The next day (on my birthday) Bruce and Jill went on a bus tour with Julie (Reece’s sister) and Reece and I walked into town to have a look around.  We started off at the Rathaus (town hall) but it was raining and miserable so we didn’t actually get that far.  I would have liked to visit the spice museum but we were meeting the others for lunch and didn’t really have enough time   It was our own fault though for sleeping in and being lazy – if we’d left the apartment earlier I’m sure we could have fitted in much more.  We found a couple of outdoor shops to look in (we visited these in pretty much every town we stopped in) and laughed at a brand called “Jack Wolfskin”, and also saw a lot of tea shops selling all kinds of tea leaves and associated paraphernalia – seems to be a big thing there.

In front of the Rathous (town hall) in Hamburg

We met up with everyone else for lunch in a rather eclectic restaurant that seemed to have all sorts of cuisine except German, Reece was really disappointed because he wanted traditional sausage and potato salad.  Then afterwards we caught the train and did a spot of shopping, Reece and I went towards the Reeperbahn (strippers etc. that are restricted to one street, there’s a gate and door with a sign saying females and those under 18 not permitted to enter) so he could get a photo and then we walked back to the apartment through a park and saw an outdoor ice-skating rink.  I really don’t feel like we got to see Hamburg at all – we could have done a walking tour but both of us wanted to sleep in so as I mentioned earlier it’s really our own fault we didn’t see much.  I got little birthday presents from Reece’s family that I wasn’t expecting, and Reece got me a cool Triumph (motorcycle) top when we were in Lille.

In the evening we had a family birthday dinner, Sam (Reece’s nephew) chose the meal and I chose a chocolate and raspberry cake that we saw in a bakery.  The next morning it was up early as everyone else had to catch the train to the airport, then Reece and I cleaned up the apartment and we were on our way.  We had a 5-hour drive ahead of us to Lauda, a small town just past Wurzburg and off the main road a bit, which we had just picked off the map without any research.

Roadside Snack Stand at Lauwersmeer National Park in the freezing cold wind

After our second night at Monnickendam we headed north and drove along a huge dyke at Waddenzee, then started tiki-touring to to find somewhere for lunch (it was Sunday and everything was closed) and finally stopped at a little roadside stand at Lauwersmeer National Park at the start of another dyke.  We climbed up the dyke and had a look along, it was quite high and the wind was absolutely freezing!  So we warmed up with frites and hot chocolate from the snack stand before carrying on to Groningen where we were staying the night.  Reece ordered a “Big Frik” which made me think of Scrubs and was basically a long sausage with sauces, and not as good as the picture looked either.

When we arrived at Groningen it was pouring with rain so Reece and I left the others at the hostel and went out to find somewhere to eat dinner.  We seemed to find every other cuisine except Dutch, but in the end found a nice little place although we had to get a waiter who spoke English because we couldn’t figure out everything on the menu, and the menu guide in my phrasebook was next to useless!   Reece and I both opted for the Groningen mustard soup which was one of their specialties and was really delicious, then mashed potato with pickled cabbage, gravy and sausage or meatball which is apparently a traditional meal and was also really nice but it was just too much and neither of us could finish it.

The plan the next morning was to head for a cheese shop just down the road but unfortunately it was closed on Mondays, seems to be usual over there for shops to be closed the whole day or at least just the morning (who wants to work Monday morning anyway – sounds like a good idea to me!).  So we left and detoured through a couple of small towns on the way to Hamburg, trying to find a supermarket with a good selection of cheeses because Jill wanted to get some for Reece’s brother and sister back in London.  Eventually found some and then we carried on driving to Hamburg where we were joining more of Reece’s family to celebrate his nephew’s 21st.

I liked Holland, and it was easy for us because most people spoke at least a little English.  I liked how easy it looked to cycle everywhere, although I’m sure it would be hard cycling along the top of a dyke into a head wind!  There WERE windmills everywhere, but mostly the new kind that are tall and streamlined with thin blades.  We saw quite a few of the old traditional type but a lot of them weren’t working.  New Zealanders seem to complain a lot about how wind turbines for generating power are noisy and a blot on the landscape but I thought they were ok.  There was often one right in someone’s backyard in the country so they can’t be that noisy, or maybe they’re using better quality turbines!  We saw them all around Belgium, Holland and Germany.  I was disappointed about not being able to visit the Anne Frank House – we tried to book in advance online but they were already booked out for the days we were in Amsterdam – and about missing out on a factory tour at De Porceleyne Fles, but I still got to see other cool stuff.  I’ll just have to save those for next time!

