GOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!

To all those thinking this is a post about football/voetbal/soccer I apologize in advance.  This is a post about my desire to hit all 12 provinces of the Netherlands.  I know you are thinking, “But the Netherlands is so small that shouldn’t be a problem”, well you are right; the Netherlands IS small but like living in any country it seems once you reside there you stop travelling with in it.   In Canada I had only made it to 5 provinces, and knowing full well that the chances of me making it too all the provinces were slim to nil especially the territories.   So instead I’ll some how make it to all the provinces here in the Netherlands. 

Out of the 12 I’ve managed to get to 7 of them, traveling through them like Noord-Brabant doesn’t count, I actually have to get off and touch soil and spend time there. do the tourist thing.  And this year I was able to add once more province to the list of where I’ve been, Zeeland (more on that in another blog).

The Provinces I have been too and some of the cities located in it are:

Noord-Holland**:  Amsterdam, Zandvoort, Haarlem. 

Zuid-Holland**: Rotterdam, Delft, Den Haag, Gouda

Utrecht: Amersfoort, Utrecht

Gelderland: Apeldoorn, Nijkerk

Overijssel: Zwolle, Deventer, Giethoorn

Limburg: Maastricht, Valkenburg

Zeeland: Middelburg, Vlissingen

So the ones that are left are Flevoland, Nood-Brabant (I’ve driven through here before but never stopped), Frysland, Drenthe, and Groningen.

Sooner or later I will make it to those provinces, the train system here in NL is pretty darn good and I can get pretty much anywhere I need to go.  But when you start going the longer distances it’s costs more of course and it can get a little pricey.  For example for me to get back to Zeeland (which I will do later on this year for a day) a round trip from Amersfoort to Middelburg is 39,00 for one.  After a while it does add up.  Still I want to see as much as I can.  Train travel is great for me since I can basically veg out and just read for the trip, a bit of a change from the driving I used to do back in Canada, except on the train people aren’t as appreciative of my singing like Stoney is.

 ** The name “Holland” which many people use to refer to the country is actually the two province names.  Most Dutch, especially those that do not live in either North or South Holland Provinces do not like using that term for their country and would rather people use The Netherlands.

Sittin’ in the dark

Well I’m here, back in Windsor after 15 years of living in the GTA.  Granted I’ll only be here for about 2 weeks before I head over to the Netherlands for 5 weeks.  But then once I return I’ll be back in Windsor for 3 weeks.   I know it’s a lot of bouncing back and forth but that’s the easiest thing right now.  I didn’t want to wait 7 months to see Frank again and I wanted to be here for my mother’s retirement, considering 38 years is a long time to deal with little snot nosed children (I put that in there for you Danielle) of course my mother will tell you that not all the children were snot nosed.  So be it, I’m bouncing between time zones for the next few months.  At least I’ll know how to put that life vest on like a pro! The only concern I have is going through Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, since I’m arriving, then leaving, then arriving again all with in 3 months.  I’m sure a red flag is going to pop up somewhere along my travels.  Yet it could happen here in Canada since our customs agents have the personality of lima beans.  Honestly would it kill them to smile or at least act like they enjoy their job harassing people?   Granted our Canuck ones aren’t as bad as the Yankee ones!  Holy, the agents that I went through in Philadelphia were so miserable; I swear their faces would crack if they even attempted a smile!  Of course being the polite Canadian I am, I always smile big and say hello… to be honest I just do it to irritate them even more.  The customs dudes in the Netherlands barely even look at me.  In December they didn’t even as the usual questions, “How long are you staying?” “ Business or Pleasure?” “Where are you from?” “Anything to declare?”  Nothing!  The guy looked at my passport then looked at me, stamped and handed it back.  Alrighty then I’m outta here!   Of course in June when I head back I will have the mutt so I might get stopped and questioned about him.  Although many people I have spoken to about bringing their pets over haven’t had any problems.  I am a bit concerned about the actual flight over since I’m changing planes in Frankfurt before getting to Amsterdam, so that means my initial 8 hour flight has now turned into 12 hours with the layover and the travel time to Amsterdam.  That is a long time for him to be in that carrying cage, but I don’t have a choice.  At least I can let him sit up once we are in the airport and I’ll sneak him into the bathroom to go on a “puppy pad”.  Once I’m in Amsterdam and through customs and baggage, the door leading outside isn’t too far and I can run him there then head back in for my Dutch koffie, oh I miss the koffie there.  But that will end up being another blog I’m sure. Well I think I have typed enough and my battery is running low since I have 5 more minutes before this Earth Hour is up.  I will try to keep this blog as updated as possible and since I’m not going to work for the next 3 to 6 months I can’t see that being a problem!  Please feel free to comment on the site, whether it is grammar corrections (Danielle… MOM!) Or just to say hello.  I would love to hear from you.   I’m still new with the whole layout of the page so there might be a few bugs here and there, hey it’s a free site what more can I ask for.    Ok… I can plug the computer back in now!  I think Earth Hour should happen more then once a year!