It rained when we arrived and it rained when we left. In between Holland treated us well. Although the Dutch generally speak very good English sometimes they said things that made me laugh, for example someone told me, 'I think maybe you become a little bit of an alcoholistic.' But apparently that's not as hilarious as when I tried to speak Dutch. I strung a few sentences together - thanks Oma for the years of inspiration. But apparently my pronunciation was terrible, people laughed, and I don't think anyone knew what I was trying to say.
Holland got one massive tick of approval. Extremely friendly people, good beer, interesting history, canals and bikes. And then some more bikes. We spent two and a bit days wandering through the scenic streets of Amsterdam. It's all a bit hazy now, I think I may have got a little bit high from all the secondhand smoke drifting around. And don't know how anyone gets anything done when in the middle of the day 'coffee shops' are packed to the brim. The museums were inspirational in a how-the-hell-did-they-do-that kinda way. Anne Frank Huis was sombre and small. We watched a Dutch soccer game with the locals in a cafe in the Joordan district. It was fun and then the Dutch lost. We also went out with a fraternity that my cousin belongs to. Ten Euro for all you can drink for the night. I'll say no more. Oh, and there were sorority girls... and D-D-DANCE music...
We also visited Lisse and had dinner with Opa de Hoog's older brother and his wife. It was great to catch up and hear some stories about the old times. Next were the historic towns of Leiden (Rembrandt's home town) and Delft (Vermeer's home town). We climbed some steeples, one was two metres out of alignment, sketchy business, but I guess maybe the levels weren't the most accurate in 1240, yes 1240! Chips and Mayonnaise and Croquettes and a Westmalle tripel for lunch - Ben will have the belly of a Buddha statue by the end of the trip, trust me.
Rotterdam was new and glossy, a big contrast to Amsterdam. The harbour was endless - third biggest in the world apparently - and yes, we did the harbour cruise. Kinderdijk had lots of old windmills and even more American tourists and coin operated toilets. I'll say no more.
A big thanks to Robert and Anneke and family for the mind-boggling hospitality. It was amazing. Sorry we dominated the midget (mini) golf. Australian's just have great hand-eye coordination, we can't help it. We are now on the road in "Bruce the Spruce Moose" our mobile home for the next 10 weeks. The landscape of Saxony, Germany blurs as we drive. It is lush green and there are low rolling hills and ancient looking homesteads. The Autobahn is death-on-a-stick especially when your car has a breathtaking top speed of 110km/h. See you all in Berlin!
Holland got one massive tick of approval. Extremely friendly people, good beer, interesting history, canals and bikes. And then some more bikes. We spent two and a bit days wandering through the scenic streets of Amsterdam. It's all a bit hazy now, I think I may have got a little bit high from all the secondhand smoke drifting around. And don't know how anyone gets anything done when in the middle of the day 'coffee shops' are packed to the brim. The museums were inspirational in a how-the-hell-did-they-do-that kinda way. Anne Frank Huis was sombre and small. We watched a Dutch soccer game with the locals in a cafe in the Joordan district. It was fun and then the Dutch lost. We also went out with a fraternity that my cousin belongs to. Ten Euro for all you can drink for the night. I'll say no more. Oh, and there were sorority girls... and D-D-DANCE music...
We also visited Lisse and had dinner with Opa de Hoog's older brother and his wife. It was great to catch up and hear some stories about the old times. Next were the historic towns of Leiden (Rembrandt's home town) and Delft (Vermeer's home town). We climbed some steeples, one was two metres out of alignment, sketchy business, but I guess maybe the levels weren't the most accurate in 1240, yes 1240! Chips and Mayonnaise and Croquettes and a Westmalle tripel for lunch - Ben will have the belly of a Buddha statue by the end of the trip, trust me.
Rotterdam was new and glossy, a big contrast to Amsterdam. The harbour was endless - third biggest in the world apparently - and yes, we did the harbour cruise. Kinderdijk had lots of old windmills and even more American tourists and coin operated toilets. I'll say no more.
A big thanks to Robert and Anneke and family for the mind-boggling hospitality. It was amazing. Sorry we dominated the midget (mini) golf. Australian's just have great hand-eye coordination, we can't help it. We are now on the road in "Bruce the Spruce Moose" our mobile home for the next 10 weeks. The landscape of Saxony, Germany blurs as we drive. It is lush green and there are low rolling hills and ancient looking homesteads. The Autobahn is death-on-a-stick especially when your car has a breathtaking top speed of 110km/h. See you all in Berlin!
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