Monday, April 18, 2022

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! 





1 comment:

Brother Brian said...

Hello again, The Rick Steves article in the Sun this morning featured the wind turbines of the modern Netherlands and how it has transformed the horizon and skyline with their omnipresent spikes that are not the same as a windmill at all! It is fascinating how there are some windmills left that are still used for grinding pigments.

Good work on the getting the English translations for the Netherlands dishes. I have found that my ‘first’ thing for me to learn is how to say, “How to you say (finger point here) in English? With my butchering of the language in that short offering often the listener will hasten to add that they do speak English!

Weather remains offish with a bit of sunshine beckoning and then the clouds rolled in again. Hope the birthday has a cake in the works!

Brian