Royal Deventer

... at the moment.<br><br>This is a pretty early entry, there are still 2 months to go, but I just wanted to start my blog already. What if in two months time this name would've been taken.. disaster! :)<br><br>Anyway, I'll try to keep everybody informed with this blog. <br>

... Maisonneuve Regiment buried here. This cemetery full of infantrymen is replete with names that are familiar and culturally diverse. It is like a cultural blueprint of Canada... at least Canada as it stood in 1944. Today's military is even more culturally diverse as I witnessed at the Vimy Ridge monument where every ethnic minority under the sun was represented in the Canadian Forces present there. What does that say about Canada? I am very proud to belong in a country ...

Today we move north leaving Belgium and heading up into Holland. There is considerable  excitement amongst the Pilgrims as we have all heard how much the Dutch love Canadians. Donnalee and I both have Dads who served in Holland in WW2.  We have heard the stories about how the Dutch greet Canadians. We are excited about this last leg of our journey and hope we won't be disappointed. But before we get to Holland we will stop at Adegem where we visit the Leopold ...

... and let him find his way home alone. Can you imagine that happening today?<br><br>In the interests of history, we explored the small Hengelo museum, which had an unusual cellar full of pickles and a Singer sewing machine. I bought an old photo postcard of the town, then we walked back to the van der Poel ice-cream shop. It claims to have 120 flavours, but we couldn't try them all. We certainly enjoyed the ones we did try.

... 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.<br><br>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 ...

... Church and the still functioning windmill. The Mill offers expert tours of the technologies and importance of the mill. Just across the street is a splendid museum that displays excellent geological samples collected, chiefly of the glacial erratics collected... The area is quite lovely, and the elevations of the town are built upon ...

... comes along. That was a great offer from her. I will keep you all informed on the situation as I find out more details. You should check out the pictures. I was flabbergasted at the way it gave out. I am very thankful that my friends are okay besides the scare and some broken bones. I really hope this doesn't happen again. For those of you who read Dutch...here is one of the news stories on the event. http://www.nosheadlines.nl/forum.php/li st_messages/8033

... ab*ut what was happening right n*w, bam, b*p, splee d**ley *** b*p, this was the way s* many pe*ple had been feeling inside, & say dizzy climbs up *n the stand & puts in his 200 milli*n d*llars' w*rth & suddenly th**e is m*nk at the pian*, & kenny clarke `kl**k m*p' *n drums, & c*leman hawkins says wh*ah, let me get up th**e with these y*ung bl**ds & feel this *ut f*r myself, ba-weep, spla-d**p, spl**-eee d**lee ree-b*p, this is the ****, bl***-wee b*p ...

... with rope to the side of the bridge, abandoned right over the middle of the canal. There was no-one to be seen around us and so I had to lean over and peer down into the water just in case I could glimpse any bodies. <br><br>Utrecht was much more alive. A lot of visitors milled about the cathedral, the low mist giving the tall church towers a ghostly presence, and the city&#8217;s distinctive sunken canals were ...

... This is definitely not the type of outing we're used to in America! LEIDEN Last Sunday we spent a lovely afternoon in Leiden, which is a town southwest of Amsterdam. We met another American, Steve, who was interested in one of Chris' watches and he took us out on his boat for a canal tour of Leiden. It was quite nice -- peaceful and brisk. Leiden is interesting for Americans because the pilgrims stopped there on their way to ...