Bot to Horta

We walked from Bot to Horta on the 6^th of May. Considering the fact that this was a 26km walk, the food in Horta had better be good! Ok, so the food was worth the walk. We can only wish that the restaurants in Canada felt the need to entice us with such menus! I’ll tell you more about the lunch later.

The walk was breathtaking. We went the first half of the way … from Bot to Horta along the Via Verde, or Green Way. Did I already tell you about this? It’s a series of pathways along the old railway tracks in Spain that have been marked and maintained in beautiful condition. The scenery is amazing, with old villas and bridges along the way. We passed through tunnels that are now lit with solar motion lights so that you have no problem walking through. There are no cars or motorized vehicles allowed, so you were very safe. We saw wild mint, rosemary, sage, thyme, and bay all along the path that rivaled the sight of olives, grapes, almonds and peaches!

The old rock walls … some built by the Franco regime and some by the resistance were simply incredible. I can’t tell you the politics in Spain as I really didn’t understand it, but I did understand that Franco was NOT a nice guy!

The lunch in Horta was our first taste of Menu Del Dia. The people in Catalunya do not speak Spanish. They speak Catalan. This is a cross between French and Italian, so we had a great time with the translations! The food was copious. Let me explain.

When you order “The Menu of the Day” in Catalunya, you are really getting a bargain! This meal costs anywhere from 7Euros to 13Euros (in our experience, anyway) and includes either 2 or 3 “plates” of food. On top the plates, you also get wine and water, plus a dessert and sometimes coffee or tea. The first plate is, of course, an appy. This can be a salad or soup or juice or other delicacy … each restaurant is different. The only similarity to me seemed to be that once I was finished my appy, I was full!!! And there were more plates to go! Of course, they expected you to finish everything, or you weren’t healthy. Sheesh!!

The walk back to Bot was through the mountains where all (and I mean ALL) the grades of the hills were 10%. We believe the roadbuilders got a deal on the signs. It was far more difficult than the 13k Horta, and both Corry and I were in bad shape at the end of it. The boys pretended that they were fine( … sure … sure….).  Margaret and Ronald were definitely ok. They’re in incredible walking shape!

Rain in Spain

There is no rain in Spain. We've decided that. The weather has been phenomenal with temperatures in the mid 20's and not a cloud in sight. Sorry, all our Canadian family and friends!

Life so far in Spain has been non-stop! We stayed in Barcelona at the Gat Xino Hostel, which really DID remind me of the hostels that I stayed in when I was in Europe in the 70’s! The rooms were tiny and spartan and you got breakfast in the common room, which was all included in the price. Of course, in 1973, the price was $1-3 per night per person. It’s now up to 35 Euro per person, so it was much more expensive than we’re used to. It was downtown Barcelona, however, so we taking that into consideration we got a bargain. Besides … we only used the rooms to sleep in. We had the terrace on the roof for our tapas.

We decided on Wednesday morning that we’d head off by tourist bus to see the basic sites of Barcelona and then we’d decide what we really wanted to see. Pete and I really didn’t have a clue about anything except the statue, the ramblas, and the church. Sooooo … we headed off to catch the bus. We observed a rather large crowd of people queuing in a meandering line, and discovered that this was to be the line we were to stand in for the next hour or so. Not so! The Sagrada Famillia was not that far away on the map (so we were told by our fearless leader, Ad), just 7 blocks, let’s walk and catch the bus there when all these fools get off. What a marvelous idea!!!! 21 blocks later, we were wondering just exactly how far away this church was. I mean … it’s BIG, right? We should be able to see the top of it if nothing else! Suffice it to say, that we eventually found or sore feet at the church grounds. Yes, it was magnificent. No, scores of people did not get off the bus. Yes, we got into another queue and waited for 7 (our new number for “a lot more than you bargained for”) busses before we finally got on. When we got back off an hour later, we decided that Christopher was beckoning and sounded much more comfortable than another bus! Bought cheap, good Spanish wine on the way home … some cheese and bread … a jar of olives … yup, tapas on the terrace. Bueno!

The Beer Out Here

Just a short post. Pete has been following in Art’s tradition of being kind to his and he’s stopping to rest at all of the little cafes in the different regions. This is, of course, so that I can have a rest. And why not use the opportunity to sample a bit of the local grog!

