MARK'S WORLD JOURNAL Amsterdam  Amsterdam is quite a city. We arrived on Sunday and it was pouring rain and when we left on Friday it was pouring rain. In between it rained. In spite of the weather we still had a great time. We didn't "accomplish" much other than walking around and admiring the scenery but that was enough for me. The town is simply beautiful everywhere. The old homes, narrow streets and of course the canals all add atmosphere at every turn. We stayed at a great B&B called Calendula Goldbloom which is named after the street its on and the calendula flower, I think.  Anyways, Dennis and Lynn run a great place and I'd like to think that we became friends during our visit. The house itself is immaculate, interestingly decorated and large enough that I was always comfortable and the large tub/Jacuzzi was great after a long day of walking. Lynn gives a great massage, which was sorely needed after walking for days, and they have the best cappuccino maker I've ever seen in a home. It's in the part of town called the Jordaan, which not only has terrific cafés and galleries but also is also within walking distance to everything in Amsterdam we wanted to see. I bet we walked 75 miles in the 5 days we were there. We visited the Anne Frank House, which was very moving. I'm not positive that being Jewish had anything to do with the emotions it raised as I don't think anyone could visit without being moved but I think it deepened the reaction some. She was an incredible young woman who tragically died 2 months before liberation thinking her whole family had died although her father was still alive.  If you go around 7pm you can avoid the long lines that are there all day. We also visited the Van Gogh museum, which houses the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world. They are arranged in chronological order so it's easy to see the different phases he is going through. I'm looking forward to visiting Arles where so many of his paintings were done and trying to see the views he painted. The highlight though for all of us I think was at the Artis Zoo while visiting a family of chimps. I would be proud to call them my ancestors. They were most entertaining, especially the baby who tormented his uncle much in the same way that a playful little boy would. All the while mom watched to make sure things didn't get out of hand. It was a very interesting zoo all the way around. The Artis Zoo is the oldest zoo on the European mainland as it was set up in 1838. They even had an exhibit of deformed animal and human embryos in jars along with various skeletons of unusual types.  We made a couple of day trips to cities that were only 20 minutes from Amsterdam by train. One to Naarden, a walled town with a fort, and one to Haarlem, a very quaint town near the sea. I especially enjoyed Haarlem as it all seemed to date back to medieval times. Naarden was a little too "Disney" for my taste. Spending time with Max and Julie has been everything I'd hoped and expected it would be. Max can turn anything into a game. If I can just get him to look both ways before crossing…Julie of course is making sure we always keep our spirits high even when it's raining like cats and dogs. I continue to fall more in love with these two every day.  Efteling  It only took us a couple of hours to drive to Efteling, an amusement park in the south of Holland. It is a very sweet and beautiful amusement park. Not too much that is scary. There are more flowers there than I've ever seen in one place. It was very green and colorful but, as usual it rained. It was ok because there were NO lines to any of the attractions but we got soaked. We stayed in the hotel on the premises in a "Theme Rom" called The Jules Verne Room. It had stars and planets on the ceiling in the bedroom and a travel theme in the rest of the room. It was intended to be a treat for Max and I think it was. I hope to never spend that much on a hotel room again.  Germany  We chose to drive to Switzerland via The Rhein River in Germany. We had been told that it was "castle" country and they were right. Every few miles there was a storybook looking castle in the hills overlooking the river. Apparently Barons and Dukes etc. owned some and some were owned by robber barons just looking to charge folks using the Rhein. BTW, the Rhein still appears to be a main shipping channel as there were freighters going all day. Our first stop was Koblenz and we scored a room overlooking the Rhein in the hills with the help of a local friendly German. We spent the evening walking around the old city admiring the sights, again, very quaint.  The next morning we drove along the Rhein to St. Goar, a medieval town at the base of Rheinfels Castle, reputedly one of the more important castles in this area. They just happened to be celebrating "The Hunt" so there were parades all day. The wine and beer was flowing and we learned that Max loves Schnitzel. Rheinfels Castle was a very interesting tour and a worthy visit. I really got a sense of what it must have been like living in medieval times. From there we went on to Baccarat. Again we saw some very cool castles on the way and the town of Baccarat was nice as well.  I just love the narrow stone streets and 500 to 1,000 year old buildings. This piece of Germany was also a bit touristy for my tastes, but it was a good and easy way to start our journey. Holland and Germany are very easy to travel through as many of the people speak English and the accommodations and roads are modern. By the time we set out for Turkey we will be ready for some more challenging travel.  Switzerland  We made it to Basel, Switzerland Monday evening and frankly I just wanted to get on to Montreux. We walked around downtown and had a GIANT banana split across from the very ornate Town Hall but other than that didn't really "do" Basel. First thing in the morning we were of to Montreux. The road in Switzerland are very well signed ad the scenery is awesome so the drive was a pleasure. We decided on route to stop in Gruyeres…you know, the cheese…for some Swiss Fondue.  