The Ultimate Trip - Has ended

Still in The Netherlands and having a great time! Had to go to the Haag a couple of days ago to apply for Chinese visas (which they gave us, if you can believe it), and combined it with a trip to the coast. The North Sea is much warmer than you might expect, in fact, it may even be warmer than the Atlantic in Rhode Island. We didn't actually go in, but it sure felt warmer. The coastal town we were in was like any resort town you could imagine, with new hotel buildings along a board walk, and lots of fair-like rides for kids. The beach itself was beautiful white sand stretching for miles (or kilometers), with a very gentle surf. I could see how it would be the place to go on a hot summer day.
Yesterday was Amsterdam, and what a fun city that is!! It truely must the the party capital of Europe. Even now, when you would expect the tourist season to be over, the streets are packed day and night. We started out visiting the requisit museum or two and walking along the canals. Lucky for us, the weather was fantastic, so people were out in the canal boats and lounging in the sidewalk cafes. The atmosphere is definitely relaxed. We also tasted our first "Dutch" food - pancakes topped with veggetables, sort of like a pizza.
Of course, we went to the pub recommended by Michael Jackson (of beer fame, not the plastic one). Spent hours trying all the local beers on tap and playing dice. We, of course, lost to the beginners - just our luck. Patrick's favorite beer was the old standby, Chimay Tripple, which tastes totally different on tap in the Netherlands. I guess you will all just have to come and try it for yourselves.
We rounded out the night with a walk through the red light district and dinner at an Argentinian restaurant called La Luna. I will have to leave the description of the red light district for another post because there is too much to say. The dinner was fantastic - everything was superbly cooked and the atmosphere was great. We seemed to be the only foreigners in the place, and it was off in a part of town that seemed not too touristy.
Anna has been spoiling us rotten, cooking for us, letting us sleep in her bed (as late as we want), and introducing us to her friends, so we are very reluctant to leave. She is making our stay so relaxing and fun - taking us to all the places we would never have seen otherwise. However, we do not want to overstay our welcome, so we are planning to leave in the next couple of days.
Well, I've been going on for too long and Patrick is ready to move on. Our next major stop will be Prague in a day or two!!

Tentative Trip Itinerary
disclaimer: this is just tentative, and can be changed at any time.....

24 Sep - 30 Sep Around Amsterdam
30 Sep - 10 Oct Travel from The Netherlands to Prague, visiting Brussels and maybe Munich along the way
10 Oct - 13 Oct Travel from Prague to St. Petersburg through the Baltic states
13 Oct - 10 Nov Travel within Russia, staying in St. Petes, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Lake Baikal, via the Trans Siberian Railroad
11 Nov Russia visa expires, and need to be on the train to Mongolia!!

At this point the time schedule breaks down. However, we will travel in this order:
Ulan Bataar, Mongolia
Beijing
overland through China to Vietnam - exact route not yet determined.

We will update this itinerary as we make more concrete plans!! Please keep in touch!

We are finally in The Netherlands! Landed yesterday without event and spent the afternoon in Amsterdam. Came to Utrecht last night to stay with our friend Anna F, who I know from Portland. She has been living here about a year and a half now and is a GREAT tour guide. We weren't really expecting a guide, but it is sure nice to have someone to show us around a bit. Today, we walked around Utrecht, a great little city with plenty of character. It is a college town, so there are students of all ilk wandering about. Plus all the other things that you might expect of a town in the Netherlands (wink, wink). We learned today that the name Holland actually just refers to a province within the Netherlands - similar to what New England is to the U.S.A. We also took in our first museum - one that displays the history of musical clocks, organs and the like. A really fun museum where you can not only look at what they house, but listen to it too! Well, we are off for a night in Amsterdam.......

Tomorrow is the BIG day! We are leaving for Amsterdam at 9:30 PM from Boston and expect to arrive sometime on Thursday morning. We are still recovering from the great wedding weekend we just had! Everything seemed to work out great. Isabel decided not to crash our wedding, the band showed up, the food was great, nobody got into a fist fight, and the bar lasted the whole time. All in all, the weekend was fantastic for me, but now I am a little sad that it is over. On to the next stage!
We should be in Amsterdam for about a week, and will spend some time with my friends Anna and Frederik. Afterward, it is on to Berlin and then Prague.
We hope to make it to St. Petersburg by mid October, but we will keep you posted!!
Cheers to everyone.
Shula

This is our first post! We are currently in the final stages of planning for both our wedding and the BIG trip. Check back for more info.