Last Post from Europe (probably)

Had a few minutes to bring this thing up to speed while I wait for my train that'll bring me to my ferry to Ireland. No pictures right now though since the computer here doesn't have a place to plug in my camera.
After Paris it was on to Amsterdam. My first stop there was the Heineken Experience. Went through the brewery and got some fresh Heineken. It tastes so good when it hits the lips.
After that I went out with a some other people from the US that were in my hostel as well as a couple of Brits. We painted the town red. Actually, I take that back since I think that expression might take on a whole different meaning in Amsterdam with it's, umm, "special districts".
Amsterdam really is a town where you can find anything you want though. If I hadn't brought this up before, the only pop they have in Europe is Coke, Sprite, Orange Fanta, and Pepsi. So imagine my delight when I walked into a store in Amsterdam that had Mountain Dew and A&W, and at only $4 for one can!
There really wasn't a whole lot more to see as far as landmarks in Amsterdam besides a few churches. One other place that was interesting was Anne Frank's house. I got to walk through the factory her father owned and then upstairs into the secret door behind the bookcase to the rooms where they were hiding for a few years before the Nazis caught them.
After Amsterdam I hit up Brussels. Was actually planning on going to Ghent where there was a festival, but I was all partied out after Amsterdam so I just stayed in Brussels. I stopped in one of the many bread stores unti lI found one with a man working the counter. He was about 6'4" but not full of muscles. I asked if I could get a pciture of myself buying bread from him, but he evidently didn't see the little humour involved in recreating a verse from a Men at Work song. Oh well.
From Brussels it was on to Bayeux in Normandy, France. I knew it was near the D-Day beaches, but later found out it was actually the first town liberated by the Allies once they began the push into France from Britain.
I met up with a girl from South Africa who also wanted to see the beaches, so we went together.
At her insistence we started at Pointe du Hoc, an outcrop of land where the Germans had a bunch of guns stationed and could hit Utah or Omaha beach. 225 US rangers assaulted it and only 90 of them survived, but they did capture it. Next we were going to head East to Omaha beach. We walked, and walked, and walked. It was a long way, something I tried to tell her when she decided to see the Pointe. Not wanting to walk the whole way we tried to hitchhike. One good thing about having a good looking blonde girl traveling with you in France is just about any guy will pull over to give you a lift. The guy that happened to pull over for us had a car that smelled horribly of fish. I was glad for the lift, and even happier when he dropped us off and I smelled my clothes to find the fish odor hadn't stuck with me. We walked down Omaha Beach, and it was easy to see why the Germans weren't expecting an attack there. the beach is very wide, making crossing it very time consuming. Plus it's all lined by hills.
After seeing the memorial on the beach, we made our way to the cemetery which was another long hike, but definitely worth it. Over 9600 white crosses line a plateau that looks out over the sea. You'll see in the pictures I have that it's incredible.
And that brings me to now.
Have to get headed to the train station. I'll post the last of the pics and some good movies once I'm back in Dubuque in a few days.
Later.