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Monday - Wow!! Rain, rain, rain. It rained most of the night, I think and then poured all through the morning and didn't let up until about 3:00. It was a cleaning day for us, so we weren't too bothered, just couldn't mow the grass.
When the rain finally stopped and the sun came out, we ventured out in the car for grocery shopping. We don't usually use the car, but our long list meant that the bags would be heavy. We hit just about all the food stores in Soest: both organic stores, the butcher, looked at fish at the fishmonger's store, and finished up at Albert Heijn's (the main grocery store).
Along the way, we stopped at The Proef for espresso and sparkling water. Shawn, the friendly, young, chef told us about the flooding in the stores. During the storm, water was standing in the street and cars drove by, made waves that came into the stores. The storm drains worked as well as those on Anna Maria Island - not. The staff kept busy using the squiggy to push the water out. Their basements had standing water and part of the false ceiling next door came down because of a leak in the roof. But, everyone seemed to be in a good mood.
Back at the house we enjoyed lamb on a stick, some rice, and sauteed zucchini. We are ready for Frank and Lynda to appear.
Tuesday - Today's main objective was to pick up Frank and Lynda Adamson at Schipol Airport. We arrived in plenty of time and even though I parked farther away in the parking lot than Linda wanted me to, the walk wasn't that bad.
They were in pretty good shape, just a little sleepy. We drove over to Lage Vuursche for pancakes to fortify them.
Frank and I ate pancakes.
My Linda had the traditional Dutch ham and egg sandwich.
And, Lynda Adamson ate an omelet with lots of stuff in it - leeks and cheese.
Everyone seemed happy with their selections. We sat outside. The day was bright and sunny with a bit of a breeze.
Then, it was time to take them to the house for a nap. I took the opportunity to mow the lawn - 5 minutes.
Later in the afternoon, everyone was ready to walk downtown for an espresso. We introduced them to Shawn and The Proef. Check out the tatoos in the background.
On the way back to the house, we stopped at the fishmonger and bought a combination selection that was on sale. The portions were designed for two people, but it was plenty for all of us.
Frank and I enjoyed a vodka and the girls used some Prosecco to help them fix the fish. We ate outside and enjoyed our feast.
Lynda was able to figure out how to hook up her MacAir to the TV and we watched pictures from their recent Alaska tour. Beautiful landscapes of a glacier, water, snow-capped mountains, a moose, and lovely gardens: Butchart just north of Victoria, British Columbia. We watched a movie: "Two Weeks Notice" starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant and then off to bed for all of us.
Saturday - The weather was bright and sunny and we expected it to stay that way, so after Linda finished blowing her horn, we hopped in the car and headed for Dortrecht, without using the Garmin, just on our own. Actually, Linda was using her iPhone a bit. Within an hour, we were there.
As we neared the center of town, the iPhone told us to turn, but my male intuition told me to keep driving straight. And, don't you know, we ended up at the entrance to the canal and the hotel where we planned to eat lunch. My, my, my.
Our first attempt at parking looked like street parking for "residents-only". After turning around, we found a perfect spot under a tree and just beside the bridge that opens for larger boats entering and leaving the canal.
We strolled down the shopping street paralleling the canal and Linda went right to the store she was looking for. While I was waiting for her, this organ grinder thing came by.
After examining every item on the racks outside the store, she found what she wanted and we were off for more strolling.
After walking down to the main intersection, we decided to buy some chocolate at the store we had found on our earlier trip. Named n'Joy Chocolate. The same friendly man waited on us and we purchased some very nice Dordrecht, dark chocolate.
As we started walking up the other side of the canal, we came upon the main square with four or five cafes - all with outside seating. I was looking for a schnitzel and found two types: pork and chicken, on the first menu I looked at. I wasn't sure the hotel where we had parked the car had schnitzel, so we planted our selves in the shade. After ordering, I realized we were running our of time on our parking space. I decided to walk back to the car and extend our time. It was a little farther than I remembered and took me a good ten minutes to get to the car and another ten minutes to return. But, my meal was still hot and it was enjoyed. Linda had ordered a traditional Dutch lunch with beef, ham, and 3 fired eggs on top. We both ate exactly what we were in the mood for.
