Alright friends! Sorry about the wait you've had...if you were waiting. But here's the update - we got to London safely. We then took a few trains to get right to the centre of it! The wonderful Kaila picked us up (after waiting for way too long), and we went back to her flat to dump our stuff.
Time flew by after that with extensive use of the 'Tube', and seeing all the incredible sights of London. Here's what we saw----> Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, St. Paul's, Tower bridge, Buckingham palace, and a delicious food market! After 3 short (cold) days in London we flew back to Amsterdam. Lianne's Aunt picked us up once again, we went home packed like crazy, slept like crazy, and were off to Germany!
We arrived after 5 hours of trains in the town of Dillenburg! Where our great friend Jonathan's family is. He planned out quite a crazy day for us yesterday, which was awesome (: We started by eating a huge breakfast, then onto the forest! We climbed up the side of a tree infested hill to a massive rock hanging off of it. Only to discover a cave! Hooray! So we went inside and crawled under to an even smaller cave, got nice and muddy, then went to their Oma and Opa's for lunch. German food is ridiculously good. Ate our hearts out, and went to play badminton! Which we're all pro's at now. After an hour of badminton we were on our way to camp to get beaten up by Jr. High boys because we were British troops coming to tell them the King wasn't sending them money (but we actually aren't British...). So we started off by butchering our own national anthem, then rambled on in English, until a little kid who spoke French was told to interpret everything Jonathan said...which was only "I want to eat bread!" They got mad and threw him in the lake! Let's be clear here, Germany is cold. Very cold. And that lake was very cold. But he took it like a man, and we enjoyed a rowdy supper with a bunch of kids we couldn't understand. After that we went to bible study at their church and studied Genesis 1:20, and met some very nice folks who could converse very well with us! After that is where we get the true Germany experience. We went to the local castle quite late and took a self led tour of the inside - which is massive by the way. Wandered through the crazy pathways and down all the winding steps, only to find that there were lights on in some places...strange. We didn't even get lost! That was yesterday. Today we're getting things we need before we got to Italy tomorrow! That's what's up right now.
Peace
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
A day in Oxford
Welp - yesterday we got stopped in the streets of Oxford, and were cordially invited to join the University there! Good-bye parents! You're girls are staying here! Well at least we might...if we actually did get invited (:
But we did do a incredible tour around the city and saw a good 9 colleges. Every street you walk down, there's another amazing school or cathedral! We stopped in a little shop, now called 'Alice's shop', which inspired Lewis Carroll's 'sheep shop' in 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'. We also drove by his birth home the first day we got here. All in all though, Oxford is such a beautiful city with so much to see in every direction. The library was amazing with an inner courtyard, and specific doors corresponding with that area of study. Needless to say, it was huge. We stopped in the cathedral, which are always stunning, and carried on to try our first Steak and Kidney pies! Well one of us did. We only made it there, and saw all we did because of our wonderful host, Kristeen! She's been feeding us great food, and taking us on our adventures (: Thank you!
Today was different though, no churches or schools - just the STONEHENGE! As soon as you see it, it just takes your breath away. The story of it, and the technology of how/ why it was built is absolutely incredible. Those stones have been there for roughly 5,000 years, which is incredible in itself! Most of the stones weigh around 2 tons each, but the heaviest is 45 tons. Equal to 7 elephants - crazy. It's believed that the people who built it used levers, tree trunks as rollers, and some kind of lifts. The stones over time have fallen over, and some are missing - if I remember correctly. There is a stone in the centre that used to be upright, but is now called the altar. Another stone is called the 'Slaughter Stone'; the reason being - it turns red when it gets wet. Which is almost every day here! A circle of 'Bluestones' make a circle in the centre of the henge, that are blue and white speckled when cracked open. It's also believed that it was used to tell the month of the year that they were currently in. The way that the stones are set up frames the sun in a different 'henge' every month. It moves one to the left as the month moves on. Summer solstice is the time when you can tell where it starts. An incredible structure even without the history, but absolutely worth it.
We spent the evening with the Loffler family eating a fantastic dinner, followed by cards and cocktails!
Tomorrow we head to London.
