Today we made a late start. This was largely owing to the fact that Steven was not feeling well. Feeling the same as the day before, Mum and Dad let him sleep as long as possible this morning. This resulted in not eating breakfast till about 9:15. While eating we made plans for the day that was ahead of us. Today we decided would be a day for museums. The choices at the start of the day was to visit the Van Gogh Museum, the Rembrandt house museum and the Anne frank house in Amsterdam. We drove to a Park and Ride where we parked the car for only 1 Euro for the day as it is Saturday. We went to get tram tickets for the ride to Amsterdam. Dad, the supposed expert amongst us was confident that we had the tickets, (none of us were aware that the tram tickets came out the side of the machine). Confidence and reality are two different things though. Dad attempted to scan the ticket that we had for parking, assuming it was the tram ticket. When he asked why it wasn't working, the man on the tram told us that we had to use the parking ticket to get the tram tickets. Dad quickly jumped off the tram to retrieve the tickets that had been printed and left in the ticket machine but while we awaited his return, the tram left without us. Not to worry. the tram went every 4 minutes. Due to the late start to the day, we arrived at the museum at about 12:15. We also hadn't counted on Emily being deeply absorbed into what was on the walls of the Van Gogh Museum. Dad hired out an audio device for her that gave her information about Van Gogh's life. Only after the purchase did we realize that it might not have been the most wise idea as it would take Emily even longer to go through everything. Walking around as happy as a pig in Palestine, she soon disappeared from our sight, only reappearing when we decided it was time to move to the second floor. The building contained 3 floors above ground with a separate section below. For some of us it was not as entertaining but we looked around all the same. It was evident that Emily enjoyed herself the most possibly because she enjoys art! (Who knew it?!) However, due to the size of the Van Gogh Museum we didn't leave the premises till about 2:30. We learned about vanGogh's life; his father was a minister in the Reformed Church, but Vincent was a difficult boy who argued a lot with his father and he was not a believer. He started painting at age 27 and his first works were not appreciated at all. He travelled to Paris and learned a lot there, then went and lived in the country in France. He saw the simplicity of country life as being most desirable and the best way of life. For 10 years he painted and in the museum we saw how his work developed and improved over time. We saw the painting of the Sower, which opa and oma have on the wall in the lounge. The museum also had some paintings of some of van Gogh's contemporaries. It was interesting to learn how artists develop techniques and how they differ from one another, how they copy from one another and yet have totally different results. Mum and Emily still went downstairs to see an extra exhibition which showed the paintings of Monet and Daubigny and how they compared with van Gogh. Meanwhile Dad and Hanna-Lee and Steven decided that Emily should choose an early birthday present from the shop there. Emily chose a beautiful book and a vanGogh bag! Then it was time to leave. We realized that we wouldn't have enough time to visit the Rembrandt House Museum as still needed to go to the shops, visit Oma and travel home. We decided we would take a quick breather at De Bijenkorf ( a huge multistoried shop with a restaurant on the 5th floor) where we could have a drink to revitalize ourselves. When we left the building it was already later on in the afternoon. So, we walked to the nearest tram station ready to return to the Park and Ride where we had parked our car. In the car at 4:30 we decided on visiting Oma first. However, when it appeared apparent that we would intrude on their dinner time (they eat at 5:00), we decided to go to the shops and buy the things we needed for our dinner tonight and tomorrow night. After finding the things we needed we traveled to D'Amandelboom to see if we could catch a visit with Oma. Our "luck" was in as she appeared to be the first to finish her dinner and was able to sit down in a more comfortable chair away from the other older people. She was in a surprisingly good mood, very attentive to everything that went on and she showed great interest when Emily started talking about the Van Gogh Museum and showed her the paintings in her new book. All of us were happy that she was happy. This visit was probably the visit that Oma has been most happy this week. However, time was against us. Having been sitting for around 45 minutes talking to Oma, we had to head home as it was already 6:50. The drive home took a long time and we were home by 7:30, stomachs rumbling, ready for dinner. Pitching in together, (Mum and Dad mainly making the dinner) we had the food on the table withing record time. Everyone ate healthy portions, happily recounting the days adventures with each other. And now we sit, relaxing our weary bodies and heads from the business from the days activities, everyone looking forward to the night ahead of us. -Steven

