July 14:

Last year we found a reflexologist over in the south part of town and we used her in May and then made an appointment for today. We started our walk over there by having lunch at the Proef, sitting outside, and watching people buy things at the weekly market set up in the street. 

I love the roast beef sandwich on gluten-free bread. Its what I order every time. Linda had a salad with tunafish. 










This sign is announcing that they have herring. Its the season.




And this guy is filleting the herring.

















Then we walked over using some side streets that Linda discovered the day before with Hans and Jose.


There are always interesting looking houses along our walks. This one is very different from the rest in the neighborhood and I thought it looked a little French, napoleonic style.




I thought this house, or maybe it was a restaurant or inn, was interesting. The roof is thatch but it has skylights - blending the old and the new.








And animals - this one reminded us of Wilma: one of Gretchen's cats.











This is our reflexologist. Her name is Marjoleine.








After my appointment, we waited for our bus by having a coffee and a tea and playing with our selfie-stick.











I drove Linda back for her later appointment and waited for her. The woman told her an horrific story of her being ill about 20 years ago and being sent home to die because the doctors could not diagnose her lung problem. She was able to find an alternative practitioner between Soest and Utrecht who treated her with "color therapy" several times a week and she is still with us. Weird, we had never even heard of color therapy.

Linda made a barter deal and will return tomorrow to work on her feet.

We got back to the house just in time to heat the leftover chili, make a salad and guacamole and some nachos for our guests: Floor and, her friend Robin. Both are servers at de Lindenhof. We had met Floor in May when Ray and Deb were visiting. She was very outgoing and made a hit. 

We had invited Liesbeth and Peter and the kids for some chili too, but since Duco still had a fever, they deferred, but came over later to say goodbye. They stayed for a glass of wine and some of the leftovers of the leftovers. We brought in more chairs and had a little party. Liesbeth and Peter leave tomorrow for a three week road trip through France. Hopefully, we will see them when we return for two days in early August.

This will be my last blog for this trip. We leave on Saturday for England and then France. I don't expect to be near any hotspots and I'm leaving this laptop here in Soest until we return. So, its bye-bye for now. I hope you've enjoyed these little chats.

July 13:

Our focus is starting to turn to England and cruising on the Trent and Mersey Canals for a week. We have watched the training video on-line and I spoke to someone at the marina to verify our arrival time and find out things like where to buy groceries - the little, but important things.

Even though it was another cloudy, threatening weather day, Linda went walking with Hans and Jose. I stayed behind. Yes, they got rained on, but stood under a tree to wait it out.

Our only picture for this day is Hans' garden with all of his personally-selected rocks.

What a beautiful place to hangout. We have spotted Hans admiring his work.

The rest of the day was spent inside painting, reading, and watching Netflix shows. A very relaxing day.

July 12:

We were up at 7:00, early for us, and out the door at 7:30. We always plan for traffic on the highway to Schipol, but no slowdowns today. We delivered Janie and Dan and were back at the house for coffee by 9:15.

We found out later, that when they changed planes in Manchester on their way to Inverness, Scotland, Janie was relieved of much of the food she thought she could transport to her friend's house. But, at the end of the day, they were safely settled at their destination.

We cleaned and then Linda decided to try out Hizi Hair on the main street for a color and cut.

I put this image on Facebook without telling her and everyone liked it.

During Linda's walk, she came upon this plant. Does anyone recognize it?


In the late afternoon, we walked down to de Verkeley bakery, just before they closed to buy some chocolates for Duco and Noor. Liesbeth had invited us over for dinner and we needed to take something and we were tired of taking flowers and wine.

Liesbeth and Peter have a lovely yard set up for dining, but the weather was iffy and we were treated to a mixed, fish platter inside. There was smoked trout and mackrel, two kinds of shrimp, salmon, and palin (eel). After we finished with that they served us raw herring with onions. They told us the herring with such a strong taste, was served last so it didn't mask the flavor of the other fish. The fresh herring was served whole except for the head, but cut and deboned into several pieces to make it easy to pick up. On the street at fairs its served whole and you pick it up by the tail and gulp it down. We're not there yet.

I guess we liked it - we were already eating before I thought to take a picture. Incidentally, this was one of the first meals we were served by Kees and Joke on our first visit to Holland. Its a different experience for us, but we have learned to expect all these different fish and we both had seconds. 

We had a good visit and as the weather had cleared up, they walked us home - really nice.

Notes: if anyone is interested in the spices that Janie and Dan use for their chili, you can order it from cinchili.com. 

Also, after this Friday we will be on a boat on the Trent and Mersey canals in England and later in France, all with no internet service. Therefore, I'm not taking this laptop and there will be no blogs. I will be taking pictures and posting on Facebook from my phone if I can find a hotspot at a cafe, but it will be iffy. If you're interested in our boating experience, you can get an idea at: canaltime.co.uk.

July 11:

It was prep day: Janie and Dan needed to get ready to leave. We spent most of the day helping them make sure they had their wash done and had collected everything.

Dinner was at the Proef to eat some of Chef Sean meals. We have never been there for dinner, only talked to him about what he was planning. Janie and Linda had lunch there earlier and made reservations for dinner.

Arriving at 7:00 there were only two other parties present and we picked a table at the window. We thought about eating outside but it was starting to get cool.



Starting with a bottle of wine, we reviewed the menu. The pork tenderloin dish looked good and we could see two examples of it on the table beside us. But, when Sean came to take our order and described the other selections in detail, changes had to be made. 

Linda and I decided to share a platter that was a combination of tapas: two kinds of a special ham somewhat like prosciutto from pigs who only eat acorns and truffels, meatballs, roast beef, haddock, tiny shrimp, a tapinade, and bread. Sean told us he had a little of the pork left over and he could add that with a mushroom gravy. So, we had that plus Linda added a few green beans. Janie ordered the vegetarian lasagne (she said it was the best she had ever had) and Dan stayed with the pork tenderloin.



Sean came by several times to check on us and to make sure we liked what we had ordered. He's a really nice guy. Later he showed us a picture of his girlfriend - very nice.

We finished with coffee and fresh mint tea for Linda.

A good way to finish the Bauer's Soest visit.

July 10:

It seems that almost every day has a theme. Today's theme was Chili. Janie and Dan are award winning chili chefs and have competed all over the United States and won $$$$. They wanted to introduce their brand of this Tex/Mex dish to our Dutch friends.

Some preparation was done the night before: forming the six pounds of hamburger into large meatballs. Then most of today was spent cooking, mixing, and adding special spices that they brought with them. The meatballs were cooked in a skillet to brown it and then boiled to have it stick together so when pulled apart to be added to the chili sauce it comes out in clumps and seems more like a better cut of meat. Then there is simmering and resting and then, finally, reheating. 








Janie also brought special blue corn tortillas from a Mexican grocery store near Washington, D.C. She cut them in triangles, added a mixture of cheeses with a ripe olive on top and put them in the oven. This was the appetizer. 

Before serving, Janie gave instructions on how to load the bowl: start with the spaghetti, add the chili, then brown beans, chopped onions and grated cheese. This is the way they were taught in Texas



Linda made her guacamole to be added wherever someone needed. 


We invited all of the Dutch people we know: Hans and Jose; Andi and Margaret; and Peter and Liesbeth and the kids. Everyone came except Duco who had a fever. It all went over great: everyone had seconds and Hans had thirds.











It was a lot of work for Janie and Dan, but it impressed the neighbors and Linda and I, who knew it would be fabulous. Everyone went to bed full and happy.

July 9:

Janie and Dan have brought great weather with them. We ate breakfast outside in the garden. 

Jose and Hans invited us to go out with them: first to play "midget golf" and then for a pancake lunch at Amelisweerd en Rhijnauwen, outside of Utrecht.

The golf course was in Lage Vuursche in the woods, as is everything else in that lovely village. 



Its composed of three 18 hole courses that meander through wooded gardens interspersed with ponds and waterfalls. Instead of funny mechanical animals and artificial devices, the Dutch have used the natural environment to decorate their courses. Very effective and added to a pleasant experience.

And lots of places to sit and wait to play the next hole including this little hut - maybe for protection from the rain, but not today.















The holes were challenging enough to generate lots of laughs. And then, there were a few interesting items placed around the toilets: Harry Potter and a little boy filling a bucket.















After golfing, we followed Hans and Jose to the lovely Mansion and gardens along a canal near the Utrecht University.












These kids were jumping off the bridge.


We walked through what must have been stables, a short walk through the woods and to the restaurant with most seating outside under the trees and beside the canal. We were able to find a vacant table close to the water.

The meal was mostly pancakes and one gigantic chicken salad. Hans and Jose had half savory and half sweet pancakes: a complete lunch.

Arriving back at the car, we were met with a very unpleasant surprise: A 370 euro parking ticket. I had parked in a handicapped space because Dan had a handicap sticker he had brought from the States and was told it would be honored. This put a real damper on what had been the perfect day.

Back at the house, Dan talked to Hans and also Liesbeth (the lawyer) about what could be done. I think the answer is that the fine must be paid and then it can be appealed. Dan has all of the necessary documents that Liesbeth told him to collect and on Monday he will call the US Consulate to see what can be done about this.

Back in May, we received a parking ticket for 90 euros. Don't mess with these Dutch, they make you pay.

Later in the evening, Noor came over and Linda and I went for a walk with her on her new "skate shoes".



Some of the way I pulled her and some of the way she pulled me.



When we returned to the house mom and dad were coming to get Noor. We chatted and said good night.

A nice ending to a mostly lovely day.

July 8:

This was a strange morning. We were able to catch the 9:25 train to Utrecht on our way to Rotterdam. I didn't think we could do it and we had to run the last few meters to get on the train, but we made it.

All the neighbors had been telling us to visit Rotterdam, so we finally did it.


I had done a little research on the web and found a hop-on/hop-off trolley that would give us an historical introduction to the city. We caught it outside the Centraal Train Station. Actually, we didn't catch it the first time. The girls were ahead of us and jumped on a tram and Dan and I had to follow. After convincing them that we were on the wrong train, we got off at the next stop and waited a short time for the "real" trolley. Oh well, it didn't cost anything for that little ride.












As we travelled around the city, the ticket taker told us in English interesting facts about the city. One of these is that most of the city is under sea level and needs dikes to protect it from the Meuse River. We traveled up and down over the dikes and hardly noticed. The harbor is the largest in Europe. I was surprised to hear that - I thought Hamburg was larger. 

Another interesting fact is that the harbor is called the Delft Harbor because in the 17th century Delft was more important than Rotterdam but didn't have access to the sea. To solve this problem, they built a canal over to Rotterdam. 

As we knew, the city was bombed by the Germans at the beginning of WWII, so its mostly new construction. And the construction has created some interesting looking buildings.












Continuing on with that theme, we spotted these apartments that had flat floors but that was about it.

We decided to stay on the trolley for the entire one hour tour and then decide where to get off. That turned out to be a huge market just to the side of these apartments. This huge, domed structure was built atop a metro stop three floors below the main floor. 

This was a food market and restaurant venue. The space was cavernous and painted. Checkout the cow. Linda found a fish place. We ordered on the main floor and then they delivered the food at our table upstairs. Janie and Dan had a mixed fish grill, Linda are a shrimp dish and I ordered paella. It was all good, just not filling. We would need more food later.

We shopped at an Albert Heijn grocery store on the lower level and then caught the next trolley. To get back to our train station we needed to repeat part of the tour. Part of this section of the tour was an old neighbor.














And then, there was this scuplture called Santa Claus. The locals make fun of it because he seems to be holding a member of his body.


This is the Euromast built in 1960 for the Floriade (big flower show held once every ten years). The large round part is a restaurant and the top part goes up and down to the very top.










And then there was this car perched on the top of the building. Don't have a story about that.




And this interestingly shaped church.










And, a mexican restaurant. We couldn't stop to check it out.

The train got us back to Soest without incident. A little later, Noor came over and produced some more art.

Then, her Dad, Peter came by with Duco and they stayed for snacks and drinks. This was the first time we had seen Peter since we returned from Italy. Janie and Dan learned from Peter that his father served in the German Army, he said "they stole my youth", and never wanted to leave home after the war, even for a vacation. 

Liesbeth was at a Queen concert at the palace. I think that's why he visited with us longer than normal. Noor and Linda went for a walk and could hear the music from the palace.

July 7:

Our theme for this visit by Janie and Dan has been to take them to places they haven't been before and, hopefully, new places for us too. Today we decided to take a look at Zaanse Schans  and actually go into the complex. Linda and I drove to it last week but because of the rain, didn't enter.

This is a reconstructed village that shows life in the mid-1800's. It reminds us of a place like Williamsburg, Virginia. Much of the buildings are original and they have been moved to this site. We started at the museum and were told of the industrial heritage of this region of the Netherlands. As you might expect, windmills were used for grinding, pumping, pressing things into oil, sawing wood, etc. This is where many Dutch household products were first produced.

The area is called the Zaan and kept people employed. I always thought of the Dutch as great traders, which, of course, is true, but they made a lot of stuff during the 18th and 19th centuries. And, this was the part of the country that did it.














This machine made special boxes for sprinkles. The idea was to catch the eye of the consumer.





This diagram gives a sense of the scope of the place.












As we entered the main complex, we stopped for lunch. Potato salad was about all the snack bar offered and that's what we bought. Janie had a pancake which she really liked. We would eat better later.












Walking down the main path past several tourist gift shops we got a good view of the windmills and staged a silly, wooden shoe picture.














Not every manufacturing activity was aided by the mills. We were given a tour of a home where the family manufactured sail cloth from hemp. The guide told us how they would have worked long hours to produce 30 meters of cloth for something like 17 cents.

And, later, we visited a clock making and repair facility where they had displayed the very large and the very small.

This one was a whaling clock. The closeup shows moving ships, waves, and a whale. 





This clock was specifically designed for the weight pulls to fit around a door frame. I guess when you don't have much space you get creative.

Besides these museums, there were pretty views outside. There were people living in some of these places and they kept them in beautiful condition.

Then it was time to stop for coffee and Janie and Dan had to try the Dutch applekak (sp?).













A slow walk back to the car past some more windmills and exhibits.













We tried to enter several of these windmills, but it was close to 5:00 and everything was closing. That put an end to this visit.

We did come upon an artist displaying his work on the ground. The pieces looked familiar and in talking to him, we discovered we had purchased one of his paintings at Kinderdijk two years ago. We told him we thought this was a better place for him to work and sell his work.

Originally, our plan for dinner was to eat at the steak house in Laren that we had discovered in May. However, when we arrived, the main street was closed for some type of fair and that was just where we wanted to go for dinner. We decided to head back toward Soest and when we arrived, the consensus was to try the El Argentino restaurant on our main street. Linda and I had never tried this place before and all of us were in an adventurous mood. We were ready for meat.

Success - we sat outside, Janie and Dan shared a mixed grill, Linda had a nice steak, and I had ribs. 

Turned out to be a great dinner. Salad, fries and rice for me turned up and the wine flowed. This is a good place to go. If you're in Soest, go. We were loud and had a great time.






Back at the house, we waddled in and watched some tellie.

That was the end of a fun day.