Gemeente Drechterland

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