Day 14

Today involved a bit of shopping. I guess you can't stay in a city without doing at least a little. One thing Sandra looked at was a collapsible bike. They're really cheap here. Not surprising considering the Netherlands is the flattest place on Earth, and practically every man and his dog has a bike. But no, we didn't buy one.

We also continued the hunt for Megatron. Although the selection of Transformers in the stored was very small here for some reason. So sadly, no dice. We consoled ourselves with Frikandels.

The next stage of the day took us to Kinderdijk. This place has heaps of windmills. It looks pretty cool.

We took a boat tour down the canal, and dad met this guy who was also from Hobart. Small world.

Ineke drove us around to some other toy shops afterwards. That was slightly unpleasant as it was lots of smallish streets with stops and starts, which aren't very good if you're prone to car sickness...

We later went to a Chinese Restaurant for a thank you dinner to mum's cousin. This place was cool. It looks like a buffet, which at first made me think less of the place (as most buffets I've been to were pretty average). But the food here was really good, go Dutch Chinese! The cool part was that you could choose the ingredients you wanted, give them to a chef, and he'd wok them for you with a sauce of your choice. Brilliant.

Another highlight of the dinner was that I got to burn down the road again with the scooter to get there. Even though it was only a ripping 25 k/h, it made me miss the bike.

Unfortunately it started raining on the way up - luckily I was wearing a rain coat but that still didn't stop my pants from getting wet. And thus was our last night in Rotterdam.

Day 13

We started this day with a bit of just plain old hanging out at home which worked in fantastically with the drizzly Dutch weather that had rolled in. I had been feeling a bit dizzy, and decided to go to the doctor with mum (even though I can speak Dutch, she's better). Turns out the doctor could speak English anyway, but it was good to relive going to the doctor with my mum.

He prescribed some drugs to help the inner ear, and a nose spray. None of which has seemed to make a difference sadly but he did say that it could take up to two weeks. Oh well, hopefully it will go away. Trying to find the pharmacy was a bit of an adventure - the Netherlands only have drug stores that sell drugs, and separate stores for all the other crap you get in pharmacies.

After the doctor we watched some TV, had a snooze and then went for a walk around the neighbourhood and did some shopping (for food). Everything was so close and the weather had cleared up so win!

The plan for the night was to go to (surprise surprise) see more family. This time it was dad's oldest sister, and her family. After getting out of the train in their suburb, we started making a guess as to where their apartment was. Apparently the street name had changes since the last time dad was there, so no iPhone navigation... So we topped up on Frikandel (awesome sausage thing with onions, curry sauce and mayo. Awesome) and went for a walk. Turns out that their apartment block was this MASSIVE block near the train station, and was pretty hard to miss.

Hanging with my Aunt's family was pretty cool. We went for traditional Dutch takeaway for dinner, Chinese. Sadly, they had a cat, which sent Sandra's hay-fever into overdrive and although we were carrying around a stockpile of drugs with us, antihistamines weren't one of them. This, however, got Sandra a bag of travel tissues from my uncle.

We hung out there for a while longer before my cousin dropped us off home. The commands of his GPS were not very loud, so instead I filled that role. "Links Afslaan"... It was funny though because he obviously had in his mind a certain direction to take so there were a few times where the instructions of the GPS were just blatantly ignored. It all worked out ok though which is always good!

Day 12

We started the morning off slowly (like most mornings so far) and then Ineke dropped us all off at the train station closest to her house so that we could catch the train to Scheveningen. We had had this planned for a few days and had sorted out trains and transfers earlier so we were all set to go but we hadn't counted on the ticket machines at the station only taking coins and debit cards. I had unfortunately just cleared out my wallet of cards that I hadn't been using and who carries €40 of change in their pockets?

Obviously the train station was designed for locals making short trips. Unfortunately by the time we realized this, Ineke was long gone. Luckily there was a tram stop just outside the station so we headed down and got on the next tram to Central Station to get our train tickets there.

Central Station was frustrating. It's currently being renovated so a number of accesses have been blocked off and turns out that the only way you can buy train tickets with cash is if you go and line up in the ticket office. Not a huge thing but very disappointing after coming from China with their awesome subway system.

We finally got our tickets and made it to the train. The ride took about half an hour to get to Den Haag Central and then we changed over onto a tram to take us to Scheveningen. We arrived close to 12 when we had been aiming to arrive around 11. We walked down to the beachfront before turning around again and getting a quick bite to eat at Burger King (highly nutritious) and then headed back down to the beachfront again.