But we did do a incredible tour around the city and saw a good 9 colleges. Every street you walk down, there's another amazing school or cathedral! We stopped in a little shop, now called 'Alice's shop', which inspired Lewis Carroll's 'sheep shop' in 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'. We also drove by his birth home the first day we got here. All in all though, Oxford is such a beautiful city with so much to see in every direction. The library was amazing with an inner courtyard, and specific doors corresponding with that area of study. Needless to say, it was huge. We stopped in the cathedral, which are always stunning, and carried on to try our first Steak and Kidney pies! Well one of us did. We only made it there, and saw all we did because of our wonderful host, Kristeen! She's been feeding us great food, and taking us on our adventures (: Thank you!
Today was different though, no churches or schools - just the STONEHENGE! As soon as you see it, it just takes your breath away. The story of it, and the technology of how/ why it was built is absolutely incredible. Those stones have been there for roughly 5,000 years, which is incredible in itself! Most of the stones weigh around 2 tons each, but the heaviest is 45 tons. Equal to 7 elephants - crazy. It's believed that the people who built it used levers, tree trunks as rollers, and some kind of lifts. The stones over time have fallen over, and some are missing - if I remember correctly. There is a stone in the centre that used to be upright, but is now called the altar. Another stone is called the 'Slaughter Stone'; the reason being - it turns red when it gets wet. Which is almost every day here! A circle of 'Bluestones' make a circle in the centre of the henge, that are blue and white speckled when cracked open. It's also believed that it was used to tell the month of the year that they were currently in. The way that the stones are set up frames the sun in a different 'henge' every month. It moves one to the left as the month moves on. Summer solstice is the time when you can tell where it starts. An incredible structure even without the history, but absolutely worth it.
We spent the evening with the Loffler family eating a fantastic dinner, followed by cards and cocktails!
Tomorrow we head to London.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Well, crumpets and tea for breakfast this morning! Hooray, we're in England. But to catch up we'll put up our pictures from Ireland. So on St Patrick's Day, thanks to John and Anne Fullerton (the classiest Irish people of them all) we got the chance to visit Giant's Causeway, Ireland's most famous natural phenomenon, which receives over 600,000 visitors every year and is simply amazing. We were just in awe.
The next stop of the day was Dunluce Castle, along the Northern Irish coast. Some serious breathtaking scenery and amazing history.
Then on the way home we had some great laughs as Bri and I tried to snap pictures of cool stuff out of the rainy windows as John yelled "Quick, Quick, take the picture!" That happened a lot the next two days.
So yesterday we drove up to Dundrum for a lovely visit with Anne's mum and brother where we were showered with lovely presents of the nicest knit and crochet work you ever did see.
Next stop would be Newcastle and some fantastic ice cream in the freezing cold rain. We laughed and had a grand time. We also visited Dundrum Castle via John's seaside dirt road awful shortcut (which was worth it because it saved us 10 miles), for an amazing view of the coast atop the highest tower.
Then to the local Chippy for Irish fish and chips, our first taste of all gorgeous things deep-fried.
Now we must send a massive thank you to John and Anne for taking us around to so many amazing places and for being so kind and awesome!
All in all Ireland is class.
The next stop of the day was Dunluce Castle, along the Northern Irish coast. Some serious breathtaking scenery and amazing history.
Then on the way home we had some great laughs as Bri and I tried to snap pictures of cool stuff out of the rainy windows as John yelled "Quick, Quick, take the picture!" That happened a lot the next two days.
So yesterday we drove up to Dundrum for a lovely visit with Anne's mum and brother where we were showered with lovely presents of the nicest knit and crochet work you ever did see.
Next stop would be Newcastle and some fantastic ice cream in the freezing cold rain. We laughed and had a grand time. We also visited Dundrum Castle via John's seaside dirt road awful shortcut (which was worth it because it saved us 10 miles), for an amazing view of the coast atop the highest tower.
Then to the local Chippy for Irish fish and chips, our first taste of all gorgeous things deep-fried.
