Today was my last full day in Holland… We woke up at 7am and had breakfast, and then Elly and Han packed up their car. They took me to Beesd, which is where Marieke (my dad’s cousin) lives. Her twin sister Rinske also met us there with her kids, Marilou and Bram. We went for a walk around Beesd, which is a VERY small town. After that we went to get Bram, Marilou, and Anne Julie some ice cream. When we got back to Marieke’s, she made us pancakes for lunch! It was delicious!

After pancakes, we went to a Glass Blowing Museum in Leerdam. It was a lot hotter than we thought it would be as well, which sucked because we all were wearing clothes for 50 degree weather!

The museum was very cool, and had over 10,000 different pieces of glass!

After the museum we walked back to the car and went back to Marieke’s house for dinner. She made us sausages, broccoli, and Rinske picked up some fries from down the street! After eating, Rinske and I figured out what train I should take to Amsterdam to get to my Airbnb by the airport.

She drove me to Amersfoort’s train station, and walked me inside to help me buy my ticket. We had to say our goodbyes, and I tried so hard not to cry in front of them. But as I walked to the Platform for my train the tears began to flow. I will miss my family so much, it really hurts my heart knowing that I only get to seem them for a couple days every 2-6 years. I’m hoping to save money and come for even longer in 2 years or so.

Thank you to everyone that let me stay with them! I am so grateful for all of you!

Time to go home!

Today was a very relaxed day! After waking up, Elly made us breakfast and we waited for Frans to come over. Once he arrived, we walked to the closest tram stop. From there we rode to the center of Rotterdam and went to a covered market for coffee/tea. Originally it was supposed to rain all day today, but fortunately for us it was very sunny for the first part of the day! We walked along the river and had a VERY delicious lunch (by far my favorite meal of this trip). After that we took a Spido boat tour – which took us around Rotterdam! I got to see the Holland-America Line which is the place my dad and grandparents left for America. I also saw the SS Rotterdam, which is a boat very similar to the one that they were on for 2 weeks immigrating to America.

After the boat tour, we went back to Elly’s house because it began to rain. We sat, had drinks, and talked about life back in the states. Elly made us a traditional Dutch meal and it was sooo good! My dad’s step dad, Peter, also joined us for dinner so it was very nice to see him!

Around 8pm Elly kicked out Frans and Peter so that I could pack my bags and go to bed!

I’m going to really miss Elly, but I’m very excited to see Marieke and Rinske tomorrow!

Today was very bittersweet… Silas came and woke me up at about 10:30am and I came down to breakfast. After that I went upstairs to shower and pack up my things. Christel had to go return a trailer she was renting to carry a new shed to her house, so I just hung out in my room. Silas and Benthe were with Michael for the day so Christel and I could have a day for just us.

When Christel returned, we walked to the river in Gorinchem – also called the “water gate” as it’s the only gate on the Gorinchem Wall that is through water. We boarded a water taxi and went to Worchum. This was a small, medieval looking town, with the streets lined with strange looking trees (photo below). From there, we walked down the Worchum wall to a different pier along the river which would take us to Slot Loevestein.

We got to Slot Loevestein and started our tour with the Castle itself. A lot has changed since I was last there in 2013. They modernized parts of the tour to make it more interactive! Each person gets their own key to the castle, and to even get into the castle you’ve got to put the key in a box and it tells you if you’re a Prisoner, Soldier, or Royalty. Christel and I were both Prisoners! My key was coded so that any informational slot I put it in the audio playback would be English.

After walking through – and getting lost in – the castle we took a little break at some tables and had some strawberries. We talked about love and loss, vacations, and the kids. It was so nice to have time for just the two of us.

We then went to the Gun Powder tower, where you got to make your own gun powder with the interactive voice, and if you got it right a HUGE bang would go off and the lights turned off! It scared the crap out of Christel and myself! Haha!

After that we walked around the gardens of the castle and then went to a small museum on the grounds with artifacts from the castle throughout the years! It was really cool to see, and something I’ll always remember!

The sky began to get very cloudy, so we headed back to Gorinchem. When we got back to Christel’s house, we had a glass of wine and talked for a while. Around 6pm we walked over to my dad’s aunt, Francis’, apartment. She lives a block away from Christel, so we brought my luggage and put it in Michael’s car. We got upstairs to her apartment, and it was absolutely beautiful! I wish our apartment back home was that nice! Although, I’m sure we would be paying double what we pay now for this kind of apartment!

We sat and talked with Jaap and Francis until Michael and the kids arrived. Then Francis made us the most delicious spaghetti dinner I’ve ever had! Jaap taught me some Dutch words, and we talked about Wisconsin. As it turns out, he was just in Oconomowoc this winter for business! I really enjoyed his company and getting to know him. After dinner it was time to say goodbye… I thought I’d be able to keep it together, after crying so much on Family Day…. But as soon as Christel hugged me I started to tear up, and then Francis hugged me and the tears started flowing! After I hugged her I had to just walk out into the hallway towards the elevator because if I had looked back I would’ve been an even bigger mess!

