I just got back from 3 weeks in Europe! Ask me anything!

[joeybee12]

Ok, technically I didn't just get back--I got back last evening,but I haven't had the energy to do much. Now I'm perking up a bit after a nice nap--so fire away!

Oh, yeah, before you ask, yes, it was nice to be in a place where their Dark Ages are BEHIND them.

:hi:

[John Q. Citizen]

1. Anyone planning on arresting bush for crimes against humanity?

Just wondering......

[joeybee12]

3. Didn't hear anything...and my last 4 days were in Amsterdam...

...noticed people in the Hague want to arrest him. What surprised me was the general lack of American tourists--maybe it's the lousy dollar that's keeping them away.

[Sanity Claws]

2. Hear anything about American politics?

Just wondering how prominent their hatred of Bush is.

[joeybee12]

4. Didn't really hear anything...I started out in Prague, and the Czech

people are much more forgiving of us Americans than a lot of the other Europeans--it's the Russians they really hate,a nd with good reason.

Nobody I met or talked with ever brought it up--I almost did a few times just to say what filth Dumbo is, but decided not to bother.

[MuseRider]

5. Hey joeybee12

Did you see any tennis? Me either, just wanted to say hello and welcome home.

[joeybee12]

6. Thanks for the welcome! No, I didn't see any tennis, but I did see a lot

of clay tennis courts! Really, in every country as you're passing by in the trains you see clay tennis courts--they're always clay. No wonder the Europeans are so good on that surface.

BTW, just checked the tennis scores a Monte Carlo--Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Marta Safin--I like both, but I hope this means Juan Carlos' physical problems are behind him.

[MuseRider]

10. Oooh me too. I am not a real fan of

Safin although he is very good. If he settles down he could take over. I think I would like him a lot more if he wsn't such a silly hot head. I wondered where Ferrero had been.

I am just glad that we use mostly hard courts here. I don't know how they clean up all that clay dust and since I had 2 kids who played a lot in High School I think I might have lost my mind!

What on earth happened to Clement? I have not seen him in a long time. I should look that up while I am thinking about it.

Welcome home.

[joeybee12]

12. Yeah, those clay courts will ruin clothes pretty quickly...

...haven't heard anything about Clement either. Should look that up.

Also, Venus lost today at the Family Circle Cup. I don't think she'll ever win another big one.

[MuseRider]

13. Too bad

I like Venus a lot.

[joeybee12]

20. Isn't it amazing that she was virtually unbeatable a few years back

and now this. I think it's all mental in her case--for some reason she's lost her confidence and when you watch her she's very sporadi-great shots followed by lots of mistakes.

[maveric]

7. How were you treated as an American?

Any animosity?

[joeybee12]

8. I was actually treated fine--even had a nice conversation with a French

couple and an Italian one as we headed to these great gardens south of Amsterdam (don't even try and ask me how to spell it right now!) because we all got lost at about the same time and took about a 15 minute walk together. The Italian guy had been to the US a few times, and the French guy's brother lives in L.A. The closest I ever got to talking about with anyone about the US-Euro relation was about the lousy (for me) exchange rate.

[MasonJar]

9. Isn't Prague the most beautiful city? I just loved my vacation in

the C. R. I am off to England the end of June. I love Europe; their people have their heads screwed on right and the cities and countrysides are so overwhelmingly cultured and valued.

[joeybee12]

11. I was in Prague for 12 days--largely trying to decide if I should move ove

there--probably will in a few years. I just love it.

And yes, the people do have the right frame of mind--as soon as I got back here yesterday I realized just how messed up our priorities are. Oh, and I got stopped at Customs and really got the going-over yesterday--guess a single guy traveling alone and coming from Amsterdam is high on their terror watch list. Hell, when I landed in Europe I just showed my passport and walked right in.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. Do We Know You?

Three weeks and then you come back and expect us to just forget that you ignored us? Forget it!

Kidding.

Welcome back and glad you enjoyed it.

The Professor

[joeybee12]

16. Hey! I actually posted a few times while I was over there!

A friend in Prague has internet at home, so I got on a few times, and then it was free at the pension in Amsterdam!

Just you wait until I stay away for four months this summer and then come back and expect to be welcomed right away!;-)

[MissMarple]

15. My son and friends are going in May. Amsterdam is at the top of the list.

But it is the last place they visit, since they fly home from there.
Oh, dear. Amsterdam. How badly can they get into trouble?

[joeybee12]

18. As badly as they want to!

Seriously, I wouldn't worry. My one other time there was 22 years ago, and the city seems so much cleaner now. There's a lot of sin, but they'll be very safe.

They'll have a great time--wonderful cafes, very laifd back people--just a wonderful atmosphere.

[lpbk2713]

17. How were the prices?

What did you find reasonably priced?

What struck you as overpriced?

How was the food?

[joeybee12]

19. Prague is still very cheap, even with the lousy dollar--food there is

getting better--lots of restaurnts with different cuisines opening, but you should also try traditional Czech food--meat and potatoes basically.

Brussels is very, very expensive--I think one of the most expensive cities I've ever been to in Europe. But the food is great, and a very wonderful pretty city--I had never made it there before.

What I thought was expensive in Amsterdam was the public transporation system--6.50 for a day pass. It was only 3.00 in Brussels, and about 7.00 in prague for a 15 day pass!

[da_chimperor]

21. Did you make it to that little bar in Brugge?

:D

[joeybee12]

22. I made it there, but I didn't get in! I only took a day trip to Brugge,

and it's closed on Wednesdays! It's even mentioned in my guide book. Next time, I guess. It was quite easy to find. Once I got my bearings in Brugge, it was easy to figure out how the streets ran.

It's a great little village, but it was freezing the day I was there.

[da_chimperor]

23. Awwww, damn.

Next time it is. :)

[joeybee12]

24. Do they serve food, do you know? I was more interested in eating

when I went by there, but there was no menu in the window, and the shades were down. I figured it would be a nice place to take a break, enjoy a beer and a snack.

Thanks for the tip, though!

[da_chimperor]

25. They've got snacks. And they serve spaghetti for some reason.

I love that place to death. :beer:

[joeybee12]

26. Yikes! SOunds like it would have been perfect!

Didn't they know I was coming?

You'd think they would have opened the place just for me! :shrug: