Fatman to Ironman

Off-topic but I figure this is a good place to ask.  My wife, me and my soon to be 16 year old daughter are planning a trip to Europe for the Christmas holidays.  I've got friends in Rotterdam so will start the journey there.  I've also been invited to England for some boxing day football so will probably depart from London.  Given how close everything is to Holland, any suggestions of other places to visit?  I've been to Paris 3 times and London twice but my daughter has never been.  My mother in law's family is also 100% irish so that's on the radar as well.  Any advice?

Yes, SD, the inviter for the football is none other than the Budgie, a Canary through and through.

I'll try catch you then, I only live round the corner from Carrow Road.

40 min parents evening/30 min bike/15 min run, brick tonight.

IY - got to be Amsterdam!

I'm assuming that spending a couple days in Rotterdam would include a short trip over to Amsterdam. I was thinking more about other countries/cities to visit.  I should have mentioned, I've also been to Germany once including Leipzig and Frankfurt but never Berlin.

Berlin is a bit of a stretch from NL, though you could get a cheap flight from Amsterdam. Munich may be worth a visit. Germany can get very cold in the winter.

Switzerland is a must in the winter, though pricey.

I get the feeling I'm going to have a tough time narrowing down the ever growing list of "must sees." 

30 min turbo & 15 min run brickette yesterday.
Utterly rubbish swim today, felt as if I was trying to drag a two-ton sack of jelly through treacle.  My form was pants.  Binned it after 50 lengths.
However, it was a good warm-up for the 30 min run I did straight out of the pool, which went well. 

Nurse Ratched wrote (see)

However, it was a good warm-up for the 30 min run I did straight out of the pool, which went well. 

Was it cold running in your swim suit?

45 minute run done. Shins are starting to feel a bit tender at the mo

1 hour swim coming up then home for a Phal

Yank ... Cologne would be on my list as well if you get the chance

Fraggle !!   Dont you pick up the injury gauntlet
Nursey .. why was it pants, what went wrong?

1hr swim, 45 min turbo and 1hr gym work for me ... fair knackered!!

IY - If you have the time, perhaps a stop over in Dublin or one of the Channel Islands?

NR - I had a crappy swim yesterday too.  A different coach took the session and I didn't gel with her or the advice to "enter the water thumb first" which is contary to all other such advice.  So looking back, I let myself get "bothered" which resulted in a regression of the stroke.

As for today I polished off another set of "return to running" drills which consisted of 6 x 5 mins with 30secs walking between each rep.  Felt great with no reaction or pain from the newly reshaped joint.

60 mins on the rollers await before like SD, I will be consuming a curry!

What is the best way around the UK? Rent a car and risk killing myself on the other side of the road? Trains? A cheapie airline like Ryanair?

Bike?