Hotel de Bosrand Vlieland

... lunch and then the four of us went into the city.  I just love Leeuwarden.  We walked around for awhile and then went on a little boat through the canals.  I learned quite a lot about the history of Leeuwarden that no doubt I had learned at school but seeing that, that is a long time ago I had forgotten quite a lot.  Before we got back we saw Christien’s sister in law Alie on her bike, camera in hand taking photo ...

Some of Alice's Diary Notes for Harlingen
" ..................We didn't realise how much time we had spend at the cemetery (locating the graves of Alice's infant brothers) so we took off and drove to Harlingen.  Harlingen is the harbour of Friesland and a gorgeous little place.  Lots of beautiful boats waiting to cross the Wadden which is the sea between Friesland and the islands of ...

... whole house was awake and everybody was drinking coffee at 7am.  After the early start we did settle down and Pieti’s daughter Afke called in for coffee after she dropped the kids off at school.  Little Joey 5 months old is gorgeous.  We all went for a walk through Lekkum and Snakkeburen where my grandparents lived and my mother grew up.  Mac enjoyed it very much and the weather was overcast so it was a lovely day to go for a ...

... we finally got to Burdaard, we saw the little canal through the middle of town, waved to the webcam on the Burdaard website, and found a little place to eat dinner. While we were at dinner Mom asked the waitress if there would be a place she could get Auke Kingma's book (he wrote about the history of the houses in Burdaard), and one was just a man at home. Mom called him and he volunteered to bring the book to the ...

... of the island where we passed a horizon littered of skydivers above Texel's tiny airport, fields of cows and, of course, sheep, before making our way into De Koog, a quaint farming town. We stopped for a stretch and reorientation before hoping back on our well-tuned bikes towards the forested section of the national park. Quickly losing ourselves in the maze of fiestpad (bike paths) we found ourselves amongst trees that didn't differ all that much from what I've come ...

... Texel's two bus lines. But the countryside quickly warmed our perception of the island, where stone fences corralled herds upon herds of thickly coated sheep and seemingly untamed horses hid behind centuries old farmhouses. After settling in a six-person room in our recently-completed hostel, Travis and I marched into Den Burg, mistakenly assuming that the island's largest town would be active on a Thursday night near the end of the tourist season ...

... and it was raining. So in the long run I did nothing because I couldnt really go 5 feet out of my door with out getting soaked. Trust me I tried. But it rained until about 10 pm. So yeah in the long run. FUN CANCELED DO TO RAIN!!!

... for class. And I was told that I didnt have class until Wednesday. So after that I went book shopping, and then went down town for a while. On my way back I went grocery shopping and headed back to my apartment. After my friends got back from classes, we went back down town and met up with some other people. After a few hours down town we headed back to Burmania and I called it a night.

... The village is very quaint with some beautiful old buildings. There are quite a few really excellent restaurants but my favorite was one in the old church rectory. The woman who runs it has a great personality and is very warm and welcoming. She has a set menu every evening which a glass on wine especially selected for each course. Eating out in Holland is never cheap and ...

... but it was my first visit. We took the ferry over (Kathleen's first boat trip) and had no other agenda other than to explore a bit. Our weather was fantastic and the island was great. The North Sea tide is quite dramatic, so the beaches are huge (see the photo). So without further delay, I'll let you get to the pictures and see Kathleen (the real reason you're tuning in here).