Michael drove me to my great aunt Elly’s house in Rotterdam, where I will be staying until Friday morning. When we got to Elly’s it was pouring, so we ran inside and had a drink with Elly and Han. Then Michael left, and Elly showed me where I will be staying. I decided to turn in right away, as I am starting to feel sick. Hopefully the worst of whatever cold I am getting will happy after I get home. I really would hate to be sick for an 8 hour flight on Saturday!

Tomorrow depending on the weather I will be exploring Rotterdam with Elly, but if it continues to rain we will probably just have a chill day in – and I will get to read my book I brought.

Enjoy the pictures of my day with Christel!

Today was such a good day!

I woke up and got ready for the day and then had breakfast with Silas, Benthe, Nathan, and Christel. We then hung out for a little bit and went for a walk around the wall that surrounds Gorinchem. It was very beautiful weather, and we really enjoyed the walk. We came upon old windmills and had a mini photo shoot with the kids! They are so full of spunk and are such goofy kids. I’m really going to miss them!

After our walk, we got the kids ice-cream and then went back to Christel’s house. After that we went to the town square and had drinks with Francis (my father’s aunt). We sat and enjoyed the sun, and discussed hobbies & our childhoods.

After that Christel had to take Silas to breakdance class, so I sat with Benthe and we watched cat videos together. Although she doesn’t speak much English, and I don’t speak any Dutch – we found a way to communicate through cats haha!

Christel made us hand-made pizza for dinner after she got back, and then shortly after put the kids to bed. She had me choose a movie for us to watch, so I chose Baby Driver. Her and Nathan had never seen it before, and both REALLY enjoyed the movie!

When the movie finished, we went to bed! Tomorrow we are hoping to go to Slot Loevestein (a castle nearby).

Enjoy the fun photos from our walk around the walls of Gorinchem!

Today is Family Day!

We woke up at 8am, and had breakfast at 9 as we had to leave for Nunspeet by 9:45am. Sandra, Rick, Frank, Luke, Bart, Astrid, and myself all piled into two cars and drove about 1 hour to Nunspeet. My fathers aunt, Elly, has a camper at a campground there and was hosting the party there.

We parked at the nearby train station for everyone to meet and walk to the campground together. After saying hello to everyone and catching up a bit, there was a HUGE lookout tower there as well, so a few of us went up to the top (pictures of the view are below). Once everyone had arrived, we walked about 15 minutes to the campground.

We sat and talked for a while, and then all of the kids went to the lake to go swimming. So I went and sat with Laurens and Yentl to watch (they are my second cousins that are my age, that I haven’t seen since I was VERY young).

Eventually everyone came to the lake to sit and enjoy the 78º weather! It was such a lovely day to see everyone. But as the day drew closer to an end it began to hit me that I would most likely not see these people for another 5+ years – or even ever again for some of the more older ones. It was so difficult holding back tears as I sat and watched everyone talk and enjoy each others company.

When the time came to say goodbye to everyone, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I cried as soon as my dad’s aunt, Hanneke, hugged me and said, “this will be the last time we see each other for a long time, isn’t it?” Then it came time to say goodbye to Astrid and Bart and I just couldn’t stop crying. I was quite a mess! Francis (my dad’s aunt), gave me a hug and walked me to Michael’s car.

Michael is my father’s cousin, and he drove his daughter, Benthe, and son, Silas, and myself to Gorinchem where we would be staying with his ex-wife, Christel. Christel and I have always had a special bond, ever since I was a baby and visited. It will be nice to spend a couple days with her and the kids!

Enjoy the photos of Family Day! We forgot to take a group photo, which makes me very sad 😦

Happy Easter to Everyone!

Today I was picked up from my Airbnb in Zaandam by my dad’s cousin, Astrid. They took me to Alkmaar (north-west of Amsterdam). After unpacking my things at their house we had a nice lunch in their garden, and went to Bergen! Bergen is a beach town about 15 minutes from Bart & Astrid’s house. We enjoyed the sunny weather and relaxed on the beach. Bart and I tried to go into the water, but it was SOOOOO cold!

After we finished laying on the beach for 4 hours, we went back to Alkmaar to change quickly and go to dinner. Frank and Luke (Astrid’s sons) met us at the restaurant and we had a VERY delicious meal.

After dinner, we went back to Astrid and Bart’s and all went to sleep.

A very relaxing day well spent on the beach! Unbelievably I went to the beach and wasn’t sunburnt… yet…

Happy Holidaze from us adventurers! Today we wanted to wake up early and get a good head start on the day and go to Noorderlicht Cafe at 12 for the 420Fest. We ended up sleeping until 1pm! We then woke up and got ready quickly and Ubered to NDSM.