Op De Horsten - our B&B near Amsterdam

After finally leaving Chris and Maurice’s place in Belgium we headed on to Holland, Chris had booked us into a B&B in Monnickendam on the north side of Amsterdam.  It was great having her to organise it because she could speak Dutch to them and get it all sorted, their English was a bit limited (better than our Dutch though!).  When I’d looked for accomodation on the internet we were going to stay in Amsterdam itself but I couldn’t find anywhere that had free parking included, and Reece had looked at places but not actually got around to booking anything.  If we stayed somewhere in the city and had to park on the street it was going to cost the equivalent of NZ$40-60 per day!

Delft "Sweetdish" - I love the beautiful designs on these little plates

First we headed to the official Delftware factory (de Porceleyne Fles) which I wanted to tour, but by the time we got there it was too late for a tour so we just looked around the factory shop.  They had heaps of souvenir-type things (eg. clogs and windmills) that didn’t cost too much, but when I went further back into the shop there was the real stuff that cost rather a lot, but the difference in quality was obvious.  They had some amazing stuff with beautiful patterns, I love the classic blue and white floral designs rather than the multi-coloured ones or actual pictures.  I ended up spending a bit more than I originally intended, got a couple of little plates/dishes that were on sale because they were last season’s design.

Then on to our B&B, Bruce and Jill had a room upstairs with an ensuite and Reece and I had a self-contained apartment that was still in the process of being finished so it wasn’t quite self-contained yet – toilet but no shower or handbasin!  But we had a kitchette, sofa and chairs and a coffee table so we all had dinner out there (bread, cheese, dutch sausage, mustard, tomatoes and fruit and Belgian chocolate to finish with) and then played cards.  Next day we headed to Amsterdam on the bus for the day – the bus stop was practically right outside where we were staying.  The bus fares for all of us cost nearly what parking for the day would have cost, but it was a better deal because we didn’t have the stress of driving into town and we had better accomodation than we would have had for the same price in town.  There was a big dyke on the other side of the road from where we stayed with a cycle path along the top, this seemed to be pretty common – there were lots of cycle paths in the country and in the cities the cycle lane systems were fantastic.  The stories are true – there are HEAPS of cyclists in Amsterdam and on more than one occasion we had near misses when crossing the road because we weren’t paying attention and they just come out of nowhere so quickly!  On every corner and every bridge there were hordes of bicycles parked, and cyclists don’t have to wear helmets so they’re all just riding around in their normal casual or business clothes.

Amsterdam

We spent the day just wandering around looking in the shops, no one had anything planned or organised and I hadn’t bothered because I thought Reece’s parents were sorting it out.  Bruce had Dutch friends in NZ and so had learned quite of bit of Dutch language, he had a constant smile on his face being there and having the chance to actually use it in Holland.

There were lots of coffeehouses (hint: they don’t have just coffee on the menu) but we skirted the red light district, although Jill managed to see a couple of ladies sitting in a window that somehow the rest of us all missed.   She was collecting a shot glass from every country or main city we visited so she was busy looking for a shot glass and postcards, the rest of us were just happy wandering around taking photos and trying not to get run over by cyclists.  She eventually bought one and Reece asked which she ended up getting, she said the one he’d pointed out to her and he cracked up… he had been only joking and when she got it out and showed it to him he showed her the marijuana leaves in the middle of the emblem where there should be three crosses…

The cafe was quite large, and they had proper waiters coming around to take orders for food and drink .  I had some kriek  (cherry beer) which I’m sure was nicer than than the stuff I’ve tried at the Belgian Beer Cafe in Christchurch – but this was a different brand, bottled rather than on tap and hasn’t traveled as far.  We spent the rest of the evening there, and Chris made two trips in their car so we didn’t have to walk home again.  Before we left she told our waiter that we were visiting from NZ and he went and got us free glasses and bottle openers – one set for each pair of use but I’ve done a deal with Jill so now Reece and I have a bottle opener each

Next day in the morning Reece and Chris and I cruised down to the local bakery on bikes to get bread and rolls for breakfast.  The bakery was amazing – not just bread, but stunning little tarts that were beautifully presented and chocolates too.  We passed another one on the way home that was the same, so it’s obviously fairly normal there.  After breafast we went for a day-trip to Bruges and had a look around in the old town – all these places seem to have an “old town” in the centre which has narrow, windy, cobblestone streets and cool old buildings.  I have to admit we were all as bad as each other at looking in the souvenir shops and didn’t really get too far at looking at the town!  However we climbed the tower which is the same one as in the movie, and had frites (fries)and mayonnaise and all enjoyed our day.

That night Maurice cooked mussels and more frites for us, these are typical Belgian food and I actually liked the mussels, which I was surprised about!  They are basically just steamed with onion and herbs and other vegetables and Chris got her mother to make special “mussel sauce” to go with them.  We had another good evening relaxing over a few drinks, I tried a raspberry beer but it was so sweet it didn’t even taste like alcohol, discovered why when we checked and it was only about 2.1%.