All in all Ireland is class.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Dublin/St Patrick's Day
What we've been up to since we've been here - is a lot (:
Yesterday Lianne and I decided we'd do a day trip to Dublin. So we hopped onto a bus and then onto a train, and were on our way. First of all, Ireland is beautiful! Second, every town name is fun to say. We got off the train, and immediately proceeded to getting lost. At one point, we were getting frustrated because we couldn't find the right street; turned around and there was Oscar Wilde's house right there! It was also a super nice sunny day which was AWESOME! We have experienced the true Irish rain too. So we're getting the whole shabang! The streets were filled with people, many of which were doing cool things. There was a man sculpting a sand lion, a live statue with a gorilla (fake), an Irish dancer, and also a bunch of buskers. So it was pretty sweet. We're also getting pretty good at using city transit...kind of.
Today we got to go to a St. Patrick's Day parade, which was really neat. Also we saw traditional Irish dancing. It's a bit like tap dance/river dancing. We then went to an Irish pub - had Irish Guinness, and heard traditional Irish music. Live. It was a wonderful day!! Tonight we also got to hang out with the niece of the couple we're staying with, and she's so energetic! A little two year old. So we've been using up our energy for the day (:
Tomorrow we are on our way to see the Dun Luce Castle and Giants Causeway. So we'll have pictures to follow.
Yesterday Lianne and I decided we'd do a day trip to Dublin. So we hopped onto a bus and then onto a train, and were on our way. First of all, Ireland is beautiful! Second, every town name is fun to say. We got off the train, and immediately proceeded to getting lost. At one point, we were getting frustrated because we couldn't find the right street; turned around and there was Oscar Wilde's house right there! It was also a super nice sunny day which was AWESOME! We have experienced the true Irish rain too. So we're getting the whole shabang! The streets were filled with people, many of which were doing cool things. There was a man sculpting a sand lion, a live statue with a gorilla (fake), an Irish dancer, and also a bunch of buskers. So it was pretty sweet. We're also getting pretty good at using city transit...kind of.
Today we got to go to a St. Patrick's Day parade, which was really neat. Also we saw traditional Irish dancing. It's a bit like tap dance/river dancing. We then went to an Irish pub - had Irish Guinness, and heard traditional Irish music. Live. It was a wonderful day!! Tonight we also got to hang out with the niece of the couple we're staying with, and she's so energetic! A little two year old. So we've been using up our energy for the day (:
Tomorrow we are on our way to see the Dun Luce Castle and Giants Causeway. So we'll have pictures to follow.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Hey hey - the UK!!
Well we find ourselves sitting in a hotel room after a breakfast of tic-tacs, and plane/trains sleeping. A little panic here - a little panic there, has brought us here safely! Now we just need to get onto the right flight in the morning, and we'll be golden.
Our plan for today was to get to the hotel, walk around, buy some food, and explore! What happened was ---> get into the room and stay there. So here we are, watching English TV, and about to go get toothpaste. Possibly some food too.
Our apologies for not having more exciting things to say, but we're quite happy to have a day of relaxing (:
Our plan for today was to get to the hotel, walk around, buy some food, and explore! What happened was ---> get into the room and stay there. So here we are, watching English TV, and about to go get toothpaste. Possibly some food too.
Our apologies for not having more exciting things to say, but we're quite happy to have a day of relaxing (:
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Last 3 days (:
So on Saturday we went to a house warming party for Oom Ono (Unlce Ono), in Rotterdam! I think we've almost hit all the big cities now (:
Sunday we got picked up by Lianne's Aunt Marijke, and Unlce Erik, and we went to the town of Heusden. It's a town that was built in the 1200s - a completely self sustaining town, and designed to hold against attacks. Dykes surround the entire town, and cannons accompany them by sitting on top! The people that live there have to sign a contract when they move; stating that they won't change the outside of their house in any way. The reason being, so preserve history as best it can be.
