En Route...to Europe!!

Hello Friends... on behalf of the Bezooyen family...by Joni!

So we decided that it would be easier to keep a blog than to send you all emails constantly...so here goes nothing!

We flew out of Calgary at about 7:00 pm on Wednesday the sixteenth, and landed safely in London just over eight hours later...sometime on the seventeenth, when I turned seventeen, but kind of forgot that it was my birthday haha... all seemed to be going wonderfully, and we were super stoked, trying to catch our next flight to Amsterdam....until the unthinkable happened... As we were going through customs we found out that my little cousin, because he was adopted from Russia, and not yet a permanent resident, needed a visa for all of the countries that we were hoping to go through... so my family had to run to catch our flight, while they stayed behind in London, missing the flight, hoping that they could get all of this sorted out in a couple of hours...

We landed in Amsterdam and went and found our motor home, which is absolutely tiny, but we have a TON of storage space, which is wonderful, since we thought we'd have none... A couple of hours later Els and most of the kids showed up in London, to find their motorhome. Unfortunately, Ed and Markie were left in the London airport, and technically Mark wasn't even allowed out of the London airport, but they had a heart and gave them a 24 hour pass. Ed went to the embassy and the high commission, and realized that if they would have had his name on either Ed or Els' passport, it would have been ok, but Mark has a Russian passport so that's what tipped everyone off that he was adopted, and they had no proof of adoption, which was really unfortunate, so the next day Mark and Ed flew back to Calgary, where two of my aunts (Margaret and Martina) picked up Mark. Ed turned around and flew right back out an hour and a half after landing...we decided that with all his jet lag and stuff he probably doesn't know whether he's coming or going!

Mean while back in Holland, we found out that Ed's family was heading to Holland... we were rejoicing! We drove around in a town for about an hour looking for a grocery store, but never found one... So eventually we came back to the place where we were supposed to meet Els and such... We thought Ed and Mark were with them so were terribly disappointed when we realized that only Els and four of her kids were here. Eventually we made it to our destination, the little town of Wijk en Aalburg, where Els grew up. The next morning, on the eighteenth, we got up and rented bikes, and had a splendid time biking around the little town, and it was extra cool because Els grew up there and so knew it like the back of her hand...we got to see some real life basket weavers, which was sweet...the house where Els was born, and a house in town.... (the house of Els' used-to-be-neighbor and babysitter) that had a barn with cows and a manure pile right behind it which was sweet... Also went grocery shopping...what an experience! I absolutely loved it to death, everything is pre chopped, like you buy pieces of bacon chopped and ready to fry into bacon bits, everything for a stir-fry is chopped and mixed, ready to fry...salads are ready to mix...so cool! And yes, we took the bikes to the grocery store, what an experience...I had a case of water on the back of my bike, but I couldn't get them to stay on, and they kept tipping my bike over it was hilarious... Everything is so green and lush and wonderful I'm in love with Holland, want to live here forever!!

Els' brother and sister-in-law were amazing...they had groceries waiting for us when we got there, they let us use their internet, fed us an amazing dinner...I love the people here!!

We went to the market on Saturday...loved it so much! The boys thought it was incredibly boring, but there was food...and clothes...and shoes...and purses....and scarves...what more could a girl want?? For some unknown reason, Mom talked Dad into buying a raw herring, covered in raw onions, and so he took a bite which was hilarious, my sisters were pretty much panicking, "NO Daddy, NO!!! DON"T DO IT!!" so funny...and then (WHY??) I decided to try it...I think it was for Tanille...she told me not to pass up any opportunity...so I took a bite - it didn't taste too bad... Mom also took a bite, and the rest of the famly absolutly refused! It didn't taste bad the first moment, but unfortunately afterwards, just the thought of that raw fish in our stomachs kinda grossed both mom and me out :( we also went to a cathedral, very old, very beautiful! Kind of creepy to be walking over top of graves built into the floor....

On Sunday, we attempted to go to church in the place where Els grew up, but it was full, so we had to go into this little brick building to watch it on video, and we were all like, no, because none of us kids would understand it anyway, but Ed insisted that we go to church, because HE would understand. Finally the rest of us gave in and went, and then he fell asleep and slept through the majority of the service, (probably because he was so horribly jet lagged!!) while us kids sat there and thought about how we could understand about one word every five minutes, so that was interesting, but hey, it was an experience, and thats what we're going for, right?

At one point we went out to Rotterdam, where we saw the place that Dad's mom grew up...so cool...the very house she lived in! We also went to this little Bistro thing, which used to be a little grocery store that Grandma's parents owned....what an amazing feeling to think that my grandma lived there and walked where we walked, and it all looked the same! Later on we went to Culenberg, where my grandpa grew up... his farm has since disappeared, but we got to see the town, which was amazing! So cool...eveything here is so old and unique looking...the streets in town are almost all made of paving stones...

We've eaten some wonderful food...fries are amazing here in Holland....krokets too...and freikendellen...love the food here!
Monday was pretty interesting...we went to my great aunt, Tante Jo's house, which was cool, I just understood bits and pieces of the conversation, and I think mom loved going to the place, because she visited there when she was eighteen... Of course, in good Dutch fashion, we were served coffee and snacks... Taunte Jo gave us the address to one of Mom's cousins, so we drove there, and she was delighted to see us! She insisted that we come in, and offered us coffee, which we refused, because we had just finished having coffee, so we just sat and chatted for a while... She in turn gave us the address for a lady named Jantje Davelaar, who lived next to my Opa (mom's dad) while he was growing up. We went to visit her, and she and her daughters showed us around what used to be Opa's farm...so cool!! Then, of course, we were invited in for coffee, so we went in for a while...I love how open and friendly these people are! They don't know you at all, but yet they just invite you in, so welcoming!!

We did a little souveneir shopping....actually, mom wanted to buy some little coffee spoons, which we found and they will be wonderful... And then we went to my Tante Martina's sisters' house for coffee...our fourth coffee of the day....and no lunch haha so full of cookies and such we were :) Thats the life!! Finally, finally, finally, at about five thirty or so, we headed out of Holland, and to Germany...

We got to Henita's house late at night, but she welcomed us in, and whipped out a lasagna...which was amazing!! So we had a very, very late supper, and chatted and chatted till almost one... They had one extra bed, and I got nominated to use it...so happy! Got to stretch and such all night long! She has the most beautiful house, the cutest, sweetest kids... All of the kids here from all three families are playing so nicely together as I write this...I should go, I need to help get lunch ready, hope you are all doing wonderfully back in the snow and such!

Love to all!
Joni (and my family!)

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