More on Amsterdam and into Germany

Category: My latest Europe trip | Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:06 am

The next morning we were on the bus again. The Autobahn, the main highway through the country, bypasses all the towns and, in many places, is built higher than many of the towns.
So you are basically going over rooftops as you travel. As you pass towns, many places have 'sound barriers' up which prevents taking pictures, but preserves the quiet and serene lifestyle of the locals.
I did manage to take some pictures as the bus whizzed by though.
There are hundreds of these little villages throughout the country side.

Here is another set on the side of a hill. The land in the foreground (brown dirt) is laying fallow at present in preparation for another tobacco crop to be planted. Tobacco is big business in this part of Europe. This picture is near Ufrecht.

And another small village as we sped past. This particular area, in between Amsterdam and Germany, is what they call the 'flatlands'. It is falt compared to many other areas, but we thought it looked a bit like our 'mountains' at home in South Australia. (It is very flat here! Our "Mount Lofty" is only 2000 feet))

At points we intersected the Neder Rijn river (Rhine River) as we travelled. The Rhine is also very heavily trafficked. Plenty of barges and other river craft.

Here is a typical barge.

The houses are also very elegant. Most houses are very picturesque with hand painted ornaments, etc. They are (mostly) brightly coloured and very well kept.

We then stopped a a fantastic little town called Boppard in the Rhine Valley where we boarded the Loreley-Linte for a cruise down the Rhine River. It was wonderful. The weather was great, a little overcast, but the temp was fine.

Here we are on the top deck, enjoying the scenery with some good friends. As you can see in the backgound, the river winds its way between mountains and valleys. On top of some of the mountains there are castles, some of which are still occupied. I have posted pics of them in previous postings in this blog.

Also, the train from Amsterdam to Hertogenbosch in the south runs right along the river for much of the way. A very scenic trip, but fast! I had to be quick to take this pic as in 4 seconds it was out of sight.

And finally, for now, here is a typical riverside village. All the houses are extremely well kept. Freshly painted in bright colours. An idyllic spot for a holiday! What a great place.

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Gardenstew wrote on Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:58 am:

Very scenic Craig. The houses do look very maintained. Cars, boats, trains, everything!

How long did you spend travelling on the Autobahn?

looking wrote on Thu Dec 22, 2005 4:29 am:

We spent, in total, about 3 days travelling on the Autobahn.
It's a fantastic road, very well maintained, 4-5 lanes in some places.
Although they seem to be doing repair work on it year round.
Buses and trucks must keep in the right lane except when overtaking even if no other vehicles are around.