First off, if you haven't read Robin's 2nd India blog post, scroll down! We are both posting our adventures on the same day, and I don't want to overshadow hers!
So I am about to tell you about my time in Holland when Robin was out in India.
I stayed at our apartment in Maastricht by myself for 8 days after she left, ate a great deal of dominos pizza, and finished up my exams. From there my Aunt and Uncle picked me up and I was off to their house to stay for a few days.
We had a very nice bbq that Saturday night, and I was able to get settled in. On Easter Sunday we all enjoyed a nice breakfast, an Easter Egg hunt, and beautiful weather that allowed us to sit outdoors. Romke and I even made it out for a 40km bike ride. We went by the cottages that when visiting as kids we would stay at. It was neat to see that part of Holland again. There were a great deal of memories.
Monday morning came and I was packed and ready to go. I hopped on the train to make my way to Schiphol airport to meet Vic and Mark Enns. They had planned a last minute trip to Holland for the 3 of us to tour around for a week. It was early afternoon when got in our rental car and headed out on our adventure to go see tulips, ride bikes, see old windmills, and indulge in the local cuisine.
We ended up on the first night staying in a beach town in Noordwijk aan zee, which was very beautiful. There were restaurants on the beach, a local strip with hotels and restaurants, and a shopping district. Later that night we made friends with a local, who recommend that we go and see the flower auction in Aalsmeer.
The following morning we set off to Aalsmeer and were very impressed. The scale of the flower auction there was immense. The warehouse it was held in was one of the largest I personally had ever seen/been in. It was a great starter as we intended to go and see the tulips at the keukenhof (which is like a botanical gardens). We arrived at the Keukenhof and after looking around we found that there were far too many people there. Lucky for us though there was an alternative. Outside the Keukenhof was a bicycle rental store where you could get a bike and do a self guided tour of the tulip fields. That was something that all three of us enjoyed thoroughly. After our bike ride we set off by car to the Kinderdijk which is a world heritage site with vintage windmills. However once on the highway we saw a sign for Delft (the city where that classic blue and white pottery comes from that is in every Dutch person’s house). So we steered the car in that direction to find a beautiful city square, where we climbed the central tower, and had some frites and mayo. Upon arriving at the Kinderdijk we were told that the bike rental shop was closing and we could not see the windmills. Even the Enn’s charm did not work as both Vic and Mark tried to negotiate a deal against a stubborn Dutchman. So we ended up walking to the windmills on foot down a polder which was closed. We missed it only by a few minutes, however did not regret the stop in Delft. After that we had a quick dinner and set off to Belgium to Bruges. We arrived late, had dinner and a drink and were off to bed.
Wednesday morning we were up and roaming the streets early. We found a canal boat tour which allowed us to see a great deal of the city and get some commentary to go along with it. We figured we had done so well with the canal boat that afterwards we decided to hop on a bus tour. This was not as good as the boat tour in that our view was restricted by the roof of the bus, and driving is never as good as being on a boat. Now that we were armed with information of Bruges and a general overview of the city we set off for the most important stop of the day, the local brewery tour. It was fantastic. We had a very eccentric Scottish fellow leading our tour. On the tour we also met some very nice people, and some of them we shared a drink and some food with after the tour. After that it Mark and I decided it was time to head back to the hotel to relax, watch a movie, grab a nap, while Vic went out on another boat tour and found a harp concert at a church. We could not keep up. He was staying out at night with us and was always the first one showered and shaved sitting at the breakfast table already on his 2nd coffee when Mark and I would show up. After our afternoon activities we met in the hotel lobby to head out for dinner and to see Bruges at night.
Thursday morning and it was time to leave town. We got in the car and made our way out to Ghent (a neighbouring town of Bruges). We were spending a few hours there on our way to Maastricht. After a brief stroll around town we found the booth for canal boat tours. But like any tourist knows you can’t travel on an empty stomach. So after filling up on a shawarma we got on another canal boat tour. This was a great way to get a brief overview while passing through. The tour was very nice. We even took the guide up on his recommendations regarding a good lunch in Ghent. After lunch we headed out to Maastricht. Our first stop would be our old apartment. When we arrived no one was there so a tour was out of the question. The next best thing though was to hit up the local establishment across the street where I had made friends with the owner and his buddy. After reaching our hotel and checking in we did a walk around the city and I got to play tour guide to Mark who had never been there. It was really nice to be back, especially because that also meant we would have another opportunity to eat at the Argentina steakhouse. After a nice dinner and strolling around it was off the hotel.
Friday morning and it was a beautiful sunny day. After a mcdonalds breakfast, we walked over to the train station to rent some bicycles. We rode through the streets made various stops and took in the beauty of the old town. After a while of playing tourist, and a lunch at the university, we decided to ride our bikes to the town of Eijsden. This was a route familiar to Vic and I, as we had done it a few weeks earlier with our friend Jeff from Canada. This was the perfect activity given all the food we had eaten during the week. The only problem was that we stopped for more food once we reached Eijsden, so I am not sure how effective the ride was. After biking we got in the car and set out to Aachen Germany to have a schnitzel dinner. We arrived back in Maastricht later that evening to find out that the Queens day (The celebration for the Dutch queen Beatrice’s birthday) festivities had begun. There was a Dj in the park, jazz bands in the pubs, and people in the streets celebrating the occasion.
Saturday morning and it was time to leave Maastricht. The only thing was we had too much to see and too little time. We decided that first we would do the Hoge Veluwe national park. This was a fond memory of mine as a child, and rightfully so. You get into the park and at various locations they have bike racks full of the famous “white bikes” (over 1700 in total). Now these bikes are free upon park admission for you to ride around enjoy the park. It was beautiful. The views and scenery were changing from being in a forest, to being on a Safari. Halfway through we stopped in for a quick lunch and decided to that after the ride was through we would go for a tour of the Grolsch factory. We got back to the car after a 25Km bike ride and set off to Enschede. All we knew about the Grolsch factory was that the website was not very informative, and that it was somewhere in Enschede on the East side of Holland. After a lengthy drive we arrived in Enschede and fortunately spotted the large factory from the highway. We were not so fortunate though as we entered the empty parking lot only to realize that it was closed. Now we had to figure something out. Today was Queens day, and our last night in Holland together. With no plans we got on the highway and drove. Vic was in the back seat reading tourist books on Holland and led us to Geithoorn, which is said to be the Venice of Holland. It will be a few days yet till we get to Venice, but if it is anything like Geithoorn we will be in for a treat. Although our stay there was brief it was very fun. We rented a boat, which was really a large fibreglass canoe with an electric motor bolted on and set off through the canals. It was a beautiful. We had so much fun driving around and taking it all in. After the boat tour we headed north. The idea was to be able to drive the A7 which is the longest man made dam, and hopefully spot a few more windmills for Sundays drive to the airport. We arrived in Leeuwarden which is in Friesland. Now I am not entirely sure but I get the impression that Friesland is to the Netherlands what Quebec is to Canada. Anyhow we found a local hotel and set out for dinner. After dinner we set out to the park where they had a concert for Queens day. This park was right in front of the Oldehove which is an unfinished church tower, which leans more than the tower of Pisa in Italy. After leaving the concert we set off in the direction of the hotel about to turn in for the night.
Sunday morning in Leeuwarden and it was safe to say that all 3 of us were getting pretty tired. Despite this Vic still was the first and breakfast. After some food and getting packed up we set off to the town of Sneek to a boat museum where my Opa Visser had a few objects on display. It was neat to see as it had been over 11 years since I was there last. We enjoyed our walk through and then set off in search of a few more windmills. On the way there we went through many small towns and really enjoyed the views, however we must have went wrong somewhere because we did not see any. We then set off towards the airport on the A7 which as stated earlier is the longest made dam, and also a display of the Dutch and their battles with the water. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. The 3 of us knowing that it would be our last meal together pulled out all the stops and went to Burger King. After lunch I got my computer out to transfer the pictures we had of the week so I could post some on the blog. Well to my dismay the battery was dead. So Vic and I went into a grocery store and plugged in the laptop while standing over/beside a cooler of Vitamin water. I did successfully upload the pictures.
Anyways as I write this it is May 10. Robin came back from India, and her and I are now traveling with Lauren and Keith. We just got back from a visit to Monaco/Monte Carlo and are staying in France Nice. We are having a good time, but looking forward to seeing everyone. As for the pictures of the Vroom Boys trip (Victor Ron Mark=vrm add a few oo’s=Vroom), my hard drive crashed.... so I guess you will have to take my word when I say, it was pretty awesome.
Till next time, and hopefully see you all soon.
Ron
So I am about to tell you about my time in Holland when Robin was out in India.
I stayed at our apartment in Maastricht by myself for 8 days after she left, ate a great deal of dominos pizza, and finished up my exams. From there my Aunt and Uncle picked me up and I was off to their house to stay for a few days.
We had a very nice bbq that Saturday night, and I was able to get settled in. On Easter Sunday we all enjoyed a nice breakfast, an Easter Egg hunt, and beautiful weather that allowed us to sit outdoors. Romke and I even made it out for a 40km bike ride. We went by the cottages that when visiting as kids we would stay at. It was neat to see that part of Holland again. There were a great deal of memories.
Monday morning came and I was packed and ready to go. I hopped on the train to make my way to Schiphol airport to meet Vic and Mark Enns. They had planned a last minute trip to Holland for the 3 of us to tour around for a week. It was early afternoon when got in our rental car and headed out on our adventure to go see tulips, ride bikes, see old windmills, and indulge in the local cuisine.
We ended up on the first night staying in a beach town in Noordwijk aan zee, which was very beautiful. There were restaurants on the beach, a local strip with hotels and restaurants, and a shopping district. Later that night we made friends with a local, who recommend that we go and see the flower auction in Aalsmeer.
The following morning we set off to Aalsmeer and were very impressed. The scale of the flower auction there was immense. The warehouse it was held in was one of the largest I personally had ever seen/been in. It was a great starter as we intended to go and see the tulips at the keukenhof (which is like a botanical gardens). We arrived at the Keukenhof and after looking around we found that there were far too many people there. Lucky for us though there was an alternative. Outside the Keukenhof was a bicycle rental store where you could get a bike and do a self guided tour of the tulip fields. That was something that all three of us enjoyed thoroughly. After our bike ride we set off by car to the Kinderdijk which is a world heritage site with vintage windmills. However once on the highway we saw a sign for Delft (the city where that classic blue and white pottery comes from that is in every Dutch person’s house). So we steered the car in that direction to find a beautiful city square, where we climbed the central tower, and had some frites and mayo. Upon arriving at the Kinderdijk we were told that the bike rental shop was closing and we could not see the windmills. Even the Enn’s charm did not work as both Vic and Mark tried to negotiate a deal against a stubborn Dutchman. So we ended up walking to the windmills on foot down a polder which was closed. We missed it only by a few minutes, however did not regret the stop in Delft. After that we had a quick dinner and set off to Belgium to Bruges. We arrived late, had dinner and a drink and were off to bed.
Wednesday morning we were up and roaming the streets early. We found a canal boat tour which allowed us to see a great deal of the city and get some commentary to go along with it. We figured we had done so well with the canal boat that afterwards we decided to hop on a bus tour. This was not as good as the boat tour in that our view was restricted by the roof of the bus, and driving is never as good as being on a boat. Now that we were armed with information of Bruges and a general overview of the city we set off for the most important stop of the day, the local brewery tour. It was fantastic. We had a very eccentric Scottish fellow leading our tour. On the tour we also met some very nice people, and some of them we shared a drink and some food with after the tour. After that it Mark and I decided it was time to head back to the hotel to relax, watch a movie, grab a nap, while Vic went out on another boat tour and found a harp concert at a church. We could not keep up. He was staying out at night with us and was always the first one showered and shaved sitting at the breakfast table already on his 2nd coffee when Mark and I would show up. After our afternoon activities we met in the hotel lobby to head out for dinner and to see Bruges at night.
Thursday morning and it was time to leave town. We got in the car and made our way out to Ghent (a neighbouring town of Bruges). We were spending a few hours there on our way to Maastricht. After a brief stroll around town we found the booth for canal boat tours. But like any tourist knows you can’t travel on an empty stomach. So after filling up on a shawarma we got on another canal boat tour. This was a great way to get a brief overview while passing through. The tour was very nice. We even took the guide up on his recommendations regarding a good lunch in Ghent. After lunch we headed out to Maastricht. Our first stop would be our old apartment. When we arrived no one was there so a tour was out of the question. The next best thing though was to hit up the local establishment across the street where I had made friends with the owner and his buddy. After reaching our hotel and checking in we did a walk around the city and I got to play tour guide to Mark who had never been there. It was really nice to be back, especially because that also meant we would have another opportunity to eat at the Argentina steakhouse. After a nice dinner and strolling around it was off the hotel.
