July 18 & 19, 2024
After a quick dip in the pool, we had planned to head down to the center of Braşov for the morning. However, a little kitten was fascinated with the belt from my wife's bathrobe, so we played with the cat instead.
Braşov Airport was busy, with two flights today! One to Budapest, one to Dortmund, Germany. We opted for Dortmund, as it was cheaper, hopping a train from there to Duisberg (1). At a busy Italian restaurant, everyone sat together at long tables, where we chatted with a Czech woman married to a German. The topic turned to the parallels between the upcoming US national and German state elections in the Fall.
The next morning, a quick train ride brought us to Amsterdam, where we joined a bike tour. While known as a city of cyclists, there was more chaos than expected in the interactions on the narrow streets between cars, pedestrians, and bicyclists, all of whom thought they had the right of way. Everybody yielded to the trams
The Rijks Museum had no tickets available on this summer Friday, so we strolled around the gardens, enjoying the statues.
The day ended at a Chamber Music concert in a beautiful church near the Concert Gebouw Hall. The opening piece by Dvorak was delightful, making full use of the rich tone combinations offered by the strings. The first half closed with a more difficult piece by Janaček. A duet for two violins written by an English friend of the violinist based on a Ugandan folk song was a lively opening to the second half, and the concert ended with a Bartok piece.
(1) I had never heard of Duisberg before, but it saved us a connection on the train journey the next day to Amsterdam.
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