Trying to find the Sittard Train Station

So, the Alien Child will be visiting in a few week's time (hooray! A family vacation at last!).  We'd like to take a day trip on the train to Amsterdam, and there is a train route that goes directly to that city from nearby Sittard just across the border in the Netherlands.  We plan to drive to Sittard, park in the Park and Ride garage, and go from there.

But there is one problem:  where is the train station?  More particularly, where is the station parking garage?  Easy!  You go to the Netherlands train web site to find out, right?

Wrong!  Click on the link to the web site.  Try to find directions to the Sittard station.  Not there?  Hmm. How about directions to the parking garage?  Not there, either, or if it is, I haven't found it after more than a couple of hours of searching.  How about just the address of the station?  Nope.  The web site assumes that if you do not speak Dutch, but only speak English in the Netherlands you must of course know where the various train stations are.

Bikerumor Pic of the Day

Hey, one of my photos made it to Bike Rumor's Pic of the Day!  John posted it to his blog, and Bike Rumor picked it up from there.  Is that fun or what?  Bike Rumor has John's name on it, but he has properly attributed it to me on his blog. 

Paris, Part Four - the Tour de France - Fini!

The Tour de France is so much more than is depicted on television, especially on U.S. TV.  The media focus is on the sport, on the athletes, and on who wins and loses.  But being at the event itself...well...the sport is almost only half of it.  It is very much an international celebration, and a celebration of the bicycling culture of Europe more than anything else.

I won't go in depth about the European bicycling culture here, as my dear John is doing that on his own blog.  However, it's very different here than in the U.S.  Bicycling in Europe is an everyday, utilitarian activity, often on "city-style" bikes that have seen better days.  If you want to go to the grocery store or to a local restaurant, you hop on a bicycle in your street clothes (no helmet!) and go.