Stromboli's Rolling Log: Day 10...April 23 moved from Amsterdam to Werkhoven, Netherlands

No tulips today. but then we did see the most ever, yesterday. Those 85 acres of garden are still "ringing" in my eyes.

We packed our bags in the mornng after 8:00 AM, and even when folks were leaving the ship at 4:00 AM to catch a plane back to the states, we were able to make our way off the ship at about 10:00 and head for Hertz (by taxi) where we rented a car (BMW) for the next 10 days in Holland. That went smoothly once we told our driver 'Ismael' what the address was. (Ha) With Jim's limited experience with a GPS (heck, I have never used one) and the brief lesson that Patrick gave me before we left, the few minutes that "Andy" gave me at Hertz, didn't hurt any. Between the GPS and a good map that I had "memorized" we did OK.

We went past the first change of direction (Freeway), after getting out of Amsterdam successfully, but saw our error and retraced our steps to the correct road. A word bout roads and signage in the Netherlands. THEY ARE FANTASTIC. If you ever dreamed about having smooth highways and great signage, This is the place to brag about. Of course they do pay their taxes but the roads are a priority for sure. The freeways are smooth, and all blacktop/macadam, at least thus far. We will be going all the way to the German border so we will examine that part of the country as well. ( The Dutch as [ay for the privilege of those dikes that keep the water out.

In getting to Werkhoven , the sign for the road was facing away from us so we missed that but knew the number of "Km" it was supposed to be. So, a minor retreat got us to the road and to the house where we will be staying this week.

Outside of the large cites where the industry is located, there are small towns that have a definite "border and edge" to them. No sprawling suburbia but small farms of small acreage (2-3 hectares) where either grazing animals (many cows for that cheese) or goats are raised.

So it was mid afternoon when we arrived in nearby Odijk, where we were told there was a supermarket, but as we were an hour early before they opened we decided to get some lunch at a very quiet and quaint restaurant in town. The husband and wife did not speak English , but the chef did some and he took our order and also cooked the meal. The restaurant was "T' Wapn Van Odijk" and we had a light lunch with; Tosti Panini with ham and 2 Dobben Croquettes with bread. The crust was very crisp., the filling was excellent (mashed potato, cut up beef, onion, and cabbage) and served very hot to the touch. Good!

Then we shopped in a chain store called "Jumbo" which has some other larger stores as well. There, shopping baskets cost $.50 to unlock. (Now there is a money maker and a security.) There was a great variety of food although certainly not the great choices as we have in the USA. EX: the cold cereal section was only about 8 feet long with 15 choices or so. It was obvious that sugar products were not high on the list of the Dutch. Cheeses were numerous, and so were milk products, although I had to get help to find the "no fat milk". or "Magere Melk". There was some but not as much as "Low" fat. Tomorrow I'll take some photos when we return to the store. Oh, yes, there are many breads and buns of all sorts and they do sell 1/2 loaf of bread and eggs by the 1/2 dozen. Oh ...they do not use paper or plastic bags, most everyone brought their own cloth bags or took a cardboard box to use from the store

Tomorrow will be laundry day and a look at Langbroek , where Ruth's grandfather was born and lived until he was 23 and came to the USA. Thursday ..."King's Day "(birthday) we will visit her relatives that have never connected with the USA family . (never say never ,eh?)

A few photos of the surroundings and interior of "Rest and Rust" Apartment.