The title quote is from "The Dutch, I Presume?" a great book about Holland and the quirky things Dutch people do. A gift from Judith - thanks so much!! Well, I’m down to my last week here in Holland. The trip went by so quickly! On Thursday we took the day off from shopping and exploration to relax and play some cards. It rained most of the day so good timing. In the afternoon we went to Tante Aartje’s for a bakkee. Friday was another shopping day with Judith and Wanda. We have so much fun together! This time we took [View Full Entry]

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Is alweer tijdje geleden ondertussen, maar dan ook veel te drukke periode achter de rug... zou niet eens meer weten wat we psies gedaan hebben voordat we naar NL vertrokken... dus laat maar gewoon beginnen bij de reis!! Die begon al niet al te goed. Na instappen op Melbourne begon de ellende al... bijna anderhalf uur vertraging omdat er bepaalde passagiers door de douane waren aangehouden en niet mochten vertrekken... nou goed, was niet zo erg dachten we want hadden toch paar uur tussenstop op KL dus beter nu ff wachten als je nog neit zo moe bent dan wanneer je [View Full Entry]

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I finally took the plunge. Three years in the making, and nine years of anticipation finally lead me to complete my open water diver license, on Sunday 24 of July. Oostvoorne was the destination about 40 km west of Rotterdam. It’s a nice lake not only for scuba diving, but also for kite surfing and wind surfing. On Sunday, as the weather improved and the sunshine danced playfully on the water, there were even bathers that came to brave the crisp 14C water. Myself and Ardy were completing the course, and Sander (remember the guy I met from China) was going [View Full Entry]

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Well I finally made it to the Netherlands. I must admit I've been keen to get here since leaving Australia nearly eight months ago. I'm not quite sure what was driving me to visit this country so much but i gotta tell you... Dutch woman riding bikes in gorgeous little summer dress's is as good a reason as any to stay!!! After leaving Antwerp I headed north about one hour into the Netherlands and ended up in Rotterdam about an hour later. Heading across on the train I suddenly realised why they all rides bikes around here.. it's just so flat... [View Full Entry]

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Well hello there! Ok so i have been really slack with this whole blogging thing but while i have free internet i thought i'd give you all a quick update on what we have been up to and some pictures to! So as we speak we are sitting in our hostel in Rotterdam. This has been the second best hostel we have stayed at everyone is really nice and we have meet some great people in fact we plan to meet back up with a couple of them when we head to Amsterdam tomorrow. Rotterdam is really great everyone seems to [View Full Entry]

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"Money is earned in Rotterdam, divided in The Hague and spent in Amsterdam" Hi Everyone! I have spent the last three days in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. I forget why I decided to come here other than I found a cheap hostel. Amsterdam is going to be very expensive, so I needed a break from that. Rotterdam is an interesting place, it is very Urban. It was bombed to the ground in 1940 during WWII. Instead of restoring the buildings and architecture of the past, they decided to rebuild completely differently. The buildings are very modern in their architecture. My favorite [View Full Entry]

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A walk through history I've been resting up at my sister's for several days, feasting on the fabulous cheese, rich yogurt, delicious chocolate and fresh baked bread. Having fortified myself, it's time for a foray into the countryside and a chance to walk off those extra calories. Thus, a day trip and walking tour of Brielle, located about 25 miles outside Rotterdam. This small and picturesc town dates back to 1306. It's claim to fame is several fold: not only is it one of the few fortified towns with many of it's defenses intact and still visible, it was also the [View Full Entry]

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Off to Rotterdam we went to go to an event called Distorted Hardcore. The only reason we were going to this out of the way event was to see Hellfish. He was pretty much of our last DJ to cross off our wish list. One of the UK's biggest industrial producers, he makes music like you would NEVER have heard before, I promise you. He creates such a unique mash up of tracks influenced mainly by industrial, hip hop and drum n bass that he makes music I can only truly categorise as "Hellfish's sound". Each track is produces is strikingly [View Full Entry]

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It was like the prodigal son had come home when the Ms Eurodam sailed into Rotterdam. Although the headquarters of Holland America are now in Seattle, there is still a strong tie with Rotterdam and the cruise. The cruise terminal we docked at was located on Holland America Avenue/Street and the old headquarters of the company were located nearby (now turned into an upscale hotel). As we sailed off into the sunset, crowds of passerbys stopped to cheer and wave from the waterfront parks. I think the warm welcome and send off had something to do with fact that the cruise [View Full Entry]

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Today was a mixed day. Firstly we had a great tour of Rotterdam Harbour in a big tour boat. The harbour is one of the busiest in the world. Plenty of pushy German tourists as well. We got the best tour because we had John and Hennie adding real life stories to the commentary. Back up the Euromast(in Rotterdam not Amsterdam)...didn't get any easier...then morning tea on the observation deck. The view is amazing. Rotterdam is a very pretty city. Not on my dad's list of things to do was the funeral of his oldest sister. A little different to funerals [View Full Entry]

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