NetherlandsNorth HollandGemeente AmsterdamDe WallenWarmoes Clubs52°22’30” N 4°53’50” E
June 5, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
We finally arrived in Amsterdam this afternoon after our day long journey to get here.
Our journey started in Loxton at around 1pm on Sunday. Missy dog was picked up by Murray and Trudy for her holiday with them in the morning and we have said our good byes to Oscar cat who is being looked after by Charmaine who is house sitting for us. We drove to Murray Bridge and caught up with Jay, Fiona and the kids for a coffee and cake and then headed to mum and dads for tea. Fliss and Charlotte joined us for a traditional Dutch meal prepared by mum which was a fitting start for the holiday ahead.
A highlight while at the airport was running into Graham Gates, he was seeing his son off who had been over from London to visit him. We only got to chat for a few minutes but I was rapt to catch up with him as I have hardly seen him since leaving Coorong 4 years ago. I have utmost respect for Graham and will make a point of catching up with him when we return.
The first leg of our flights took us from Adelaide to Dubai and took about 12 hours. It's a long flight but we did manage a few little sleeps. We were both over sitting down by the end and enjoyed wandering around Dubai airport during our 2 hour stopover. We did find some new bottles of Jameson's which we may purchase duty free on the way home.
The next flight from Dubai to Amsterdam took 6 1/2 hours and was much easier than the first leg, especially as the last hour or two the excitement levels increased substantially as we closed in on the end of the flight. The red wine and jack Daniels probably helped with this as well.
On our flights we do choose to sit at the back of the plane. We don't feel so crowded in and it does provide the opportunity to easily stand up for a while which is good to stretch and get some movement happening. We also enjoy meal time on the flights, not only was the food very good but meal times break up the monotony and are something to look forward to on the flight. They also had Vegemite with the breakfast so we have kept the two small sachets we got so Amy can satisfy her craving for Vegemite during the trip.
We took the train from Schiphol airport to Centraal and found our way to the Tulip Inn which is our lodgings for the next few days. The hotel is a bit old and dated but is very comfortable and in a fantastic location, we are very happy with it. Our room has a roof window and a few beams which I need to be mindful of and enough space for our bags and belongings. Given Amy's recent sore back it's probably a blessing that we are not staying in our favourite B&B down the road as we don't have the 5 flights of vertical stairs to contend with.
After a shower and freshen up we set out to reacquaint ourselves with my favourite city, remembering past adventures, checking out the wonky old buildings and enjoying a beer at a couple of favourite watering holes. Unfortunately our favourite Chinese restaurant in Chinatown no longer exists and is now a Mexican steakhouse. We were really looking forward to enjoying our duck fried rice but we settled for a plate of bittenballen, kroketten, frikandellen, wings with frites and mayo, all very yummy! I will probably enjoy bittenballen everyday we are here.
We were very tired from our trip so decided to have an early night, I think we were in bed by 8pm. Anyway, we are now up and about early this morning fully refreshed and ready to attack the day. First stop will be the Rijksmuseum one of our all time favourite places in Amsterdam.Read more
NetherlandsNorth HollandGemeente AmsterdamBinnenstadNederlands Scheepvaartmuseum52°22’18” N 4°54’53” E
June 6, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Today started with a delicious breakfast at the hotel. Not only do they have good scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages they also have an excellent selection of pastries, hams, cheeses, bread and rolls, not to mention hagelslag, or chocolate ants. This Dutch treat always reminds me of Oma who would feed us this whenever we were at her home. Anyway, we loaded up with a big breakfast to give us the energy to take on the day, which has been quite a big one.
It started at the Rijksmuseum where we got there a bit before 9am ready for it to open. It was great to get in there early and almost have the place to ourselves for a bit, but this didn't last long and within 1/2 an hour the place was filled with people and was very busy by the time we had been through. We love the Rijksmuseum and it always leaves me inspired and better for the experience it provides. We also enjoyed a very nice hot chocolate, coffee and cake at the restaurant.
We also bought our museum cards at the Rijksmuseum which gets us into 100's of museums and churches around the Netherlands. We recommend if you have more than a few days in the Netherlands and if you enjoy museums then the card is a must, will save you quite a bit of money and will bring experiences you may not have expected.
After the Rijksmuseum we then wandered across the road to the Diamond Museum. This was quite interesting. The diamond industry has been established in Amsterdam for over four centuries, the city has called itself the 'City of Diamonds since its heyday in the mid 18th century. The weather started getting quite windy and wet so we took the tram back to the hotel to get some warmer clothes on. We had to get off the tram a few stops early as there had been an accident further down the line so on our walk we visited the Royal Palace on Dam Square, last time we were here we did a very quick visit so today we took a bit more time to enjoy the palace. The palace was built in the 17th century as a city hall but later became the royal palace of King Louis Napoleon. The palace is still used by the Dutch royal family for entertaining and offical receptions. The decor is quite impressive and is well worth a visit.
Next to the palace is the Niewe Kerk where they have a press photo exhibition on. This was on last time we here as well. This exhibition is always moving, some of the photos captured were amazing but generally show the cruel and dark side of our human story of war, conflict and oppression. But despite the despair these images invoke there are also some very positive images and messages. One quote on display from Desmond Tutu that I was taken by said "Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." If we all lived by this then perhaps the world would be a much better place for everyone.
After getting some warmer clothes on it was onto another tram and a bit of a walk (only had to duck under cover once due to the rain) to the Scheepvaart Museum which is a maritime museum. The place was full of school children who were having a great time as the museum has many interactive elements. Moored outside the museum is a replica of the Amsterdam, an 18th century ship that sailed between the Netherlands and East Indies. In some areas of the ship I was constantly ducking under something, they were either quite short in those days or had hard heads.
We then walked through some residential areas before stopping for a snack of kroketten and frites outside the Artis Zoo. It was great sitting at this shop and watching all the school kids riding home, or getting a lift on a bike home. Then it was onto a tram to Rembrantplein where we got off and took a short walk to the Katten Kabinet which is a 17th century canal house filled with images, sculptures and paintings of cats. There were also two guards cats sleeping on a couch (photo attached), they didn't even stir when we gave them a pat. A bit more walking and we found ourselves at the flower market. We had to occasionally drop into a shop to get out of the rain but there were enough breaks in the weather for us to keep moving.
We wandered into the Beginhof, which is a courtyard with houses that date back to the 17th and 18th centuries however the area dates back to the 15th century but the original houses were destroyed by great fires that occurred in 1421 and 1452. The word Beginhof was mentioned for the first time in 1389. Beguines were pious catholic single women who performed good works similar to nuns. It is still a residential area that is only inhabited by woman who rent the homes. It's a great little part of Amsterdam that I love to visit. We then wandered into the Amsterdam Museum however it was about to close, it was almost 5pm. So we then wandered back to the hotel to put the feet up for a bit, glad we did as the rain has got much more intense since we got back.
Dinner tonight was at the Sichuan Chinese Restaurant. The food was delicious and we were lucky to get the window table.
Today was a great day, despite some ordinary weather, we had a lot of fun.Read more
NetherlandsNorth HollandHaarlemMelkbrug52°22’46” N 4°38’16” E
June 7, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
We got going fairly early again today despite the weather being wet and windy. Our mission this morning was to visit Haarlem, a town about 1/2 hour from Amsterdam. I have always wanted to visit Haarlem but hadn't done so on my first two trips to the Netherlands.
So we took the train and got there around 9am. It's a beautiful little town but the weather was not being too kind to us so we had to occasionally take cover from the rain and wind while walking around the town. First stop was the Great Church or St Bavo's. it's a magnificent church located in the main town square and it is the most dominant building in Haarlem. The floor of the church consists entirely of gravestones, 1500 of them, the oldest dating back to the 15th century.
Needing a hot drink to warm us up we dropped into a cafe for a coffee and hot chocolate. Our drinks were also served with some of the most awesome ice cream, not that we needed something cold. This also served to kill some time as the museums in Haarlem didn't open until 10am.
The first museum we visited was the Frans Hal Museum. Apparently Frans Hal is hailed as one of the three greatest painters of the Golden Age along with Rembrandt and Vermeer. I was particularly taken by the links between China and the Netherlands as portrayed at the museum. The Dutch greatly admired Chinese knowledge and skills such as the production of porcelain, which surpassed European ceramics at the time.
We then wandered into the Haarlem Museum which was very interesting. The guy behind the counter was also extremely helpful and friendly. Our experience of this museum started with a film about the history of this town which was very good. We learnt that the earliest inhabitants of this area were hunters from the Gooi dating back to 3600 BC. In 1245 Haarlem was granted town privileges and from that moment Haarlem was no longer a village but a city with its own council. Some of the interesting facts about Haarlem include:
- For centuries Haarlem was one of the biggest and most important cities of brewers in the Low Countries. In 1640 there were about 52 breweries, 50% of the cities income came from beer taxes.
- Haarlem was known as a city of printers from back in the 1480's. The Haarlems Dagblad is the oldest paper in the world.
- Haarlem is also known as the city of flowers. Until the 20th century Haarlem was famous for its bulb growing industry.
We learnt much more about Haarlem and I recommend a visit to the Haarlem Museum. There is also a section about Hanis Schaft who is a famous Haarlem woman from the Dutch resistance during WWII. I have become more interested in the stories of these brave people especially after reading the book by Miep Gies who hid Anne Frank and her family as well as remembering some of the stories Oma used to tell from her time during the war. I may go back to the Resistance Museum and learn more about this time in Dutch history.
After walking around a bit more of Haarlem we caught the train back to Amsterdam a bit after lunch. The weather was still a bit ordinary but we decided to grab a tram and visit the Museum Van Loon. The Van Loon family have over 400 years of history that is closely related to Amsterdam. It was Willem Van Loon who in the beginning of the golden age developed his talents in the business world as co founder of he Dutch East India Company in 1602. The house where the museum is located was built in 1672.
After visiting the Museum Van Loon it was time to put our feet up for the afternoon so we enjoyed a cider and a snack at a bar at the Rembrantplein before walking through the flower market and catching another tram and having another cider at the Leidseplein. The sun has finally made its appearance and the skies are clearing a bit. Let's hope this continues for the rest of our visit.Read more
NetherlandsUtrechtPaushuize52°5’29” N 5°7’22” E
June 9, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌧 15 °C
Another earlyish start today, our mission this morning was to take the train to Utrecht, a city located in central Netherlands and about a 1/2 hour train trip from Amsterdam. Utrecht is one of the Netherlands oldest cities with a compact medieval centre set around canals that are unique to the Netherlands as there is a lower level where warehouses were located in the 13th century giving the canals a split level character.
We found our city map at the train station. Similar to Haarlem, this map is useful and includes a city walk which takes in most of the sights of the town. So we roughly followed the red line on our map but as we are want to do we occasionally find ourselves wandering down some other alleyway and doing our own tour. Our first stop was at the Dom Church (St Martins Cathedral). The Dom Church is the one church in the Netherlands that resembles the classic gothic architecture style as developed in France. It has one tower, the Dom Tower which has been the symbol of the city since it was completed in 1382 (the first stone was laid in 1321) and is the largest church tower in the Netherlands.
We then wandered a bit further around the town, it is very beautiful, and made our way to the Centraal Museum. We had picked out the Centraal Museum as a place we wanted to visit before we started our holiday and it did not disappoint. The museum contains some very interesting and unique art work and paintings and also depicts the history of the town. We really enjoyed this museum and its art work and story.
Utrecht has a very long history dating back to before Christ when a roman fortress was built on what is now the Dom Square. In 695 the Catholic Diocese of Utrecht was established. The town survived two civil wars in the 1400's and in 1636 the Utrecht University and library was established. Utrecht was the location of the peace talks of 1713 where the European powers of the time signed a peace treaty to end nearly 200 years of war. This also marked the end of the Golden Age for Holland as the French negotiator reminded the hosts that "We negotiate in your country, about your country, without your country".
In the 17th century approximately 45% of the cities population came from elsewhere, consisting mostly of religious refugees. Today almost 1/3 of the population are of foreign descent. Utrecht has always been somewhat of a melting pot of new ideas and art work. Anyway, we really enjoyed our sojourn to Utrecht with its medieval centre and interesting history.
We found our way back to Amsterdam in the afternoon so we could visit the Poezenboot, it is only open from 1 to 3pm so we got there in good time. The Poezenboot is a refuge for stray and abandoned cats set on a houseboat in Amsterdam's canal belt. We loved it and made friends with most of the cats however one which is in the attached photo was not a friendly cat, he was the 'boss' cat and stayed on the highest ledge not letting anyone give him a pat.
The weather cleared today and this afternoon was a peach so we took advantage of the better weather and strolled through the Jordaan district of Amsterdam. This is one of my favourites areas of Amsterdam, it is very picturesque and is away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist orientated centrum area. We enjoyed a saucijzenbroodjes (a Dutch sausage roll) at a little shop as well as a few beers at a couple of bars on the way around. We had wandered a fair distance so to rest our weary feet we grabbed a tram back to centrum so we could get ready for our canal boat tour which we had booked. However we did have time to have another drink at one of favourite bars opposite the Oude Kerk. I can never get bored with the regular chiming of the bells of this church, it's such a wonderful part of the ambience and character of the old centrum area.
The canal tour would be my fourth and second wine and cheese one. We enjoyed a wine and cheese canal tour with mum and dad last time we were here and decided to do another this time around. The canal tour is one of the best ways to explore this magnificent city and is something I would do every time I visit the city. The cheese and wine was very good as well.
It was 10.30pm by the time we finished the canal tour and it was still daylight. Despite this it was time to call stumps on another sensational day in the Netherlands.
Tomorrow we are off to Enkhuizen to stay with Rosemarie and Maikel for a few nights. Looking forward to it.
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NetherlandsNorth HollandEnkhuizenSnouck van Loosenpark52°42’18” N 5°17’23” E
June 9, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌧 14 °C
Today started quite slowly partly due to the persistent rain outside but also as we decided to take advantage of the 11am check out and have a slow morning getting ready to head off on the next leg of our journey which is in Enkhuizen.
Thankfully the rain stopped about 5 minutes before we had to walk to the train station and then it stopped in Enkhuizen just before we arrived, our timing was impeccable. Rose & Maikel were waiting for us and it was great to see them again, they have made us feel so welcome in their home. We also met their new cat, Pucky, who we have made friends with immediately. Rose made us some lunch and then we headed off for a drive to Hoorn. Hoorn is not far from Enkhuizen and also the town where my Opa is from.
Before I get into our activities in Hoorn I must mention Maikel's new car. It's an electric car and it sounds like the Netherlands is advancing quite quickly with regard to setting up parks where these cars can be charged up. He gets about 150 miles from a full power up so this is fine for driving around the Netherlands however we would need to power up the car during a drive just between Loxton and Adelaide. The car is really comfortable and has a fair bit of grunt but I'm not sure how I would go driving on the right hand side of the road. I have often wondered why it is that English countries such as Australia drive on the left and the rest of the world on the right. I would have thought the Romans when they were building roads all over Europe and England would have dictated what side of the road everyone should travel on. I will look into this quirk of history later, but anyway I digress.
We walked around Hoorn taking in this beautiful city, its harbour and the Hoofdtoren (a 16th century tower) and made our way to the Roode Steen (the main city square) where we visited the Westfries Museum. This museum tells the story of Hoorn during the 17th century, at the beginning of the 17th century Hoorn was one of the most important cities in Holland and became wealthy because of trading with almost every country in the world. Hoorn was one of 6 Bases for the Dutch East India Company. I have also learnt that after Amsterdam and Haarlem, Hoorn is the third monument city of North Holland, so we have now visited all three this trip.
After our visit to the museum we had a drink at the bar across the square. I should mention that the weather cleared up this afternoon so we were able to enjoy some sunshine while sitting at the bar as well. After a bit more walking around, including seeing the shop Rosemarie works in we headed back to Enkhuizen, taking the tourist route as we drove along a dyke seeing some wind surfing along the way. We also visited the supermarket in Enkhuizen, I love visiting supermarkets around the world and looking at the differences of what is on the shelves.
Rose cooked us a delicious dinner of sauerkraut, sausage and a bake she does with sweet potato, mince, bacon and cheese. After tea we walked around to Riets and Jan (Rosemarie's parents house) where we shared a strawberry cheesecake. It was great seeing Reits and Jan again and we are going back there for tea tomorrow night, apparently for kroketten, can't wait.
Anyway, it's time to head to bed, it's 11pm and the sun has only just set. We have a bit of a tour planned tomorrow and then we head into the city of Enkhuizen to enjoy a jazz festival that is on this weekend. I'm really looking forward to that.
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NetherlandsNorth HollandGemeente DrechterlandWijdenesPolder de Drieban52°38’50” N 5°9’52” E
June 10, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
This morning we headed to Hoorn again, however this time Amy, Rosemarie and myself boarded the historic stoomtram (steam train) that runs between Hoorn and Medemblik. The train was very popular today with many people on the train and we were lucky to get the seats we did. Along the way the train stopped at Wognum where we had a go at the stilts. I think I need to work on my balance as I was not good on them.
At Medemblik we stopped for lunch before walking to catch a boat back to Enkhuizen. We were very lucky to get the boat, in fact we were the last to board, as we zigged when we should have zagged after lunch and ended up at the wrong spot to get on the boat. Anyway, after a very quick walk back through Medemblik we got there just in time.
The boat trip was very good however it was a bit windy and cold and there were a few spots of rain. The highlight was seeing Enkhuizen from the water and it was also great to see the Drommedaris in all its glory, it was being renovated last time we were here. The Drommedaris is a historic gate in Enkhuizen and is one of its most prominent landmarks. We took some photos of it later in the day and they are attached.
Once back in Enkhuizen we met up with Maikel and then headed into the city to enjoy the Jazz Festival. There were many people in town enjoying the Jazz and the sun came out to add to an enjoyable afternoon. We spent some time sitting at a bar enjoying a drink and watching the people go by. People watching is one of my favourite pastimes. The music was quite good and everyone was in good spirits. We wandered through the festival and ended up at the Drommedaris prior to heading over to Riets and Jan's for dinner. We enjoyed kroketten in bread, frites, nasibal and bamibal finished with advocaat and ice cream. We ate way too much but all the food was delicious.
This afternoon invoked the feeling of gezellig, both when spending time in Enkhuizen at the Jazz festival with Rosemarie and Maikel but especially sitting in Riets and Jan's front yard enjoying their company, the food, the beer and the beautiful setting of their home and garden.
We are now back at Rosemarie and Maikel's relaxing after another sensational day in the Netherlands. We are really enjoying our time here and loving being in Enkhuizen again and looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.
I must also mention that Maikel has been helping me learn Dutch. He has typed up some cheat sheets for me this morning and we went through a bunch of words and numbers. I am determined to be able to hold a conversation in Dutch next time I am here but it will be quite a challenge as it will take some time to get my head around the intricacies of this language.
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NetherlandsNorth HollandEnkhuizen52°42’24” N 5°16’52” E
June 11, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Today we did a massive road trip starting in Enkhuizen in the north to Neeltje Jans in the south (with a few places in between) covering a distance of over 500 kilometres.
