Hampshire Hotel 'T Hof Van Gelre Lochem

... huge mushrooms in our site which we couldnt resist and danced around them like baffoons! We took advantage of our downtime and cleaned out the van. Its amazing how much dirt and dust you collect after 2 months of living in a van! After a yummy but expensive meal at the only restaraunt within miles we went to bed while dreams of Amsterdam danced in our heads!

... cabinets to hold her treasures. So it was with great awe that I got to view this set-up in person.

We arrived at Biggy’s house in mid-afternoon. I recognized at once the front garden from pictures she had sent me in past. Her front garden, back garden and house were a delight to tour. Her husband, Bert, came home a short while later and our gracious hosts served ...

... reveals that some of the fallen airmen are buried in combined graves, others side by side with their flight crew. One grave marker lists 17 men in one grave. 
 
As we approach Holten Cemetery I am secretly praying for sunshine. I really want this ceremony to be special. We are coming towards the end of our pilgrimage and this remembrance ceremony is the second to last one. We have been told that there may be representatives of Netherlands Youth and the ...

... thought it would be a good idea to flood the area, slowing down the Allied advance as they tried to free up the port of Antwerp. The Germans also built a very large concrete bunker on their side of the canal giving them an excellent vantage point from which to fire their machine guns up and down the arrow straight, man made, body of water. The Canadians used small inflatable boats to try to cross. They also employed flame throwers in an attempt to clear ...

... farming communities on the German border, where things were slightly better. Dad used to tell us the story of when a bomb fell on the zoo. Opa cycled over there and came back with a chunk of the elephant's trunk, which they ate for a week. It was somewhat stringy, I believe.

Anyway, Dad was a thin and skinny thing, in danger of starving to death, so my Oma and Opa cycled all the way to Hengelo from Utrecht, in search ...

... with horses and foals gambolling in the fields outside the windows. Sander and Renata are very friendly. They greeted us at the backdoor next to their metre-deep paddling pool. Despite the tepid temperature, the kids donned their costumes and leapt in, before we even got into the house.

After putting the children to bed, we talked for a bit. I had been on the go for 18 hours but I was having trouble sleeping. I guess the adrenaline was still pumping. Eventually I snuggled ...

... my password and information, I walked back home. I installed my internet and for the first time in the week I had internet to update every one. It was beautiful! Once I took care of updating e-mails and such, I decided to walk to the city centre again. I went with the goal of getting my temporary resident permit and buying some new shoes. I took a new way to town to experiment with different directions that were off the busy main road. The way I took was beautiful! There ...

... station. We saw the redlight district and other sights, then found one of the main firehalls in Amsterdam. That was cool as one of the firefighters spoke very good english and showed me around. I even got the chance to operate their arial ladder for a short time! Pictures may have to wait till another edition of the blog but I have them! We rented bikes for a day on friday and saw more of the city with a visit to Anne Franks house as one of the ...

... shop in Groningen, but hey, that hardly counts.

It was best if we returned to Amsterdam by the most direct train route, though it gave us the time for a couple of other sightseeing stops along the way. The first was in Zwolle, a picturesque town built inside old city walls and a star-shaped canal. It was Sunday morning and nothing was open. There was no traffic, clog-shaped pedal boats sat listlessly dormant in ...

... Taking weekend trips really helped me to survive my time working as a nanny, but then I also met people backpacking Europe. They were seeing Europe the way I really wanted to, talking to them just made me more determined to get out and see Europe on my own.