Blogs from South Holland, Netherlands, Europe

Donderdag 14 september 2023 Het begin van een weekend met allerlei leuke activiteiten! Rond 18.00u vertrekken we richting Ahoy, Rotterdam. We hebben maanden geleden al tickets geboekt voor Cirque du Soleil met de voorstelling OVO. OVO is het Portugese woord voor ei. De voorstelling gaat over insecten en bij binnenkomst in Ahoy bij onze plaatsen horen we al volop insecten geluiden om ons heen. Het verhaal gaat over een insect die met een groot ei aankomt, verliefd wordt op een lieveheersbeestje. Alles uitgebeeld door allerlei insecten (mensen in insectenpakken) en al deze insecten beelden het verhaal uit met acrobatiek, clowns, trapezewerkers, diabolo-optreden, slangenmens enz. Alles in flinke vaart en veelal ogen tekort, omdat er op allerlei plekken iets gebeurt. Uiteindelijk wordt de show afgesloten met een ongelooflijke act met trampoline, een klimmuur met de ... read more

Monarch Empress sailed overnight from Medemblik to Zaandam. To do so required sailing along the Markemeer coast, through Amsterdam southbound and then following the Zikanal up to Zaandam. There was no opportunity this time to see a bit of Zaandam as we had at Dordrecht. At Zaandam, we boarded coaches to take us to the Keukenhof Gardens at Lisse. Along the way, the local guide gave us the history of the Dutch tulip trade. In the seventeenth century, tulips came from Ottoman Turkey and soon became extremely fashionable. Prices soared to ten times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. This led to market speculation and the Tulip Bubble that burst in 1637. Nevertheless, the tulip found a home in the sandy soil of South Holland and thrived. Today, they form 20 percent of the Netherlands’ ... read more

We traveled by motorcoach from Dordrecht to Kinderdijk, the land of windmills. This was the second visit Susan and I have made to this town of windmills. The first was in 2019, and you can read my blog entry from that visit and compare. Then we arrived by river, as Viking maintains a dock here. Gate 1 Travel does not, necessitating the motorcoach transfer. Arrival by road also meant we were given a view of the town of Kinderdijk itself. The windmills of Kinderdijk form the Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout UNESCO World Heritage site. There are 19 windmills to see here, the earliest dating to the 17th century. They are positioned along two rows. The Overwaard's wooden mills and Nederwaard's brick mills of 1798 use wind power to move water from the polders to the basins. ... read more

This morning I was up early to catch the morning light. It was a soft pale blue fading into a pastel pink. Two guys were craning a long timber boat onto the slipway opposite us, and pretty soon were scraping and power cleaning the hull before lowering it back into its mooring. An hour later and the lake was glistening. The water mirrors the shoreline, as large black birds glide across the sky, occasionally swooping downwards towards the water. The only sound is the young T-shirt clad workman getting an early start across the lake, and the hum of our refrigerator. Looking around our compact house, I’ve noticed subtle differences between the lights and furniture compared to home, and while we all might go to IKEA, and like their products or not, here we are virtually ... read more

Today we are driving to the land of channels and dykes, The Netherlands. I buried my head in some online courses and podcasts on the way here, as until you get close to the Netherlands , it’s all pretty much the same as what we’ve seen in France. The drive took 4 hours, including a toilet/ snacks break at a Service Station. The system with the toilets is practical. You pay 80 cents at a turnstile , receive a receipt and the green light, and when you return to the shop, your receipt is a discount card for any purchases. No pulling in for a Free-Wee; its a pretty fair system. The landscape is covered with corn crops, and the usual low lying green salad crops, but extensive glass houses are also prevalent due to the ... read more