Oranje rules

It's NOT me!!!



Bram blowing & showing his true colors.

Boating boating

On Maud’s birthday her brother Nils dropped by with Arna & Marijn. Since summer is still there we decided to boat around Leiden after Portugal-Brazil and KoreaDPR-IvoryCoast. Marijn takes his steering very serious!


Saturday Bram’s family gathered in Wageningen to celebrate Harriet’s and Jolin’s birthdays.


Sunday we had lunch with Bram’s great-aunt Loes – 94 and still living on her own!


Amazing, another summer day, so after lunch we went boating through Amsterdam with Jan & Esmeralda.


Everyone who can find a spot on a boat is out on the water.


Modern houseboats don’t look like boats anymore…


That’s what we call houseboats!


The famous Amsterdam canals, bridges, and facades.


Waterways everywhere downtown - some old Holland cities still are like that.


Succer rules.


Watching succer requires a lot of beer.


Boating through the red light district, a must-see for tourists. Why do Japanese tend to stick to an infantry square while walking around?


Borrowing a cup of sugar or rubbers?


De Amsterdam, replica of the big sailing boats that took the Dutch all over the world.


Het IJ; turn left to reach the Noordzee. Maud will insist on wineglasses that match her top from now on.


Back to downtown.


Kissinger slept here, and Clinton, and Ford, Eiffel, Walt Disney, Orson Welles, Marlene Dietrich, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Madonna, U2, The Rolling Stones, Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, and etcetera.


De Magere Brug (skinny bridge).


Beware, today, Monday 28, it’s Orange against Slovakia, we’ll loiter on the neighbours’ couch this time, so more scary succer pics to be expected soon!

Succer & other Lowlands adventures

Summer finally started (for about 4 days already!), our roses are in fabulous full bloom, and we are socializing like there is no tomorrow. The ‘to do’-list is suffering a bit, as usual – though we could claim watching succer while wining & dining is a ‘must do’ also.


Bram’s family, ready to watch the first ‘Hup Holland Hup’ game.


Managed to sneak in some Bafana Bafana outfits.


“Is this one really my uncle??”


We manage to do a few non-soccer things, like going to fairytale park De Efteling for a meeting & having fun.


Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Astrid & Maud both felt like 6 again, yes, this fairytale wood was there already when we were young – ages ago. And it’s still as fascinating as it was then. For us, that is; we walked around with 3 Dutch grrrrls & 3 non-Dutch hubbies – our men didn’t totally grasp what an amazing intellectual & cultural experience this is.


Tom Thumb & the sleeping giant – and Maud.


Succer-fever is taking over…


In between games the men revive their dreams of being a famous soccer player.


Break while watching soccer in Uitdam.


Wining & dining with Judith & Charmian.


Oranje versus Cameroon – and Maud’s pre-birthday party…


It’s loud!


And sweet!


The Hood.


The famous Dutch lion.

Party Party!

Travelling for almost 24 hours to get from Morwa to Leiden was as much fun as it can be this time! It’s hard to go anywhere in Botswana without bumping into friends - at Seretse Khama Airport we first ran into Rory (arriving from Maputo) & Sandra, and then into Jem, who happened to be on the same flight to Joburg. After a last Windhoek at OR Tambo Jem was off to the UK, while we had our first Iberia-experience. Viva Espagna, both the airline and Madrid airport are great!


Once again our Leiden neighbours Winny & Dancker prepared us a super welcome. Imagine finding a very complete ‘starters package’ in the kitchen; coffee, tea, stroopwafels, yummy Dutch cheese, and etcetera. And of course orange flowers. On top of that they threw a ‘welcome back’ dinner party with delicious food and great company. After the kick-off with the bubbly Steef & Carien from across the road brought we smoothly slipped back into the Dutch biorhythm – chatting, eating, drinking till after 1 am.


Lets hope the Dutch team is as well prepared as their fans!


The party went on Saturday evening. More bubbly to commemorate Steef & Carien’s first date, 25 years minus 2 days back, more lekker Dutch grub, while boating around downtown Leiden to see a series of waterside performances.


Pass on the sundowners please!


‘Our’ town gate, about 50 meters from the Dutch house, background for the last & best performance.

Going to the Netherlands

We'll leave Botswana June 3, and arrive in the Netherlands June 4 (if there isn't another enthusiastic volcano, if Iberia does as promised, and etc). Poor dogs, no evenings in front of the fireplace for them for two months!


According to our Dutch friends it's still cold in Holland, guess we'll copy this scene over there - without the dogs:-(