June 8, 2007
Family visit in Krabbedijke: Eight days of the visit
Friday June 8th
We have a typical Dutch breakfast...bread, meats, cheese, nutella, sprinkles. Today we do a "tourist" thing. We go to Volendam, a fishing village. Patrick, Rene & Linda enjoy herring broodje, Rachel tries it but can't get past the texture and the real fishy taste. The fun thing is we had a photo with all of us dressed up in "Old Dutch" costumes.
Saturday June 9th
On Thursday eve, our first meal outside of China, go figure, we have Chinese food with Franz, Petra and Oma. Fortunately, it isn't just rice and noodles.... but "westernized" Chinese food.
Tonight, we have take out Chinese food. Oma brings her friend, William over for dinner at Linda & Rene's. The weather is cloudy, so we eat inside. After dinner we play two games of Chicken Foot.
Sunday June 10th
Slowly, well not really as it didn't take long, to get used to eating the "Dutch" way...good bread and a variety of things on a plate that everyone chooses from to make their own sandwich. Not like American subway sandwiches, but one item at a time placed on a piece of bread. No chopsticks needed.
This afternoon we ride Linda & Rene's bikes to Franz & Petra's, about 20km and nice to be on bike lanes. No honking or traffic jams. We see pictures of their vacation, an hour and half walk in the local forest, then dinner of salmon and pasta. After dinner & the visit, we go to Oma's to get her car for the week.
Monday June 11th
Lunch with Oma, and tour of big seawall dams
Tuesday June 12th
Lunch with Oma. Shopped at Harley-Davidson store for a T-shirt for Bob. Dinner with Franz & Petra in Antwerpen. First a beer, then walking around the square. Patrick got a new Beer shirt for Billy English. At a sidewalk restaurant, we each have a bucket of mussels.... been a long time since Vietnam that we've had seafood.
Wednesday June 13th
Another "tourist" activity. We walk around Zierikzee, a Dutch village not as touristy as Volkman. Canals, sailboats, Dutch Bridge, old city walls, old windmill. We have croquette broodje for lunch.
Thursday June 14th
Linda comes home about noon. We pick up Oma and go to "Goes". First we pick up the T-shirt for Bob at the Harley-Davidson store, earlier their credit card scanner wasn't working.
We go into a clothing store and a shoe store, then have ice cream. We shop in a few more stores for shoes and Linda & Oma each find a pair. Rachel found a "Winnie-the-pooh" bicycle bell. Perfect for cycling in Alaska and Canada to home in Idaho.
Friday June 15th
We had to give the car back to Oma yesterday, so today we take the train to Bergen-op-zoom. Trains are such a great way to travel. We take Linda & Rene out for dinner as a thank you for their hospitality. Each entree is under $20USD and nice servings, and a bowl for all of french fries and a bowl of salad.
Saturday June 16th
Last full day in Holland. Linda has a running clinic to go to in the morning, we along with Rene walk to the city center for a local fair. One last dinner with Oma and we say goodbye.
We've packed for the flight to Chicago tomorrow. We go to bed early--we need to get up early.
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