THE END HAS COME

Today was a day of looking after a two year old.  We walked while he had a wonderful nap in his stroller.  We even stopped at a loud restaurant for lunch and he remained soundly asleep.  On the way home Brenda and Anders went to the grocery store and bought the last provisions we would need for a meal tonight and some ice cream and then we were home for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

It is now quiet and time to prepare for the journey home. We are leaving on a jet plane (hmmm sounds like a song) tomorrow at 12:15 pm and should arrive at Vancouver Airport sometime but not exactly sure when.  I am tired of numbers and schedules and arrival and departure times of trains, trams, buses and now planes it seems.  

We have seen and done so much.  We have taken many pictures of all the beautiful sites and have so many memories to take home with us.  It really was a grand adventure.  The weather was absolutely perfect every day!  We never got lost and we travelled well together and have lived to tell the stories!

Thanks for coming along with me.  Maybe this has inspired you to go on an adventure of your own!  Not sure what my next one will be...but I know I will enjoy being home for a while!

KEUKENHOF GARDENS

What a beautiful day to walk in a garden.  A spectacular garden called Keukenhof.  This garden boasts 7 million flower bulbs all planted by hand annually in the 79 acre garden.  For the past 2 years Keukenhof was closed to the public due to covid.  Let me tell you the gardens were very crowded today.  Usually in the 8 week period it is open to the public, they have an average of 26,000 visitors each day.  It wouldn’t surprise me if they were on schedule to reach that number today.

When we got to the park it was around noon.  We had 3 hours to walk around and visit the different areas of the park.  Expecting to see rows and rows of tulips, I was pleasantly surprised to see different plantings.  Incorporated in these plantings of mostly tulips and daffodils were hyacinths.  The fragrance was everywhere and beautiful. 

They had 5 different buildings with different flowers and displays inside.  We went inside one that was mostly orchids – the Beatrix Pavilion.  The variety and quantity of orchids was breathtaking!  Some of them were so large and every one was beautiful.  The stems were loaded with blooms and made the ones we see at home pale in comparison.

The only other pavilion – the Willem Alexander Pavilion -we went in today was full of tulips, daffodils, calla lilies, amaryllis and other flowers from bulbs.  There was so much to see and take pictures of, that I actually ran down 1 of my 2 batteries for my camera. 

So another bright, beautiful sunshiny day.  We really have been so very lucky.  This was our last big touristy outing before returning home.  Tomorrow we look after 2 year old Anders while Michael and Erin attend a wedding.  It will be a fun day.  There is a park nearby and we saw some ducks – it will be a fun day.

DELFT - A FEAST FOR THE EYES AND THE TUMMY

A  trip into Delft today filled our time.  It was a reasonably quick trip with the train and took us right to downtown.  Delft is the location of the factory for the Delft hand painted blue and white pottery and also home to the famous artist, Johannes Vermeer.  Arriving by train into the little city, it was only a short walk into the centre.  It was so beautiful with the old town hall at one end of the big square and the New Church at the other.  The new church is 700 years old.  The old Church dates back to 1050.  So I guess in fact the new church is newer…but really! 

The old Church has been given a nickname of “Skewed John” as the 75 meter tower is leaning about two meters from the vertical.  We were told by a local that the tower is checked every two years and is actually quite stable and safe from falling.  Both these churches are very visible landmarks in this small city.

We had an enjoyable day just wandering around the old city and eating some wonderful waffles with fruit and whipped cream for lunch.  There were several stores selling Delft pottery at huge prices.  I managed to find one small piece that I needed to buy.  We went in many shops and poked around.  We ambled around the city up and down the streets just taking in the local sites.

We found the most amazing cheese shop!  They had samples of their cheeses and I am sure there were at least 40 or more flavours and types. We sampled most of them if not all.  They had goat, sheep and cow cheeses of various ages and tastes.  We had to buy some to bring home.   I was wishing they had some smaller sizes so we could bring back a few more flavours.  We are allowed to bring home 20 kg –we were certainly well within our limit.  Our backpacks were now heavy with our cheese purchases and it was time to find our way home.  Back on the train…through Rotterdam Central and home to our home away from home near the Rotterdam Noord Station.

