Cycling

Mia and Abi on their bicycles.
I read today that there are 16 million bicycles in the Netherlands, which is virtually one for everyone living here. There are bicycle tracks everywhere and apparently there is talk of building 'Bicycle Highways' from city to city.

Most bicycles are black and solid and you ride in a sit-up-and-beg position. Many of the bicycles look ancient, especially those chained to canal fences. Bicycles have right away, even if you ride down a one way street the wrong way and without lights and get hit by a car, the car is in the wrong!

As a pedestrian the bicycles are a major hazard, and you must be alert at all times. They come from all directions and are upon you in seconds. There is certainly no dawdling or daydreaming whilst out walking.

A bicycle path in Houten.

Life in Houten

We did succumb to the Utrecht tummy bug - or the one that is resident in this flat. So Monday was a very quiet day for Walter and me. The positive part is that I have not felt like eating much since so hopefully this will contribute to some weight loss, especially as I am doing lots of walking.

More about the girls' school. Today I took them to school and was very impressed with the informality of the 'before school' routine. Parents took their children into the school, helped them with their coats and bags and talked informally to staff members. It was all very relaxed. I can remember the same routines when I first arrived in England. I think it is very sad for the parents and children in England, that this level of trust and openness is no more.

I was also interested to see that each child has a very large cotton bag in which they put their coats, hats and jumpers and other assorted bits and pieces. The cloak rooms are very tidy! Helps with 'bug' control too!

The children finish school at 11.30 each Wednesday, which is a great idea from a teachers point of view. All that time for organisation and staff meetings. As children start school at 8.30 a.m. and finish at 3.15 p.m. the extra 2 1/2 hours per week accounts for some of the time on Wednesday afternoons.

We also fell into the disorganised family category yesterday. Kylie turned up with the children to find the school closed for a teacher training day. Neither Aaron or Kylie had read the letter (which is still in Mia's desk drawer!) or had seen the notice on the school door. It is interesting to be Oma instead of the Headteacher complaining about parents who do not read important information.

Half of the shopping centre in Houten (with flats above). Looks a bit soul less but seems to work well for shopping. It has a great community feel about the place.

The view looking back from the shopping centre going towards Aaron and Kylie's house.A difficult job! Taking the luxury three corner spa bath out through the roof.
The bathroom before it was taken apart. What a shame but very impractical as the room was in fact two rooms.

Schools

It was much easier walking and catching the train today, due to the shops being closed. However there were loads of young people returning from their ski holidays, and they were clogging up the trains with their snow boards and skis.

The sorting out of the house is coming along at a very fast pace with the downstairs looking very tidy and homely.

Riding bikes in the woods behind the house.

I took Mia and Abi for a walk to their school so that I could take some photographs. It was lovely to see children playing in the playground plus a family kicking a football on the paving at the front of the school. Mia's teachers (job share) were working in the front classroom and gave us a wave and a smile.

This is all so different from English schools, where there is such a paranoia about security and people entering the school playgrounds during the weekend as well as school time. Schools here have low fences and during the week the doors are open. The Director of the school told me it was more important that parents feel welcome in the school rather than to worry unnecessarily about people walking off the street into a classrom. This is also true in NZ and in Australia - the openness and lack of high fences around schools is very evident in all countries.

Is England the only country that is so paranoid about security? Probably America too! I think I need to enlighten those of you who do not live in England. In England, schools are tightly shut when children are in school, and if you wish to enter you need to ring a bell, be admitted, sign a register, wear stickers stating you are a visiter and be generally escorted around the school. The reasoning is that everyone in the community might harm the children and therefore they need to be protected. Also in many schools, parents have to wait in the street and children are escorted to the front gate and delivered to parents there. Then the gates are locked! As a Headteacher of a primary school I found this obsessive attitude towards security very disturbing and often worried about the long term effect it would have on children.

Part of the playground at the school.

Mia and Abi swinging on the gate at the front of the school.

And standing in front of their school.

The house in Houten

A day of unpacking and putting cupboards together for Aaron and Kylie, with Walter helping of course. My tasks were shopping, cooking dinner and looking after the children. Walter took Kylie in the car, Aaron rode his bike and I took the three children the slow way - walking to the station, train (2 stops) and walking from the station to the house. The children were excellent and very much used to the trek (1 hour). A great way to get fit but very exhausting if you have to do twice a day, every day of the week, which is what Kylie has had to do for the last few months.
The house, with most of the bathroom and Aaron's bike in front of it.
Kievitweide - a very quiet area.
Kylie and Raphy sorting out the kitchen.

Mia and Abi playing amongst the boxes in the lounge room. This room wll be extended another 2 1/2 metres, with lots of light wells and a glass wall. A lovely room.