It was a lovely day to be at the beach. We walked up one half along the topside and then walked back along the beach. The whole way there were shops and faces and restaurants lining the beach. The places right on the beach even had their own deck chairs and wind shelters for their clientele to sunbake while they ate and drank. It was certainly interesting to see. Apparently in summer the whole place is packed and you can barely move without stepping on someone. Checkout our beach walking:

There was a big pier which we walked down. At the end of the pier there were two buildings on either side. One was a casino and the other was a random pancake house and bungy jumping off a lookout.

One thing that Steve really really needs is a Dutch sporting T-Shirt. Too many times has he needed one and not had bright orange in his wardrobe. To solve this, we bought a soccer top on the beach. Go the Netherlands! (boo Spain...)

We walked back along the pier and found somewhere to sit down to have a drink. The cafe we chose was really busy and we were running out of time because we had to head back in to Rotterdam to go and see more family so we ended up leaving and just grabbing a drink from a little takeaway and finding a bench.

We headed back up and caught the tram back to Den Haag central before getting the train back to Rotterdam. I snoozed on the way back : ) Once we arrived back we changed over to the Metro to take us to Steve's Aunt's place. Here we had the same trouble as the trains in that none of our cards worked in the ticket machines and we didn't have enough change as the machines don't take paper money so we had to go and find the ticket office which was located about as far away from the metro station as possible with the renovations. This line was a lot slower as well. We finally got our tickets and headed back into the Metro station to head out to Rhoon. We had been aiming to arrive around 3 but by the time we had stuffed around with the tickets and getting on the train again, it was closer to 4.

We left the Rhoon train station and was met by Fritz, Steve's uncle through marriage. We had to wonder whether he had been making random trips to the train station to see if we had arrived, as none of us had phoned him to tell him which train we were arriving on.

The rest of the night was spent with Steve's Aunt and her family (husband, daughter and son-in-law and their daughter/granddaughter). It was a nice night, although as they didn't really speak any English, there was a lot of Dutch to be had for all that night. We had a standard Dutch dinner (green beans, potatoes, pork, sausage and gravy).

Later that night we drove to the old houses and units where Steve and his parents used to live before they went back to Australia. Apparently it hasn't changed that much other than the trees have gotten bigger. We went back to Steve's Aunt's place for a cuppa before Steve's Aunt, his cousin and her husband drove us home, where I fell asleep, just for something different... When we got back they all came up to have a sticky beak at our rooms before we farewelled them until Saturday where we would see them at the airport.

Day 11

Today we headed into Rotterdam with Steve's parents and Ineke to cruise the Maas River. We caught the tram down to the wharf where there were squillions of people around for the Rotterdam Wharf Day. We walked to the cruise company that Steve's dad had wanted to go on and they were closed! This wouldn't be such a big thing apart from their website saying that they operated every day except Monday....

Luckily there were a few other cruises so we bought tickets for one of those. We had a bit of time to kill before the cruise so we sat down for a bite to eat and a drink. Steve's aunt, Emmy, came in and met up with us and then we headed down to the boat. There was a boat and helicopter display in the harbour so our departure was slightly delayed but then we were off.

After the cruise we walked to the Rotterdam market via the wharf and then walked slowly back to the tram stop via another waterway. As we walked there were bands playing traditional sailing songs that were quite catchy. We watched the bands before settling at another cafe for a drink and then farewelling Emmy before heading back to the tram station to go home.

Harry had kindly made us dinner which we had outside in the small courtyard of the complex. We enjoyed the last of the evening sun before retiring early for the night (for a change).

Day 10

Today we headed to the Gouda market to sample the delicious Dutch cheese! We started the morning off with morning tea with the "oldies" in the tea room at the complex we're staying at while we waited for Ineke's brother, Fred, to arrive. An hour after the organised time, Fred and his wife Rose showed up. They were great fun! The instant Fred saw me he called be "Tippiwan" (a crazy asian woman in the Dutch equivalent of Sex in the City) and that became my nickname for the rest of the day.

We drove out to the Gouda in two cars with the ladies in one and the men in the others. It was a beautiful morning for walking around outside at the market. As we were walking through one of the streets that led to the market square we found the most awesome lolly shop in the world where Steve stocked up on his Dutch licorice.

Refuelled on sugar and salt, we continued on our way to the market before stopping again 50 m down the road when we came across.....a Cheesary!

Needless to say, Steve was in snack heaven. We strolled around the market for a bit and then wandered through some of the streets of Gouda to enjoy the atmosphere. We sat down for a drink in the sunshine and did some people watching before heading to Fred's place for the evening where we got absolutely stuffed with food and drinks. They had a jacuzzi and as the evening wore on, we got tempted to take a dip. As you can see, Steve did. I just stuck my feet in.