Sunday

Sunday 21 July Sunday morning we woke refreshed once again for the new day. We didn't rush at all, and it was nice to just relax at home. We listened to two sermons from Rev Anderson, which took us to about lunch time. After lunch we went to visit Oma at D'Amandelboom. She was in a fairly good mood - we were able to sit outside with her and play Triominos or so. She was quite happy with us, though a little uptight as she thought she was in her own house and had to serve us. The phone rang and she thought she had to pick it up, or she would turn when she heard voices inside because she had to know what was going on. She had to get used to the idea of sitting outside before she focused more on us and the game. Though Oma is getting old we can see that God still looks after her and allows her to remember Him. In the middle of one of our games Oma started singing along to one of the songs playing inside. She recognised the tune and could put a name to it immediately - 'The Ressurection of Christ'. It is a comfort to know that she has not forgotten everything that is important, and that she has the best carer in the world. After an afternoon with Oma we came home and had some alone time for ourselves. We then had dinner and Aunty Anneke and Uncle Johan came over for a drink and some gezellig time. That pretty much sums up our Sunday :) Emily

Saturday

Saturday 20 july A day to catch our breath a little. Off to Amersfoort for shopping! Even during a holiday one learns and develops. Steven and myself had been very accommodating during shopping sprees over the past week in Holland. In practise this meant that both of us would walk ahead of the female section of our party sine they kept insisting in zig-zagging maneuvers through the shopping lanes. No shop was safe from them if it even remotely had something to do with clothing... Inevitably Steven and myself would have gone the distance of the shopping street waaay before the girls had finished with the second shop. We would usually seek consolation in one of the many food shops; they were easy to find and offered the kind of eye candy more appealing to the males. But this Saturday we decided to leave the girls to what they do best and we were off to a very large electronics store. There Steve to his immense delight found a WII (say 'wee') set up as display. It took him about an hour before becoming less interested in it. By then I had walked around the whole store and compared the wares and prices. So we were off again Now any well meaning dad visiting Holland with his son, would feel compelled to enrich his sons experience of life by visiting Manneke Bunt. For the uneducated among this audience, this is the uncrowned, best chips shop with crockets and fricandellen. Well aware of these duties I took Steven there. We enjoyed a bun with an extra large crocket which found its way into our stomachs rather easily. Then the two of us went through the long shopping mauls, oops: malls. An interesting thing happened in 2 stages. On our way to the meeting point, Steve and I got a little peckish again (did I mention it was a long walk?) On the Saturday morning markets one can buy a variety of foods. The safe bet was the bakery. They offered these lovely croissants 4 for 1 euro. So we chose the correct ones and consumed these on the last leg of the 10 min walk ahead of us. We made it to the Koppel poort where we were to meet the girls. Special highlight: HannaLee had her ears pierced! Other special highlight: The Candy Shop!! Wow what an assortment. In the end it ws easiest to not choose too much; just take some of everything instead! As we walked back we passed the markets and on our advice the girls also bought some nice warmed up buns of another sort. They ate them on the spot. While doing so I spotted the family with little kids that had just before me bought some of the same croissants as Steven and I ate. A sudden screech of "getsie" was followed by some involuntary convulsions of the 6 or so year old girl. Curious as I was, I went over and asked what the matter was; after all we had eaten the same food a short while before. I was shown a hollow part of the croissant in question. A healthy brood of lively but young maggots was wagging tails in the sunlight. A quick check revealed that the sign at the baker shop only made mention of cheese and ham content so these fellows were definitely uninvited guests. The girl did not take long to reverse her eating habits. The father needed a bit of convincing from his adamant wife and myself that he ought to return the extras and make the merchant aware of the unpaid extras they received. Sure enough, the merchant did not charge them; well I saw him shake his head rather indignantly. Somehow it seemed better not to reveal these details to Steven till a few hours later.. After this successful hunt and gather morning we headed back to fill the fridge and visit Oma once more. Another good visit! We had to go back on time because we had a bbq (Dutch style) invitation at Johan & Anneke's where Anja would be as well as Friso nd Will and Gerrit Koolsbergen. Arend Zwarteveen even made time to come and visit for a while too; he is an old friend of mine We enjoyed it very much and the mr Bean imitations were at times better than mr Bean's performance himself. Then home for rest and sleep. Tomorrow is Sunday! g'night all. Dad Friday - Alkmaar

