Netherlands - Maastricht, Amsterdam, Rotterdam

**I have packed so much traveling into the last few weeks that I was perhaps not able to give the Netherlands the attention it deserved. I was extremely happy to make it to Maastricht, a very picturesque town with great shopping, and meet up with Jen and Christian – another welcome connection to home. But when I took the train to Amsterdam for the day on Monday, it occurred to me that my desire to get to know yet another gorgeous European city has waned. It’s just simply too much to absorb at this point. Despite that, I’m still glad I got the opportunity to see the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank hideout – the latter deeply affected me. I would love to go back sometime when I have more time to really explore and soak up the city. (And no, I did not see the red light district – it would have been easy to stroll through it for a bit, and I suppose it would have been somewhat educational, but I just couldn’t stomach the idea of seeing all of those women turned into objects).

**Originally I had planned a day in Rotterdam for both work and fun – I have a freelance assignment to write about a new Charlie Chaplin exhibit at the art museum there, and I thought I would combine that with some other sightseeing. But by the time I got there I was just too pooped, so the art museum and a brief walk down a central street were all I could manage (at least the Chaplin exhibit was interesting). It’s a shame, because Rotterdam was dramatically different from most of the other cities I’ve seen during this time – it’s got modern skyscrapers like Frankfurt’s, combined with the canal and waterfront features that distinguish the Netherlands. Again, a place I will have to return to at a better time.

**And now I’m back in Frankfurt for two days before my final return to the U.S., enjoying a welcome respite from the pressure to sightsee. It will be good to spend some final time with some of the friends I’ve made here (especially the banker) and say goodbye to the city that was my home for two months.

More bylines

A few more bylines:
**Package on Lufthansa, reported from Frankfurt and Munich:
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/12768881.htm
and sidebar: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/12768889.htm

**And package on tire manufacturer Continental, reported in Hannover:
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/12796732.htm
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/12793599.htm
--I also had several Wall St. Journal Europe and Dow Jones bylines in the last couple of weeks but those aren't as easy to post.

Lovely Santorini

October 1, 2005
From Athens airport awaiting Frankfurt return:

*Well Santorini was just heavenly, and for the most part as relaxing as we had hoped. Rebecca persuaded me that we should splurge on a very swanky spot – in fact it is quite possibly the swankiest hotel I’ve ever stayed in. It’s perched on the side of cliffs over the Mediterranean, with classic whitewashed structures and steep stairs running up and down connecting each room to the pool, restaurants and the street above. We arrived during the evening on a celebratory day and enjoyed dinner on our balcony, entertaining the many stray (but very clean and domesticated-acting) cats that wander the island. The next day was spent largely in lounge chairs overlooking the view. That night, we ventured out for dinner and Rebecca had an amusing episode in which she squealed to see that her fish – which had been caught by the restaurant owner that day – arrived largely intact, complete with eyeballs, and would require her to filet it herself. The waiter’s response: “It’s not a dog, it’s just a fish.” (He then very kindly filleted it for her). Her reaction was loud enough to attract the attention of two Americans sitting at the next table, Bill and Bob, so we had a nice chat with them. They insisted we try a local wine called Retsina, which is aged in pine barrels and therefore tastes a bit like Pine Sol. (In other words, a bit yucky). We preferred the ouzo.

*The next day, we decided to get more adventurous and explore a little. We visited the “Red Beach” – which is exactly what its name implies. Santorini is in fact the lip of a volcano – only it’s about half of the circumference, giving it sort of a croissant shape, because the other half dropped into the ocean during a catastrophic earthquake several thousand years ago (giving rise to the legend of Atlantis). So the red beach is one volcanic aftereffect – as are the black beaches a little further up the side of the croissant. After a few hours on the red stones, I wanted to go to a black beach because I was intrigued and wanted to see what it looked like. As it turns out, it was a bit of a disappointment – it’s more like charcoal-gray sand and a very standard-looking beachscape. But we had a nice lunch at an outdoor restaurant named Popey’s (which turned out to be a misspelling of “Popeye’s,” because we saw the little spinach-eating guy on a sign after we sat down). Afterward we got comfy on lounge chairs with margaritas for a while before returning to our place.

*Friday was our checkout day, but the swanky place allowed us to use their facilities up until the moment of our evening return to Athens. I did a bit of shopping while Rebecca rested because she began coming down with some kind of bug. Unfortunately, it prevented her from enjoying our final night (though it saved me from a return to the Athens ouzo bar to resist the advances of the 80-year-old owner). She has departed while I’m awaiting my return to Frankfurt for the final week of this adventure – I plan to visit Holland, so hopefully I will have better Internet access from there.