We’ve had Belgium ales and beers brewed by the Trappist monks; darks, whites and lights and even a pink one! (not too fine, that one … tasted like beer with raspberry syrup in it … but it had to be done)

Pete has a fine collection of beer glasses to bring home as he insists on a sample of the stemware as well as the contents. We’ll have to have you all over for beer just so that he can show them all off! I believe that we’re going to have to mail the glasses home, as we simply don’t have room in our suitcase for all of them. Ad has kindly offered to help us get them there safely. He was talking something about a container ship leaving next month …

Our Dutch Home

I’ve spoken about our little home here in the Netherlands, but I’ve never really shown you just how fine it really is. We live in Hulten, which is the smallest of 4 communities. I think the 4 together are called “Gilze en Rijen”, but I could be wrong about that. The villages are Rijen (16,000), Gilze (8,000), Molenschot  (1,300), and Hulten (328 – 330 while we’re here)

Ad and Corry have a wonderful home on a large, deep lot in the middle of town. They’ placed a small mobile home at the back of the lot and outfitted it with all the comforts of home. We’re actually testing it for them, as they’ll be living in it when they sell the house and need a place to live while they build their dream home on the back of the lot. Here, you’re allowed to sub-divide your land quite easily.

At the moment, there is a marvelous garden between the house and our home where we can sit out in the sun or relax under the grape arbour. The birds sing continuously with a composition of blackbird (beautiful songs), doves, pigeons, an “alarm bird”, something that goes “me-me-me-me-me--TWEE!”, and the rooks. The heron visits once in a while, but Corry hates him. He sits by the edge of the fish ponds and does his fishing without any effort!

Our livingroom boasts a leather couch and a wine rack. ’Nuff said. The kitchen has a Senseo coffee maker which has completely converted me to Dutch coffee! We have all the comforts of home here with central hot water heating, a gas range, and a shower with pre-set temperature controls. Set it the way you like it, and whenever you turn it on, it’s the perfect temperature. Pretty ingenious!

Across the street, Pete found an interesting sign. We found out from Ad that it’s a different sort of brothel. You don’t actually rent the girl. You rent the room and then you sign an agreement to share it with her. I’m not exactly sure what the difference is, but it apparently gets around one of the prostitution laws here. It’s a fantastic property, so they must be doing all right!

Signs of the Times

The signs here are often a bit difficult to understand. They have pictures, but the pictures are sometimes a tad ambiguous … or maybe just that you could take them a couple of ways.

Some of the signs we’ve found here have taken some imagination to put a purpose to. We have the “It’s ok to take stuff out of your trunk now” sign; and the one that seems to say “Run for your life!!!” These are found spaced frequently all along the freeways with the arrows going both ways. They actually lead to doors in the sound barriers so that you can safely rejoin society … who knew?!?

The bottom signs at the railway crossings are new. It literally says “If you want to live, wait here”. At least 5 suicides are committed on the rails every year … just at the crossing up the road from Ad & Corry’s house. That’s a scary number! The signs seem to give you a choice …

The one at Kinderdijk was quite unexpected. There are lots of these posts in the biking paths in the Netherlands. They separate the right and left sides of the path. This was the only one, however, where they gave you fair warning! “Stick in road” on a caution sign. We are now fairly warned and will endeavor not to impale ourselves upon same.

This was the most poignant sign we’ve seen. We biked to Breda on Tuesday of this week to find a shop I’d seen. The city was a bit larger than we thought, and we never did find it, but we stopped at one of the many cafes along the way. This sign was hidden under a bridge. It’s a poem in Dutch, but translated, it means “See the waterfall, hear the words of the reeds as they touch like lovers, they speak a language that all can understand”.

Since the sign for “This is not allowed” is a red circle within a round white sign. When they put a slash through any sign, it usually means “End of this zone”. So, when you enter a town, it has the town name in white letters on a blue sign, and when you exit the town they have the same sign, but it has a red slash through the town name. Simple, right? Well, then … consider this sign. Even Ad wasn’t quite sure exactly what it is supposed to mean. If you take it literally, it means “End of No Pooping Dogs Zone”.

Piet turns 64

A wooden house ... not typically Dutch

A marvelous birthday adventure for Piet! Ad and Corry took us to Arnhem to the Open-Air Museum (Openluchtmuseum). Ad had never been there, so it was a special treat all around. There are many working exhibits, with a farmer’s wife making soup and coffee and tea in the kitchen that you could sit at her table and partake of the fare. There were actually two of these … one was a poor farmer and one was rich. The soup in the rich farmer’s kitchen had meat in it!

My favourite exhibit was the paper mill. The paper maker had quite a production going with the museum’s watermark on each sheet of rag paper.

Corry liked the old farm houses that were built into the backs of the barns so that you lived in the same room as your animals. We learned how to make brooms so that we could sweep the cobble and dirt floor.

