Travel to Holland
Tour "Hello dear Amsterdam" TO "Accord-tour"
from 03/04/2010 to 10/04/2010
Accompanying guide: Kalashnikova Natalia
Bus "Neoplan", drivers Eugene and Vladimir.
We were two married couples. We arrived in Lviv on the eve of the tour on April 2 and settled in the Irena Hotel. Excellent small apart-hotel in the railway area. station. The rooms are very good, after renovation, with a small kitchen.
After the settlement, we decided to go on a tour of Lviv. To begin with, we went to the Castle Hill. They climbed up and admired the city from a height. The weather was sunny and warm. After the mountain, we visited the Auchan supermarket, which had just opened the day before. Made the necessary purchases for a trip to the tour.
Then we went to the city center, visited the local cafe "Kriyovka" in the old cellars, stylized as a hideout of the rebels. We felt like we were in a museum of the history of the UPA. A good dinner for 4 people cost 430g. Not much by European standards.
The first day. In the morning the hotel gave a very decent breakfast, which is included in the price. After it, we go to the station to the collection point. Collection time 8-30, departure at 9-00. We left exactly on schedule.
We crossed the border at Krakovets calmly and quickly enough, we stood for a little more than 2 hours. We had to be a little nervous about my husband's smoking habit. The latest customs regulations say that you can bring 20 pieces. And he had a carton of cigarettes. Therefore, even in Lviv, he distributed his cigarettes to non-smoking tourists. We selectively took a few bags for inspection, everything was fine there and we were quickly let through.
Our group was large, all the seats on the bus were occupied. Half of the group consisted of high school students, since it was spring break time. They were with their escorts. But, nevertheless, because of such a composition of the group, we were late almost every day with the departure. That's how unlucky we were with the group.
The first day was completely transit. We drove with all the stops, and at each of them the bus was waiting for the kids from the supermarket.
I like moving through Hungary more, there is no such empty transit crossing, even the first day is filled with a program. Unfortunately, this tour could only be taken through Poland.
Our first overnight stay was in the Legnica area at the Dvorek motel. Basic motel for one night for truck drivers. Settled in it at 21-30. The dabl room is small but with nice wooden furniture, clean. Good bathroom with shower and new sanitary ware. There is no hair dryer. Since the whole group rushed to the shower, the hot water quickly ran out and had to wait until it warmed up again. But it was an insignificant detail. The only caveat is that there was only one large towel per person.
Second day. The breakfast was very decent. Assortment of cuts plus hot scrambled eggs, fresh cucumber-tomatoes, tea-coffee with cream. There was enough for a hearty breakfast. The departure was delayed for half an hour, due to the absolute uncontrollability of several high school students. They, as it turned out, played cards all night, and in the morning they could not be picked up. Here, I think, comments are superfluous.
The first city on the program was Berlin. We arrived at it at about 12 o'clock, took the local guide Alla and went on a sightseeing tour. The review was extensive, we visited the three most important tourist places in Berlin: we started with Charlottenburg Palace, then Alexanderplatz, and the last was the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate. Of course, there was not enough time for Berlin, but the tour was well organized for the first acquaintance. There was time for a photo. After the tour, a photo session against the backdrop of the Reichstag and the gates, then lunch in a tourist cafe in the park near the Reichstag. There is a fast food cafe, but the food is very tasty, and there was a large selection of dishes. Lunch for two with beer and dessert cost us 29 euros. Departure from Berlin was planned at 17-00, but was delayed for 15 minutes, again someone was late.
Then we continued our way to a transit hotel on the German border. The Haus Deutsch Krone is located in the spa town of Bad Essen. On the way it began to rain heavily, but the road is very good, and this did not greatly affect our move. We arrived at the hotel around 23:00. We settled quickly, the room is chic, spacious with beautiful furniture and a small kitchen with a refrigerator and an electric stove. There is no hair dryer in the room. The Germans come to this hotel for treatment, so at the reception they asked not to make noise, since it was late and the vacationers were already asleep. Well, it wasn’t there, our “horde” of schoolchildren managed to excel in this hotel so much that in the morning there were continuous complaints about running around the corridor and screaming in the middle of the night. It was a shame to all of us for such bad manners of our rising generation.
The hotel has a heated pool, but it is open until 23:00, and we arrived later. Hairdryers were near the pool showers.
Day three. Breakfast at this hotel was even better than in Polish: in addition to the usual assortment of cuts and scrambled eggs, the breakfast included fruit juices, salads from fresh fruits and fresh vegetables, a selection of jelly and honey. Departure was at 9-00, almost no delay.
