Utrecht plus big decisions

A trip into Utrecht, where purchases were to be made, namely material to cover a chair at our house, and a new coffee machine for Aaron.  Big decisions.

We woke to glorious weather.   Perfect.   We split into two groups.  The girls, Kylie, Mia, Abi and I rode our bikes, because it was a beautiful day and we wanted to go to the fabric market.   The boys, Walter, Aaron and Raphy took the train, because they needed to carry the new coffee machine home. 

After looking at many, many pieces of fabric I made a decision, with the help of Kylie, Mia and Abi.  The choice was the spotted material in the photograph below.   As we now have a very conservative black leather lounge and grey chairs, a bit of colour  and pattern was definitely needed.  So we intend to cover our remaining chair with this fabric.  Then I had a bright idea, why not make some cushion covers to use on the new lounge suite.  Well we now have enough material to make cushion covers for the whole family, due to my difficulties with estimations. I think the stall holder appreciated my very large and expensive purchase.  

Then it was time to meet up with Walter, Aaron and Raphy for lunch.  Great cafe, with the most delicious sandwich fillings.  Not expensive either.  I forgot to mention the excellent apple tart, shared of course.  Too many calories there.

The Dutchman man, who owns the cafe, used to live in Adelaide, and he had a wonderful, very large, photograph of the Central Market hanging on the back wall.  Unfortunately, no photograph, due to a large group of people sitting at the table, right underneath the photograph.  I am quite sure they did not want to be part of the photograph.

Then it was off to the shop that sold coffee machines in order to obtain our opinion, Kylie's and mine, that is.

I was fascinated by the hand pump coffee machines.   All very glittery and showy and difficult to use.  Training was definitely needed in order to use these machines.

Aaron and Walter looking at the huge array of coffee machines.   Such a difficult decision, trying to find a machine that makes perfect coffee.

The big discussion outside the coffee machine shop.  Serious business.

Meanwhile I took advantage of the beautiful day to take photographs of the local scenes, people sunning themselves outside the cafe, parked bicycles and

beautiful canals bordered by fresh green trees.

Mia and Abi pretending to be bored!  I love the furniture in this shop.  So many colours and designs.

The new coffee machine sitting in the corner of the kitchen.  And yes it does make delicious and hot coffee.   Perfect.

But on Saturday we set off home, Aaron and Walter, with caffeine overload due to many, many coffee samplings from machines.  But a decision had been made, they also carried a machine with them.

Raphy, probably had a boring day, although he had eaten plenty of hot chips, which are his favourite food, other than ice creams.

We, on the other hand, had a slight problem, as we were one bicycle less on the way home, due to someone stealing Kylie's bicycle.  A major problem in this country. So Kylie rode Mia's bike, who rode Abi's bike, and we had turns about doubling Abi.  Such is the way of life here.

But on the whole, a very successful day.  And very enjoyable too.

A trip to Delft

Delft, the home of Delft Blue porcelain and picturesque canals.  Once a seaport but now an extension of The Hague.  But our purpose was not to look at porcelain or canals, but to stay at the camping ground of Delftse Hout, with the surrounding attractions consisting of a children's farm and a water playground.  

The main reason for our visit, Raphy was going on his first trip in the motorhome.  And he was certainly a very excited little boy.  

Raphy sitting in the motorhome, enjoying his lunch.  Two slices of bread. The first slice with butter on the bread, then honey on the butter. then peanut butter on the honey.  The second slice he repeats the same order. The order is very important to Raphy, and he likes to tell you about this order often.  And if you ask him at the end whether he would like bread or toast he will repeat the sequence again, twice, as he always likes two slices.  So cute.

Delftse Hout.  In the sunshine.   A very relaxing campsite, not cheap, but plenty of hedges for privacy and shelter.

Our motorhome in place.  A pity about the shade.

There are parks surrounding the camping ground.  And an IKEA a short walk away, just in case there is a need for a bit of retail therapy.  IKEA is perfect for that, or an impending divorce if you shop with your partner.

At the children's farm.  There were three peacocks there strutting around showing off their finery and wobbling their bottoms at the five hens, who were not at all interested, as can be seen by the photograph below.

The lambs and their mothers, asleep in the shade of the tree. What a life!

Raphy loved the baby goats.  He spent most of the time hugging them, kissing them and trying to pick them up.   When I was not looking.

Raphy looking for the baby goats.

The minature horse.  Very placid. However I still watched its back hooves.

The goats came in all shapes, sizes and colours.  I liked the ones with long ears.  But one thing was evident, they were obviously continually being mummies, many of them had teenage babies and were about ready to have their next set of babies.

Raphy has found the mother and baby goats again.  But was about to be swamped by  other goats.