Behind where we were sitting was a statue of a painter: Arij Sheffer, who lived in the 18th century. We guessed he was famous but had never heard of him.
A slow walk back toward the car and Linda comes upon a belt she had looked at earlier and decided it was time to buy. 2.50 euros - wow!!
As we continued the walk we passed what looked like art galleries with different creations outside the store. Chairs in the shape of hands, chickens hanging around, and mystery figure.
I found a friend.
Once back at the hotel near the car we sat out on the concrete deck and had an espresso and, oh yeah, a couple of pieces of that chocolate we bought before lunch. Nice combination.
Then it was time to leave and drive back to the house. As we drove out of town, there was this traffic light with a separate light for bikes. We see these in Soest, but this one was for the bike lane in the middle of the street.
We were doing so good until about 20 minutes before Soest and I didn't take the A1 exit. Down the road for an extra ten minutes and then we turned around and came back through Laren and the countryside.
Some reading and then a movie called "One Day" on Netflix ended the day.
Sunday - After waiting a few hours to see what the weather would do (that, of course, is an excuse for just going slow), we decided to get up and do something. The other day, a guy sitting next to us at the cafe in Soest Zuid had told us about a special "farm" which took care of rescued horses and was maintained to show how Dutch farmers worked over 100 years ago.
Its just around the corner from Soest Zuid on the way to Amersfoort. It is a beautiful place. It looked to me like a rich person owned it. The main building, which we learned, at been added to in 2 stages over the years, was built from brick and masonry in 1712.
When I asked one of the Docents about this, she told me that is how the Dutch build their houses - to last. This farm was acquired from the last owner, a single guy, who didn't like people - just animals. It was in very bad shape but this non-profit fully restored it and maintains it.
These structures are for storing hay or grain. The tops slide up and down on the poles.
We walked around the grounds. The front of the main house faces away from the road because the road was moved. This wooden wheel made recorded horse noises when I pushed it. I guess it was some kind of horse drawn mill.
Farther into the field was a family of goats. This is a perfect example of thinking the grass is always greener on the other side.
It looked like mommy was teaching junior how to do it.
And, this is what you do with used milking cans.
For you non-farmers, these are the seats from old tractors. Nice recycling effort.
Running water.
We were surprised to discover how many large rooms were in the main house. The Docent told us there were 13 children and one had to be a priest. His small bedroom was in the front of the house, all alone, so he was not contaminated by any of the others. The girls had their room and the boys had theirs. The hired workmen slept above the barn - warm and smelly. Each horse stall had a name and this one happens to be my mother's maiden name.
Bird condo.
From there we drove over to Lage Vuursche.
Its a small (2 blocks long) village on the other side of Baarn and is where the prince who died last year skiing is buried in the cemetery of a beautiful, small church.
We wanted to see his gravestone. This cemetery has creatively-designed grave markers. A couple looked like the family could not afford to buy a regular marker and just put some stuff on the mound of dirt. Others were much more elaborate with earthy components and one had a black upright slab next to a piece of plexiglas with a poem embossed in it in English.
Its also a nice place to have an espresso and watch the people go by.
For some reason, there is always a crowd. And, of course, many of the people and the children are on their bikes. We asked our waiter why that was and he said he didn't know. He guessed that maybe the several restaurants down the block serving pancakes might be the attraction and/or the mini golf course.
Possibly, it has something to do with the King's residence being there. But, its surrounded by trees and a serious fence. You cannot see any part of it. The place is situated in the middle of a beautiful forest.
Before we left, we walked down to one of the pancake restaurants and asked if they served non-gluten ones and yes they do. We thought de Smickel in Soest was the only place to get Dutch pancakes: much thinner than American pancakes, larger in diameter, and they come with almost any topping you want - sweet or savory.
This was a nice way to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We cleaned out the refrigerator of leftovers for dinner and then watched a George Clooney movie - Leatherheads.
Thursday - The highlight of today was a walk through the community, cornfields, past the restored windmill, and into the shopping district of Soest Zuid. This mini castle sits next to the pretty, large white farm house just 4 blocks from the house.
While we were walking through the fields, we saw a thrasher? - cutting straw picking the seeds.