Next on the agenda was Amsterdam. We arrived there at about 12-30, near the railway. station took the guide Irina, who all three days was our guide to Holland. Irina turned out to be a very good guide, we listened to her with pleasure all three days. The tour started with a visit to a diamond factory, where some tourists bought items with diamonds. My daughter bought herself a watch with a small stone instead of the number 12.
Then there was a walking tour of the central streets, about 2 hours. It ended again near the railway station. And from there we sailed on a boat through the canals, and the schoolchildren were taken to a cafe to be fed lunch. The boat trip lasted 1 hour, I liked it.
At 17-00 we all get on the bus and go to the settlement in the hotel. The hotel "Dutch Design hotel Artemis 4 *" is not located in the center, but in a new business area. Anyone who wanted to get to the center could take a tram in half an hour. Check in is fast, rooms are great. The room has a hairdryer, iron, electric kettle and tea and coffee set. After the settlement, an evening excursion for adults to the Red Light District was planned. The bus brought those who wished to the center, and took everyone after the tour. Who went, everyone liked it. Some people stayed after the tour in the center, then they got on their own by tram. A tram ticket costs 2.60 euros.
Day four. The breakfast was chic, in addition to traditional dishes there were stewed champignons, beans in red sauce, red fish in several versions, a salad from ripe sweet watermelon, and the juices in the coolers were delicious, with pulp, especially cherry. I still salivate when I remember these breakfasts.
This day was full of excursions. In the morning we went to the spring fairy tale - Keukenhof park. This tour was a feature of this tour and we went for it. I took the first photos at 9-20, we were given time until 12 o'clock. The park impressed us so much with its beauty that now we dream of going there again. In the park itself, not all flowerbeds have blossomed yet, but the layout of the park itself is very beautiful, and 4 pavilions (orchids, tulips, roses and potted flowers) complemented what was not in the park. And the white peacock near the tulip pavilion was so unusual! Now, looking through my photos, I live the dream to see this beauty again. Some of the tourists were still in the park, we then called for them after The Hague.
And at 12 o'clock we went on an excursion to Delft. The town is small, interesting, but after Amsterdam it did not impress us. A short excursion, a lunch break at a local cafe, and then we go to The Hague. We drove through The Hague in transit, stopping only near the building of the International Court, for a photo. Our goal was to visit the Madurodam miniature park. It is located on the outskirts of The Hague. Here we also liked it, an hour and a half of time flew by like a blink of an eye. Together with the entrance ticket, we were given a booklet in Russian, with a description of all the exhibits presented there, so it was easy to navigate.
Then we pick up the remaining tourists from the park and return to Amsterdam, again passing through the center. Those who wish go out there and continue to walk in the city, and we go to the hotel. I had to comprehend what I saw, put my photos in order, and relax. We dined in the room with groceries bought in Delft at the supermarket. The husband appreciated the virtues of Heineken beer.
Day five. In the morning again a rich breakfast, and check out from the hotel. At 8-30 we go to the outback of Holland. The first was the village of Zaanse Schans. We visited a klomp workshop, where one pair of wooden shoes was made with us. There is also a shop where you could buy or try on clogs without even buying them. We bought only a souvenir version, but tried on real clogs for a photo. Very tough, the Dutch wear these clogs on a thick woolen sock.
Further there is a factory and a cheese shop. We were immediately told how real Dutch cheese is made. Then we went to the store, where there are a lot of different kinds of cheeses, and we could try everything. They also sold heads of cheese, and Irina gave a description of each of them. We bought a set of 4 small heads of cheese, each about 300 gr. They brought it home with no problems.
After the cheese factory, we walked along the dam to the mills, took a photo. At the exit, a surprise awaited us: calendars with views of Holland and our photo, which at the very beginning at the entrance was snapped by a local photographer, hung on the stand. This photo calendar cost 10 euros. It is not necessary to pick it up, but my husband turned out very well in the photo, and I bought the calendar. It turned out to be the best souvenir in memory of Holland.
Then we went to the village of Volendam on the shore of the bay. As such, there was no tour. Irina led us through the village to the embankment and at the same time the main street, where all tourist sites, shops, cafes are concentrated. She suggested where it is cheaper to buy souvenirs, showed us shops with fish products. There we bought tulip bulbs, amaryllis, souvenirs. (Amaryllis already had small arrows, and at home they bloomed very quickly. The flower itself is huge, I measured the diameter of the flower, it turned out 23 cm, like a large plate. )
And, of course, we bought sandwiches with Dutch herring (2.5 euros each) and smoked eel (3.5 euros each). Liked both.
Departure was scheduled for 15 hours. Before leaving, we also went to a supermarket, which is located next to the square for tourist buses, and bought two packages of Dutch beer "Amstel" and "Heineken" there, one was even taken home. Then we left the amazing rural Holland and went to Amsterdam for tourists who refused to tour. There we waited half an hour for latecomers, and now we are heading to a transit hotel in Germany, that wonderful hotel in Bad Essen.