Julie had a "jones" for Swiss Fondue. What we got was a complete surprise. A totally charming 12 century castle with a fabulous surrealist art show displayed in the castle! At the same time the artist that created the alien for the movie "The Alien" and also created the designs for the movie "Species" has an art gallery/museum on the premises as well. Totally weird and very cool futuristic surrealistic art. Fortunately Max had his fill of art in the castle and didn't follow me into the gallery as the art was definitely inappropriate for an 8 year old.  The town of Gruyeres is nice and the countryside is spectacular. We had some very good fondue and was very happy we made the side trip.  Montreux  A couple of hours later we finally arrived in Montreux. What a beautiful city! The lake, the mountains, the promenade, the energy, the music…WOW. I am so glad we went during the Jazz Festival. There was stages set up with world-class music going on all the time. There were all kinds of booths with international goods for sale and all kinds of food available, all set up along a promenade that runs along Lake Geneva with the Alps forming the backdrop. Our hotel was a grand old hotel that had a separate bedroom for Max so he had some privacy :^).  I was a little disappointed in the festival itself but my comparison is the New Orleans Jazz Fest (maybe that's unfair). Van Morrison was replaced by Deep Purple…I could care less about seeing Deep Purple. I guess the love them in Montreux because the song "Smoke Over Water" is a song about when the casino in Montreux burnt down. The concerts run from 8:30 pm and the headliners don't come on until 12:30am. Fortunately I was able to get a refund on the tickets I had purchased in April as there was no way Max and Julie could make it through that. One of the best days we had in Montreux was when we rented some mountain bikes and started biking around the lake. Before we new it we were only 3 miles from the French border so we went on and biked all the way to France.  Max was a real trooper as we went a total of 19 miles most of which was along a beautiful bike path around Lake Geneva. What a great day. Another day we hiked on foot up into the old part of Montreux in the hills and went on to Chillon Castle on the lake. Again, the views were spectacular and the Castle was terrific. Chillon has a very interesting history of strategic importance and of severe brutality. It was made most famous by Lord Byron in his poem titles "The Prisoner of Chillon". I forgot to mention that all the while we were in Montreux we had TERRIFFIC WEATHER!  Zermatt  Sunday morning we left to go to Zermatt to see the Mattehorn. The views on the drive were spectacular as usual and easy again. You cannot drive in Zermatt so you must park in Tasch and take a train into town. It's nice that there are no cars in town but that doesn't mean you can't get run over. There are tons of golf cart like hotel vehicles running around like maniacs and they think they own the streets. Much like the cabbies in New York. Not to worry, we survived but not without a few close encounters. We fount a nice little hotel rather quickly and got a glimpse of the Mattehorn. It is as spectacular as advertised.  Unfortunately, the weather has turned again so our plans to take a gondola up to the glacier via Stein Mattehorn have been put off. The cloud cover is so heavy that there would be nothing to see. Instead, Max and I rented Razors. They are everywhere here in Europe and I know they are getting big in America as well. They are small, lightweight stainless steel scooters with roller blade wheels. We had a good time even in the rain. Of course Max is much better than I am and can do tricks. My trick is to stay alive. Another rather interesting side trip was to the Zermatt Cemetery. It is full of the graves of young people who have died climbing the various mountains including the Mattehorn. The graves date back to the early 1800's and often the headstones include their pick axes, rope and shoes that have been preserved in metal or stone. Most seem to be between 18 and 35. Sorry if I can't get how conquering a mountain is worth losing your life over.  SUNSHINE! We woke up to blue skies and wasted no time taking three gondolas required to get to the top of Stein Mattehorn. It was amazing and VERY cold. There is still skiing going on, if you can believe that. At the top they have carved an "Ice Palace" into the glacier. It is lit with indirect lighting and some black lights creating a fantastical effect. They also have dioramas sculpted out of ice along the walls. This was another definite highlight. Outside, on the mountaintop were some of the most dynamic and spectacular views I've ever seen. Even Julie was impressed and she has seen some terrific views during her days in Colorado. We then went down a couple of gondola levels and hiked the rest. Today MADE our visit to Zermatt. If we had left without being able to go to the top because of weather I would've been bummed and 1.5 days in Zermatt in the rain is no fun but today made it all worthwhile. Zermatt is like an upscale and historic Aspen, if you can believe that. It has to be the most expensive city in Switzerland.  Julie and I think it is a little too foo foo, if you catch my drift. If I never see another watch for sale it'll be too soon. Not enough "funky" and too much "style". One day maybe we'll make it back for some skiing. Sass Fee After leaving Zermatt we decided to visit Sass Fee, which is on the other side of the valley from Zermatt. Sass Fee is like Zermatt "with the funk." Saas Fee has only recently become available to visitors, in the 1950's, so all of the gondolas and lifts are new and state of the art. Saas Fee, as Zermatt, also has an ice palace but this palace is much larger and older. It is in fact the largest ice palace in the world. They have some nice art and an alter where people get married. The weather here also allowed for summer skiing and the conditions seemed better than good. In Zermatt and in Saas Fee we saw many of the national ski teams practicing for the upcoming Olympics. (They all look so young). At the top of the mountain we were able to hike on a very steep, and scary if you ask Julie, ridge across to a monument to the guides that have died on the mountain. From this point the views of many of the highest peaks in Switzerland, including "The Dom" which is the highest peak, was again spectacular. The hike with its scariness was a new highlight for Max and I and I think even Julie was glad she did it.