       

NOAH'S ARK IS READY AND WAITING

What a great and wonderful day we had.  With Michael’s help, we were able to buy tickets and figure out transportation to get us to the Unesco Heritage site called Kinderdjik.  Windmills and more windmills!  Just what I was really hoping to see.  Again, the weather couldn’t have been better.  Sometimes a little breezy but overall a light sweater was all that was needed and only some of the time.   

Traveling on the waterbus is an interesting way to look at the city.  Rotterdam is an interesting mix of architecture –both old and new.  The new is often ultra modern and the old – is well….old.  We had half an hour to enjoy the scenery and appreciate a lovely ride on the water.

Some of the boats that travel up and down the waterways are very different from the boats we see at home.  They ride very low in the water and are extremely long.  Most of the ones we saw carry a car.  It looks as though the car has to be lifted onto the boat.  Not sure as we never saw one loading.

The most spectacular thing we saw on the boat ride to the heritage site was a full size replica of Noah’s ark!  I did not know that there are 3 life size replicas of the ark in the world.  According to Wikipedia there is one in Hong Kong, one in Kentucky and one right here in Rotterdam!  Who knew?  It was funny to just happen upon it when you aren’t expecting to see something like that!  It was huge.

Seeing the windmills was a real treat.  I think there are people living in or around them still.  I am sure more as a novelty than actual working mills, but interesting.  They are so well kept up and either had doors open, laundry hanging and always a bicycle nearby.  During our walk around we shared a serving of Poffertjes. Probably one of the most famous Dutch dishes, Poffertjes are small pancakes, baked in an iron skillet, and traditionally served with melted butter and dusted with icing sugar.  Oh my goodness they were absolutely delicious.  I will consider that my birthday cake!  I don’t need any more than that.

On the way home we stopped at the Rotterdam Central Station and got out there to have dinner.  Brenda took me out for a birthday dinner of Spaghetti.  It was very good and perfect for dinner tonight.  We resumed our trip home and the tram stopped right outside of an ice cream shop.  How convenient!  My day was complete.  Sun burned and windblown and completely replete with all good things today.  I had a great and wonderful day!

 

A LOVELY WALKABOUT

Waking up after a really great sleep is so wonderful!  We were ready to start a day.  First order was to rind a coffee somewhere – as we don’t seem to be able to get the espresso machine working properly and can’t find the French press. 

After walking down the street, we did find a little shop and were able to sit outside and enjoy our cuppa.  Another lovely day.  Should have had my jacket on as it is only 8:15 or so…but I managed.  After coffee, we went on a walk to find a windmill.  We walked along the canal close to the house we are staying at as we were told that somewhere along the route there is a windmill.  We asked a few people along the way and one lady told us there was a short walk and a long walk.  We decided to take the short walk.  We walked and walked and discovered we had taken the long walk.  The walk was successful and we did see a windmill!  All in all it was another 10km day.  We are certainly getting our steps in every day.

Walking along the canal was spectacular.  We saw many wading birds and a couple of families with little ones in tow.  

Between the bird babies and the blossoms, I figure that the Netherlands is about 2 weeks ahead of us in Vancouver.  Montana Clematis are out…But then we also saw the most gorgeous display of pink cherry blossom clusters!  Daffodils are finished and tulips are in their glory.  Such a pretty time of year to visit here.

After our trip around the lake …Bergse Voorplas…we stopped in to have a bite to eat at a little shop.  Looking at the menu, we were uncertain of what to order.  The menus just don’t have enough pictures in them and the words…well the words just don’t translate easily.  Fortunately 95% of the people in the Netherlands speak some English.  She said the Dutch words to us and told us what the English translation was.  Dutch to me sounds like when you get something caught in your throat – not meaning to disrespect the language or the people, but these are sounds we can’t seem to make when we are speaking.  

We ordered an ice coffee and a toastie -  sandwich.  Not grilled, but ham and cheese and then toasted on both sides.  They are good and just the right thing to have for lunch.  When our coffee and lunch was finished – we had a long walk home and it was so good to get home.  Michael, Erin and Anders arrived around 2:30 so we are all together now for the next 5 days.