We arrive at the hotel early, at 20-30, the pool is still open, and we go to the pool. The pool is small and not designed for jumping and diving, only for a relaxing swim. And here again some of our students showed themselves. They jumped from acceleration directly to the heads of the floating ones, yelled at the whole hotel. The hotel staff did not expect such a disgrace, and were shocked. It seems to me that after visiting this hotel by our group, Ukrainian tourists will no longer be accepted there.
My husband tried several times to calm the most raging, but it did not help for long. Again we were ashamed of their behavior, and we left. For ourselves, we concluded that we would not take tours during school holidays, so as not to run into such a group of schoolchildren again.
Day six. In the morning the breakfast was excellent again, and the check-out was, as always, late.
On this day we had an excursion to Leipzig. We arrived there at 2 pm. The guide Vladimir took us first to the monument "Battle of the Nations" against Napoleon's troops. The monument was very impressive with its majesty and height of 92 m. Next to it, an Orthodox Russian church was built and still operates in honor of the dead Russian soldiers in this battle. We went inside and paid tribute to the memory of the dead. Then we went to Leipzig right in the center to the Thomaskirche with a monument and the grave of Bach. Vladimir spoke a little about Bach's life, then we went to the church where he is buried. Then we went through several shopping arcades with an excursion, and into the center to the market square. There we were given 1 hour of free time. If not for the chronic delays, there would be much more time. And so we only managed to eat in a cafe near the old town hall, and buy souvenirs in a shop nearby. Lunch for two with first and second courses, beer and ice cream cost 40 euros. And again on the bus, and on the road. Overnight stay at the same Dvorek motel. This time the water was hot, and we didn’t have to wait, but again there were only one large towel.
Day seven. In the morning a good breakfast, worse than the Germans, but quite acceptable, and we are going towards Krakow, since we have two more excursions on the program. Surprisingly no one was late! Our first excursion was in the city of Pszczyna, not far from Krakow. There we visited the royal castle. The guide did not speak Russian, so our accompanying guide Natalya performed simultaneous translation. The castle was also very nice. It contains all the originals, even the wallpaper in the rooms is more than 100 years old. Fortunately, the war spared him from destruction and now he is the property of the city of Pszczyna, which is very proud of its inhabitants. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to take photos there without payment, and the ticket office was closed, there was no time to wait, and we went through the castle without a photo. In each hall, attendants sat and watched the tourists. But fortunately everyone was disciplined, and no one secretly filmed. The photo session was arranged only outside the castle.
After that, we go to Krakow and get stuck in a traffic jam. We lose a whole hour in a traffic jam and arrive at the center only at 17-30. A local guide is waiting for us there, a woman, but I can’t remember the name. We started our tour from the Wawel Castle, then walked along the central streets of Krakow along the "Royal Way". There were stops in interesting places, we waited for the trumpeter to play his melody through the window of the cathedral and wave to us. After that, there was 1 hour of free time, we went to the Krakow galleries, for an hour we didn’t manage to do anything there, except to buy food for dinner. Not everyone who was in Krakow before went on the tour, they went to the water park. Then, the bus came to the center for us, and we followed the rest to the water park. We planned to leave Krakow at 21:00, but we left an hour later. But it no longer mattered, since we had a road home further. On the way to the border, we were stopped by the Polish police and everyone's passports were checked. They took the bus to the parking lot, collected everyone's passports and ran them through their computer. So the border, even the mobile one, is under their control. The border was passed quickly, less than 2 hours.
At about 7 o'clock in the morning the bus was in Lviv. The same Irena hotel was ordered from us, and we went on vacation, and the rest were offered another tour of Lviv.
Now the conclusions: I liked the tour, despite the constant delays of our bandmates. All excursions according to the program were completed. Of course, the main goal of the tour was to visit Holland, and the rest of the cities were just for the first acquaintance. We are simply fascinated by Holland, and again we dream of a trip, and only in the spring, when the Keukenhof park will open. The hotels are good, the drivers are excellent, the bus was constantly cleaned. On long hauls, Natalia prepared tea and coffee. Especially it is necessary to cancel her calmness and patience. Regarding several roughnesses, we wrote everything in our questionnaires upon arrival.
In my review, I deliberately do not indicate where the group of schoolchildren came from, in order not to escalate the situation. And not everyone there was so ill-mannered, most of the guys behaved very dignified, only a few people spoiled the whole picture. There are also schoolchildren in our family, and they also go abroad, but only with their parents. After all, maybe the parents of these guys do not even suspect how their children behave without them. So this is also food for thought for parents.
