Mainz

My brother from another mother (Andrew Van Leeuwen who I hadn't seen in 18 months) appeared on the platform as we dismounted the train and walked us to his and Anne's apartment and settled us in before we did a quick walking tour of the immediate town/village of Mainz. We settled in that night with a good traditional German dinner cooked up by Andy and then wondered to one of the several locals for what they call a Vier-Tower (Beer-5litre long tube complete with tap), and a cheeky pretzel. The following morning we got a more detailed tour of Mainz and the surrounding area including the brand spanking new football stadium of the local team. Impressive stuff. THat night we went to an outdoor screening of the German v Greece Euro final, along with 1000 or so passionate locals. They weren't disappointed with an easy 4-1 win. The next day we took it easy and decided to rekindle our healthy appetite for competition by firing up the Fifa and squaring off several times. Beers in hand and quality banter took us back a couple years. We lucked out with the timing of our visit as one of Mainz big street festivals was kicking off for the whole weekend and we enjoyed it by drinking and eating in the streets on the Friday night. Like nothing you will ever see in Australia. The village street setup of these old European towns are made for festivals and the locals more than embrace it. The next day Andy and I travelled to a nearby town for a soccer tournament that he was playing in. Again, WOW!! The canteen spread was seriously impressive complete with your Sausage (wurst) and a bun with mustard and sauce. Wash that (them) down with quality German ale(s), and then reward yourself for supporting the event by indulging in some of the many sweet bakery offerings. All that and live sport to watch and I was more than happy with the Saturday progress. Andy's team however didn't progress far other than to give the metre drinking competition a fair crack. Imagine a metre long wooden contraption that holds 10ish sizeable ale's easily carried by one person. The winning team of this side competition is obviously that which goes back to the bar for the most of these. So you can imagine by the end of the day the more serious half of competitors are fighting it out sober for the football honours whilst the other half struggle to stay conscious on the sidelines. Great day out in the sun! The next day we slept in a bit after another night at the festival and then went out hunting for my culinary friend from my 2011 Octoberfest experience. A 'port knuckle' is your own personal little roast pork with amazing gravy and an abundance of shinny crackle. We sat in the main street of Mainz and devoured what was our first meal of the day. The day only got better with a bit of sport (formula 1) in one of the local pubs. From there we heading to a nearby area where Anne's wonderful parents live. We walked to a cool little traditional eatery where, apparently I "just had to get the pork schnitzel'. Andrew later commented that I had done my part in wiping out a entire breed of swine that day.

The following day I turned 25! After a slow start to the day we packed up a picnic and drove out in to the nearby wine region. It is a beautiful town that the guys live in, made more spectacular by the surrounding areas. The main waterway slices throughout the rolling green, grape vine draped hills. We pulled in at one the guys favourite restaurants and enjoyed  a seriously awesome meal washed down by one of Andy's more arse'y vino selections. As if that spoiling wasn't enough! It continued as Rhi later cooked up one of her famous Thai spreads and then we went out for the closing night of the festival (fireworks over the water and all!) and said our goodbyes to the great crew Andy and Anne have got in Mainz. The next morning the guys dropped us off at the train station (after picking up my birthday present from the local post office. Thanks Mum!). Big thanks to Andy, Anne and your extended German family for a great time.

Amsterdam

We rolled in off the train and weaved through a couple small streets and canals to our hostel. We settled into what turned out to be an all male (12 in total) dorm which pleased Rhi immensely. We went out and grabbed a bite before finding a pub to watch some euro soccer. Before retiring for the day we did the obligatory walk throughout the red-light district neighbouring our accommodation. For those that haven't seen it with their own eyes , the street windows are full of scantly clad females winking, yelling and pointing in your direction in a quick fire attempt to get you to succumb to their sexy charm and plastic tits. As a couple, Rhi and I strolled these streets like emotionless horse judges exchanging fair feedback for these desperate fillies. "She doesn't look that interesting whilst she's texting away on her phone", "Oh look at the bed and bathroom setup she has equipped herself with" and "Obviously a promotion for these girls is to get a street level window" were kind of remarks we went with.

The next day we got out and checked out Anne Frank's prior residence which was interesting and what would be the start of our second world war overload. Later that day we checked out the sex museum which was a handy contrast from Anne's joint and put a smile back on our face before another handy meal in the form a decent meat pie ('PieMinister' - look it up if you visit) complete with 'deadorse'. That lined the stomach for a couple froths accompanying another big euro match at the pubski.

The following day we hired some bikes and rode a good distance though parks, canals, markets and cool new warehouse type real estate developments. One of my favourite days yet in Europe I thought as we rode next to the canals, sun beaming down, stopping for some great Italian food and micro brewery jars. As I touched on in Ghent, I have discovered a love for canals. When they're done well waterways can define a city and they have sure done that to this place! I can see why all the artists flocked to the beautiful areas of this city. All in all Amsterdam has some tacky (red-light) and commercialized (central) areas that aren't so good but if you get on a bike and out into the burbs you can soon see the massive charm that the parks, independent shops and eateries and canals bring to the table.