A quick trip to the grocery store later for supplies and our day was done.  Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow – but something fun I am sure! 

THE ROTTERDAM HOUSE OF MYSTERY

The sailing last night was quite smooth despite the many sea sickness bags around on the decks and in our room.  We enjoyed breakfast at the buffet and even included coffee and orange juice for free.  It surprised me as coffee was not included with our dinner and the lovely presentation of a 500 ml bottle of spring water...we just asked for water…came with a 4 Euro price tag!  Wow!!.

Our cabin on the ferry was on the 9^th deck facing forward right in the middle.  We sailed under a beautiful full moon.  It was very pretty although the night did not look completely clear, it was a beautiful big moon

I was very surprised for a ferry, it had a bigger duty free shop than some of the cruise ships I have been on.  They had an extensive supply of men’s and ladies fragrances, clothes, lego, liquor and many other assorted items.  

As we neared Amsterdam, I was amazed at the huge wind farms located off shore.  I counted 50 wind turbines in the one that we passed by.  The Netherlands has gone from the famous traditional windmills to pump water out of the lowlands so they could farm the land, to these massive wind turbines that are generating more than 15% of the country’s energy demands.  A number that is continuing to increase.  You have to see these big farms to actually believe them!

Soon it was time to disembark for our transfer to the train station, catch a train to Rotterdam and get to our home away from home for the next 6 days.  The host met us upon our arrival and we were able to settle in.  Hauling around a suitcase and a backpack is wearing on me.  I think I need to hire a Sherpa if I ever choose to do this again.  As of now, I do not think I will be doing this type of travelling again!

The house is very interesting in a weird way…The downstairs is quite modern.  The kitchen eating area is lovely and open.  We couldn’t find the fridge and the dishwasher at first and that is because they look like cupboards.  The bathrooms have only a toilet and no sink…but they have a warming rack for towels. 

Going up the very steep stairs, you will arrive at the second floor with the master bedroom and open shower and bath tub.  There is a huge and high rough like sink that we can barely reach over to spit.  Lol  There is also a bathroom on the second floor with no sink only the trough behind the bed in the open bedroom.  The master is huge – has TV, couch and chair and desk and chair and still plenty of room to swing a cat.

Up some more steeeeeep stairs, you get to the other floor with 2 more bedrooms, laundry and a huge work room with a large work area about 8 feet by 12 feet and still lots more floor area.  There is a laundry sink in this room but no bathroom on the uppermost floor.  The family who live here other than when this is rented out as an Air B and B have 2 little girls.  The children’s bedrooms are on this floor.  I can’t help but wonder how they manage with no bathroom up here and only the high trough sink in the bathroom area for their washing up.  Those stairs look even scarier coming down!

We walked down a few blocks and grabbed dinner and brought it back to the house.  Not much was open today as it was Easter Sunday.  Tomorrow it will be different.  We will go walking and see what we can find … who knows maybe we can find a windmill!

 

 

NEWCASTLE TO AMSTERDAM VIA THE NORTH SEA

This morning we said goodbye to The Shoes.  Although further from the downtown area of Durham, it was a great place to be.  The host of the small B and B was very kind and helpful when we needed to ask things now and then.  He cooked us a delicious breakfast and set a lovely table.  Along with a B and B, The Shoes is primarily a neighbourhood pub.  Regulars (all men) come in to chat, have a draw and watch sports on the telly.  The bell behind the bar rings for last draw at 11:00 and then the boys all leave.  It was quite quiet.

The room was not ideal.  The beds were only 1 foot off the floor, the mourning doves were constantly calling very early in the morning and the room décor left a lot to be desired.  I can only imagine that there was a buy 1 get 1 free sale on the artwork.  Otherwise, WHY?  Even if it was a deal…WHY? 

High on the plus side was a heated towel rack in the bathroom – oh and did I mention the wonderful breakfast and delicious coffee all served by the friendly host?  The different shoe pictures and shoe ornaments that adorned the pub walls were quite fun.  However, in thinking of the clientele being all men…the artwork in the rooms upstairs would seem to be a better fit downstairs in the pub..  Really though, The Shoes was quite charming in its simplicity.

