Blogs from Netherlands, Europe - page 319

I think the pictures will show you all just how amazing Queens Day is in Amsterdam. But for a bit of a run down, here is the description of what we saw. We started the day getting a feel for what Queens Day is traditionally about - The Queen of Holland and her extensive Royal family go to two different small towns within Holland on this day each year, and join in local festivities. Watching this live broadcast on their TV as fascintating as due to being Australian, we didnt even know who they were, and yet they are massive celebraties in Europe. Sylvia gave us a bit of a run down on who all the family members were. Then, we got down to business - seeing Amsterdam in all her glory in the Celebrations ... read more

Craig's mother's cousin Sylvia who has lived in Amsterdam all her life was kind enough to spend several days with us showing us her much beloved city. And you can see why she loves it so much. Firstly she took us to the flower markets which were amazingly cheap for such gorgeous tulips. We then walked through the art markets before finding a secret door that took us into a little oasis - a circular block of apartments with a garden and church in the middle. This block of homes in the past were homes ONLY for Catholic single women (see the statue in the photo of how the ladies use to dress), and even today you can only live there if you are Catholic and single. This courtyard is also home to a 'secret' ... read more

UntitledMichelle&ClouD Wednesday the 25th of april, 2 days before we left it was time for an emotional goodbye diner party at my place in Amsterdam. And Emo it was.. We were surrounded by a bunch of the dearest people in the world, who all gave us a hard time saying goodbye. Therefore it was not before 6 in the morning I kicked everybody out, with pain in my heart ofcourse. THANK YOU AGAIN EVERYBODY FOR ALL YOUR LOVE YOU GAVE US TO TAKE WITH US ALL AROUND THE WORLD! And thanx for the nice priceless presents you gave us, especially Jo's picture on canvas wrapped in the box with a personal note of everybody. Couldn't keep it dry when opening this present.. So now in every room we will sleep we will feel straight at home! ... read more

Cycling from Brugge to Maastricht was a breeze, literally, a nice strong hot tail wind blowing us across the flat plains, giving us a false sense of confidence in our abilities! We lost count of the border crossings as the border between Belgium and Netherlands is somewhat fluid and undefinable. The roads in both countries are perfectly designed for cycling, every road caters for cyclists (and cars give way to cyclists!) but the most impressive thing was crossing under the river into Antwerp where we had to use a special lift for cyclists, then cycle under the river to the other side. The campground just outside Maastricht where we are staying is more like a little community, well kept little chalets amidst the forest setting, and I woke up to red squirrels chasing each other through ... read more

Geo: 52.4292, 4.77933Very good hostel breakfast - 3 cheeses and meats, assorted buns and bread (I stuck to the multi-grain bread), plain yogurt, cereal, juice, coffee, biscuits and even hard boiled eggs. Mmmm ... the last time I ate a hard-boiled egg for breakfast while traveling was at a hotel in Barcelona. They had a very nice, rich peanut butter. I stuffed myself - old hostel habits die hard! You gotta go to town on freebies! They actually had a sign posted - they'll make and pack you a lunch for 5 Euros. It was conspicuously placed to discourage people from making their own lunches and running off with it. Not that I would know anything about that ... I've got a sleepy bunch of people in my hostel room - they were all sleeping last ... read more