Our first stop was near Schiphol Airport to charge the car up. This was a short 20 minute stop but we had time to relax in the sun and enjoy a stropwafel. We then headed to Den Haag, the political capital of the Netherlands where the government sits, there are also several international courts there as well.
After parking the car we wandered through the Parliament House courtyard which is quite impressive and made our way to the Mauritshuis. The Mauritshuis is officially known as the Royal Picture Gallery. It has a collection of almost 800 paintings dating from around 1400 to 1800. The majority however are Dutch works dating from the 17th century, this was the Dutch golden age and boasted famous painters such as Rembrandt, Jan Steen and Vermeer. We were amazed at some of the paintings and really enjoyed this museum. The painting I most enjoyed was 'Apelles painting Campaspe' by Willem van Haecht, the detail in this painting is amazing. We also saw Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', this is a very famous painting but it didn't do much for me. I guess it's a bit like the Mona Lisa which I also thought was unimpressive when I saw it as well. They are both very famous paintings and obviously mean a lot to people who know much more about art and painting than I do so I will defer to their expertise and be happy to have seen such famous art works even if I don't really understand their significance.
We enjoyed lunch in the town square opposite the Mauritshuis and then wandered a bit more around the town finishing up at the Noordeinde Palace which is one of three official palaces of the Dutch royal family. This was another impressive building. When we walked around town Maikel pointed out the Dutch coat of arms located above several shops around Den Haag, this means those shops supply goods and services to the king. Something to be very proud of I'm sure for these shop owners.
We then drove to Deltapark Neeltje Jans which is located at the foot of the largest storm surge barrier in the world and tells the story of the construction of this amazing piece of engineering. The Delta Works were built to keep everyone safe and to prevent a recurrence of the 1953 flood disaster which resulted in 200,000 hectares of land being flooded and the death of 1835 people and the evacuation of 72,000 people.
We saw a film as well as wandered onto the storm surge barrier itself to gain an insight into the construction methods and investigations that went into this major project that by the time it was completed in 1986 cost around €2.5 billion. One of the fascinating aspects of the Netherlands is its management of water through the reclamation of land from the sea. The first dikes were built in the 11th century and the techniques and extent of dike building continued throughout the following centuries culminating in an extensive and complex system of water control and management. The most elaborate project being the storm surge barriers. Without this water management and the system of sea and river dikes around 65% of the Netherlands would be under water. It's an amazing feat by this country and the worrying thing for the future will be the potential effects of sea level rise due to climate change not to mention the fact the land is actually falling at a rate of 1.5 centimetres each century due to tectonic movements. Im sure the Dutch will come up with an ingenious solution to this issue just as they have for almost a thousand years already.
It was starting to get late in the afternoon when we left Neeltje Jan's and we needed to charge the car up to get home problem was there isn't many charging points in the south of the Netherlands. But Maikel had planned it to the centimetre as we got to the closest charging point with no kilometres left in the battery. We cut it very close indeed but thankfully the car was able to be charged up and we were able to continue our epic road trip.
A few of the things that really stood out for me during the road trip was firstly the number of wind towers, they are all across the countryside as well as in cities and towns. They are everywhere. I loved them, Maikel not so much, but we did agree on the need for more solar energy and better technologies for battery storage. We also chatted about the electric car technology and the fact many car manufacturers in Europe are already making electric cars or planning to do so. You can only envisage the technology for these cars getting better very quickly.
Another thing I noticed across the Netherlands was you get to see every shade of green, everything is green, this is a nice change to the Australian landscape. I must also mention how great the road and highway network is and the fact on many roads the speed limit is 130km/h (however many cars appeared to be going in excess of 150/160km/h). I have been advocating for higher speed limits in Australia for ages (especially since our nanny state seems to be slowly pulling back speed limits across the country) and you can see in the Netherlands that it certainly can occur and is safe, if the Dutch can drive at 130 on roads much busier than some of our country roads then surely we can too. Anyway, I will get off that soap box for now.