Piet liked the windmills best. Each of them served a different purpose, including a sawmill, a watermill, a pulp mill and a grist mill. The gears and workings of each were entirely different and very ingenious! It was truly amazing to see how each of them operated using the power of the huge vanes turning in the wind.

Ad really loved the old General Store. It carried old toys, candy, flour, clothing … everything the people of the village might need. It really was quite unique, packed to the rafters with goods … a lot of them made on-site at the museum.

Canadian Maples in Holland!

On the way home from the museum, Ad decided to drive through the countryside for us. The tour was truly the best gift of the day. We drove along roads that were even narrower than normal, passing bikers and hikers along the way. I was convinced that we were on a one-way road … until we met a car coming the other way. This road from Tiel wound along the top of the dyke that was built to keep the River Waal inside its floodplain. Most of the time it works, but last year the water breached the top and flooded the beautiful homes and orchards. It’s so hard to imagine. The yards and fields are lush and manicured with neat, orderly rows of crops and trees; sheep and cows in pastures; and tidy fences marching across the landscape, and it was all under water!

The Bringers of Babies have their own!

The wildlife gods decided to treat us as well. We saw a pair of storks on their nest, ducks with their new little puffballs bobbing on the water behind them, and baby lambs of all colors. The storks must be good luck or something, because the farmers build tall nest racks for them. Most were empty, but this one is definitely occupied!

Bart, Ad, Riet, Linda, Corry, Piet

For his birthday dinner, we went out to Stad Parijs, a restaurant just 1km from our little house. They served us a delicious meal and the company of Ad, Corry, Riet & Bart was the best we could have had. For a change, Piet and I didn't have typical Dutch fare ... he had scampi and I a wonderful rare steak. They really know how to cook steak over here. I think some of our restaurants could learn something from a Dutch cook. Tomorrow I will attempt White Asparagus Soup with Passham and boiled egg. Yummm.

Official Fietsers

Fietspad … yup, it took a bit to figure out that this is NOT a footpath … a “fiets” is a bike … and bikes rule here in Holland. We have acquired two borrowed touring bikes from Ad’s Mom & Dad that are very comfortable and easy to ride. We’ve made very good use of them so far, and are headed back out today on another adventure on wheels.

Now I have to warn you that when a Dutchman asks you if you want to go on a little bike tour, make sure you ask beforehand just how “little” this tour is going to be! Today we did 50 kilometers on the bikes with 2 necessary stops in town squares. This is, of course, where the fietsers can stop and buy bier and wijn or koffee. Yes, Art, we’ve followed in your footsteps and tried the local beers whenever we could. As a matter of a fact, we have a few glasses from some of the breweries. The monks brew a wonderful concoction that is dark and quite delicious! Pete still prefers “Pils”, but I like the Trappist Westmalle. It’s pretty potent at 10%. Did our fiets wobble a bit when we left????

Our trip today took us from Gilze to a little town north of Westmalle in Belgium (not far from the border) and then back up to Breda and then back to Gilze. Not, of course, in a straight line. We meandered through woods and past streams … checked out the farms and fields … stopped to feed sheep and horses and cows … and oooh’d and ahhh’d at the old castles and houses along the way. We even, remarkably, got rained on for a half hour or so.  The fietspads are pretty good for the most part, although when you travel through the forest, the roots sometimes make for rough biking.

We peddaled through Chaam and saw the place where the German soldiers had their barracks during the war. They somehow still look like they could house soldiers … it’s strange. Now, they are used for political asylum refugees who are waiting for citizenship or for working papers. There are always a lot of foreign people living there from all parts of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The roads here are narrow. I mean NARROW! When you park a couple of cars on the side of the road, then have a couple of lanes of bikes travelling inside the two lanes of cars … I’m amazed that there are not more squashed bikers! Oh yes … I forgot to mention the pedestrians … they take up their share as well. This picture is typical. This is not an unusually narrow road, but is the norm. I’ve taken it when there’s no traffic, but you can imagine how it must be. If you’re on a bike, though, the pedestrians and cars patiently wait for you to make it to a safe spot where they can get by. It’s all very lacking in road rage. To quote a favorite local expression, “I love it”.

Keukenhof - the colors of Holland

Fields of flowers that the camera cannot do justice to

Today dawned very sunny and unseasonably warm. Riet and Bart (Ad’s parents) picked us up at the caravan at 9:00 and we headed N/W to Lisse to visit the Keukenhof gardens. It was supposed to be 1.5 hours away, but the traffic in Holland is pretty horrendous. Even small towns have traffic jams for kilometers. When we hit Rotterdam …. Well, you know how it is.

