Avengers: Endgame

This review contains spoilers from last year's Avengers: Infinity War (but none from Endgame, save what you could infer from the trailers).



Thanos won.  He bested our heroes in Infinity War, and now half of all living creatures on Earth are dead.  The surviving Avengers deal with this horrible reality in different ways (few of them positive).  But it's no good reliving the past; what's done is done.  Or is it?

I can't say more without spoiling things. But this film, effectively the conclusion to the 22-film saga that started with 2008's Iron Man, did a great job.  It progressed the story, had interesting twists, paid homage to former films, and featured the great action and comedic lines typical of the series.  It's not perfect; there are some ill-explained plot points, and like Infinity War, it doesn't stand alone- you really need to be familiar with the former movies to fully enjoy the film.  But all in all, a deeply satisfying conclusion to an impressive run.

Rating: A-

Schloß Drachenburg

On the way home from the Netherlands, we made one final stop. Ninety miles west of Frankfurt and nestled in the Siebengebirge (seven mountains) area just off the A3 lies Schloss Drachenburg (Drachenburg Palace). Built in the 1880s, it has passed through several hands and served many functions over the years, to include summer resort, Christian boarding school, Nazi elite school, refugee camp, and (currently) tourist attraction.  A stroll around the grounds affords excellent views of the romantic structure.

Head up the tower for fantastic views of palace and Rhein alike.  Note the ruins of Drachenfels castle on the hill just left of the tower in the third picture below.

The interior is lavishly decorating and pays homage to the epic Nibelungen saga (some story about a dragon- typical romantic fare).

It's quite the uphill hike to get from the parking lot to the palace, but worth the walk.  Go in the summer and spend a few days in the region.

Amsterdam

Continuing to post about our recent travels, today we look back at our day in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is one of the most unique cities we've seen. A series of canals, built in the 1600s, form concentric rings around the main downtown area; intersecting canals enable navigation between them and create the overhead appearance of an aquatic spiderweb.  We took a canal boat tour; lasting about one hour, it's a great way to see one of the rings and enjoy the more open waters of the harbor.

After the boat tour, we went on foot to enjoy the scenery and ambiance from another angle.  The tranquility of the area was disturbed only by the hordes of aggressive bicyclists.  The city boasts over 800,000 bikes; most of them are on your particular street at any given moment.  That aside, we gazed in wonder at the narrow buildings, leaning structures, and unique architecture.  And, most importantly, we had some amazing ice cream.  I had rhubarb and black currant scoops . . . amazing.

We ended our stroll in front of the Anne Frank house.  We had been before, so we didn't go in.  We couldn't have if we wanted to; tickets are sold exclusively online, often selling out ~6 weeks in advance.  I think they hold 20% of the tickets for same-day sales, but they're probably gone within minutes of opening.

Afterwards, we found a game store (it was a good one!), walked back to our car (parked in a lot near the Rijksmuseum).  Amsterdam is meant for bikes; parking spaces for cars are few and expensive (we paid ~40 Euro for a half-day).  That inconvenience aside, this is a lovely town well worth a day or two.