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Hello everyone, it’s great to be back. I have been biking and hiking in Europe for five months as research for upcoming books. Prior to leaving, it had been my intention to continue this blog on a weekly basis. The effort proved too difficult; either there was no WiFi connection, I was busy writing my…

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September 7: Sarasota

We left Amsterdam for the US via Aer Lingus. We had a short stopover in Galway, Ireland, and then a 8.5 hour flight to Orlando, FL. There were many babies on the flight. and it seemed as if they were in a crying competition–the din gave Dennis a headache. There was a pre-clear US Customs…

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September 7: Amsterdam

Why is Amsterdam so noisy. Its 4:30 A.M. and the city is keeping me awake. Does the din have to do with the low altitude, the tall stone buildings, the long wide streets? People’s voices are amplified; someone talking on a cell phone appears as if they were speaking into a megaphone. The tapping of…

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September 6: Amsterdam

This is the West Tower, the tallest tower in Amsterdam, 85 meters (279 feet). The West Church was purposely built by Protestants in 1620. Rembrandt is buried here. In her diary,  Anne Frank mentions listening to this church’s bells while she was hiding in a storage building across the street. As I write, the clock…

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September 5: Amsterdam

The Netherlands is the most densely populated country in the world, and Amsterdam is its capital and most populous city. In addition there are the tourists. According to Wikipedia, “Amsterdam is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, receiving more than 4.63 million international visitors annually, this is excluding the 16 million day trippers…

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September 4: Amsterdam

As we approached the Nijmegen train station, we saw bicyclists looking for vacant spots in the multi-floor bike park. Imagine how much energy is saved in the Netherlands just with bike use. It is strange for me to look for bike traffic; several times, Dennis had to yank me off the bicycle path. Unless riding…

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September 3: Nijmegen

Since we left Miami on April 20, we have visited 13 countries, about half of the Western European countries: Madeira, Spain, Portugal, England, Wales, Ireland, No. Ireland, Scotland, France, Luxemburg, Belgium, Netherlands (Holland), and Germany. We took ships, ferries, trains, buses, and bicycles, or we walked; today we rode a draisine, a pedal car on…

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September 2: Groesbeek

We spent five hours today at the Nationaal Bevrijdingsmuseum 1944 – 1945, the National Liberation Museum. It is not specifically about the 82nd or 101st Airborne; it describes what lead up to the war, the occupation of the Netherlands, the liberation, and the rebuilding of the country. Though Dennis did not discover anything directly pertaining…

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September 1: Groesbeek

It is hard to believe that we have been in Europe for four months, arriving in Barcelona Spain on May 1. Today we took a train to Nijmegen, NL. All the signs are in Dutch, but many people speak English. From the train station, we went to the Tourist Bureau, but it was closed. Esther…

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August 31: La Gleize

This morning, Michel de Trez, author and historian (left with Dennis and me), and his friend Françoise picked us up at the B & B to drive us to the December 44 Museum in La Gleize to see Dennis’ father’s WWII paratrooper helmet and other artifacts. Michel had arranged for Dennis to be interviewed by…

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