Last Days in the Netherlands

Got some more pictures to share from our last week or so in the Netherlands.  While in Rotterdam for Filmapalooza, these two showed up and we hit the town together.

Mike and Allison are always fun to hang out with; behind us is the Erasmus bridge, which is striking (and a bit of a schlep!) day and night.

Allison found a brewery tour (and her instincts led us to get there on time, while the rest of us were content aboard a bus that would have taken us completely the wrong way).  La Trappe Trappist is a monastery and a brewery with a great history and (and a very engaging tour guide).  Their beer is just as good as their social and environmental conscience.  An example of religion being used correctly!

Looking down at the main floor at Filmapalooza.  The theater used for the event seemed to have been (and in fact was) tailor-made for film festivals.  Extensive talent gathered there that week.  ...Also us!

Now permanently moored as a museum and hotel, the SS Rotterdam is where the awards ceremony took place.  (In case you're wondering, we got our city trophy, but no additional honors.  :^)

Kim and I spent a couple of days back in Amsterdam after the festival.  We saw, among other things, a house-turned-museum with some very interesting art and history (and the perfect small trickle of guests; we effectively had the run of the place and could explore and learn at our leisure, unlike some other tours we'd taken).

We also got to stop in at the Brouwerij 'Tij, a brewery and taproom built onto/into a (no longer working) windmill - the tallest in the Netherlands.  It used to be a public bathhouse, and the steam machines, tile, pipes and drains all came in handy when it became a brewery.

There's plenty more to share and lots more photos to sort out, but these last few posts have been our Dutch adventures in a nutshell!  We were glad for the chance to travel (and got back just before the covid-19 travel bans started happening...) and had a great time in the Netherlands.  We will be snacking on souvenir cheese and chocolate for a while.  :^)