This cute goat was very adept at escaping through the gaps in the gates.

The water park, with its sandy beach and plenty of relevant playground equipment, including a  zip wire over the water.  Apparently the water is very clean.

A very large waterpark.  The beach.  At Kijkduin. A lovely sandy beach, and a wide expanse of sand too.  The problem was the river of sea water which separated most of the sand with the waves.  Too deep to walk across, unless wearing very short shorts.

Raphy turning the handle on the corkscrew which brings water up from the stream and deposits it in the shallow tank.  Then it is a matter of lifting the plugs and allowing the water to drain down the open pipes to the reservoirs.  Finally you can release the water onto the sand and channel it back into the stream.   An important learning activity about water management in the Netherlands.

Back to Kijkduin.  My apologies about the photos being out of order.   Technology problems.

The restaurant.  The most important part of the beach.  A place where you can drink coffee, wine or beer while capturing the sunshine.  These places have glass walls around the edges, to keep out the cold winds, while enjoying the sunshine.  Of course it does not work in the rain.

And I look very happy in the sunshine.  I thought it was a little premature to take the scarf off.

Walter and Raphy on the other hand preferred the shade.

This was hard work for Raphy, trying to walk through soft sand in his Wellingtons.

A really lovely two days with Raphy.  And I think he had a pretty good time too.  He loved the food, fish fingers and chips, ice creams and apple juice.

And of course his two slices of bread.  First with butter on the bread, then honey on the butter and peanut butter on the honey.

Success!

I have passed my first Coursera course, Internet History, Technology and Security, and received my certificate, with distinction.  And most importantly I gained a huge amount of knowlege about computing and the internet.  All so interesting too.

The course lasted ten weeks, with about an hour of lectures each week, plus a quiz, which I completed as I travelled around Australia, New Zealand, and Kuala Lumpur.  I also wrote one essay and completed a 40 question, multiple choice, exam at the end.

The course was run by the University of Michigan.

I have now started another 6 week course, through a university in Paris, about the European Union.  Walter is also doing the same course.   A new topic of conversation!

The lecturer is a very handsome young man with such a cute accent, which is a little distracting.  For me, not Walter, I hasten to add. 

We have just completed our first weekly quiz, not an easy subject, but I can pretty well name all the Treaties, significant events, plus dates, so a good start I think.

If anyone is interested in the courses just type Coursera into your search engine and their web site will appear.  All courses are free and there is no obligation to complete the assessments, however your learning will increase if you do complete them.

Camping, Farm Style

Texel, camping farm style, was a positive delight, and from the photographs below, the sun did shine, on occasions.   The camping ground, called De Hoge Kamp (The High camp), is situated on low ground by the way, as there are no hills, as such, on the island, just sand dunes around the edges.   So I am not sure where the name came from, but interesting anyway.

The owners were very friendly, and told the girls they could go in any building as long as the door was open.   They have about 320 sheep on the farm, but of course the number had doubled, as it was lambing time.    All the fluffy little lambs gamboling around the fields put me right off purchasing any meat from the owners, delicious as it may have been, being farm killed, so as to speak.  

The camping ground was also 1 1/2 km from Den Burg, an easy ride in, in case of running out of food, but the head wind coming back made the ride extremely difficult.   And, yes, it was also slightly uphill, ever so slightly, hence the high ground.   We were also close enough to town to order a take away pizza on the first night.   We liked that arrangement.   Camping comforts.

The owners had planted a thick belt of small trees around two sides of the camping ground, thank goodness, otherwise we really would have been blown away.   Many of the farms have high banks of earth around the edge of fields, in order to give shelter for the sheep.    An old method of providing shelter belts, apparently.

The motor home, standing in the shelter of the trees.   There were no hard standings, but the ground was sandy and water drained away very quickly, so no danger of becoming bogged.   The fold up chair did not get any use, due to the need to stay inside in the warmth.

Mia and Abit loved the trampolene, and spent many hours bouncing on it, even when it was wet.   The little house behind it is a rental cottage.

The ablutions block, bought from a camping ground that had gone out of business in Den Helder.   Apparently the owners had great difficulty getting it over on the ferry.    One of the best ablution blocks we have seen, as each shower, toilet and handbasin was a separate cubicle.   Lovely hot water too, spotlessly clean, and cosy.    Such an important feature on a campsite.

The old barn in the foreground has recently been renovated, typical of the old sheep sheds on the island.   It is still used to shelter sheep in the winter, even though there is a huge open shed on the opposite side.

Mummy and her lambs.   I think this mummy fosters the lambs, as they are hand fed.

Mia and Abi having fun feeding the lambs.    A special treat for the girls.

