Preikestolen

Amnsterdam to Oslo and then an overnight train to Stavanger to climb Preikestolen. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Amsterdam

After Spiegelau, it was time to meet up with Jim J. (former colleague) and Steve S. in Amsterdam. Not many pictures (no, not doing what you are all thinking) but just hanging out, walking around the city and hanging out wasn’t conducive to pulling out the camera. Amsterdam is certainly a “live and let live” city but I didn’t feel “at home.” It’s beautiful for sure but the landscape and country didn’t resonate much with me. Give me Italy for sure.

Houses along Prizengracht

We all took a tour run by the volunteer St. Nicolas (?) boat club which is dedicated to running tours to get donations to preserve wooden boats. Our boat guide was an ex-pat American guy who has adopted the Amsterdam lifestyle….a bit to the extreme. Oh, by the way, this is a bridge crossing the Amstel river.

One day, Jim and I rented bikes (there are so many bikes in Amsterdam that each year when they dredge out the canals 25,000 bikes are found) and rode in the suburbs north of Amsterdam.

A vast network of bikepaths (mostly for commuters) are easy to navigate and a good number of them are along dikes.

The symbol of the Dutch

Lunch in Edam……eating Edam cheese!

Another day was spent in the town of Delft where we got a quick tour of a small shop that hand crafts and paints Delft ware

Delft was the home of Vermeer.

Leiden was home of Rembrandt. We went to both the Van Gogh as well as the Rijksmuseum. The message we learned was that the Dutch Golden Age was the 17th century.

While in Leiden, Jim and I went kayaking in the canals during a downpour. It was awesome.

Do we have these handbasket carts in the US? They are brilliant.

Spiegelau 1986 and 2010

Back in the summer of 1986 (between 10th and 11th grades), I had the amazing opportunity to participate in an exchange program organized by the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and the Bavarian National Forest. Ten Americans came together and met 10 German students who all lived around the Bayrischer Nationalpark in the southeastern corner of what was the former West Germany. I spent a week with a host family and my host brother was a (then) crazy long haired blonde hard rocker named Uli E. His best friend and neighbor was/is Pieter L. The town in which I lived was called Spiegelau (seriously, google map it and see how close we were to the Czech border) and spent a week there before all 20 of us (10 German and 10 American) moved into a large alpine lodge in the park to do a couple week so trail maintenance. After 24 years, I got to head back to that special corner of the world to meet up with Pieter and Uli as well as go and see the some of the work we did. This was absolutely a highlight of the summer!

Watzlikstrasse 10, Spiegelau Germany. My home during the summer of 1986.

My host mother Heide. My favorite memory of her was that one night I came back drunk and stumbled up the stairs into bed. She didn't freak out or yell, but simply put a trash can by my head. I guess German moms deal with drinking teenagers regularly.

My host brother Uli, he too now is a teacher. We bonded over the fact that we both have found happiness in the same profession.

Back in 1986, the Berlin Wall had not yet fallen and political borders such as the West German/Czech border was a tense one. These days, it's like driving over the state line. Pieter and I took a drive to the Czech Republic. No passports needed.

We walked around the town of Domezlice. I would have LOVED to have seen what the Czech Republic looked like 20 years ago, but there still are some identifiable differences between the two sides of the border. The one that I could identify most was the rundown look of building on the Czech side as well as how little of their lives take place outside. Germans have patios and gardens, not so much on the Czech side.

Myself and Pieter visiting one of the puncheon bridges we built. Alas, the one we are standing on is an updated version of ours.

Thanks to Pieter and his family for hosting me and plying me with food. Here is a typical Bavarian breakfast. Pieter on the left, his father on the right and his father's second wife in the center.

That summer, each and everyday we would hike down from our hut to this parking lot to get picked up to head to work and up to go back at the end of the day. Here we are about to make that hike again.

Lusen was a mountain in the park, and Tummelplatz is the name of the meadow where our hut was.

Approaching our hut, it's a bummer that the day was foggy and rainy because I remember everyday back in 1986 being gorgeous and sunny.

Tummelplatz!

We were lucky because there was an artists retreat taking place when we were there and we got to go in and walk around! This is the room in which we would eat and gather to socialize.

The kitchen on which I and our group cooked those many years ago.

Upstairs, we 11 boys piled into this room to sleep.

The toilet.

This table outside the hut was amazing still there. We spent many hours playing cards on this table.

Back in 1986, this log water fountain was special for us because each and every day, we would get great Bavarian beer delivered and find those bottles sitting chilled in the water.

Reenactment

Myself, Pieter, Nicole (Pieter's fiancee) and Uli

Spiegelau was having it's summer volksfest and we spent the night catching up, eating pretzels and drinking beer. I could easily become a Bavarian!

Cologne, Germany for the Gay Games 2010

Vern and I flew up to attend the Gay Games 2010 as spectators. It took place between July 31st and August 8th, although I left on the morning of the 5th for the second part of my July/August 2010 adventure. Details and pictures to come as they become available and actually occur.

The famous spires of the gothic Cologne Dom.

Vern and I took one day off from the action to take a Rhine river cruise. Alas, it wasn't the "romantic" Rhine of high cliffs and castles. We saw about five hours of the industrial Rhine.

Opening Ceremonies were a blast. Delegations marched in and there were tributes and the oath of athletes. Musical star.......Taylor Dayne ("Tell it to my Heart" from 1987) who is now 48 years old.

I came to cheer on former colleague and friend Jim J. who is here swimming in the 100 free (he won a bronze for his age category)

He and his teammates also won medals in a few mixed relays.

No, I didn't win any medals, this is just some decorative medal.

Diving! Here's a friend of Jim's, Andrew. By the way, Andrew's friend is on deck.

In action. Andrew and his friend took first and second.

The balance of my time was spent attending all different sports, such as beach volleyball.

Figure Skating was actually quite compelling. Here's Kai, a girl Vern and I met from Singapore who represented Sweden where she is doing her PHD.

I thought I would be uncomfortable with same sex pairs akating, but it was great and there was LOTS of humor in it.

BRIDGE! When I read that it was a participant sport, I had to go and check it out. Mom, will you be my bridge partner at the Games in 2014?

Over at track and field, this was the 100 meter dash for women over the age of 50.

The announcer at track and field had a great voice (with that German accent I find charming) and a fantastic sense of humor and then when I saw him (one the left)........

Water Polo is quite fun to watch.

I only got to see practice sessions, but I bet the synchro swimming was great as well.

I watched a knockdown/dragout match between the two London field hockey teams.

So, as I left Cologne, I concluded that simply being a spectator was kind of boring. My goal is to find something in which to participate for the Games when they are held in Cleveland in 2014. I would love to get up to speed in something like Water Polo (I don't think my swimming skills are up to snuff) or Field Hockey (alas, no teams were from the United States), but golf is certainly a possibility. All you out there reading, make sure that I don't back down on this and wimp out.