The day was certainly a long one and finished with a late tea at Purmerend before getting home to Enkhuizen. Another great day in the Netherlands thanks to our excellent tour guides Rosemarie and Maikel.
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NetherlandsNorth HollandEnkhuizen52°42’24” N 5°16’52” E
June 12, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Today was our day to enjoy the surprise that Rosemarie and Maikel had planned for us. Our surprise was a trip to Apenheul Primate Park in Apeldoorn which is about 70 kilometres to the south east of Enkhuizen. Apenheul is a zoo that specialises in apes and monkeys and was the first zoo in the world where monkeys could walk (or swing) freely in the forest and between visitors. There are more than 30 different primates including the bonobo, orangutan and gorillas.
Amy and I love watching primates, especially gorillas and we had talked about how we wanted to go to Apenheul when Maikel and Rosemarie had visited us in Loxton and it was very thoughtful of them to remember this and organise today, it was a great surprise, although Amy did have her suspicions this may have been the surprise awaiting us, but we very much appreciated today and loved our time at Apenheul. The highlight was seeing the gorillas, I loved watching them. This is the second time I've seen gorillas close up, we saw gorillas at Artis Zoo in 2014 as well and both times it's been the highlight of the day.
We had a great time at Apenheul and many thanks to Rosemarie and Maikel for taking us there, we really enjoyed it.
The drive to Apenheul was very different to yesterday, the countryside this time was forest for much of the trip as we drove through the Leuvenumse Bos a national forest. It was very beautiful. We also saw Maikel's workplace in Lelystad, he has about a 25 minute drive across the dike between Enkhuizen and Lelystad each day.
In the afternoon Amy and I enjoyed a walk around Enkhuizen heading up to the Main Street to do some shopping as well as visit a few of our favourite places such as the Drommedaris, Davidstraat where Dad was born as well as Tante Marie's old home. I could never get sick of walking around this beautiful town, not only do I love the scenery and amenity it is also a great feeling being in a town and walking the same streets that Oma and Opa and the previous generations of our Dutch family lived in, and still live in. It's hard to describe the feeling I get but I know it's good for the soul.
Rosemarie prepared another delicious meal for us tonight, she and Maikel have been spoiling us and their hospitality is second to none. Our meal was topped off with olliebollen for dessert, this was a little naughty given we are supposed to eat them at New Years, but I guess being together with such great family and friends from opposite sides of the world is a celebration worthy of these tasty morsels. I couldn't resist sending a photo of them to Dad just to stir him up as I know how much he would have enjoyed eating them too.
So that was our day, another enjoyable one. The next leg of our holiday is fast approaching (only 2 more sleeps) which we are looking forward to but at the same time I don't want my time here in Enkhuizen to end.
It's time to call it a night.
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NetherlandsNorth HollandGemeente DrechterlandVenhuizen52°40’0” N 5°13’16” E
June 13, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌙 14 °C
Today is Amy's birthday and everyone made sure she had a special day. It started with pancakes for breakfast with Rosemarie and Maikel who had also decorated their house to celebrate the day. We had a fairly slow start to the day as Lia and Piet came around at 10.30am to pick us up and take us to their home in Venhuizen.
It was great to see Lia and Piet again and they made us feel very welcome. They drove us around some of the small villages around Venhuizen and we stopped at Schelliakhout and walked around an old church and courthouse and onto the dike. We also noticed an old windmill that was operating nearby so we drove over and checked it out. Apparently a man lives in the windmill and it was great to see it in operation. We then went over to Blokker and dropped in on Jan and Hortens Tol who were very happy that we came to see them and it was great to see them again.