We ended the night by playing a few rounds of Dutch Settlers of Catan!! Great fun (:
Sunday we got picked up by Lianne's Aunt Marijke, and Unlce Erik, and we went to the town of Heusden. It's a town that was built in the 1200s - a completely self sustaining town, and designed to hold against attacks. Dykes surround the entire town, and cannons accompany them by sitting on top! The people that live there have to sign a contract when they move; stating that they won't change the outside of their house in any way. The reason being, so preserve history as best it can be.
 |
| A model scale of what the town looks like. |
Today we went on a little road trip to Utrecht and bought a phone finally! Also validated our train passes, so that's a relief. Tomorrow early, we drive to Den Bosche - Take a train to Amsterdam - fly to London - train to Liverpool; Thursday morning is - Train to London Airport - fly to Belfast - bus to Banbridge - get to our home for the next 5 days! It's going to be a long couple of days, but it'll truly test our travelling abilities. Now the real adventure begins!
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Utrecht and St. Jans
Yesterday. It already seems like weeks ago. But -Ii haven't forgotten!
We went to the city of Utrecht. Which has the most BEAUTIFUL church in Holland. It's considered the hidden treasure of Utrecht. St. Willibrord is the name of the church, neo-gothic is the style of it. It was built between 1875-1879. At the time, Holland was a Protestant nation, and so the Catholics were not allowed to build their churches the way they wanted. They were however allowed to build them however they wanted on the inside, it was just the outside that couldn't be showy. So, they built this church almost completely hidden in the way it's built. The surrounding buildings give it good cover from the street view, but from the air, it's beautiful!
We also spent time looking in the shops (of course), and learning even more about this amazing country! To finish off the evening, we decided to cook them a true Canadian dish - Poutine!!! With the help of Olivier (the youngest), we attempted to make it! And succeeded. After dinner we played music, talked, and even got a movie in there (: After the boys went to sleep, the rest of us stayed up and laughed, and talked till way too late in the morning! Wonderful way to end the day (:
Today - it's raining. The true Dutch experience. But lovely nonetheless! Lianne's Aunt and cousin picked us up this morning (after a breakfast of American pancakes. Olivier's favourite!), and brought us back to Den Bosche. We did a quick walk through of the open marked in the centre of the city, and carried on to try the famous Bossche Bol! Which is pretty much a giant cream puff. So good. The cafe we went to, De Groot, is the original creator, so we had the best! After that we went back to St. Jan Cathedral, and were yet again amazed by the beauty. When it was restored on the outside a few years ago, an architect made 25 angels to sit on the peaks. The last angel is wearing jeans, and holds a cell phone with a direct call button to "God"! A phone number is on there that you can call to talk to the angel! That's been within the last 20 years, but the Cathedral was built in 1366, and wasn't finished until 1559! It's massive.
Tonight we're in for a chill evening with no plans! So we'll probably have a nerf war with the boys, and eat more great food!
Bless you all!
This sign is talking about the angel that you can call - but it's not free!
The angel is right in the centre of the picture. He's crossing his arms cause he's on the phone.
We went to the city of Utrecht. Which has the most BEAUTIFUL church in Holland. It's considered the hidden treasure of Utrecht. St. Willibrord is the name of the church, neo-gothic is the style of it. It was built between 1875-1879. At the time, Holland was a Protestant nation, and so the Catholics were not allowed to build their churches the way they wanted. They were however allowed to build them however they wanted on the inside, it was just the outside that couldn't be showy. So, they built this church almost completely hidden in the way it's built. The surrounding buildings give it good cover from the street view, but from the air, it's beautiful!
We also spent time looking in the shops (of course), and learning even more about this amazing country! To finish off the evening, we decided to cook them a true Canadian dish - Poutine!!! With the help of Olivier (the youngest), we attempted to make it! And succeeded. After dinner we played music, talked, and even got a movie in there (: After the boys went to sleep, the rest of us stayed up and laughed, and talked till way too late in the morning! Wonderful way to end the day (:
Today - it's raining. The true Dutch experience. But lovely nonetheless! Lianne's Aunt and cousin picked us up this morning (after a breakfast of American pancakes. Olivier's favourite!), and brought us back to Den Bosche. We did a quick walk through of the open marked in the centre of the city, and carried on to try the famous Bossche Bol! Which is pretty much a giant cream puff. So good. The cafe we went to, De Groot, is the original creator, so we had the best! After that we went back to St. Jan Cathedral, and were yet again amazed by the beauty. When it was restored on the outside a few years ago, an architect made 25 angels to sit on the peaks. The last angel is wearing jeans, and holds a cell phone with a direct call button to "God"! A phone number is on there that you can call to talk to the angel! That's been within the last 20 years, but the Cathedral was built in 1366, and wasn't finished until 1559! It's massive.
