Well here we are in the land of cheese and pannekoeken! Our final leg of this trip and I must say it's nice to be in a place where we feel so comfortable. Friends, family, and familiarity... we know the lay of the land and how everything works which is always comforting.
The train trip up was fairly uneventful aside from the fact that we had our own individual 6 seat room (a couchette?) which was fun for the kids. They set up quite the adventure park for their rubber ducks while Jeff and I got to sit back and relax with our iPods.
We made it to our apartment and the location is fabulous (and I'm not just saying that because we are literally across the street from the Heineken brewery)! We are right in the hub of things without being in the hubub. (Jeff's quote, not mine - but I liked it so I stole it.) Its a teeny doorway that most people would walk right past without noticing - in fact it's right next to a rave bar which made me a tad nervous about the noise. In fact, it's 11:22 pm and we can't hear a thing! Obviously construction standards are very different here... Anyway, this place is actually a tall 3 story house but the owner rents out the bottom floor so it doesn't really have a traditional layout. The kitchen is very large (especially for Dutch standards) with a beautiful bathroom. What most likely used to be a solarium or indoor backyard (for lack of a better description) now has a very comfortable bed in it which the kids are currently asleep in. Our bed is near the front window and instead of a door we have one of those folding wall things to give a bit of separation. It's definitely enough space for us and the best part is that we have a beautiful little backyard and garden and it backs right onto a canal. The owner has a little boat tied up and has offered to take us for a ride sometime before we leave. Our own private canal tour!
After we arrived and settled in we scurried across the street for some food - we were totally starving due to the fact that we ate pringles for lunch. (Disclaimer - we had a late 'brunch' of croissants at 11 am on the train with coffee and juice then bought some chips on the train. Kind of forgot about lunch...) Jeff and I shared shwarma (holy garlic breath!) while the kids had some fries and bitterballen. Well, Julia had the bitterballen, Chloe wouldn't try them. They are the little deep fried balls of meat goo that are surprisingly delicious. Not health food by any stretch of the imagination.
Shortly afterwards our friend Bart came and picked us up to take us to his place for a barbeque. Bart was a groomsman in our wedding and it's always great to see him. Him and his wife Nancy and daughter Summer treated us to a fabulous night of food and great conversation. The picture above is Summer with the girls, this is at the beginning of the evening before they'd all warmed up to each other and overcame the language barrier. Within an hour they were all playing and laughing which was great to see - Barbies and skipping ropes are the universal language! Chloe and Julia both really enjoyed the scooters they had and Julia was amazingly brave with a huge gash on her leg from a spill off a scooter. A quick bandaid and she was off again!
Our girls are asleep, our laundry is drying and we are ready to head to bed and get ready for tomorrow - a big family barbeque! We're looking forward to a restful morning and then going to see everyone in Zwanenburg. Good night!
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