We are moving around so much that Kaleb asks every once in a while, “What country are we in now?” I think Kory wonders the same. And besides not knowing what day of the week it is, we don’t know if something happened this morning, yesterday, or the day before, as all the days are starting to run together. We’re on the downward slide now though, so home is within sight. Kory is having to do all the driving because my driver’s license was stolen, but he’s holding up well. He says it’s less stressful than having me drive, but the only reason that’s true is because when I drive he has to navigate and that’s not his strong suit, as we’ve found out through trial and error. This trip has been good for us all in one way or another, but mostly to teach us all a bit more tolerance.
We enjoyed breakfast in downtown Brugge this morning at a fancy bakery that brought the coffee cup on a little tray with a bowl full of an assortment of sugar cubes (no two were alike). I love the little European touches we see in things here and there – like that we were given a knife and fork in which to eat our croissants. In America, they are finger food, but not here (neither is pizza, French fries or hamburgers.) One time when I told someone I blog about all the differences between American and Norwegian culture they said, “Oh, like that Americans don’t know how to use a knife,” because most Norwegians think it’s strange Americans cut their food with the side of their fork. We are so unrefined, we Americans.
The rain came down hard all morning as we drove out of Belgium into Holland, but at least we weren’t stuck in any traffic jams. Today was the day to go see Kinderdjik – a canal in Holland with 17 very old windmills lining both sides. I was a little worried about the rain, but the minute we showed up, the rain stopped and we were able to rent bikes and ride all over the area. All the clouds to the west of us were black as night, and same for the clouds east of us, but right over our heads we had blue sky and sunshine and it didn’t rain one drop on us for the two plus hours we were riding – it was nearly a miracle. We also got to go inside one of the windmills to see how they worked and how people lived in them years ago. One stretch of eight straw thatched windmills were all built in 1740 – others were built in the 1500s and people continue to live in them even today. I don’t know the rules about who gets to live there but each one had a picture perfect little yard complete with boat anchored out front ready to go explore the canals. It looks classic Holland more than any other place in all the land. There are so many canals around that area that even the horses didn’t need fences as they were completely surrounded by ditches full of water – all perfectly spaced marking off the home lots – with a house in the front near the street and the back few acres surrounded on three sides by water. It was all nice and orderly and looked so well planned.
Our destination for the night was about half an hour away from the windmills so we headed over to Gorinchem to check into our room and see the area around the hotel. As it turned out, Gorinchem is not at all a tourist town but still cute as can be – completely surrounded by canals, windmills, locks and buildings as old as the hills. It was originally a fortified city so the bird’s eye view of it shows a well planned five pointed star pattern – typical of the times. Many of the buildings in town were built in the 1500s and some were much older and even leaned a little. The town was full of locals out shopping in the heart of the city, where no cars were allowed. Fortunately for us, everything was open until 9pm (quite unusual) so we stayed in town and had dinner and did some souvenir and gift shopping as everything was so much cheaper than the tourist towns. We ate dinner out on a sidewalk café (as we have for most our meals on this trip). We were right in the town square so quite typically, there was a water fountain which attracts all the kid’s attention. Kaleb insisted on running around while waiting for our food but he was blessed tonight to have several other kids who were doing the same. One 11 year old Dutch boy he befriended right away spoke perfect English because he had lived in South Africa for a year. They played hide and seek for a long time around the town square with some other kids – it was just too cute. They talked to each other– sharing notes about how old they were when they first learned to read and how quickly they can get through certain books they both have read. I’m so pleased when Kaleb can kick into social mode and make friends like that. He’s upset he didn’t get his e-mail address so they could stay in touch, as they had many things in common.
I’m not too thrilled with the new camera I bought and I’m missing my old one terribly. I saw a mother loon in the canal today with two little black and white stripped babies peeking out from under her wings every once in a while. My new camera wouldn’t focus so I couldn’t get a good shot of them. I guess the camera is having the same problem we are – as everything is becoming a blur as we move from one city to the next, but there are still plenty of memories to be made on the road ahead of us, so onward we go and hopefully I’ll have a few clear photos to remember it all by.
We enjoyed breakfast in downtown Brugge this morning at a fancy bakery that brought the coffee cup on a little tray with a bowl full of an assortment of sugar cubes (no two were alike). I love the little European touches we see in things here and there – like that we were given a knife and fork in which to eat our croissants. In America, they are finger food, but not here (neither is pizza, French fries or hamburgers.) One time when I told someone I blog about all the differences between American and Norwegian culture they said, “Oh, like that Americans don’t know how to use a knife,” because most Norwegians think it’s strange Americans cut their food with the side of their fork. We are so unrefined, we Americans.
The rain came down hard all morning as we drove out of Belgium into Holland, but at least we weren’t stuck in any traffic jams. Today was the day to go see Kinderdjik – a canal in Holland with 17 very old windmills lining both sides. I was a little worried about the rain, but the minute we showed up, the rain stopped and we were able to rent bikes and ride all over the area. All the clouds to the west of us were black as night, and same for the clouds east of us, but right over our heads we had blue sky and sunshine and it didn’t rain one drop on us for the two plus hours we were riding – it was nearly a miracle. We also got to go inside one of the windmills to see how they worked and how people lived in them years ago. One stretch of eight straw thatched windmills were all built in 1740 – others were built in the 1500s and people continue to live in them even today. I don’t know the rules about who gets to live there but each one had a picture perfect little yard complete with boat anchored out front ready to go explore the canals. It looks classic Holland more than any other place in all the land. There are so many canals around that area that even the horses didn’t need fences as they were completely surrounded by ditches full of water – all perfectly spaced marking off the home lots – with a house in the front near the street and the back few acres surrounded on three sides by water. It was all nice and orderly and looked so well planned.
Our destination for the night was about half an hour away from the windmills so we headed over to Gorinchem to check into our room and see the area around the hotel. As it turned out, Gorinchem is not at all a tourist town but still cute as can be – completely surrounded by canals, windmills, locks and buildings as old as the hills. It was originally a fortified city so the bird’s eye view of it shows a well planned five pointed star pattern – typical of the times. Many of the buildings in town were built in the 1500s and some were much older and even leaned a little. The town was full of locals out shopping in the heart of the city, where no cars were allowed. Fortunately for us, everything was open until 9pm (quite unusual) so we stayed in town and had dinner and did some souvenir and gift shopping as everything was so much cheaper than the tourist towns. We ate dinner out on a sidewalk café (as we have for most our meals on this trip). We were right in the town square so quite typically, there was a water fountain which attracts all the kid’s attention. Kaleb insisted on running around while waiting for our food but he was blessed tonight to have several other kids who were doing the same. One 11 year old Dutch boy he befriended right away spoke perfect English because he had lived in South Africa for a year. They played hide and seek for a long time around the town square with some other kids – it was just too cute. They talked to each other– sharing notes about how old they were when they first learned to read and how quickly they can get through certain books they both have read. I’m so pleased when Kaleb can kick into social mode and make friends like that. He’s upset he didn’t get his e-mail address so they could stay in touch, as they had many things in common.
I’m not too thrilled with the new camera I bought and I’m missing my old one terribly. I saw a mother loon in the canal today with two little black and white stripped babies peeking out from under her wings every once in a while. My new camera wouldn’t focus so I couldn’t get a good shot of them. I guess the camera is having the same problem we are – as everything is becoming a blur as we move from one city to the next, but there are still plenty of memories to be made on the road ahead of us, so onward we go and hopefully I’ll have a few clear photos to remember it all by.
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