The main goal was to buy some different types of flour from the health store. Linda bought almond and cocoanut flour, lavender honey, and arrowroot. Then I sat at a cafe that sold several types of sweets, one called supervlaai (pronounced superfly) and had my espresso while Linda crossed the main street and shopped at a store Liesbeth had taken her to last year.
Linda returned with no bags. Even though it was warm, there was a coolish breeze blowing, but not in the store. Linda didn't want to try anything on because of the heat in the store. A gentleman sitting at the next table started talking to us about the dunes just down the road and horses and other animals. We knew some of this from our first year, but he told us more. We need to revisit that area. He seemed to want to give us information and practice his English which was very good. But, almost everyone's English is good here.
We tried a different path to start our walk back and after walking around the block in basically a circle, discovered we could have just turned back past the health store and walked straight to the windmill. Checkout the sky.
On the side of the road was this sports car - I think it was a kit car. Linda liked the color.
On the way back, we encountered the thrasher again.
I was wearing my pedometer and got my 10,000 steps today. Yeah!!
Here is where I read.
Once home, we finished up the leftover ground beef and lamb roll with broccoli. No TV tonight, just reading.
Friday - We had originally planned to drive to Dordecht to shop for a special one piece outfit for Liz, our niece. But, it was supposed to rain all day and Liesbeth wanted to play the piano with Linda in the afternoon, so we stayed put.
I helped Linda trim some of the bushes around the walkways in the back of the house before it started raining.
About 4:00, the girls got together and played for an hour.
Joke has been sick with the flu and now we read an email from Kees that she has a clot. I called and talked to Joke and then Kees. They had a very bad experience first at Pinnacle Clinic and then at Blake Hospital ER - 7 hours, a lot of it waiting. After tests, they sent them home but wanted them to see a specialist. How does a foreigner find doctors? Fortunately, Niels had a nurse friend who works at Blake and is helping them out. Joke has an appointment on Monday. Terrible way to spend your vacation.
We walked to de Lindenhof for dinner: a very nice pork dish with fancy potatoes, snowpeas, and a fancy salad. Linda had duck with oriental cabbage and a Thai spicy sauce. All very good but too much food.
I read a couple of chapters of "Z" to Linda while she continued with her knitting project.
Linda spent the rest of the evening talking to my sister on Skype. Love these modern connections.
Wednesday - Spakenburg is a lovely village about 10 kms down the road. If we were going to ride bikes, it would be an easy jaunt. And, we're getting real good at driving into the village and finding a parking place very near the kiosks.
Each year we have visited it during their 4 Wednesdays of festivals and today was the first one this year. Its a very traditional, conservative town and on festival days many of the older women dress in traditional Dutch outfits.
Most of these women are busy using traditional sewing techniques to make things for sale.
There are groups, both men and women who are dressed in their local traditional dress and sing/dance on the temporary stage in the middle of the main square. Its a very large open air market lined with kiosks on both sides of the streets.
Linda was looking for a specific one-piece jumper for her niece, Liz and some Birkenstocks
for Melody, another niece. After an initial pass of one row of vendors, we found a table at a cafe where we could watch the parade of people go by. The only problem was it was in the sun and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but there was a tiny breeze that helped with the mid-70's heat.
Linda wanted a traditional Dutch sandwich with fried egg and ham, but they were out of that. She settled for carpaccio. I wanted a schnitzel but they didn't have that either. There were a couple of women sitting two tables over from us eating some type of meat in a red sauce. I asked what it was - chicken. I ordered that and it was excellent grilled pieces of chicken with mushrooms, onions, pineapple, peppers and slivers of lettuce. With the spicy red sauce, it was a very tasty lunch that went well with my beer.
We walked around the other end of the market and headed back to the car. The day had started with a parade, that we missed. But these folks dressed in what looked to us like "colonial" outfits must have been part of the parade.
Farther down the street, we came upon these guys playing and signing. The one in the white pants was the singer and reminded us of Bruce Witton, a fellow Shanty singer on Anna Maria Island.
Linda never found the jumper but she purchased the Birkenstocks. Their prices are good compared to the States and they have colors like white, silver, neon green, and blue that we never see in the States. She chose a silver pair.
