Inflight, June 2025
On our way to Rome one first glimpse of Asinara Island,
and the Strait of Bonifacio that lies between the islands of Corse and Sardegna.
Blue skies in Fiumicino/Leonardo da Vinci airport:
Summertime is here!
Netherlands: Almere Centrum
Almere, June 2025
Usually we don't stay at Almere but our hotel was overbooked so they sent us to another one in Almere. I never heard of Almere before - in fact I don't know any other city than Amsterdam in the Netherlands, nor I can't remember anything else from my first visit to the country in 1986. I was a little bit annoyed because I planned to visit the Anne Frank House Museum in this layover. I read her diary earlier this year and I was curious about it. Anyway, I'll wait for another opportunity...
It seems that Almere is the most recent and modern city in the Netherlands, entirely planned from the scratch. The first house was finished in 1976 according to the Wikipedia. This city is composed of six distinct districts: Almere Haven, Almere Stad, Almere Buiten, Almere Poort and Almere Oosterwold. Some parts of the planned city are yet to be constructed, like the district of Almere Pampus.
We stayed in Almere Centrum which is part of Almere Stad. Almere Centrum is all about shops, pubs and restaurants and modern architecture.
The district sits nearby an artificial lake, Weerwater, so you can even find a small beach or strand like the locals say. We were there the day before the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. The weather was sunny so the locals were truly enjoying the longest day of the year:
On the return flight, we took the A320neo with the Star Alliance livery. Here already parked after our arrival at Lisbon Airport:
