Netherlands

The flight from Bogota went well but delayed by 30 mins. We arrived in Frankfurt and transferred to the next flight. We stamped into Europe in Frankfurt so when we arrived in Amsterdam, we simply collected our baggage and walked through without a stop.
My uncle Arie and his grandson were at Skiphol to pick us up. I walked through the lobby and didn't recognise them initially. Linda said it was probably those people "there" and it was.

We went straight back to Akersloot which is the small town that I was born in.
The town hadn't really changed since 1996. It had changed but in other parts.

We had lots of beers before flopping into bed.

Many beers

The following days happened very quickly with family visits around town. 

One of the first things we looked at was the flower festival in Limmen. 

Siem kindly took us around Limmen to see all the handcrafted flower artwork.

OK. ...so it looks like John Key. 

It is actually Johan Cruyff. 

Johan is a famous football player in Holland. Born in 1947 he played for Ajax initially and later in 1974 played for the Dutch in the Fifa world cup, which they lost to Germany by 1 point. Many TV's were smashed that day. 

Next day we went to Alkmaar which is a beautiful city in Noord Holland. 

Full of canals as below.

Alkmaar has been around for a long time and was declared a city in 1254.

Alkmaar started before the 10th century.

It was besieged by Spaniards in 1573 but gained back after a big fight.

We came to Alkmaar to watch my cousin Johnny perform with his band.

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The band Run Bowie Run performed David Bowie songs. 

Later we watched another performance in a club where they played their own songs.

We spent quite a lot of time in Alkmaar as it is a very picturesque place to be in.

Very quaint shops and lots of canals and boats.

Alkmaar is famous for its cheese markets in the city square.

Tripping around the region there were lots of colours.

My cousin Joop showed us around the region.

During this time I drove the car to learn the right side position and road rules.

A bit nerve racing to start with.

Can you guess the type of flower?

A typical scene in rural Holland.

We also went to my Uncle's farm for a quick visit.

Above is one of his prize bulls.

Blonde d'Aquitaine is the breed.

The region of Groningen was looking really pretty with the warm temperatures and sunshine. 

Another trip was to Enkhuizen, which is a tourist town on the Zuiderzee. 

Earlier known as a harbour town for trade ships. Now it is land locked behind a dyke. 

There is sea access but through a lock.

Seen lots of other stuff and had a couple of nights out playing Dutch billiards.

Notice the lack of pockets on the table.

Into Belgium tomorrow so will post more stuff later.

Had a wonderful time in Holland with a very generous family. 

Much appreciated.