Netherlands

We are in the Netherlands for two months (June & July).
Amazing: I'm updating our blog in the train - there's an experiment with (for now free) internet-access in trains going on...
Dutch people: please sms or mail us your phone number(s); we both lost most numbers by losing (Maud) or drowning (Bram) our cell phones:-(

Dutch Summer

At the end of Summer 2010 the two elder Dilrosun bradas were sooo exhausted: World Championship Soccer, some big Tennis Tournaments, and the Tour the France – imagine how many beers that poor right arm had to move up and down…

Ever since Bram’s right arm and shoulder have been rotten, and even the physiotherapist doesn’t manage to repair the damage. That is of course all blamed to way too much working on the Mac…

The next generation converted Bram’s Dutch office into a decent guys’ room.

Managed to convince Jelle, David and Jolin that a cultural museum trip also can be fun.

Henki & Jolin sweating over something educational.

Nowadays the Rijn behind our Dutch house is clean enough for swimming. As well cause it was a real un-Dutch hot & dry summer!

Varend Feesten / Party Boat.

And of course pancakes.

Boys coming down to forage.

First Dutch visit for Rubel’s sister Samira Pippa

She was staying in Rotterdam – quite a difference from Bangladesh…

And then: Zeeland, the whole family gathered there, to either do or support the yearly Cornelisse bicycle tour.

The tough cyclists, Cees & kids.

Brothers.

Brothers The Next Generation.

Toys for Boys or Man @ Work.

Toys for Girls or Woman @ Work.

Famous Zeeland wafels – in the end there were mountains of those to eat.

The Simpsons – note the SA soccer shirts!

Kiwi-Kaaskop Fusion Barbie – absolutely delicious.

Back in Leiden neighbour Winny and Maud try to get cuttings to grow.

Barbie with a view

Saturday started stormy, cold, rainy – not the ideal weather if you Gantt-charted a barbie and a double 10 k cycling tour… We set out with backpacks stuffed with raincoats and dry clothes, prepared to get totally soaked. And ended up cycling happily along the famous Dutch waterways – even struggling against the wind isn’t half bad if you expected a rain storm.


Finally we see Christa & Michel’s new spot; that house with a huge garden next to the Noordzeekanaal is fabulous! And yes, Dutch people know having a braai means the men will have a go at cooking, but the guys were busy playing soccer.


Pre-dinner activities: soccer. Note, those big guys are NOT old & bald, they just like to have their heads shaved.


Pre-dinner activities: watching boats go by.


Pre-dinner activities: trampoline.


A real lady always takes care to be properly dressed.


Lima's first day of really walking; finally she can run away from the boring wining & dining adults!


Shrimps, veggies, pork, lamb - delicious!


How can I put this together again??


The lilies in the ‘Dutch house’ garden survive being neglected marvelously.

Sunny Europe

We had a fabulous time with Peter & Annette in Lyngby, Kopenhagen, Denmark. Perfect hosts, sun, good food, lot of sight seeing; all in one a real vacation.


Downtown Kopenhagen, the new & the old library.


Country side seeing; Peter’s brother Tom still lives on the old family farm.


Daytrip to downtown Malmo – the local Kalverstraat.


Bram really really wanted to go to Fristaden Christiania, Denmark’s hippie enclave.

about Christiania

Sorry Bram, nobody felt like swapping a titty show for a freebie.


Back home it’s cocktail time…


And fabulous food time…


Our Viking wine steward.


Back home we had another good food & succer occasion: Bram’s dad’s birthday, and Spain versus wass ist ihr Name.


Our sugared milk steward Linde.


Nephew Jelle finally decided upon a career: gangsta.


Ivan, Tineke, Brammetje, Henk-I, Pien

Fillumpie!

July 6 2010, Oranje-Uruguay on the Big Screen at Schiphol.
We just arrived from Kopenhagen, got some beers, and joined the crazy crowd.

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!