Friday - Alkmaar

Friday 19 July For today we had planned to go to Alkaar for starters. Since it is above Amsterdam and a fair drive, we decided to get up on time because the cheese market enactment was said to start at 10AM So up on time; perform our ritual cleansing ceremonies, followed by the feeding of the inner man as well a the spiritual man. That done we participated in the pollution of our planet by driving our vehicle to Anneke. From there we were off to Alkmaar. The SATNAV was very helpful and accurate and Anneke had insider information on a good parking spot. We took a brief ferry ride across the river and very soon joined a big crowd which enveloped the traditional cheesse market. It was a warm day and shade was hard to find. So to was a good vantage point. But we were able to satisfy our hungry cameras with exposures of the very interesting cheese market ritual. We had a drink on a terrace we walked around in the inner city for while. Then it was back to our trusty polluter and we decided to drive back to Amfersfoort via the coastal road along the old Zuiderzee. We came through old villages like Volendam and Marken. After some brief sightseeing we drove on and ended up in Amersfoort. Since Amfersfoort too has a lot of history we deemed it very interesting to have a short board ride through the canals with a guide. We learned a bit again! Johan Veenstra had prepared nother culinary delight in the form of lasagna this time. We at what we could and were well filled again. Then off to Oma. A nice visit and good time with her was the result for wich we were very thankful again. Then home again, dishes and bed..zzzzz love from dad

Thursday

Today.... Thursday Our Holland experience continued on today. We got up on time and made our way to the shop to get some chocolate to share with Oma and the other ladies, as well as some flowers, before heading over to d'Amandelboom. We got there about 10:10 - here we met for the first time our Aunty Joke, Sem (12) and Raf (10). It was interesting to meet them and finally put a face to some of our cousins from Dad's side of the family, especially since we have not met really any of the cousins except the ones that come to Australia. Oma was not in such a good mood today- she was a bit weepy, and not as happy as the night before. That didn't matter though, as we know she is not the same as she was, and not everybody is happy every single day of their lives. We just had to sit and tell her that we loved her, and talk about the weather and that she looked well, and what we had been busy with. We shared around the chocolaades we had purchased, and also were treated by the staff with cake and biscuits. Eventually, about 12 we started to say our goodbyes. We had a picture taken of all the family, and then we all left to go our separate ways. The five of us headed home for a quick bite to eat. Then we drove to Bilthoven, where we parked our car and walked across the railway to the bike store. We hired 5 bikes, got our seats comfortable, and rode off into the sunset(just kidding, the sun sets at 11pm or so here). Due to our pathetic internet connection and the problems we have encountered with wifi and such, Aunty Anneke did us a favour and looked up a bike path for us to ride along. Mark, if you're reading this -- we did a tour de Utrecht -- 24 km long. We have to admit, we did stop a number of times when we got butt/saddle-sore and when we needed a drink or an apple or so, but now we do appreciate a lot more what your men do in Le Tour de France. The paths were not all very comfortable where we rode - there were hobbles and bobbles, knobs and logs, holes and knolls. A few times Dad very cleverly positioned his tires so that he would experience every single lump and bump in the path, resulting in some painful memories. We rode through some beautiful forrests, with trees on either side. There was little to no wind, so the birds in the trees could be heard rather clearly. We crossed a number of bridges as well, over the freeway and along the train line where we found a small shopping centre that sold some nice icecreams. It was actually a fairly warm day today, so an icecream really hit the spot as we stretched our rear ends and had a drink. We then dutifully followed the instructions which took us back to the bike hire place. We then headed in for a short excursion to Amersfoort to get some groceries. We were told that the shop we went to was the same that Mum and Dad had gone to with Angela and William a few years back. We had some dutch delacacies for dinner (Fricandel and Crochets) as we went along, wandering around and just enjoying ourselves before heading home. We are treasuring our days as they go - I'm not sure what I would like to do really... stay longer or go home. It would be nice to stay here, but then again all good things must come to an end :) We still have about a week, so we will make the most of it. Wishing you all the best back in Australia. Em

