London Calling

London has long been my favourite city in the world to visit. I'm not sure if I'm just being sentimental because it was my first overseas destination or the fact on another few trips it's been the last port of call after being in non English countries so it was easy. It's just always had this vibe about it that I've loved. Whilst it was still there, it seemed to have lost it's appeal, only slightly. 

I'm not sure if it was the fact that we had had such a great time and when we hit London we came to the realisation that it was coming to an end. Nether the less it was still great. We had some nice weather to walk around and look at the sights.

We started with the London Eye. The kids had been looking forward to going up in it. It gives nice views especially up to Buckingham Palace. The kids loved the fact that the queen was home. Trafalgar Square was our next venture and I was devastated that they have banned you from climbing on the lions. It was a bit of a tradition to jump on the lions back and get a photo. I was going to do it but they had people patrolling and it looked as if one of them wrote out a ticket for someone who attempted it.

Our walk up to Buckingham Palace was well timed as they changing of the guards started. Kylie was a bit shocked at the pomp and ceremony that went into it. It was also Bank Holiday weekend and they had lots of things getting organised up at the Palace and it was crowded. It was a bit of a shame as they didn't get to look at it in detail. Of course one morning when I went running it was deserted so I got to have good gander. 

Portobello Road markets were great and Kylie and Milana bought a few things. It was a great afternoon so the crowds were out and there was a really good atmosphere. We got to see the Travel Book Shop from Nottinghill movie. Of course it isn't a travel book shop but a souvenir shop. at the markets there was a fantastic performer, you could have sworn it was Ed Sheeran himself.

My favourite tourist attraction in London has always been Tower Bridge. I think it looks cool. Every time I have been to London I have always put off going up the walkways. This time Sebastian and I did it. They have a couple of glass bottom floor panels and we timed it perfectly as they opened it when we were up there. It was pretty good to watch from atop.

We shopped a bit at M&M world. It was funny as Kylie had turned her nose up when I said that we should go there. But she enjoyed it. It is spread over 4 levels. It's expensive but oh well. We did get to see a huge bust up between a mum and her 7 year old. It was pretty horrific. 

On the last morning I ran 13km around the city. It is always the best way to see the city.

The Netherlands

We had a fantastic 5 nights in the Holten, The Netherlands.  It was great to see Roy and Anita again and the kids have really grown up since last visit. We got straight into the typical Dutch lifestyle and jumped on bikes and rode down to the town square where they had a festival going on. We had dinner there and swerved, I mean, rode home at 9.30 when it was still daylight.

The kids sweet breakfasts continued. A new addition to what they had been previously having was was the chocolate sprinkles on their toast. Mmm.

We went to a Dutch Open Aired Museum on the Sunday. I guess the best way to describe it is a bit like Sovereign Hill in Victoria. You can walk around and look at old buildings including farmhouses, windmills, a brewery and even trams. The kids enjoyed it, almost as much as the flying fox that was there.

As a family we got into the Dutch tradition of riding everywhere around town. On the Monday we all rode the kids to school. We also rode and did the groceries and things like that. I really liked this side of the culture. The Dutch motto is - There isn't bad weather, just bad clothing. So even if it is raining you still ride. Of course, they didn't wear helmets.

The school had just over 200 students. They are getting a new school soon. There current school is looking a bit old. There were a few noticeable differences from our schools. One was that they didn't have uniforms. Their day is structured differently, they started at 8.30 and finished at 3.15 but they had a longer lunch. In fact parents choose if they come home for lunch or stay. If they stay the parents can choose to send lunch or pay to have it provided. They all have there own bag that that hangs at school that they put their coats in so that lice don't spread. On Wednesday they finish by 12.30pm. Most of the kids ride or get a dink to school. It is funny to watch the parents come in and and stand around the courtyard in the afternoon. They back their bikes in and stand there lined up and wait. It was a shame I couldn't understand what they were saying, it would have been interesting to see if they were just paying out on the school and teachers, which is often the case in Australia. It's very orderly. When the bell went the kids came out and grabbed their bikes. Many of them raced around the school yard on their bikes before leaving. I didn't see a teacher on yard duty, if there was then they didn't have the fluro vest which is common in our schools.

One day my kids got to go to school for a few hours. They really enjoyed it and Viggo and Elin did the interpreting for the kids. On the day they went one of the classes was having a birthday party for the teacher which was basically going for the whole morning.

We did a day trip to Amsterdam. Despite leaving after peak hour it still took over 1.5 hours to do the 110km trip, then negotiating the city traffic took a bit more time out of the day. The number of trucks on the highways is amazing. Apparently they are only allowed to do 80kmh and the engine is restricted to 90kmh. For most part it is ok until they decide to pass someone, which they aren't meant to do. This then takes considerable time and it banks up the rest of the traffic as they can't put their foot down and pass quickly. When you have cars doing the allowed 130kmh speed limit it doesn't take long for a bottle neck to occur.

Amsterdam is an interesting city and most would know some of the famous things about Amsterdam, but having the family their we kept away from those famous sights and indulgences. It doesn't matter how many times you visit Amsterdam it amazes you how they crooked buildings don't topple over. It is a must do location!

We are so grateful to our friends for their amazing Dutch hospitality. You can often hear that the Dutch are rude, but the times I've been I have found the opposite, warm and friendly, especially in the city.

Related - Holten