Hens wandering everywhere, but I was especially taken with these very fat and fluffy hens, who waddled around slowly pecking at the grass.   I am not sure whether they waddled because they had so many feathers or were full of fat.    No foxes on Texel, so these beauties could wander freely, without fear of being gobbled up by Mr Fox.  They looked very happy hens.

Walter loading the bikes back onto the van, sadly not having been used very much.  This photograph was taken the evening before we left, during a patch of fine weather.

Then we said our goodbyes to the friendly owners, and to the lovely fluffy sheep and hens, and reluctantly drove away in the rain and the wind.   This was one campsite that we would all like to return to some day.

Texel, Netherlands

Texel, pronounced as Tesel, is an island north of the Netherlands, one of many islands spread out along the northern coast, with the shallow Waddon Sea separating them from the mainland.   

Texel is a popular holiday destination for the Dutch people, easily accessed by a 20 minute ferry journey from Den Helder.   The island contains dunes, forest, heathland, beaches, mudflats, polders, meadows, bicycle paths, walking tracks and charming little villages.  There is one tourist resort, which we were not impressed with when we drove through, all hotels, resorts, and tatty shops.   But then this could just be just our prejudices showing, regarding resorts in general.    Texel is also well known for Texel lamb, which we saw plenty of, during our stay there.  But did not sample, due to the reluctance to eat any of those fluffy little lambs.   

Of course the downside can be the weather, although it may be fine, sunny and warm, but it is more likely to be very windy, wet and cold.    We, of course, experienced the latter type of weather last week.    Luckily we had a motorhome to tour in, so had a warm haven to return to when returning from walks.   We did manage two short bicycle rides to the local town, Den Burg, although cycling back with a strong head wind was not pleasant.   We are not hardy Dutch folk, it seems.   

On the ferry travelling across the Waddon Sea.   Where is Texel?  Certainly no mountains in sight, or even any hills.    Just low lying sand dunes.   

A walk through the sand dunes in the windy weather.    All rugged up, of course.

We visited Ecomare, a museum which has a display about the ecological history of Texel, as well as acquariums, and outside pools which contained rescued seals and dolphins.   A fascinating place.   The whale bones in the photograph below were taken from a whale that had been found dead on one of the beaches of the Netherlands.  

A seal waiting patiently for its meal of fish.

Feeding time, with commentary.   The seagulls also took part in trying to grab the fish before the seals got to them.  Quite exciting.

A small sting ray.    Children were allowed to put their hands in the water and stroke the fish and pick up crabs, if they were brave enough.

A straight road, flat land, and very little traffic.   A pleasure to tour Texel in the motor home.  However, the idea is to cycle around on the excellent bike paths.   The island is only about 26 kms long, and not very wide, and is regarded as the best cycle region in the Netherlands.  There are about 140 kms of bicycle pathways to choose from.   But heavy going in such wet and windy weather.  And too much for us.

The girls, hardy most of the time, loved sitting in the back of the motorhome, and watching the world go by their large window.

A clean, and very tidy little village.

A picturesque Texel scene.

Lunch in the motorhome, with heater on, and plenty to eat.   Soup for Mia and toasted sandwiches for Abi and me.   All delicious.

The striking red lighthouse at the northern tip of the island.    The sun came out for this part of the trip, which made it all the more picturesque.

White hard sand everywhere.   A huge expanse of it, all around the northern tip of the island.   So beautiful.   Swimming in the sea here is not allowed, due to strong currrents and rips.   Also very windy.

Mia and Abi, smiling and braving the cold wind.

We drove to the western side of the island, with acres of sand dunes, and safe beaches.   We laughed when we saw the bicycle parked below, right underneath the sign which said parking of bicycles here was not allowed.  

Mia and Abi having fun in the deep foam blown in from the waves.    They got very wet.  Luckily the motorhome was only a 10 minute walk away.

And the weather deteriorated even more on Saturday, the day we drove home via the Afsluit Dijk, which separates North Holland from Friesland.   The dike, 32 kms long, 90 metres wide, and 7.25 metres above sea level, was opened in 1933.   On one side there is the Waddon Sea, and on the other side the IJsselmeer, which is now a fresh water lake.   The aim was to create a fresh water area, and build new polder land on reclaimed land within the dyke.

The weather was atrocious, so we were unable to get out of the van, and walk across the walkway to the viewing platform, which was a pity as Mia and Abi had never been to this part of the Netherlands.  Instead we sat in the warm and comfortable van, listening to the sound of the wind outside, and ate our lunch.

Despite the weather we had a lovely time, Texel is a beautiful place, and we enjoyed being with Mia and Abi.  Always great being with grandchildren,