CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE especially the pictures with flowers! Holland is the Netherlands and they speak Dutch- go figure! But I guess that if you can read street signs like the one below you should have no problem in the Netherlands. 
What an interesting country. They are like the ultimate Bio-Glogal Warming conscious country but they don't want people to put up new windmills for energy!
They ride their bikes everywhere for three reasons- one: they did not build the cities in the 1800's with parking spaces, two: the land is totally flat, as far as the eye can see the only rise in the land is a water dike, so you can get anywhere you can without breaking a sweat, and three: (this is what one funny guy told me at the "football game") there are laws against drinking and driving a car but not against drinking and riding your bike!!! I got a really cute shot of mothers riding through the streets with a cart in front of their bike with 4 young kids in the cart!We have had the awesome experience of staying with a Dutch family (can't quite figure where the term Dutch comes from when they are from the Netherlands/Holland). We have been driven around for 3 days which is really a good thing because if you can not say the street names you for sure can not find them! Below is a picture of Urie, Sven, Babette (the mom) and Yentel they daughter. We went with them to a party to watch the Holland v Italy "football" game. That was SO much fun!
Holland is totally flat, not at all like the rolling hills of England , but similar in that everything is green and every spare inch is cultivated. Most of the homes in the country have honest to goodness thatched roofs, the homes in the cities now have brick roofs. The Dutch are pretty particular about yard care, EVERY house is immaculate in it's front yard, with trees, flowers and perfect grass. I have included a picture of a front yard garden (the top picture) and the view down a row of city homes.
Holland is a very old country and when we were traveling round we came upon an 13th century country castle complete with mote and draw bridge. The setting and style of this castle reminds me so much of the story of Rupensel with her long hair hanging out the window down to the mote water below!One more funny not about Holland - they can grow 5 marijuana plants in their garden! So the family that we visited for the Football party proudly displayed for us their plants, then they told us that there son was on tv a few months back for having grown the largest marijuana plant in all of the Netherlands!!!!!!!!!!!
haha, this is one of my favorite ones you've put up so far. why? well.... 1) i wish we had cool old people here who rode bikes like that, haha thats so funny! 2) the windmill picture completely reminds me of The Best Two Years :) , 3) really though...is it ever actually necessary to have a word as long as the one on the street sign? i mean, really.
ReplyDeletelove you guys, it looks really pretty and stuff.