Officially it is school holidays but the big kids want to catch up and "clear their desks" (kitchen table) and it is always the last pieces to be handed in that cause the most stress. Joy all around (not). Anyway we started the day well with four of us on the bikes to the supermarket and Tim running the 6 kms and keeping up with the bikes! Tim reckons we are eating too much hagel (chocolate sprinkles) so we made a nice vegetable soup for lunch.
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| Now that we have panniers... (Thanks Anneke van der Schaaf) |
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| Not complaining about this view from our local shopping centre! |
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| ...or this view! |
Despite encouragement, it was just Karl, Luke and I who went exploring
this afternoon. There are two parks nearby which seemed to be greater
than their exteriosr indicated so we were curious. The first was Amstel
Glorie which seems to attract crowds on the weekends. We now know that
it is a tuinpark or "gardenpark" where there are little cottages for
summer living and gardens. There is no electricity and no vehicles
other than bikes are permitted. Amstel Glorie is a series of little
streets and bridges over canals. People can buy the houses but only
rent the land. It is closed in winter and even the water is turned off -
possibly because it freezes - but from April to October, it offers city
dwellers a bit of greenery , space and a chance for outdoor living. We
saw similar concepts in Germany. What a lovely idea! We chatted to a
nice chap who was tending his garden. Karl spoke in Dutch and I could
understand the gist of the conversation.
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| Amstel Glorie |
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| Heron |
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| Insect hotels! |
On the other side of the Amstel is another park where no bikes are
allowed. It is called Amstelpark and it is huge although the little
entrance would never indicate this. Actually, it turned out to be one
of several entrances to a grand park with several playgrounds, artists'
studios, lakes, a rosarium, cafe and many walking tracks! Among the
interesting things were a pole indicating the water levels when the
Amstel has significantly flooded. The great flood of 1953 resulted in
over 1800 deaths - a peril of living below the water level! And the
other interesting sight was an albino emu - fancy having to come to
Holland before seeing an albino emu!
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| Amstelpark - can't possibly fit bikes through this gate! |
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| Albino emu!!! |
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| Pole measuring flood levels - 4.6 metres in 1953!! |
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| Flood levels |
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| Terrific playground! |
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| Huge table and chairs! |
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| The smallest horse I've ever seen! |
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| "Some people dance in the rain, other just get wet" - love it! |
Autumn is fast descending over Holland and the low haze typical of
Europe is now apparent especially in the early evenings. The leaves are
changing and the chestnuts are hanging heavy on the branches. There is
something that stirs deep within me at this time of year, a sort of
melancholy joy!
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| Where there's a bridge, you cross it! |
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| The dawn of Autumn |
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| The leaves are changing. |
Karl's experimenting with boerenkool (kale) and potatoes for dinner - apparently a Dutch tradition - but as I've cooked honey soy chicken, it could be an interesting combination!!
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