Friday morning and it was a beautiful sunny day. After a mcdonalds breakfast, we walked over to the train station to rent some bicycles. We rode through the streets made various stops and took in the beauty of the old town. After a while of playing tourist, and a lunch at the university, we decided to ride our bikes to the town of Eijsden. This was a route familiar to Vic and I, as we had done it a few weeks earlier with our friend Jeff from Canada. This was the perfect activity given all the food we had eaten during the week. The only problem was that we stopped for more food once we reached Eijsden, so I am not sure how effective the ride was. After biking we got in the car and set out to Aachen Germany to have a schnitzel dinner. We arrived back in Maastricht later that evening to find out that the Queens day (The celebration for the Dutch queen Beatrice’s birthday) festivities had begun. There was a Dj in the park, jazz bands in the pubs, and people in the streets celebrating the occasion.
Saturday morning and it was time to leave Maastricht. The only thing was we had too much to see and too little time. We decided that first we would do the Hoge Veluwe national park. This was a fond memory of mine as a child, and rightfully so. You get into the park and at various locations they have bike racks full of the famous “white bikes” (over 1700 in total). Now these bikes are free upon park admission for you to ride around enjoy the park. It was beautiful. The views and scenery were changing from being in a forest, to being on a Safari. Halfway through we stopped in for a quick lunch and decided to that after the ride was through we would go for a tour of the Grolsch factory. We got back to the car after a 25Km bike ride and set off to Enschede. All we knew about the Grolsch factory was that the website was not very informative, and that it was somewhere in Enschede on the East side of Holland. After a lengthy drive we arrived in Enschede and fortunately spotted the large factory from the highway. We were not so fortunate though as we entered the empty parking lot only to realize that it was closed. Now we had to figure something out. Today was Queens day, and our last night in Holland together. With no plans we got on the highway and drove. Vic was in the back seat reading tourist books on Holland and led us to Geithoorn, which is said to be the Venice of Holland. It will be a few days yet till we get to Venice, but if it is anything like Geithoorn we will be in for a treat. Although our stay there was brief it was very fun. We rented a boat, which was really a large fibreglass canoe with an electric motor bolted on and set off through the canals. It was a beautiful. We had so much fun driving around and taking it all in. After the boat tour we headed north. The idea was to be able to drive the A7 which is the longest man made dam, and hopefully spot a few more windmills for Sundays drive to the airport. We arrived in Leeuwarden which is in Friesland. Now I am not entirely sure but I get the impression that Friesland is to the Netherlands what Quebec is to Canada. Anyhow we found a local hotel and set out for dinner. After dinner we set out to the park where they had a concert for Queens day. This park was right in front of the Oldehove which is an unfinished church tower, which leans more than the tower of Pisa in Italy. After leaving the concert we set off in the direction of the hotel about to turn in for the night.
Sunday morning in Leeuwarden and it was safe to say that all 3 of us were getting pretty tired. Despite this Vic still was the first and breakfast. After some food and getting packed up we set off to the town of Sneek to a boat museum where my Opa Visser had a few objects on display. It was neat to see as it had been over 11 years since I was there last. We enjoyed our walk through and then set off in search of a few more windmills. On the way there we went through many small towns and really enjoyed the views, however we must have went wrong somewhere because we did not see any. We then set off towards the airport on the A7 which as stated earlier is the longest made dam, and also a display of the Dutch and their battles with the water. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. The 3 of us knowing that it would be our last meal together pulled out all the stops and went to Burger King. After lunch I got my computer out to transfer the pictures we had of the week so I could post some on the blog. Well to my dismay the battery was dead. So Vic and I went into a grocery store and plugged in the laptop while standing over/beside a cooler of Vitamin water. I did successfully upload the pictures.
Anyways as I write this it is May 10. Robin came back from India, and her and I are now traveling with Lauren and Keith. We just got back from a visit to Monaco/Monte Carlo and are staying in France Nice. We are having a good time, but looking forward to seeing everyone. As for the pictures of the Vroom Boys trip (Victor Ron Mark=vrm add a few oo’s=Vroom), my hard drive crashed.... so I guess you will have to take my word when I say, it was pretty awesome.
Till next time, and hopefully see you all soon.
Ron
