Post by Dave on Jul 12, 2009 9:04:43 GMT
This week due to nearly running out of my normal days out photos, I decided to put up some pictures of Holland’s answer to Cockington in Torquay. It was a miracle that I even went to Holland as due to very unpleasant treatment I suffered as a child I can’t be contained and always need control of the exit. This makes some forms of travel almost impossible for me, but dear Rolf and his family had stayed with us in Paignton and so much wanted Carol and I to go and stay in their home in Amstelveen just outside Amsterdam.
Flying was a non starter I’m afraid and so we had to try and find a way I could get to Holland, in the end it took 19 hours unlike the hour it takes Rolf to fly to Exeter airport. A National Express coach trip to Victoria Station in London and then a taxi ride to Liverpool St Station. To catch a train to Harwich where we got on a ferry to Holland.
The ferry was one of those super fast ones only it has no outside so I spent most of the trip up the front looking out the window for land, I will not pretend I enjoyed it but I so much wanted to do the trip for Carol. We got there and I was so glad to get my feet on land and myself out in the open air and then Rolf drove us up to Amsteveen.
Rolf’s house as can be seen from the first picture is on an estate much like ones you will find all over the UK, the house looks modern but the electrics and plumbing look really old and rather unsafe I felt. I got the shock of my life when I went into his very small back garden, just me on my own enjoying a smoke when this monster flew into the garden. We get robins in our garden and this thing in flight looked like some prehistoric monster.
There is a picture of this bird in the collection I have put up, not sure of the name of it and it looks just fine in the shot I took of one, still with its wings out in flight coming over the garden fence is a different matter.
On our last day in Holland Rolf took us to Zaanse Schans, not to sure where it is but we had to head for Amsterdam so it has to be north of there, Rolf describes the place as Holland’s Cockington. Its how Holland was once I understand or at least how many of the small places would have been.
It has three or more working windmills, you have to pay to go in as you might expect and once in there its all very cramped with all the machinery and it also has a clog factory where you get to watch them being made. I do have other photos of towns more south that Rolf took us too, one place still has all the defences that were built in the war, but I do not have the memory of our merse and will have to find out the names of these places before I put them up.
Don’t forget the forum would love to see your days out pictures, I’m sure many will have some great ones so lets hope you will put them up for our enjoyment
Flying was a non starter I’m afraid and so we had to try and find a way I could get to Holland, in the end it took 19 hours unlike the hour it takes Rolf to fly to Exeter airport. A National Express coach trip to Victoria Station in London and then a taxi ride to Liverpool St Station. To catch a train to Harwich where we got on a ferry to Holland.
The ferry was one of those super fast ones only it has no outside so I spent most of the trip up the front looking out the window for land, I will not pretend I enjoyed it but I so much wanted to do the trip for Carol. We got there and I was so glad to get my feet on land and myself out in the open air and then Rolf drove us up to Amsteveen.
Rolf’s house as can be seen from the first picture is on an estate much like ones you will find all over the UK, the house looks modern but the electrics and plumbing look really old and rather unsafe I felt. I got the shock of my life when I went into his very small back garden, just me on my own enjoying a smoke when this monster flew into the garden. We get robins in our garden and this thing in flight looked like some prehistoric monster.
There is a picture of this bird in the collection I have put up, not sure of the name of it and it looks just fine in the shot I took of one, still with its wings out in flight coming over the garden fence is a different matter.
On our last day in Holland Rolf took us to Zaanse Schans, not to sure where it is but we had to head for Amsterdam so it has to be north of there, Rolf describes the place as Holland’s Cockington. Its how Holland was once I understand or at least how many of the small places would have been.
It has three or more working windmills, you have to pay to go in as you might expect and once in there its all very cramped with all the machinery and it also has a clog factory where you get to watch them being made. I do have other photos of towns more south that Rolf took us too, one place still has all the defences that were built in the war, but I do not have the memory of our merse and will have to find out the names of these places before I put them up.
Don’t forget the forum would love to see your days out pictures, I’m sure many will have some great ones so lets hope you will put them up for our enjoyment
Wonderful views and a perfect example of why life is more "cerebral" and tranquil just a short distance from our shores, and I'll give you an example...................over here -especially in London we see many confrontations between frustrated motorists and boy racers clad in lycra on their bikes. Over there it's more likely to be some old boy (definitely NOT in lycra) trundling his two ton "sit up and beg" iron monstrosity along the canal bank.