Once we got to Noorderlicht Cafe, we got drinks and got a table outside to enjoy the 74 degree weather! After enjoying some herbal refreshments, Shawn got up and went to go get a beer from the bar. When 4:20pm came around everyone cheered and lit up together. It was cool to be in an environment where everyone was cheering for something that we are so used to being illegal and frowned upon in the states.

We then decided to grab some food from the snack bar and go to the lawn to sit in the grass and eat. Shortly after that we Ubered to the center of Amsterdam for our canal tour. We had some time before the tour, so we went to some souvenir stores and got some gifts for our families back home.

At this point we all were tired, overheated, and had migraines starting. We powered through and enjoyed the beautiful canal ride at sunset. As soon as it finished we knew we should just go to bed. So we went to our Airbnb and went to bed.

Unfortunately, our Airbnb host was having a party with his friends. So after sleeping from 9pm-12am, we were awoken by loud music thumping the whole house. He kept us up until about 2:30am. But we finally got back to sleep!

Happy Easter to All! Shawn and Russell are making their way to Switzerland today, and I am being picked up by my dad’s cousin, Astrid!

Enjoy the holidays! I didn’t take many pictures today, so enjoy the few I took!

After sleeping until Noon today, we decided to shower and make some breakfast! We then decided to go to Amsterdam! We Ubered with an awesome guy that told us all about where to go and where not to go in the city. We went to some souvenir shops and then some cafes to enjoy the lifestyle of the locals. After that we walked around the city and got lost just enjoying ourselves.

We decided to get some lunch/dinner at a burger place that was to die for!! We then decided to go to a big park on the other side of the city. So we walked for about 20 minutes and found it! It was absolutely beautiful and relaxing to sit in the park and talk.

At about 8pm we decided to call an Uber to get back to our Airbnb. Our driver didn’t talk much besides to Russell about conspiracy theories! Once we got to the Airbnb, we decided to hang out and watch some tv. Once it got dark out, we walked to a nearby river and sat on a bench and enjoyed ourselves.

We then walked back to the Airbnb, and I am now typing this as I try to fall asleep! We are very excited to go back to Amsterdam tomorrow for 420 fest!

Enjoy some photos of the canals of Amsterdam!

I decided I would write a blog for these two days together because of having flights and being so busy! On April 17th my mother, Amy, drove Russell and me to O’hare Airport in Chicago, IL. After our goodbyes we checked in and quickly got through security. We decided that since we had about an hour and a half to kill before the flight, we would go get drinks at a bar. We found one close to our gate called Hub 51. We didn’t know that it would be THAT expensive to get drinks at an airport, but I paid $17 for mine. RIP OFF!

We boarded our flight a 3:45pm, and the flight took off at about 4:30 ish. Russell doesn’t like airplanes, so we had to try and keep him calm during take off. Our airline treated us to a delicious chicken dinner and we watched movies after that. I always find it so difficult to sleep on airplanes, so I think I got about 30 or so minutes of sleep.

Our flight landed at 7am on April 18th. We got through customs and got our luggage from the baggage claim. We then exchanged some currency, and purchased public transportation passes (for busses, trains, trams, etc). Of course by the time we figured out what train we needed and where to go, we had just missed the train. So we had to wait about 20 minutes until the next train came. When we got to Zaandam station, we were supposed to walk to the bus station to get us closer to our AirBnb. But we decided to walk because it was a beautiful morning.

BIG mistake in my opinion… it’s not the easiest to walk down a cobblestone street with a suitcase and two other bags.

After we got settled and showered at our Airbnb, Shawn and Russell took a walk to the grocery store to get some essentials. I laid down and tried to nap. When they got back we all decided we would take a nap, which felt so good! When we all woke up we decided to take a walk to the nearest Coffeeshop, called Coffeeshop Headlines. After a quick break there, we walked around and got a little lost just roaming and enjoying the weather. We sat for a while by a canal and just enjoyed some sunshine.

We were very hungry after that, so we walked back to a restaurant by our Airbnb. We sat outside and enjoyed sunshine and good food! The boys had Heinekens and I had water. I forgot that the guys had never been to The Netherlands before, so when they saw that my water came in a glass bottle they were so confused!

After a delicious meal, we decided to come back to the Airbnb and chill out on the back porch. We are now forcing ourselves to stay awake, so that we don’t feel super jet lagged tomorrow.

Here are some photos from our day flying to Amsterdam and exploring Zaandam!

Thanks for joining me along this journey! From April 17th-21st I will be exploring Amsterdam with my friends Russell and Shawn. I will then be visiting family all over The Netherlands from April 21st-27th.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton