Sunday, 31 August 2014
Sunday, 24 August 2014
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
Last day!
Yesterday was our last full day of the trip and we used the whole day!
Thank you Annick and Lies for all the good suggestions of things to see in Amsterdam.
We had breakfast together in the boat, pannekoeken, strawberries, raspberries, yogurt, bread and cheese. Then we were off to the market to do some shopping. It rained off and on, but it was really fine. We just stood under awnings, or stall tents when the rain came. I got soaked at the market when the wind pushed the rain water off the tent in a big swoosh! Cacia was particularly successful with her market purchases, even successfully bartering down the prices!
After a warm lunch in 't Smalle, we walked by Anne Frank's house but the line was way around the corner, and we decided the outside was all we needed to see of the house.
Anna and Cacia spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the shops in the "9-streets", and some more around Dam Square, and the "older" members of the group strolled through the beautiful neighbourhoods, ending up at Melkweg, Leidseplein, and then back to Dam Square to meet up with Anna and Cacia.
Greg, Anna, Cacia and I met up in the 5th floor cafe of the Bijenkorf to warm up, eat some fresh pizza, and use the free wifi, and clean bathrooms. After refueling and re-energizing we headed to the train station to take the ferry to the area behind the train station with the modern architectural buildings, including the EYE Film Institute. We arrived just in time to watch the classic Alfred Hitchcock film, The Birds.
Today we have all morning to have breakfast together, pack up and walk to the train station to start our trip back home.
Monday, 18 August 2014
Sunday, 17 August 2014
Happy Birthday Annick!
Saturday we went for our last bike ride of the trip. Anna and Cacia went in the car with Lies, and Annick joined us on the ride to Appelcha, nature reserve. We biked through beautiful countryside, stopping to see a hiding place of the Dutch resistance fighters, and to eat an apple under the trees to wait out a rain shower.
When we got home, Greg, Annick, Kris and Laura were the garden gnomes, cleaning up some of the garden, and Anna and Cacia helped Lies with dinner. After dinner we got to see Geert and Barbara, who came to visit from the Lowlands music festival in Kampen.
We had a birthday breakfast with Annick and Lies, and then with warm goodbyes, we left Diever this morning with a ride to the Meppel train station, changed trains in Almere, and arrived at Amsterdam Central at 11:30 am. We stored our bags in lockers for the day, and made our way to Museum Square to visit the Rijks museum courtyard garden, and Van Gogh Museum. I really enjoyed the permanent collections of Van Gogh paintings, but also the 1940s photographs from similar areas and subjects that Van Gogh had painted.
On our way back to collect our bags at the station, we stopped at Dam Square, where Leone found us on a webcam!
We our spending tonight and tomorrow night in a houseboat built in 1896 in the Jordaan neighbourhood (near Aniick's place). The weather forecast looks rainy for our last full day in Nederland, but... that'll just be a good excuse for warme chocolate met schlagroom!
Saturday, 16 August 2014
August 15th
I didn't take many photos yesterday but here are some! Anna got her nails done as a gift and we ate in a green house at a pancake restaurant! During sunset, we went to see the heather and came back to the house to eat cake and watch a movie with Robin Williams and Matt Damon that I don't remember the name of. It was a fun day!!
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