On our last day in Belgium we rushed around in the morning buying chocolate and beer and speculoos pasta (delicious sweet spread along the lines of nutella – I reckon it tastes like eating uncooked dough of ginger biscuits, it’s not pasta but “paste”) and went to the Westmalle monastery to buy cheese from the monks before heading off to the Delft factory and Amsterdam.

I was sorry to leave, Chris and Maurice were such good hosts and we had a wonderful time there.  It was the highlight of the trip for all of us so far and Bruce and Jill had a great time too.  Belgium is definitely on my list for next time!

We drove to Boulogne-sur-Mer and found the graveyard for the allied soldiers from WWI where Reece’s great-Uncle is buried, it was pretty cool for his Dad to see it too (his father and father’s wife are accompanying us as far as Hamburg, I will just call them his parents though, or Bruce and Jill because it’s easier).  It was a mission finding it, there were signs but they seemed to peter out and leave us at a normal cemetary, in the end we parked and got out to look around then some nice French people pointed us in the right direction.

From there we drove to Lille where we were booked into a budget hotel, found a mall over the road with restaurants and I bought some cool Christmas decorations   Ordering dinner was a shambles, it was just a cafe but Reece’s parents took a long time deciding and couldn’t figure out the menu board behind the counter.  I just grabbed a cold drink from the cabinet and ordered a panini with tomato, mozzarella and pesto (all of which I could understand on the menu), we all had paninis that they toasted for us.  I’ve heard that the French can be quite arrogant and unhelpful towards foreigners but we had a good experience everywhere we went for the 24hrs we were there, although the guy in the cafe thought NZ was somewhere above Scotland!

Next day we drove into Belgium and went to Passchendaele where Reece’s great-Uncle was wounded before he was taken to the hospital near Boulogne.  We didn’t know where to go in Passendaele but found a memorial to the Canadian soldiers and also went to the War Museum which was really interesting.  On the ground floor they have two rooms that are used for temporary exhibitions, quite by chance at the moment it’s on NZ’s involvement in the war around that area so that was really good timing.

After Passchendaele I wanted to go to an Art Noveau museum in Brussels, we decided we still had enough time so I set the GPS navigator to take us to a car park between the museum and the old part of town (in the centre – all these places seem to have an "old town" in the middle where all the cool stuff is).  Traffic was a nightmare once we got into Brussels, there are lanes and markings and lights and pedestrian crossings but it’s just a mess.  Reece was very patient and fought through it but then where we were meant to turn into the car park there was major roadworks and we couldn’t turn around so we just gave up and hightailed it to Westmalle where his friends live.  Having a rental car is great for being able to go odd places like Boulogne and Passchendaele but not so flash for visiting big cities like Brussels, Antwerpen and Amsterdam where the traffic is bad and you have to pay quite a lot for parking (when you can actually find it!).  We are also having to check whether our accommodation in those places includes free parking or whether we’ll have to park on the street and pay, which in Amsterdam was going to be 20-30 Euros ($NZ40-60), even between four of us that’s quite a lot.

Next post – Westmalle – trappist monks, beer, fries, mussels and Bruges.

On our last night in Krakow Dad texted to say my pack had turned up and would be couriered to our hostel in London, fantastic news!  On Friday flew in to Gatwick with Reece then we split up – he went to the Isle of Wight for a family birthday and I headed in to London to meet Mum and Dad.  Over the weekend I dragged them to all the places I wanted to see – The Red House and the William Morris gallery (I so love his wallpaper and fabric designs), Wesley’s Chapel, Shakespeare’s Globe, we also walked across the Tower Bridge and saw the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, although we were only close enough to see them marching in and hear the band, not to actually see them do the changing around inside.  Also went to Harrod’s, I didn’t realise how huge it is!  Only had enough time for a quick walk through the food market and a look around their Christmas shop, loved their displays but I have to say looking back I prefer the French and German wooden decorations than the fancy sparkly balls.

The tube was an experience but once I got the hang of it I loved how you can get around the city centre so quickly and easily.  My pack never turned up at the hostel where we were staying, I was really gutted because I’d been looking forward to having all my nice clothes etc. for the rest of my trip, and on Monday morning I spent a long time on the phone trying to get answers out of Singapore Airlines because the courier was insisting they’d delivered it, but the hostel was saying it hadn’t arrived.  In the end it made us late for the changing of the guard and I gave up on it arriving in time and resigned myself to carrying on with the cheap stuff I’d bought in Swindon (near Mum & Dad’s).  I was pretty depressed and stressed from all the hassle, and worrying about getting to Victoria Coach Station on time to catch my bus to Dover, but cheered up when I met up with Reece and his parents there, and still had time to spare.  Then as I boarded the bus there was a guy there waiting with my pack – brilliant!  So now I’m in Belgium with all my nice stuff and Mum and Dad have organised a courier to collect the surplus from the B&B we stayed at in Dover.