Tonight we're in for a chill evening with no plans! So we'll probably have a nerf war with the boys, and eat more great food!
Bless you all!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Den Boshce
Okay friends,
today we spent the day - sleeping in. Whoops! But more importantly getting toured around by the lovely Daphne; who brought us to the beautiful city of Den Bosche. About a 30 minute drive from the town where we are living right now. We walked through all the small back streets and saw the houses built over the river. The narrow streets where i'm constantly amazed no one gets hit on! We also quickly looked at St. Jankathedrall, but we'll be back with many pictures! Daphne and I enjoyed the beautiful outside shops and old houses - while Lianne settled for a few hours of drawing (: We had some delicious English 'High Tea' - as it's called, for lunch. Then we moved onto more walking and picture taking - oh! Also candy tasting! So much candy. I'm starting to get a taste for all their black licorice! Seriously. It's good. Daphne (the lady we're staying with), has been giving us many quick history lessons while we walk, which has been wonderful! She's been so gracious for stuffing us full of yummy food, and bringing us around to all the incredible cities. Their family has been a lot of fun! Finding out what the boys love to do when they're not at school, to finding out what the best shoes to wear are! What an incredible time! It's now late afternoon and we're getting ready for family to come over for a dinner to welcome us! So that is the plan for the evening. Tomorrow sounds like another busy day seeing yet another awesome city! So good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!
Town Centre
today we spent the day - sleeping in. Whoops! But more importantly getting toured around by the lovely Daphne; who brought us to the beautiful city of Den Bosche. About a 30 minute drive from the town where we are living right now. We walked through all the small back streets and saw the houses built over the river. The narrow streets where i'm constantly amazed no one gets hit on! We also quickly looked at St. Jankathedrall, but we'll be back with many pictures! Daphne and I enjoyed the beautiful outside shops and old houses - while Lianne settled for a few hours of drawing (: We had some delicious English 'High Tea' - as it's called, for lunch. Then we moved onto more walking and picture taking - oh! Also candy tasting! So much candy. I'm starting to get a taste for all their black licorice! Seriously. It's good. Daphne (the lady we're staying with), has been giving us many quick history lessons while we walk, which has been wonderful! She's been so gracious for stuffing us full of yummy food, and bringing us around to all the incredible cities. Their family has been a lot of fun! Finding out what the boys love to do when they're not at school, to finding out what the best shoes to wear are! What an incredible time! It's now late afternoon and we're getting ready for family to come over for a dinner to welcome us! So that is the plan for the evening. Tomorrow sounds like another busy day seeing yet another awesome city! So good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Dag Twee
This is marking the level that the river rose fifteen feet above usual water level!!
Things we learned today -
1) Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way in Holland.
2) It's hard to be inconspicuous taking pictures of a old church while a funeral is happening.
3) Jet lag doesn't wear off quickly.
4) Yarn is reallllllly expensive here.
5) Cool towns to us are boring to everyone else.
6) It is not considered inappropriate for seniors home windows to be facing a cemetery. This is not a joke. (picture #5. On the right - senior's home, on the left - cemetery.)
7) Said cemetery and seniors home are bridged by a church.
8) Bells ring all the time. Very pretty a lot of the time. A lot, a lot of the time.
9) Dutch people, EVERY single dutch person, has good style.
10) The real Dutchman way to make rice is to - cook for 12 minutes on boil, wrap in towel, and place in bed. Perfection.
Today we got to spend the morning in Best, walking around and taking pictures of everything! Had a lovely lunch with family, followed by a tour of Culemborg. A lovely old town with parts that have been standing since 1455. We then went to Lianne's Oma, and Opa's for supper and pictures! Now we go to bed, and sleep forever.
Peace.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
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