A Visit: Day 3

After running around Holland with our American visitor, we took a day off. The weather was gorgeous, so we took a long walk around my hometown. The flowers were already out and the birds were out in large numbers. The nearby park was full of ducks we stopped to feed.

Read More

A Visit: Day 2

Today we took our visitor to Amsterdam. We went through long walks through the city, for a total of 14.5 km (9 miles). The weather was great, and made the walk fairly warm. We spent a large portion of the day there. We went via train to the main stop…

Read More

A Visit

An American friend of mine named “K” happened to be in Europe for several weeks. I invited her up to The Netherlands to visit and stay with us. We started our day with a “crash course” tour of the Netherlands. We drove across Zuid-Holland, from our area all the way…

Read More

De Horsten

We spent the late morning strolling along the shore in Katwijk. In the afternoon, G took me to the woods De Horsten. It is part of the wooded estate occupied by royal family. Though it’s autumn and the leaves are going away, it was a beautiful walk. I was sick…

Read More

Being Busy

I can’t say every weekend is filled with castles and historic sights. The whole idea sounds very tiring actually. I’d rather find enjoyment in even the simplest things. Staying busy contributes to a much healthier life. It can be just as fulfilling as traveling. Despite traveling to the Netherlands almost six years, everything can…

Read More

Bicycles

It’s finally happened…there are more bicycles than people in our house. Now we’re conforming with Dutch tradition. I have an “omafiets” (basic bicycle) for going out on local trips and getting groceries. It’s a fun bicycle, but it’s not suited for more strenuous riding. Our family had a racer hybrid lying untouched…

Read More

Super Blood Moon

A rare lunar event occurred tonight over my house. They are calling it a “Super Blood Moon”. During a lunar eclipse, the moon turned red. The moon was extra large due to its close orbit to the Earth. It made for some great pictures, and excellent watching. I stood out…

Read More

Fort Rammekens

We spent today with my in-laws in Zeeland. The weather was crisp and sunny. Everything seemed extra vivid, and the drive south was beautiful. The four of us went to a five-hundred year old fortification called Fort Rammekens. It was a great Saturday 🙂

Read More

Brederode Castle

The weather started out nicely today. We went for a drive through the Bollenstreek, and all the way up through Haarlem. We took it easy getting milkshakes and the car washed, since it is a lazy Sunday. It was fun looking at the nice old buildings throughout the area (and…

Read More

Storm

I walked into the kitchen this morning, and found the white walls glowing with golden light. The texture was beautiful, like paintings from the Dutch Golden Age. Autumn brings large clouds full of color and a specific kind of sunlight that is gorgeous. An incoming storm was responsible for the…

Read More