*big sigh of relief*

In the evening we walked a fair way into Kazimierz and found a bar, I managed to ask for a cherry vodka and after relaxing there for a while we walked back towards our hostel and found somewhere for dinner.

I have been taking photos but unfortunately neither Reece nor I have USB cords for our cameras so can’t put any on here yet

Today we are off to Auschwitz, a bit scary but I wouldn’t want to miss it.

Half of the first pair in the Bath Abbey diptychs - this image really doesn't do it justice, the originals look fantastic

The Abbey was impressive, I liked the ceiling and their exhibition of the Bath Abbey Diptychs (originally titled “One Man’s Journey to Heaven”) – a series of 35 pairs of painted and fabric art on the life of Jesus.  Unfortunately their shop is closed on Sundays or I would have bought some postcards of it.  The first of each pair has calligraphy and beautiful detailed painting, they are so creative and amazing, and all different too.

It was interesting to find Sally Lunn’s, we have the “Boston Bun” in New Zealand with pink icing and a few people call it the Sally Lunn bun but the original bun doesn’t have icing at all.  Alas, they had sold out by the time we got there so didn’t get to try it either

I still haven’t heard from the airport about my luggage, tomorrow we’re going to the Cotswolds then on the way back we’re going to Swindon so I’ll be doing some clothes shopping at an outlet mall there to make sure I’m ready for Poland on Tuesday.

Checked in online with Emirates to get to Sydney, had some stressing at the airport worrying about being late and then thinking I’d left the credit card behind, just sat down to enjoy a hot chocolate and try to relax when my name got called to make myself known to staff… crap!  Had my bag split open?  Had I done something wrong on my paperwork?  Didn’t get to finish my hot choc and walked down the far end to my boarding gate only to find they wanted to know if they could move me to another seat to allow a family to sit together!  Relief, but now I’d missed out on my chocolate

The flight was good, but got held up at customs for ages while they checked the seeds I was bringing over for Mum and ended up confiscating the silverbeet seeds.  Reece and his sister Pauline met me at the airport and took me back to her place for dinner with Reece’s father and his wife Jill.  We played Quiddler then went to bed, next morning Reece and I went shopping at all the outdoorsy shops in Chatswood for more clothes for him, then in the afternoon we all went to the airport to catch our flights to Singapore then on to Heathrow.  Singapore airlines were great, I had preordered vegetarian and vegan meals and they were all delicious.  Singapore airport was pretty cool, we only had an hour there so wandered around the shops and went to the Butterfly Garden which someone at work had told me about.  Unfortunately it was late at night so all the butterflies were sleeping but we could see quite a few of them hanging on the trees and when we go back through it’ll be daytime so we should be able to go in there while they’re all flying around.

The flight from Singapore to Heathrow was horribly long (about 13 hours I think) and I was tired but to make sure I got myself into the right timezone/sleep patterns I watched a movie first before trying to sleep.  Unfortunately didn’t get as much sleep as I wanted but this morning after arriving at Mum and Dad’s I had a nice nap for an hour then had a shower and a caffeine pill and have been ok all day, about to go to bed now at 9.15pm and should be pretty good tomorrow.  When I got to Heathrow the others all got their bags one by one and I was still waiting, finally we could see it was the same few bags going round and round and mine wasn’t there.  A guy came to ask if were ok and I’ve ended up having to lodge a claim/search thing, they were meant to call me today but I haven’t heard from them and they didn’t return my call either.  My travel insurance allows $500 emergency funds for replacing personal items if my bags aren’t returned to me within 12 hours, that’s already gone by and I get more if I still don’t have them after another 72 hours – will definitely need it then as I’ll have to get more warm clothes for going to Poland on Tuesday.  Of course if my bag is never recovered it’s all covered but I’d be gutted if that happened.  Hopefully I will be able to get hold of them tomorrow morning and they’ll tell me it’s on the way to me !  Stay tuned for updates…

Today after lunch we went to Avebury which is like Stonehenge but bigger and better – you don’t have to pay and you can walk right up to the stones too.  Tomorrow morning I’m going to church with Mum and Dad and then we’re off to Bath for the afternoon.  I want to go to the Jane Austen museum and a few other things, see how much I recognise from Georgette Heyer novels although not going to the roman baths as I’ve decided it’s too expensive (£11 which is NZ$24) and I’d rather spend my money on other things.  Might have some photos for you next time.

Off to go out and about, will hopefully update later today on how everything else went!