Karen Sandler

Category: Travel

  • LTUE – The Pre-Game Show

    Today’s the first day of the Life, the Universe & Everything (LTUE) symposium in Orem, Utah. I haven’t yet walked over to the Utah Valley University where the symposium is held, but last night I had a blast at the BYU campus at this event. I was a late addition to Stacy Whitman’s talk on children’s publishing. Most of the questions during the Q&A portion were for Stacy, but I got to field several. I love sharing about writing and what I know about the publishing business. Speaking to this class was a wonderful opportunity to do that.

    After the talk, we went out to Sakura, an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant. A dangerous place for me to be since I l-o-v-e sushi. I ate more than I should have, but it was oh, so good. Particularly the Twin Dragon roll. Yum.

    My impression of Utah (or Orem, anyway): a little chillier than home, desert-like (well, it’s a desert–what do you expect?) and dry-dry-dry. I thought the Sacramento area was dry. My skin was flakier than a pie crust (okay, that imagery is pretty eww). Nice people.

    Now off to LTUE.

  • A Heckuva Long Walk Just for Pancakes

    More than an hour walk each way for lunch, but they were very good pancakes. And the walk was gorgeous, through the Amelisweerd Estate in Utrecht. It’s got an almost fairytale kind of beauty. Mixed in with World War II bunkers (you’ll have to check the Flickr photos for a view of them). Not to mention the self-pedaled beer wagon we encountered after lunch.

    Truly, I didn’t mind the walk at all. It was our last day in the Netherlands, and it seemed appropriate to finally indulge in some Dutch food. The pancakes at Theehuls Rhijnauwen (warning: the site is in Dutch) are of course nothing like American pancakes. They were more like large (plate-sized), flat crepes, although thicker than a crepe. Toppings were either cooked into the batter or laid on top like you would on a pizza.

    Mine was the zalmzee, topped with smoked salmon, herbed cheese, and capers. The amount of smoked salmon on the pancake was astounding. I couldn’t come close to eating it all and had to pass on the leftovers to my brother-in-law.

    In general, the portions I was served in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany were quite large, usually more than I could eat. I ate plenty, though, and nearly always had dessert after lunch and dinner. But all the exercise I got, between hikes in the countryside and walking to lunch or dinner, I actually returned home having lost a few pounds. Not to mention my first trip back to the gym was a piece of cake.

    All in all, a lovely visit.

     

     

  • Koln and Shopping

    We left our somewhat sketchy B&B in Consdorf on Tuesday to head for Germany for a day in Cologne (Koln). As I said before, although the accommodations were substandard (the first night’s bed sagged, the second night’s bed had springs that nearly pierced me), the breakfasts were quite good. Here’s an example.

    Once we got to Koln and got the car parked, we headed over to the beautiful “dom” or cathedral. As you can see from the photos, there was quite a lot to see around and in the cathedral.

    We followed up our visit to the cathedral with lunch at a brewhouse, then walked along the river and made our way to the Lindt Chocolate Museum. More walking (I swear we averaged 4-5km per day), then headed back to Utrecht. Along the way, we stopped for dinner in a Portuguese restaurant.

    Wednesday, we shopped in downtown Utrecht to get those last few gifts for family. Some nice shots here.

  • From Belgium to Luxembourg to Germany

    We left our lovely B&B in Belgium for the long drive down to our B&B in Luxembourg. Along the way we stopped in at Val Dieu Abbey where we walked the grounds and bought some beer and cider in the abbey shop. On to Spa, where we ate lunch at Domino’s, a steakhouse that also featured Romanian dishes. We wandered the town, then continued on our way.

    When we arrived at the B&B, it was a real disappointment. The owners seem to have a real aversion to well-lit rooms (perhaps they’re vampires). In the room we slept in last night (we’ve switched rooms for the second night), there was space for six bulbs in the chandelier, but only two worked. It took some arm-twisting to get more bulbs.

    Then the bed was horrid. The box-springs was broken so the mattress sagged in the middle like a hammock. After an awkward night sleeping on the broken bed (my body kept wanting to roll into the middle) we did manage to get a different room with a perfectly fine bed. The only downside is the toilet is in the hall, but that’s no biggie.

    The breakfast was stellar, despite the bed issues. Incredible chocolate croissant, a lemon curd filled pastry, rolls, thinly sliced ham and cheese as well as other meats. Fresh fruit and some good coffee.

    We headed out to Larochette to hike. First up to the castle (quite a climb), where a beautiful cat followed us up, then through the countryside (including alongside some cornfields), then back into town. It was about a 7km hike in all, with some gorgeous scenery along the way. We had sandwiches at a patisserie (where the wind kicked up and nearly blew over all the umbrellas). My sandwich was ham on the world’s best baguette. Yum!

    We then drove down to Echternach where we shopped, then walked along the Sauer River until we reached a bridge that crossed over into Germany. We hung out at a German pub where everyone but me drank a glass of Bitburger ale. I’m not much of a beer drinker, unless it’s a very malty variety.

    We walked back into Luxembourg, then returned to the B&B. I should be resting, but I wanted to get the blog post and pictures out. Enjoy!

     

  • A Day in Amsterdam

    We took the train into Amsterdam yesterday where we ate two meals, visited two museums and met two new friends who were from two different countries (heh). We started the day with lunch at Renzo’s, an Italian deli with a selection of yummy pasta dishes. You pick and choose what you want–a little of this, a little of that. They warm it for you as needed, then serve it up. Since there were no tables available in the small place, we ate on benches outside. Quite delish.

    Afterward, we walked to the Van Gogh Museum and my husband and I went inside while my brother and sister-in-law ran errands. They’d recently visited the museum.

    Van Gogh has always been a favorite of mine and it was marvelous seeing so many of his famous artworks displayed right in front of me. There are of course no photos allowed, but I have memories to take home.

    After the Van Gogh museum, we did some wandering around the city (I bought some Dutch tulip bulbs) until the entry time for our ticket into the Anne Frank House. That is a moving and somewhat horrifying exhibit. To have lived that life, hidden away as such a young girl with the threat of discovery by the Nazis at any moment is unimaginable. I’m claustrophobic and the close spaces were sometimes difficult for me to navigate.

    After Anne Frank, we met up with two friends of our in-laws, Cassandra and Marco. She’s from the U.S. and he’s from Italy. We headed off across the city to Pak Nam Pho, a Thai restaurant tucked away in an alley. Although the food took forever to be served (small place, one cook), it was fabulous (phad thai & red beef curry). It was so tasty I ate far more than I should have and was completely stuffed.

    After saying our goodbyes to Cassandra and Marco, we headed back to the train station. We had good transportation karma–we caught the train just before it departed and the bus we needed at the other end pulled up right after we arrived. So we got back to the house speedily where I collapsed into bed.

    Pictures here.