....you look a little smoky.

We arrived in Portland at 6:30 pm Pacific time which is 3:30 am Netherlands time. We made it through customs by 7:00 and then had to wait for a shuttle bus with room to take all 3 bike boxes to the main terminal. We biked out of the airport at 8:30 into the dusky evening light and the 2 mile ride to the hotel. We were in bed by 10:00 (7:00 am body time, 25 hours since we got out of bed this morning). It was a really LONG day but it went pretty smoothly for being in 3 airports and 3 countries.

Europe 2018 - August 6 - Muiderslot Castle

Monday - August 6
Our last day to explore before heading back across the ocean.

We hopped back on the train headed to Weesp.

The amount of bikes at the train stations never ceases to impress us!

Our next transportation segment was by bus. This tire changing scenario kept us entertained during the half hour wait.

Hello Muiderslot. In 2011, we passed by so many castles that were too far up a big hill to pedal our full loaded bikes. We called it the Law of Castles. Muiderslot finally showed us that the law was not totally universal and we have such fond memories of our time here.

We arrived just in time for a guided tour. Our tour guide was multi-lingual. His English was quite good and it was interesting to hear things repeated in the other languages. The is the Knights Hall, a place for sharing feasts.

The castle was originally built in 1280. Restoration focused on how it looked in the 17th century. 

On to the kitchen.

The Prince's Chamber, a royal guest room.

Upstairs there was an exhibit that focused on women that were important to the history of the area. The falcon hunt was the one hunt that women were allowed to participate in during the Middle Ages.

An indoor "toilet"

An outdoor "toilet" or privy as it was called.

Pretty simple plumbing back then, straight down to the moat.

We spent some time wandering through the adjacent gardens too.

Goodby Muiderslot, we enjoyed our visit even more than last time.

Lunch in the shade.

And dessert, of course!

The bridge opens for boats pretty frequently.

We did appreciate the shady bus stop chairs as it was almost 90F.

Then back on the train.

And back to the hotel.

The stairway...glad they have an elevator! Our bikes were stored at the bottom today because they were putting new mattresses in the rooms.

A little hand cleaning pod provided before dinner at de Beren Restaurant. The meal was a very pleasant end to a very nice last day.

End of Week 7 - Lelystad to Hoofddorp

127 miles - 204 kilometers (plus a lot of walking)

Total trip so far: 1,272 miles - 2,052 kilometers

We added some more cheese, churches, canals, and another castle....

...and, of course, cycling. If fact, the Netherlands has had every "C" except the World Cup.