You probably already know that I gave up sending out Christmas cards a few years back, partly to help the environment, partly to save money and partly because I’m too lazy to hand write notes to everyone anymore. Besides, you’re already reading the longest holiday letter anyone could possibly write. So, this year, I asked the girls to design a card I could post here and on Facebook and here’s what they came up with.
While we didn’t manage to actually smell any cologne in Cologne (where in fact eau de Cologne originated), we did visit the famous Chocolate Museum. We loved seeing chocolate being made in the factory section and couldn’t resist buying some freshly-made truffles before settling down for lunch complete with fantastic hot chocolate. We also enjoyed visiting the Olympic Museum and the cathedral, which was one of the only buildings left standing in the city center after World War II. We ended the evening at the Claudius Therme, a spa with a huge pool fed from a thermal mineral spring.
When I saw that the Cologne tourist guide mentioned an outdoor adventure store in the Attractions section, we figured it was worth checking out. Boy was it right! Globetrotter was totally amazing! Four stories packed with adventure wear and gear. In addition, there was an aquarium with jellyfish, a pool for testing kayaks and taking scuba classes, a climbing wall within a bridge to an adjacent store, and a full-service restaurant (where we ate dinner). When Jimmy said he was going to test out the Goretex testing machine, Ashlynn quickly volunteered to join him. Unlike her daddy, she was smart enough to put on rainproof trousers and boots in addition to the coat. She managed to stay dry underneath the waterproofs in the storm cabinet, but silly Jimmy’s jeans and hiking boots got soaked.
We were all really impressed with Phantasialand. The park was beautiful and the rides were of a high quality. We loved the ice skating show so much that we went to see it twice; hard to go wrong with this family when the music’s from West Side Story. The girls were thrilled to have an entire day with Jimmy so they could go on the daredevil rides that I was too chicken to ride. Ashlynn was greatly disappointed when she found out she was too short to go on the Tabocan shown above, which you couldn’t have paid me to ride. I did go on three of the rollercoasters, but skipped the Mambo, which did multiple twists; even Jimmy said he was dizzy after he got off. It’s interesting to see everyone’s tolerance; Ashlynn was too scared to go in the haunted house, but didn’t hesitate to go on the freefalling elevator, which Veronica and I skipped.
As our October break approached, we still hadn’t figured out where to go. Since Jimmy couldn’t get away for the entire week, we knew we couldn’t venture too far. Since we’d visited amusement parks in the last two Octobers without him, we decided this was the year to finally visit one with him. I chose Phantasialand just outside of Cologne, Germany, which we could reach by train in under four hours. Us girls went down in the early morning to spend a half day in the park after checking into the hotel. The girls were surprised that we were staying in the fancy Asian-themed hotel adjacent to the park; Ashlynn was thrilled that it was an even date so she could chose the top bunk. Jimmy arrived that evening in time to join us for a nice Asian buffet dinner.
The exhibition that we visited was called The Art of Fashion. Similar to the last fashion exhibition we saw, this one was full of completely insane designs that no one would or could actually wear. For instance, where would you put your head if you wore this concoction of sequined purses stitched together? All-in-all, we had a great laugh and a lot of fun. Our favorite item wasn’t actually part of the exhibition, but rather the coat rack in the entranceway of the Museum van Boijmans Beuningen. We were fascinated by the series of strings, pulleys and locks so that lifted coats up near the ceiling. If we had space, I’m sure Jimmy would love building something similar.
I’m always on the lookout for places to visit in Holland and often try dragging friends along with me. I was successful in getting Sally, Darlene and Terri to come along to Rotterdam to see an exhibition at a museum. Terri then dragged along her friend Habe, who was visiting from London. We started out the day at the Rotterdam Central Market, where we bought a variety of cheap veggies and snacks. As we were heading to lunch, we came across this unusual statue of a gnome. You can use your imagination to figure out what he’s carrying.