Our arrival in Lisse was heralded by two barges moving serenely through the tulip fields. How odd! Oh! I see it now … the canal … and the bridge that they have raised so that traffic is backed up for miles. Another delay, but we have a brand new Peugeot with air conditioning, so it’s “nee zo bad” as they say in slang. The temperature hit 30 degrees in the afternoon, so it was a good thing we had a cool ride back home.

The gardens are very much like Butchart Gardens in Victoria, with different themed areas. We arrived during the 2^nd weekend of open flowers, so the displays were at their peak, but the crowds were … well, crowded. It was actually tiring just trying to navigate through the different gardens, and we didn’t see the whole thing. The tulips were marvelous, of course! What was even more impressive were the orchid gardens and the lily house. There are constant competitions here for best blooms and best presentations. I know Gill will be VERY impressed with the 1^st place orchid winner pictured here. I tried to sneak it out in my purse, but the orchid Politie are very strict about what you take as a souvenir. Sorry, Gill!

A  serene scene in the madness of Keukenhof

The fields of tulips are everything they show on postcards, although the lack of windmills is very noticeable. I asked Ad about it, and they honestly have not noticed that the working mills have been slowly replaced by electric pumps and large turbines. We’re going to go to an area where the canals are still pumped out by mills later on next week. I’ll definitely do a ‘report’ on them!

Napoleon's Road

"Fransebaan" - Napoleon's Road

Yesterday, Saturday, we went for a walk through the Calm Forest. Well, actually it's "Chaamsce Bossen", but it sure is a calm place and it sounds like 'calm' because the Ch is pronounced like a hard k. This entire oak forest was planted as parkland with biking and hiking trails throughout the whole of it. There are also car paths and horse trails, but everyone seems to share it all without fuss.

We hiked for 14 kilometers through field and forest and even one man-made swamp! There is very little underbrush, so the forest seems clean and clear. The owners of the forest (nobody is quite sure who owns it) are now trying to plant small shrubs in order to develop some low cover. The swamps and marshlands are being created to attract different birds and waterfowl. It seems to be working, but the marshy, wet spots also attract mosquitoes! We had to make a detour to find a bug-free place to eat our lunch.

We got a bit turned around once and ended up in some farmer’s field, but nobody challenged us as we trooped through his back yard and out his front gate. Maybe he wasn’t home

Ad, Corry, Piet & Linda

For our lunch break during our hike, we stopped on a road that is now paved, but under the pavement is a wooden road that was built by Napoleon Bonaparte. The posts were sunk vertically into the sandy soil so that the troops could safely traverse the land. Ad also thinks that it was probably a good way to keep his troops busy as he was stalemated while here in Holland.

A Timely Return

Pete is the small one in the middle

Our arrival in Holland was quite momentous, really. Pete was born here in a little village called Gilze. On April 15, 1953, however, his whole family left war-torn Holland for a new life in Canada. On April 15, 2011, we touched down in Holland … the first time Pete had touched the soil of his homeland in 58 years!

The Marinus family had originally left by ship from Rotterdam, and we flew in to Amsterdam airport, but the feeling of coming home was still very much alive. We were met by members of the same family who saw the Marinus’s off when they left and we’ve been treated to amazing Dutch hospitality since our arrival! Ad and Corry outfitted a ‘caravan’ for us with everything we would need for our stay … right down to a fully stocked wine rack! We have our own living room, kitchen, dressing room, bathroom, and bedroom sitting right in their back garden.

Ad’s Mom and Dad, Riet and Bart, loaned us a couple of bicycles and Pete’s cousin Stan is arranging a car for us on Monday. We’ll be able to tour in style.

Getting Started on the Blog

Well, I don't think I'm going to rival Art, but I'm starting this blog before we head off to Holland and Spain so that I can edit it while we're over there and keep you all informed of our travels.

We have a wonderful itinerary planned with Pete's cousins in Holland, so you should see some great pics, and hopefully awesome stories! Stay tuned ....

Designing a blog

It took me a long time to get this simple little blog page so that I actually liked it! I wanted something simple, but it had to have dragonflies on it. I really agonized over the spelling of "DragonFlys". Should I spell it right? Or should I spell it so that people looked at it twice trying to figure out what was wrong? I decided on the latter, obviously. Just so that you know ... I had picked out the name before I thought about "On Dragon Hill"'s name. As soon as I typed it in, it occurred to me that the 'dragon' theme was repeating itself ... albeit in totally different forms!.