Once the sun went down we moved inside and continued the festivities until late before the long drive home again in preparation for another busy day...

Day 9

We started the morning slowly (recovering from the painful computer experience of the night before) by having a sleep in, lazing around for a bit and then joining some of the residents in the complex that we're staying in for a morning drink. Steve's mum's cousin, Ineke, surprised Steve with his favourite Dutch licorice (salty Dutch licorice powder) that we aren't able to get in Tassie. It was pretty gross.

Gross...

Once I managed to get Steve to put the nasty stuff down, we all caught the tram into Rotterdam to do some sightseeing. Turns out that the place we're staying at is only about 20 minutes away from the city, which is pretty convenient! We had just gotten off the train when Steve had to inconveniently pee (again) so we went off in search of a public toilet. We saw a Macca's sign and thought we would head towards there but ended up going into the local department store. $0.30 EUR (ah, the Dutch) and a few minutes later we ventured into the heart of Rotterdam.

It's a fairly small city on the scale of things but small in a cosy kind of way. We wandered around and checked out some of the old haunts of Steve's parents in their younger days. Stopped off and had a drink at one of the bars that they used to frequent (apparently it hasn't changed), found the nightclub that Steve's parents met at, where they used to get their grease fix after a big night... it was pretty cool : ) Steve made some new friends along the way too.

Steve and his fellow Dutch men and women

We snacked as we walked  we found some smoked Dutch sausage with mustard, potato chips with peanut sauce, a cheesary where we picked up some delicious old cumin cheese for about $1 EUR and raw salted herring (not together obviously), which is Steve's dad's favourite that he can't get in Australia. Sounds disgusting but it was quite tasty.

Tasty fishy

Having been sufficiently fed and watered, we caught a taxi to the Euromast near the waterfront. We went up and took in the view of Rotterdam from 100 m in the air. We also went up the Euroscope, a rotating elevator, that took us to 185 m in the air. I've obviously been on too many amusement park rides because it felt Big Drop-esqe....

After the Euromast, we walked around the waterfront where the Dutch Army have a demonstration area set up with obstacle courses and rides in army vehicles. We also went and checked out the underground tunnel that runs under the Maas River. Sounds boring but it was pretty cool. It was built in the 60's or so (maybe earlier) and has three layers - one for cars, one for push bikes and one for pedestrians.

We caught the tram back to Ineke's place and then headed off to Emmy's (Steve's mum's sister) place to catch up with her and her husband. We watched the sun set across the Rotterdam skyline from their backyard  and then followed it up with bbq dinner for us. We soaked up the ambience and then headed back to get some sleep for another big day.

One thing Steve forgot to mention in Day 8's blog was that we got to have a go on Ineke and her partner, Harry's, scooters! You don't need a licence to ride a scooter in Holland and scooters are allowed on the bike paths. Steve understandably had no trouble but I got off to a wobbly start. I had Steve chasing me down the street for a little bit in fear that I was going to fall off but I pulled it together and made it around the block. Unfortunately the police happened to be cruising down the street at the same time and pulled me over... It all turned out ok though once they were satisfied that I had a licence and it was my first time on a scooter. I think I gave Ineke a few gray hairs....

Day 8

Today started out with some driving around Rotterdam visiting all the old places where my folks (and me for one or two places) used to live. This is my parents standing in the same spot that their wedding day outside my granddad's old place.

At one stage, while looking at where dad used to live, I had to epically pee. While contemplating using a nearby tree, it turned out that mum's cousin's daughter's inlaw's place was round the corner. Ah, relief.

For lunch, we went to the Pannekoekhuis (pancake house), for pancakes and poffertjes (otherwise known to the Hobart community as "The smallest pancakes in the world").

Tasty tasty pancakes

After lunch we met up with mum's other cousin (on the other side of the family), and went to visit my great aunt. This was a very touching moment. Sadly, my great aunt had a stroke a few months ago, and then while getting better fell and broke her hip. She was fearful that she would not be round for when my mum visited. There were many tears of joy when she saw mum, dad, Sandra and myself, especially as it was her birthday.

After leaving the hospital, we hungout with mum's cousin (the daughter of my great aunt) for the rest of the night. That was pretty cool. Although she did mention that she got a new laptop that wasn't setup for her. So Sandra and I (being the kind children we are) set that up for her. All we did was to buy and install office 2010, as well as setup her email. However, only someone who has had to do this on a computer that was using a language that they could not read can know how hard such a simple task could be. All I can say is that we love Google translate.