Van Dijk Appartementen Zandvoort

... daily excircize on my iron lady and self-chosen solidary life style...

I was prepared to let it all go and cycle into eternity, addicted to these mental natural highs, addicted to the total freedom of my life on my bicycle, not caring much in waht next forest I would pitch my linen travel partner for the night, roll out my moth-eaten army-green sleeping bag...the life of a vagabond to its very core...

But then that feminine entity from ...

... afternoon, visited a bookstore owned by Jaap's brother-in-law, looked at the architecture of the old buildings, walked through the many streets lined with cafes, shops, etc. Walked through the big university there and these places almost described as retirement homes, peaceful places walled in the center of the city where the elderly live - really amazing places. Abby and I were starting to get quite tired, but Jaap just kept on going, I think he really ...

... living this is! Strange to be back at my old job, same floor, same department, almost same chair! It only took me a few hours and I was back into the system again. Even remembering old codes etc. like I did not leave the building over half a year ago. Scary and funny at the same time. Nice to meet old collegues again, unfortunately my most lovely collegue and friend is still in Australia! Hope I will see you soon ...

... stolen bikes get bought up again. Someone said "stealing bikes is practically the national sport of the Netherlands". I can't even fathom what that means about the community, how here this is a community that has grown up around the concept of theft as an integral part of itself. Everywhere you go, security is totally different. Here people don't need fences, but they do love hefty bike locks.

... big cafeteria for breakfast etc. Lots of groups from schools seem to stay here. We eventually headed into the city and strolled around. We went into the Grasshopper, one of the most touristy "coffee shops" and went downstairs to the smokers area just to check it out, but it was busy and to sit down there we had to buy a well overpriced drink so we decided instead to wander through some of the red light district. We went into the Bulldog - a place where you are supposedly ...

... We saw two pieces by an Iraeli choreographer wh is now working in england. I really enjoyed it ... and I think Ian survived as well!) On the third day we had to move hostels. We were really disappointed when we got there - it was costing us about $20 more a night,we were still getting the same type of breakfast, you have to pay to use the internet, and you can't use any kitchen or fridge facilities! We walked around town again - it ...

Flight arrived in Amsterdam on time. We spent an hour or so in the lounge then went to depature gate. The flight was delayed slightly and we had to take a bus out to plane on tarmac in the rain. Business class in plane appeared no different to economy except maybe the food but the flight was a little over an hour so it didn't matter too much! We were on our way to Copenhagen and only had one more flight to go.

... park which reminded me of Kakadu but we had to pay 100kunas($25) to get in and you couldnt even swim at any of the waterfalls or lakes, felt very ripped off! Kakadu is alot better in my opinion. That night we went into Karlovac( which is where national beer Karlovachco is made) to the beerfest. I didnt think that I would enjoy it but I had a ball and got very drunk. We started of drinking beer as you do but then switched to Yagermiester ...

... tulip farms. I thought l had timed the trip perfectly to coincide with the tulip season, so that Sarah and l could tip toe through the tulips and past windmills...alas l forgot that the tulips are actually cut when they are blooming and we reached the fields only to find a sea of green beheaded tulip leaves!!! Once we got over the disappointment we had to laugh at the scene in front of us and we tried to use our imaginations as to what it would have looked like a ...

... to save our final event, the Heineken Brewery tour, for last. We began the trip in Dublin and the first place we went was the Guinness Brewery. So, to end the trip, we geared up for a tour of the local brewery with what I remembered to be free beer at the completion of the tour. When Jamie and I took the tour eight years ago, it was a quick guided tour with an all-you-can-drink hour at the end in a big beer hall. Apparently, Heineken felt it needed a face lift since then and has ...