Wednesday

Wednesday 17 July Well this was one of those early mornings again. Anneke was working today so we did our own thing. Rotterdam was on the radar today. Now our bathroom has the toilet in it as well. Normally not a problem but when the room needs to be shared with 5 people, you can imagine that it is not only the room that we share... On top of that, the time limitations we have due to wanting to depart on time, means that the air-freshening system is not given enough time to get breathable air back into the room. So far trying to give us all a rating from 1 to 5, 1 being the worst, has not provided a clear leader. Anyway, we all survived again and after nutricious breakfasts we loaded the car. Kinderdijk is where those famous 7 windmills are. We decided to go for that first. During the drive I made use of the fact that the children could not walk away: I gave some rudimentary explanation of dijken and the workings of windmills in pumping water away. The drive toward the mills, gave nice views of the many houses built on the side of the dijk. Very unique. It was one of those days when the temperatures were pleasant but there was high cloud which caused it to be rather sticky. Pictures turned out rather bleak as well. Nevertheless it was a sight to behold. We were however not the first once that mourning. There were a significant number of aliens around already; two or 3 busloads I think it was. I was not the only one to notice either. Two young women driving past us later: one commented to the other that it seemed they were the only Dutch people there. I could not help comment back that it was not all that bad. after all our different cameras had immortilised identical pictures as many thousands of cameras had done during the last 50years or so before them, we decided to move on to the Spijkernisse Straat where the GLO School is where I went to the primary school. Following that we went to the Melissant straat where I lived. Some of the childhood stories that came to mind were related to the available offspring. They politely nodded and listened for a while and probably had some vain attempts to imagine me as a small child, doing the things I just told them about. Who can blame them? Since it had come close to lunchtime we started looking for a place near the river Maas where we could sit and eat. That proved a short adventure in in itself but after a tunnel under the Mass and several bridges, we parked the iron horse and found a spot closer to the water. A memorial we passed on the walk to the river edge, reminded of the many Jewish children, some as young as 1 year old, that were shipped out from that warf to the destruction camps. We appreciated our freedom all the more... Next we headed for Zwijndrecht where Oma Amoraal used to live. Tante Gera's place was a bit harder to find. When she did not respond to the door bell we asked next door if they knew where she was. Boy they were very helpful and when the older chap found out there was some sort of distant family, we received further help and even free drinks. The free use of the toilet was also appreciated to provide much needed relief from internal pressures. In Dordrecht we bought some lunch, and chocolates for Oma. Then it was time to head back. On our way to the freeway we noticed tho funny looking ship somewhere. On closer inspection it turned out to be the replica of Noah's ark. It is built by a private individual but it was done in reaction against evolutionism. His story had been in Creation Magazine last year or so. It is a big setup and dimentions are closely according to the biblical information available. It is used as an educational tool to show people the Bible can be believed. We hope to go back there for a visit still. After an uneventful ride home we took in some dinner and were then off to Oma Amoraal again. Oma was very attentive and alert. We talked about her past and she remembered a fair few details. It helped that she was nearly on her own in the sitting room because ten she does not get distracted. After some organising and relaxing we turned in to give our weary bodies a much needed rest again. Another day to be thankful for to the Lord our heavenly Father. signing off for the Amoraals-in Europe dad

