Last Days in Europe, Hello New Zealand

I’ve realised that keeping a blog up to date when you are back in a normal work rhythm is not as easy as when you are a traveller, so this post is unfortunately way over due. It’s a lot harder to recall what happened as well now I have to write about things that happened half a year ago! We want to keep it up though as we have both stopped writing travel journals, instead ‘maintaining’ a blog.

So, half a year ago… We came back from Madrid and Rome and all of a sudden there wasn’t very much time anymore before we were flying back to NZ so we had to make it count. First, Julia and my father shared a birthday party, resulting in more presents for Julia than she had had in a long time with the extended family and neighbours coming over! Score! Then there were two dinners with my parents and sisters. First, Liana had organised a fancy dinner at Merlijn, she even had specified which table we were to be seated at. The food and service were really great and we all rolled home afterwards. Then there had to be a second less formal goodbye dinner at the Pancake House in Heusden. Pancakes Dutch Style are large and one is enough to feed most people. The most popular one is the ‘Farmers Pancake’ which is hearty with bacon in it.

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Three Social Weeks in The Netherlands

We had timed our return from France in such a way that we would be in Almkerk for the ‘Regional Days’ or in Dutch ‘De Streekdagen’. This is a yearly two day event in which my family always has been very involved. My father was the director for a long time and the rest of us have always volunteered. Julia had heard a lot about it from me and was keen to visit and so was I as it had been six years since last time I went. It starts on the Friday night with Truck Pulling and in the tent there is a party with a DJ and live music. Truck Pulling means that both modified and non modified (road) trucks pull a trailer over a 100 meter track. On the back of the trailer is a weight that moves forward and increases the pressure on the sled on the front of the trailer which pushes in the dirt. Longest distance or fastest full pull wins. It’s quite the spectacle with lots of smoke, flames out of exhausts and trucks going airborne. Have a look at the videos to get an idea.

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Welcome to The Netherlands!

After the go-go-go of our final month in South America and then our whirlwind surprise visit to New Zealand we were ready for something new.  It was time for a visit to The Netherlands!

With it being three years since we last visited Richard’s family a visit here felt well over due.  Richard’s family live in Almkerk, a small village situated in the province of Noord-Brabant.  Noord-Brabant is in the south of The Netherlands and is just over an hour’s drive from Schipol airport outside of Amsterdam.  The people of Brabant are known for being a bit more gentle than the famously direct Dutch of other provinces. They are also known for their cosy way of life, and the pretty countryside that surrounds them.  It’s a very pretty area to visit. Continue reading