The new dormer window in Aaron and Kylie's bedroom and study

which has the most fantastic view of the woods and canal

and the neighbours' gardens.

Today I think everyone was in the centre of Utrecht, together with their bicycles (thousands of them) going in all directions. Chaotic!

For dinner I cooked meatballs in gravy, fried potatoes and leeks, and boerenkool (Kale) with lardons. The leeks and kale had been shredded before they were sold which makes cooking much easier. A real Dutch meal!

On the move again

We are on the move again! This time we are going back to Utrecht to help Aaron and Kylie with their new house.

I am currently sitting on the ferry which travels from Harwich to Hoek van Holland – a six and 1/2 hour trip. As we also had to drive up to Harwich (1 ¼ hours) and from Hoek van Holland to Utrecht (1 hr?) it would have been quicker to go via Dover. Even taking the ferry across from Dover to Calais would have meant a journey of nine hours as against eleven hours via Harwich. The cost is about the same for two people.

However, this is a luxurious way of travelling to Holland and we are enjoying it greatly. It helps that the sea is very calm and it feels as if the boat is just floating along the top of the sea. Mind you I may feel differently if it was a rough crossing!

There are hardly any passengers so we have the place ourselves – very nearly anyway. The ferry is very large and mostly has cabins so there is only half a deck for lounging and eating. The half of the deck has been allocated to truck drivers, who probably make up most of the passengers during the day.

There are really lovely eating areas and decent food (makes a change from the Dover crossing) plus lounge areas. There is also a cinema (you have to pay for this), a shop and a casino (a captive audience). There is free internet but it is very slow which accounts for the fact that it is free.

Walter relaxing in the lounge.

Dover Castle

On Monday we took the motorhome, so that we could eat our picnic lunch in comfort, and visited Dover Castle.
The tour of the World War II tunnels was limited due to the renovations of the entrance and the second level of tunnels. They will reopen again in June. We were able to see the hospital and listen to the sound effects of a military hospital in progress - lights flickering on and off, groans of a wounded airman and workers gossiping. A little scary for children.
The castle, which has been furnished as it would have been in Henry II's time (1100 AD), impressed Jay and Jespa. They were very excited by it all. They also liked the Medieval tunnels with its twists, dead ends and gloominess.
At the end we had coffee and hot chocolate in the NAAFI restaurant. Much needed.

A view of the church, the Roman lighthouse and the English channel. The views from the top of the castle are fantastic.
The King's bedroom! I do not think the catered for tall people as all the beds were very short (in relation to beds today).Jay and Jespa in front of the King's chair.

Last night, Darren, Billie, Jay and Jespa flew out from Heathrow - no snow, strikes or anything else that hampers travel from Heathrow. We were very sad to see them go as its been wonderful having them visit us. One of the problems of living so far apart is the length of time between visits. Still we can look forward to seeing them again this coming Christmas. And we also have that wonderful invention - Skype.

Back Home

We left Rouen in the rain, which then turned to fog as we travelled along the motorway. We stopped in the aire in Calais and ate a delicious lunch at a restaurant overlooking the entrance to the harbour. We could just see the ferries as they arrived and left. The fog was very thick.


Lunch consisted mainly of fish and we chose the 14 Euro menu. Entree - Walter had mussels in a cream sauce, Darren had fish soup and I chose lightly - sliced tomatoes with a dash of dressing. We all had poached hake in a sauce made of leeks plus frites of course. Dessert included ice cream for Walter, cheese for Darren and Creme Caramel (my favourite) for me. We then drove to the port, where we did not experience any problems with the Border Control. The man even asked Darren if he lived in the areas which were affected by the floods, and he sounded concerned.


So back home again. We now have four families squeezed into two houses. Emma, Steve, Jackson and Isabel have moved into Donna's house as the renovations on their new house will not be completed for another four weeks. Darren, Billie, Jay and Jespa are staying with us until they leave on Tuesday. So there is much coming and going, talking and organising and plans changing constantly. As we all like to organise this adds to the complexity of it all. Luckily we get along well.

This afternoon Billie and I took five children to a pantomine in the Joydens Wood Community Hall. It was put on by the local drama group called Pavilion Players and it was very well acted, I might add. This evening Darren and Donna are at a party, Scott is at a party, Emma, Steve and Billie are at a prayer meeting and I babysat the five children at Donna's house. They were very well behaved and I hardly heard a peep from them so could concentrate on my blog writing. Walter was having a quiet few hours at home.

Over in Utrecht the van Dam family are recovering from what I think is an outbreak of Norovirus, probably caused by the arrival of a large influx of people all trying to live in a heated apartment in cold weather. They have taken over their new house in Houten, which also has to have some changes made (a dormer window and bathroom reduced in size in order to gain a bedroom back) before they move in.

Life is busy!