Monday and Tuesday

Monday morning we were home. We went to the head office and internet room to do some research, answer and write emails, and also do some washing. That took up our whole morning. That was probably the first real sleep-in we've had these holidays... After some lunch, Aunty Anneke joined us. We drove to Utrecht to enjoy an afternoon of shopping. Dad generously gave us each some money to spend so we enjoyed buying clothes and more. We also heard church bells as we walked. There was a shop to buy croquets - Steven got one :) I think it was at Manneke Pis! Then we went home and had dinner. After dinner we left the dishes and jumped in the car to visit Oma. When we got there at 8.15, the room where Oma spends her day was almost empty so we took chairs and formed a circle around her and she was very happy - smiling and talking a bit to us. We shared some chocolates with her, and she asked us some questions. Emily, Hanna and Steven also tried to talk with her and she seemed to understand some of what they said, and we translated some, then she would answer and we had quite a nice conversation. The nicest thing was that she was so relaxed and happy, so we spent at least an hour with her. Then as we left she asked if we were going to drive past the window so she could wave. It was so funny. We drove past and she was waiting, then we got to a dead end and we had to go past again; she got off her chair smiling from ear to ear and rushed to the window to wave again. It was so nice to have fun with her! We were very thankful to have this time with her. Though we know she won't remember, we will! Tuesday we got up early again because we planned to pick up auntie Anneke and visit Amsterdam with her. We took the car and drove towards Amsterdam, then parked it at a Park and Ride station and caught the bus to the Central Station. Of course we made beautiful photos of the canals and the station buildings. A tram took us to the Waterloo Place where there was a most interesting market! Lots and lots of stalls with all kinds of interesting things for sale. We bought some souvenirs, Dad bought some organ music!! Steven found a nice watch, Hanna found a dress - change room in a caravan behind the stall! I found a James Michener book, and some souvenirs, Emily and Hanna found a new bag and Auntie Anneke found some gifts. So you see there was something for everyone. We were also treated to - a large paper cone with chips and mayonnaise! Yummy! William will remember!! After that we caught the tram again and made our way to the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum. This museum has apparently been closed for about 10 years for upgrading and renewal of the premises. We bought some tickets - under 19 free! - and enjoyed several hours of looking around the museum. First we tried to stay together but it was very busy and everyone has different ideas of what they like to see, so we split up. Hanna and Steven wanted to see firearms and ships, Emily and i wanted to see the paintings, the etchings and historical things , Dad and Auntie Anneke headed for things in a certain time period. So after we all saw the famous Nachwacht of Rembrandt and his other most famous paintings we split up. We could have spent much longer there. The museum had so many rooms - so many interesting dis[plays. So many interesting things from history. w saw the paintingd of Jan Steen! Opa and Oma Eikelboom will remember - Het is een huishouding van Jan Steen! And Van Gogh. Its hard to remember but I wish we had this museum a bit closer to home. So interesting. Emily and I took some photos of things we wanted to read and later read them off our cameras. At 3.30 we joined up again and caught the tram - we walked along another market street and then went back to the central station. When you walk right through to the other side of the station you come to the river called Het Ij. We had a free ride with a ferry across to the other side. We were amazed by the volume of people going through the station, using public transport, using the ferry with bikes and motorbikes - riding on and off the ferry again on the other side. By now our legs were ready to drop off so we walked to the bus, then to the car - another walk because we got off the bus too early by mistake!! - then in the car and home. Actually to Uncle Johan and Auntie Anneke's place for dinner because uncle Johan had made delicious macaroni for us. Right behind their house is a little path which you can follow to the supermarket. Dad and I quickly did some shoppings, then we had coffee and made some plans for the next day. Auntie Anneke had to work so we organised for the next two days without her. It is daylight till 10.30 so we had no idea it was so late by the time we left. Unfortunately the freeway was closed in the direction of Utrecht so we drove another 20 minutes in circles and got home near 11 o'clock! Then tumbled into bed. From Mum

A little post :)

Hi everyone,
Thanks for reading our blog and thank you for your comments and well-wishes. We are greatly enjoying ourselves, and it's also nice to be in Holland now. We've seen Oma a few times now, and most of the time she is quite happy. Time has gone so fast, so now we have just under a week left till we hope to fly back again! :( But it has been good.
We still have some more blog posts to write - Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday... hopefully they'll be posted sometime soon.
Unfortuantely, we don't have wifi in our little house, so we have to go inside the actual hostel to use the wireless. There are some computers here, but they are awfully slow :( Ah well. So be it. :)
We hope you're all safe and we often pray for our dear family at home. The Lord willing, we'll be able to see you all again soon! (If we don't get stuck in Chiina again... :P)
Love from the Amoraals :)

