Last week was a busy week in the motherland. And as I write motherland, I have to make a confession. It was a strange realization for me to feel lost here, not knowing anyone, but also feeling like a total tourist. I speak the language, and yes, the humour is funny, but that is about it (this is how I feel at the moment anyway).
There are just so many people here, for people who are not aware, Holland is the same size as Canterbury, and fits 8 times in New Zealand, and has a population of 17 million people.
When we invited a friend of mine last week to join us for a picnic, she was so excited, and told me that she never does something like that, because it is a mission to find a 'quiet' and nice spot, and on top of that, the weather is just unreliable. Whereas in New Zealand, a picnic bag lives in the car.
Sure, Holland has its beauty, and it is very nice driving through the country side, with all the little canals, and the many tractors... I miss the mountains!
Anyway, enough about this now. What have I been up last week.
22-08 Wednesday: Amsterdam
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| Coffee shops near a church :-) |
An Amsterdam day. We decided to drive to Amsterdam, already with the knowledge that parking could be anywhere between 4 and 10 Euro an hour... We parked in an underground parking place in the centre of the city, and walked towards the Dam square. On the way, we walked passed numerous coffee shops, but we stopped at a normal cafe to have some coffee and dutch apple cake. Once our bellies were filled, we walked to the Palace on the Dam, which since recently has been opened to the public with an exhibition about the first King in Holland. I had no idea that the brother of Napoleon was Hollands first king, and that was only 210 years ago.... He transformed the town hall on Dam Square to be a palace in which he lived. It was great, and so informative. Afterwards, I feel like we walked through the whole of the city centre..... And we took the tram back to the Dam Square.
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| The big hall in the palace |
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| Lodewijk (Louie) Napoleon |
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| The Palace |
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| The most important room in the palace: this is where the transfer from our Queen to her son will take place. |
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| In front of the Palace on the Dam |
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| I didn't think i was allowed to bring those to NZ |
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| The Bloemengracht (flower canal) |
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| Dam Square |
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| Grachten pant (the tall houses on the side of the canals) |
23-08 Thursday: The Hague
My (one and only) cousin Dirkje was dropped by her dad early Thursday morning. My mum had to pick up her new passport in The Hague (90 km south of Edam), and we made a whole day of it. After The Hague, we and continued to the coast, to Scheveningen, where we enjoyed a lunch at the beach. Following the lunch, we went to Madurodam, which is an attraction and has 'the whole of holland' in a miniature. Which means that I don't have to travel the whole (small!!) country. I had been there once before, probably 15 years ago, and a few things have been added etc. But the idea is still the same. So, I don't have to go for another 15 years at least...
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| The Hague |
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| Schevening, carousel |
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| Scheveningen beach |
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| two cousins :-) |
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| Madurodam, the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Amsterdam |
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| Cheese market |
24-08 Friday: Zaanse Schans
The Zaanse Schans is near Zaandam and is a place where there is an old piece of Holland with old traditional houses and windmills. I was pleasantly surprised that the entry was free :-)
Because, people in New Zealand who might not appreciate the large number of (clean!!) public toilets we have, in Holland, you have to pay $0.80 (50 Euro cents) to use the bathroom. And there is a person collecting the money. And in some places, you have to insert the money in the lock of the door, so that the door opens... Also, normal tap water with your meal is rare....
So something free, is a surprise...
Again, my cousin was with us, and a good friend of mine, and the four of us had a great day walking along the dijk, with a lot of other people...
We went into the first ever super market, admired the big windmills, sat in a giant klomp (wooden shoe), and visited the klompen factory. Afterwards, we enjoyed a lovely picnic in the sun.
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| The whole ceiling was filled with clogs as well |
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| Aifa and myself |
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| Nijntje (Miffy) |
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| The first super market, Albert Heijn |
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| Looking at how the windmill worked, to grind spices etc etc |
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| Stelten lopen |
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| Wedding klompen....... |
