Blogs from North Holland, Netherlands, Europe - page 4

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Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam December 13th 2021

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Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Volendam November 25th 2021

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Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam November 18th 2021

Exploring Amsterdam at night. The canals look so pretty casting beautiful reflections with the lights and the full moon. The skating rink looked fun but a lot of people seemed to be chatting rather than skating. Another time we explored the top of the Jordaan district Our first stop was Muizenhuis - Maker and creator Karina since 2015 has been assisted by her four children, who all have their own role in the family business.Building the sets that are then photographed for the children’s books Sam & Julia. What a delightful shop and workshop. Next we entered the extra agent world of Dutch Designers Marcel Wanders & Casper Vissers who started Moooi in 2001, they promised each other to create a legendary brand. Today, after almost twenty years, Moooi is still inspiring and seducing the world ... read more

Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Hoorn November 14th 2021

***Second visit March 2022 photos added.*** The heyday of Hoorn was in the 17th century, when it was one of the most important Dutch East India Company centres. Founded about 1300 and chartered in 1357, it was the capital of medieval of West Friesland. Its horn-shaped harbour (for which it is named) was one of the principal ports of the Netherlands. The first great net for herring fishing was made in Hoorn in 1416. Willemstad Schouten who discovered the passage around Cape Horn andwere born in Hoorn. The Waag is a stunning building in the historic center of Hoorn was built in 1609. It was used historically as a weigh-house where goods bought and sold could be assessed for its value. It’s now a cozy cafe. WestfrIes Museum - The building itself is a Rijksmonument building ... read more

Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Muiden November 6th 2021

Muiden is an ancient village with rich history, it took Mark 45 minutes to cycle there from Amsterdam The small streets of the medieval town designed for horses with carriages felt like we were travelling back in time. Muiden is on the shores of the IJmeer, at the mouth of the Vecht river. The major attraction is the Muiderslot which is known as Mark tells an interesting story about the history of the Netherlands and how the castle was once part of important water defense lines, such as the Defence Line of Amsterdam and the New Waterline. The Muiderslot was one of the fortifications on these historical defense lines. We heard how the Netherlands had planned to flood certain areas of land as a defense mechanism for hostile armies. A most interesting tour with Mark whilst ... read more

Europe » Netherlands » North Holland November 1st 2021

“The windmill doesn’t care for the wind that’s gone past”- Dutch proverb We were very happy the rain stopped today! Apparently it’s not common for it to rain so much and so hard here in Amsterdam. Our B&B host Katrien said how unusual it was and how it might be related to climate change. But today was a lovely sunny (though quite windy and cool) day. We had a leisurely morning in our B&B, enjoying our breakfast, and then we headed out for our 1/2 day tour to Zaanse Schans. We walked to Centraal Station (I can’t believe how close it is now that we’ve figured out the direct route), then took the ferry over to Buiksloterweg. This free ferry makes frequent trips and only takes a few minutes to make the crossing. We walked a ... read more
A sunny view today!
On the walk to Centraal Station
Centraal Station

Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam October 31st 2021

I am relaxing in our B&B with a coffee, while I start the blog. We have a couple of hours before we head off for our gay pub tour tonight, which should be a lot of fun (well, maybe it would have been, but the guide never showed up, more on that later). So, we had a bit of an issue with our covid test results (not what you think, we were both negative!). But the issue was with accessing our results. So, I’ll start at the beginning. As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, we did our covid test yesterday morning. They said they would email the results within 24 hours. So all day I’m obsessively checking email, waiting for the results. Finally, about 8:30 last night, I’m in the bathroom and Susan says her results ... read more
Morning canal views
Coffee in bed
The canal in front of the B&B

Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam October 30th 2021

The rain that falls today, doesn’t fall tomorrow.- Dutch saying Well, I’m not sure about that proverb, because the forecast is for rain again tomorrow. Ah well, we are used to rain and at least we got a mostly sunny day yesterday. We started the day very early, as we both woke up basically in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. It’s hard adjusting to the 9 hour time difference. Later we enjoyed a very lovely breakfast in our B&B. Katrien left us a tray with an assortment of breads and croissants, butter, jam, two different cheeses, boiled eggs, yogurt with fruit, sliced ham and roast beef, juice, and oranges. What a feast! There is coffee and a coffee maker in our room, so we also had some very good coffee ... read more
Kitchen and dining area
Large sleeping area
Our breakfast feast!

Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam October 29th 2021

“I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.” Anne Frank Considering what Anne Frank and her family, and hundreds of thousands of other Dutch Jews, went through during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, I’ve always thought it amazing that she still believed that people were good at heart. But more on that later. First, our flight and arrival in Amsterdam! We had uploaded our proofs of COVID vaccines prior to our flight, so our check in with KLM was a breeze. We spent a few enjoyable hours in the Plaza Premium lounge at the airport before our flight, enjoying drinks and snacks. We had quite a pleasant 9 hour flight to Amsterdam. They gave us lunch (KLM didn‘t have a record of my vegetarian meal ... read more
On the walk from Centraal station to our B&B
On the walk from Centraal Station to our B&B
Oude Kerk - view from our B&B




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