Sunday - 14 July

Sunday was a most relaxing day. After a sleep-in, we had showers and breakfast and listened to a sermon from Reverend D Anderson about Exodus 6 - Moses and Aaron with the sign of the rod becoming a snake. It was a nice sermon and was good to see a different focus of that chapter. Afterwards, we had coffee, some lunch (Cup of Soup... mmmm) and then hopped in the car to pick up Oma. When we arrived, she was waiting for us, a bit nervous to go out as she wasn't really sure exactly where she was going. In the car, she relaxed a bit, stating that it was nice weather and asking some things. When we arrived at our house again, we sat down, had a cup of tea and some sausage rolls and talked a little. We commented to each other that all we'd done that morning was eat...first breakfast, then spiritual food, then coffee, then sausage rolls. :)
Then we played a game with Oma - Rummikub. She's played it before with us when she visited Australia so she did know how to play mostly. She was still a bit confused but we still got to play 2 games. By then Oma was getting tired so we thought we'd better bring her home again. Overall, it was nice for her to come over, and to talk to her without everyone around in the hostel.
We left the Amandelboom and drove a while to see dad's habitations of his childhood. However, before that we went past the graveyard to see the grave of Opa Amoraal. Here, we shed a few tears. In a way, the graveyard is a sad place but as Christians it is a happy place as we know that only the body remains, not the soul because that is in heaven with the Lord.
Afterwards, we went to the house in Hoeverlaken that he lived in from when he was about 14. Dad himself told us that only now did he realize how small the roads and his house was. It's probably because in Australia things are more spaced and a bit bigger than Holland. It was nice to see where he spent his teenage years though... :) After our nice Sunday drive, we drove home again.
We had some dinner, had a relaxing evening and then had a kind of early night :)

Saturday - Driving from Germany to Holland

Saturday....

We woke up at 6:00 o'clock and got prepared for a morning walk in the misty haze. ( or the misty mountains) :)
It was fabulously, amazingly, beautifully, picturesque . Fog on the horizon and not a soul in sight. Dad got us out and we got dressed warmly. We also had to beware of stinging nettle. Mum managed to have a nice experience with it when she was trying to do a wee in an uncivilised place. Anyway, it was lovely. We went on an ashphalt path at the front of the house, ( we were surrounded by fields and forrest) and when we had our shoes wet enough we went to the back of our house, (there were pigs, goats, chickens, rabbits and horses) and went through the forrest at the back. It was great fun and the birds music was magical. We all loved it and it was a good start to an exciting day. We ate breaky and were on our way soon after. We wanted our GPS to take us to Holland via the autoban but it didnt so we had to alter our path a bit. We had good fun and dad broke a record and we ended up with a top speed of 190 kmph. After that speed, 120 kmph seems slow. :)
We continued on the autoban with dad having sudden bursts of speed. We soon reached Holland and we quickly settled in to our house. It is at an old peoples home :). We put our luguage away and travelled to Oma. She recognised dad and mum, and we introduced ourselves. She was very happy and in a good mood. Smiles all around. We were able to take her outside for a cup of tea and Mum and Dad talked with her for a while. The language barrier was a bit annoying we it wasn't extremely bad. We talked with her for a full hour and then we went inside. She even remembered my name. She said "Dagg Steven". I was suprised :S. We then travelled to Uncle Johan and Auntie Anekes house and said hi to them. We even managed to see Uncle Kees before he left for France. He is going to see the Tour de France Mark :). Auntie Anja was there as well :). We had a lovely dinner of nasi goreng and then a nice desert of a milkshake. With full tummy's we left for home and a good sleep. All is going well here and hope you are all having a great time.

This is the Amoraals with Steven typing, signing off.
Shalom.