It was then back to Venhuizen for lunch and a walk around the town. We visited the Historische Vereniging Suyder Cogge or the Venhuizen History Club of which Lia is a member. The club was started by Klaas Tol, Lia's father back in 1992. Klaas also wrote a book that details the history of the Tol family. It was great to hear Lia describe what the club does and how they are collecting and collating photos and stories of Venhuizen's history. She is obviously very passionate about this and we found it extremely interesting and also somewhat proud given we are also part of that history. It reminded me how important it is to have passionate people in our community who volunteer their time to do these things to keep history and the stories of the people and towns alive. If not for their efforts much of these stories may be lost forever.
after visiting the history club we continued our walk around the town, bumping into Eline, Lia and Piets daughter, and her kids. We also saw Chris Tol who was riding his bike back from work. It was great to meet Chris again as well as meet Eline for the first time.
Our time in Venhuizen today was really interesting and made special by Lia and Piet. We really appreciated the time they gave us today, their hospitality, our conversations and especially Lia's passion for history which gave us further insight into the history of the Tol family and Venhuizen in general.
Tonight we had Amy's birthday tea at the de Mastenbar in Enkhuizen with Rosemarie and Maikel and Riet and Jan. We also later found out it is Rosemarie's and Maikel's wedding anniversary today as well so it was also a celebration for that as well. We all enjoyed a delicious meal and had a fantastic night. It was a fitting end to a most sensational day.
Once we got home Rosemarie showed me a photo album she has put together of Tante Marie, it included many old photos of Oma and several of Opa.
Today was not only a day celebrating Amy's birthday but also very much a day of reflection on my Dutch family through our time with Lia and Piet in Venhuizen as well as enjoying a meal with Rose, Maikel, Riet and Jan. We can't thank them all enough for how they have made us feel so welcome and ensured we have had such an enjoyable time. Special mention has to be made to Rosemarie and Maikel who have done so much for us over the last five days, they are such wonderful people and I feel privileged to not only have them as family but also as great friends.
Tomorrow the next stage of our holiday begins when we fly to Copenhagen but until then, Tot Ziens!Read more
DenmarkCapital RegionCopenhagen municipalityVesterbroCopenhagen Central Station55°40’22” N 12°33’39” E
June 14, 2017 in Denmark ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
It was an early start this morning as we needed get to Schiphol Airport to catch our flight to Copenhagen. Rosemarie drove us to the airport and we had a dream run with the traffic. It was sad to say our goodbyes this morning but we are also excited for the adventures we have in front of us in Scandinavia.
Two things I always notice at airports. One is watching the pilots walk through the crowd, they always look assured and confident (which is reassuring) and really are the top of the tree when it comes to drivers, I guess only astronauts would be higher in the pecking order but they don't transport people or goods per se. The other observation is the people who insist on getting on the travellators and just stand there. Why? I thought the point of them was to assist people get to the flight quicker. We watched one couple who stood next to each other and had about a dozen people backed up and waiting behind them, they appeared oblivious to the situation they had created. It reminds me of a story Henry Rollins tells about this phenomenon at airports but he puts it in a much more eloquent and funnier way than I can.
We arrived in Copenhagen at around lunch time and found our way to our hotel which is just a 5 minute walk from the Copenhagen Central station. Our room is very nice and in a great location in the Vesterbro district. After a quick lunch and a beer we wandered off to familiarise ourselves with the city. We walked past the Tivoli Garden (we will visit this tomorrow), the Glyptoteket and National Museum before wandering into the Christianborg Palace.
The palace was quite impressive but didn't really interest me that much.
After the palace we wandered through the Stroget, which is a pedestrian car free shopping precinct and saw the Copenhagen Town Hall which was an impressive building. We were feeling a little tired so went back to the hotel to put the feet up and recharge the battery prior to heading our for tea. We ate at the Meat Packing district which is a short walk away. It was full of people enjoying the evening sun and a meal. There was people from all walks of life which made the people watching quite interesting.
Amy is planning our activities for tomorrow and we are enjoying an earlyish night.
Godnat.Read more