Today was a day of travel again.  We needed to get from The Shoes down to the train station so that we could make our way to Newcastle on Tyne.  A quick UBER ride and we were right where we needed to be.  The train from Durham to Newcastle took only 15 minutes and then as we were very early for the bus to the ferry we had time to see at bit of downtown Newcastle.  We walked up to the large town square where there was an enormous statue of the Earl Grey.  Of course I thought of Matthew right away as that is his favourite tea.

We wandered around and had coffee, then a few hours later we ate some lunch and soon it was time to get the bus to the ferry terminal.  The timing couldn’t have been better!  When we were let off the bus, we checked in and then it was right onto the ferry from there and into our cabin for the ride across the North Sea to Amsterdam. 

Upon entering our very small cabin on Deck 9 the first thing I noticed was many… no make that lots of sea sickness bags.  I counted them.  There were 45.  Hmmm is this a precursor of what is to come?  Well I guess we will have to wait and see.  We were to move our clocks ahead to The Netherlands time which is one hour ahead.  So now we are 9 hours ahead of home.  Dinner was delicious.  I have been wanting roast chicken – and the choice on the menu included Guinea Fowl – close enough.  I finally had my “chicken” fix. 

So now, it is about 8:30 and we are on the water somewhere in the North Sea.  We will sail overnight arriving in Amsterdam around 9:30 tomorrow morning. Below is a model of the ferry we are on.

DINNER AND ONE HELL OF A SHOW

Another fine day weather wise and activity wise.  Brenda and I started out for a little quilt shop called Raggy Robin.  Finding an address is hard around here.  The street names aren’t marked very well and sometimes the numbers are nonexistent.  So using the GPS finder on my phone, we walked down the street and then said we had arrived – but nothing – walked up the street and said we had passed it.  Finally, we wandered down into an old building complex and a man asked if he could help.  We told him what we were looking for and he said Yah you found it – it’s over in the corner.  Sure enough it was.  We went in to find a cozy little shop with a few offerings.  They do an on line business too.  The shop owner was fun and after buying a few things, we were on our way into town to go up to the cathedral and castle. 

The cathedral and castle are magnificent huge old buildings built in the late 11^th and early 12^th century.  So they are very old.  Much of the cathedral was closed today because of church services for Good Friday and then again will be closed on Easter Sunday.  We were invited to join the church service, but declined.  We wandered around where it was open taking pictures and peering through keyholes.  I started peering through keyholes as the docent told me to be sure to look through as it was Professor McGonagall’s classroom in the Harry Potter Movies.  The cloisters (secluded walkways) of the cathedral were also used for a lot of the school scenes when the students were walking between lessons.  As it turned out, this was a highlight for me!  As for the old castle, one can only enter the castle on a booked tour.  We weren’t interested in booking a tour, so we just enjoyed it from the outside.

After we came down from the top of the hill, we wandered around the town and found a cute little spot called Cafedral (a play on Cathedral I am sure).  We had a most delicious scone with jam and clotted cream and a latte.  It was very good and our English treat for the afternoon.  This morning we had a sumptuous English Breakfast..so I guess this evening we will finish off with fish and chips.  Wow – good thing we are leaving tomorrow to go to the Netherlands.

More walking was in order so we went down by the river and discovered that there is a little boat that goes up and down the river on a little tour.  It was only an hour long and was quite reasonable to do, so we climbed aboard and had a little float up and down.  Along the way we saw a fellow on a paddleboard with his dog.  Dogs are allowed everywhere – grocery stores, restaurants, pubs…we have seen them all over.  On the walk by the river, several were off leash. They are very well behaved and not bothering anyone or any other dog.   While traveling on the River Wear, we saw some great views of the town, buildings and bridges.  It was such a great relaxing float.  After we disembarked, we took another wander over one of the bridges and circled around the back of the town.  It really is quite lovely here. 

Time for dinner and yes – fish and chips it is.  Oh my goodness – little did we know that we were in for dinner and a show!  Girls and women of all ages, shapes and sizes have flocked into town wearing not much.  Brenda was busy taking pictures out the window of the restaurant and we were giggling and laughing.  There was a couple about our ages at another table laughing along with us.  They told us this was nothing – wait until the really hot weather…