Holland with Harriet, from Hengelo to Den Boesch and back to Amsterdam

After two great days spent with Harriet around her city of Hengelo, it was time to set off on our road trip and to bid farewell to Keuf, Harriet's very perky parrot, who seemed quite excited to be going on holiday to the neighbour's.

Not far out of Hengelo was our first stop, Twickel castle, a very fine old castle, now only partially inhabited. It had hectares of beautiful parks and gardens surrounding it. I could easily imagine spending the day there with a picnic, enjoying the walks, gardens and lovely birdsong.

Holland amazed me with its vast motorway network and dense traffic. Five- lanes are quite common, so certainly not a place I would wish to drive. I remember when I was last here that roads were relatively small and certainly not crowded.

It was great to get to our destination, Den Boesch. The main purpose of the visit there was to meet up with Chrissy, my friend Kate's daughter. I haven't seen her for about 20 years, so it was great to catch up with her, Edwin and Thomas their wee boy.

Den Bosch was a very pretty town, with its canals and bustling city centre. I was hugely grateful to Chrissy for recommending it to us.

The highlight in the town was very definitely the hour- long boat trip through the canals of the town, Binnendieze, which used to be used to transport goods and as sewers in years gone by, about 15 th century. Although the commentary was in Dutch, I could understand enough to find it very interesting and entertaining.

It was a fascinating trip, full of humour as well as facts.

The trip took place either in the open canals or under the town, churches and ruins, shops and houses. It was really fabulous.

After a delicious and filling dinner of Stampot with Chrissy and family, it was time to head out to the coast, on the way visiting Holland's capital, Den Haag, which I was very surprised to find quite calm for a big city.

The new development and many buildings in progress made me think of home! Seems ages since I left.

Parliament buildings were grand, and the view across the lake with them in the foreground and the modern buildings behind, was really impressive.

After a bit of an adventure trying to get out of the centre, ending up on the tram tracks because the GPS could not understand the diversions, we finally got to the very popular beach resort of Scheveningen, with its pier and big wheel. I imagine that weekends and holidays must be a nightmare if you, like me, don't like crowds! Fortunately, it was quite quiet.

After sharing a massive portion of the most delicious freshly caught fish,  we wandered along the promenade.  The statues there were very special. It would have been great to have had more time to walk on the dunes as well as the promenade.

I particularly liked these cute frogs, though the feet or arms do seem to be the wrong way round on the right hand one.

This trip is turning out to be the perfect combination of sightseeing and catching up with ex airbnb guests and their families. In this case, tonight , it was a chance to meet the new member of the family, Sepp, with parents Jordi and Romy at Klippel aan den Ijsell. Another great evening and some yummy pancakes with bacon, apple, cheese or plain. 

It has been about 40 years since I visited Keukenhof so I had no memories of it at all. One thing for sure is that it is now enormous compared to then, and a full day is really needed to see as much as possible.

With more than 7 million tulips, daffodils and many other plants over 32 hectares, it is impossible to have a favourite bed, but this one must be up the top of my list!

The almost black tulips are stunning amongst the delicate pinks and whites. Interestingly, they are apparently made by mixing red and yellow! 
There were also some great touches of humour, or perhaps  good ideas of how to recycle old jeans?

We had arrived early at 8.45, which was great because we had seen much of the park before the crowds really thickened. Even the lines of people from all over the world did not interfere with the pure beauty of the place, though. 

These gardens and combinations of colours and plants were absolutely inspirational. 

I could not help but be thankful that we had all our senses to fully appreciate the spectacular colours, fragrant perfumes and the joyful singing of the birds amongst the well established woods.

This was one of the final beds we saw. You would think that after 6 hours of total immersion in these gorgeous gardens, we would no longer be impressed or moved by what we saw, but the colours just seemed to get more and more vibrant!

I an ao theilled to have at last had a full day in Amsterdam. I have passed through Schiphol airport dozens of times, but not got out into the city. 

Amsterdam is a really bustling city, packed with tourists, even so early in the summer. I guess holidays and tulips are real drawcards right now.

Harriet and I had a very interesting trip on the canals. Once again, the commentary was informative and entertaining and it was good to get an overall picture of central city. Thankfully we didn't want to tour at 5 p.m. The queues were soooo long and on the water chaos reigned as boats tried to drop off and pick up their guests.

Bikes, bikes and more bikes! I cannot believe now that we worry in Christchurch about a few electric scooters capable of speeds of up to 30 kph. Here people ride like lunatics through the city, over junctions, weaving in and out of the meandering tourists, many of whom do not even look up from their mobile phones. Pedestrians and cyclists alike are so focussed on their phones at times that they are utterly oblivious to those around them. It was really quite scary walking along some of the narrower, very crowded lanes.

In the afternoon, having said farewell to Harriet, I headed off to Body World, with its focus on happiness.

I have been to another Body World about athletes, so this was a very interesting focus. 
I so agree with this quote!

On the way back home I came across this extraordinary shopping centre which has some similarities to Selfridges. A fantastic building full of elite shops.

I stayed the night with two ex Airbnb guests, Marcela and Pim,  who stayed with me just before Xmas. It was brilliant to see them again and to stay in their beautiful flat in the north of Amsterdam. It is really a great location, really close to ferries to the central station. They run frequently and are FREE!

What a delicious meal we had at a local restaurant called Pilak! It was without doubt the best food I have tasted for years, and the atmosphere was warm and inviting, the decor very simple, and it was packed!

My last morning in Holland was spent ambling along the canals, enjoying the fascinating architecture and the many houseboats along the canals. Apparently there are 2500 of them. Despite the fact that you have virtually no privacy, with tours passing by throughout the day and evening, drunkards jumping on your roof or peeing on your home, these homes can cost up to 1.5 million euros! Amazing!?

Coming from a shaky city like Christchurch, I did feel somewhat anxious about walking past some of the crooked homes with their overhanging gables. I reassured myself that they had been there for over 500 years in some cases and would probably be there for several centuries to come.


Memories of Holland - tulips, bikes and canals. 

A fabulous trip with fantastic people. 😀