David and I got up early and packed up all our stuff. Martin came over and got a bag of food and paper goods that we couldn't bring home. Then we headed off to the airport. The ride was to take a little over an hour, but about halfway there, we encountered a massive traffic jam. Luckily, our GPS offered us an alternative, which took us through small towns for about 15 minutes until we got back on the highway. The tie up was about 10 miles long, so we possibly would have missed our plane had we not detoured. In one of the towns we passed, they had monopoly signs up and large colored dice in front of many houses. I think it was some sort of town wide monopoly game!
 |
| The traffic jam, as seen from our detour |
 |
| Part of the monopoly game |
It took a long time from when we dropped the car off to get to the gate, but we finally got there and eventually boarded the plane. I knew that we were on other sides of the aisle in the same row, but I didn't realize that there were two aisles and we were on opposite sides of different aisles! Plus, we were right next to the bathrooms (yuck!) so we couldn't even see each other!
 |
| The arrow is pointing to my view of David! |
We were on KLM, and they served a ridiculous amount of food on the flight! Fortunately, I slept a bit, watched some movies, and David and I visited each other. Our daughter picked us up and we were safely home!
REFLECTIONS ON THE NETHERLANDS
The people there are so warm and friendly! There wasn't a single person we encountered who was anything but kind and helpful. From the Haven masters (ran the marinas) to restaurant servers, to our two rental home hosts, no one was anything but lovely!
The towns are charming! Beautiful winding streets, often paved with cobblestones, cute stores and cafes were everywhere, even in the larger cities.
Everyone speaks English! When I would approach someone and ask if they spoke English, many would say "a little", and then proceed to have a complete conversation in perfect English!
The people there love Americans! Many hope to come visit, but some expressed fear that they wouldn't be welcomed with the current administration, which they have nothing but disdain for. Whenever I was asked where I'm from, I also tried to quickly tell them that I hate him (trump) too. Then they give me a big smile!
We passed thousands of windmills on our trip, and despite what the US president says, there wasn't a single dead bird to be seen! In fact, my Dutch relatives explained that there are sensors on them (the new ones) to prevent birds from flying into them! I didn't see any of the old style windmills working at all.
Like all of Europe, baskets of bread and glasses of water on the table are not free, something I always forget till I'm there. Also, tipping isn't really an expectation, although as Americans, we always left a tip.
A lot of people smoke. Even in the outside parts of restaurants. This was possibly our biggest negative of the country. I didn't realize how few people in the US still smoke till I encountered people smoking all over the Netherlands.
Everyone rides a bicycle! You could spend an hour walking through a town and not see a single moving car, but you'd see dozens of bicyclists! And unfortunately, they are not wearing helmets.
Although we associate the Netherlands with wooden shoes, no one actually wears them (except, I'm told, sometimes farmers when walking through muddy areas).
The food is delicious! There wasn't one bad meal! Beautiful fresh salads, meats, chicken and seafood, all yummy! And don't get me started on the desserts!! And ice cream, my favorite, is so much less expensive! At an ice cream stand, one scoop is only about 2 or 2.50 euros!
All in all, we had a sensational trip! I hope to return! I hope for our Dutch relatives to visit! And I highly recommend a visit to this marvelous country!