A quick drive back to the house. I read a couple of chapters of "Z", a novel about Zelda Fitzgerald to Linda while she knit and then we watched "Weeds" on Netflix and then a movie we had seen before - "The Women". Kees has recommended some movies, but Netflix does not offer its full library over here.
Monday - Linda decided she just couldn't stay in the house all day, even though it was cloudy and raining off and on and the forecast was for rain all day.
So, after some sax practice, we decided to eat lunch so we wouldn't want to eat later and caught the train for Amsterdam.
This is our local train station: Soestijk, about three blocks from the house.
This is what you see out of the train window on the way to Amsterdam in the rain. All the trains are electric, therefore the overhead wires.
The purpose was to visit Weijntjes store to talk to them about a missing part for our doorbell. This is what the city looked like when we arrived and stepped out of the Centraal station. We were prepared.
Using Google maps, and our Amsterdam guide book, we hopped on the #5 tram from Amsterdam Centraal, got off at a stop just past the Dam, walked a half block and there the store was. Linda, my navigator, put us right at the spot.
As soon as we walked into the store, we saw the part on the wall that we were looking for. A young woman was right there to help us and she knew what she was talking about. We discussed the various options for installation, how to use the metal post we were after and decided to buy two of them just in case we needed them. Our helpful clerk told us we could return anything we didn't use. We talked a little with another woman staffer, maybe the manager, about the age of the building and that the business had been in that building for 100 years.
Even though it was still pouring rain, we stepped out of the shop and stood under the awning.
Being Amsterdam, the rain only seemed to slow down the tourist. The Dutch just go about their business.
A few minutes standing there and then we walked around the corner and caught the #5 tram. The tram stops are covered. So, we waited for a less crowded tram than the first one. After two stops we spotted an area that had a large group of cafes with large umbrellas protecting the tables. We hopped off and found a table with protection from the rain. A beer, a water, and some french fries to pass the time. We had to move a couple of times to better places so we didn't get splashed from the water coming off the edge of some of the umbrellas.
There were people scurrying around but not frantically. Some were holding their umbrellas as they rode their bicycles and others just used coverings with head protection.
The rain was quitting and so we decided to walk for a few blocks. It was between 5:30 and 6:00 and shops were closing, but there was still stuff to see. A little window shopping.
Linda is always fascinated with the bikes - they are everywhere and so many and different types.
On our walk, we passed this canal with these beautiful houses along it and the rear of vendor kiosks at the water's edge painted with ad hoc murals.
Then we caught the #5 again and back to the Centraal train station. We've done this trip often enough to know that spoor (platform) #11 is the one we want to get to Baarn. Five minutes after we arrive the train pulls out. Connect at Baarn to Soestijk and one hour and five minutes later we're back at the house.
A nice, and successful little excursion.
Tuesday - Its market day in Baarn and Linda has a sax lesson with Peter in Baarn too. So, after she practices a little and we have lunch, we drive off to Baarn for shopping, then an espresso at our regular cafe just off the main square. Then, we drove over to Peter's house and Linda had her lesson.
Some reading, a little dinner and Linda goes off for a walk. While she's gone, Noor shows up at the front door. She comes right in - very comfortable in this house. I think that's because Joke plays with her on a regular basis. She asked for Linda and I told her Linda was out walking. Noor had brought a small jigsaw puzzle and we worked on it together. But she did most of the work. I'm not very good at these things and it was obvious, Noor had solved this puzzle a few times. Then we watched part of the Simpsons and she said goodbye.
Linda showed up a little later with a story of a helicopter landing in our little park down the street to pick up a guy who had crashed his bicycle into a traffic pole. For some reason, the medics put the victim in one of the two ambulances that had arrived instead. I heard there was a lot of blood. On Wednesday, Linda got more of the story from the Osteopath at the corner where it happened. There happened to be a nurse there and the Osteopath ran down our street and got another nurse and brought some wet towels while they waited for the emergency personnel.
The man was not breathing very well until the Osteopath put her hands on his hips. Then, the nurse said he was breathing better. The nurses were surprised at that.
Big event for the evening.
