Travel Journal, 2016 April to June

18 May 2016

Vehicles of the 20th century Dutch Royalty, now housed in what used to be the stables housing 90 horses.

18 May 2016

As a hunting lodge, it gives a very fair impression of a grand palace. A good example of how the Dutch royalty coped with life in the Golden Age of the 17th century.

18 May 2016

After an overnight stop at Vaasen in the area thoughtfully set aside there for motorhomes, we visited the Palais Het Loo at Apeldoorn in the province of Gelderland. It's not really a palace we're told, just a gentleman's hunting lodge, built by William and Mary of the English House of Stuart in the 1680s. (Mary was the daughter of King James II and was directed to marry her first cousin, Stadtholder William III of Orange, to help maintain the Protestant axis of the time.)

During their brief marriage and reign William and Mary also initiated major renovations to Hampton Court Palace in London, so the similarities between both grand houses are not coincidental.

17 May 2016

... in the indoor museum, many more fine examples...

... including an early outboard motor.

Overall, the Zuiderzee Museum needs a full day to do it justice.

17 May 2016

Heading further north today to Enkhuizen to the exhaustive Zuiderzee Museum with its realistic re-creation of the impact of the terrible floods of 1916.

The flood spurred further building of the Dutch dyke system.

Magnificently restored vessels of the day on display in the outdoor museum and...

16 May 2016

Classics; two retired Australian males dressed for a Dutch summer, and two classic US-made Bike Friday Twin Air tandems, en route, with stokers, to...

...the display of Dutch windmills at Zaanse Schans.

Just in time for one of the last ferries to make it back to the vans.

15 May 2016

Cousin Sue kindly squeezed us into her petite Seat and took us on a guided tour of Markem, Volendam and Edam.

Traditional green-painted Marken houses.

Art work outside the cheese shop in Edam.

14 May 2016

Arrived at Monnickendam Marina, nestled between yachts in various stages of preparation for summer sailing.

14 May 2016

Just a big parking area on the industrial northern shore of the IJ river.

Moving day today, heading north just 30 or 40 kms into the heart of the culturally rich parts of North Holland.

While in Amsterdam we located the vans at Amsterdam City Camp, 10 minutes away from the free and quick ferry to Amsterdam Centraal railway station, right in the heart of one of the world's very best cities.

13 May 2016

Met up with John's cousin Sue (Amsterdam-resident for over 30 years) for a pleasant dinner in one of Amsterdam's many outdoor eateries.

David, Jenny, Ric, John and Rosemarie - the Amsterdam museum detachment. (Unfortunately, Deanne had to return to London.) Other museums visited; Dutch Resistance and the Canal Museum.

Footing it from one museum to another in a typical Amsterdam scene; bikes, canal, more bikes...

12 May 2016

The National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam is a must-see, strongly focused on the Golden Age of the 17th century.

Three hundred year old atlases are just one section of the magnificently presented displays...

...with a screen nearby showing digitised replicas of all pages in the atlas. (On our next visit, we're hoping that the use of technology will have advanced enough to show the English translation!)

10 May 2016

Tulips on fire! Keukenhof is a stunning visual experience that also encapsulates hundreds of years of Dutch economic and horticultural history. Highly recommended, even for non-gardening types like me (John).

10 May 2016

Rosemarie with her colour-coded jacket.

Jenny also colour coded but a tad luminescent...

Not sure, 50 years ago when we all met, that we'd have been able to foresee ourselves at a Dutch flower show.

10 May 2016

We drove the vans to Abbennes in South Holland then pedalled the short distance to Lisse, the site of the world famous Keukenhof tulip show.

Met up with Ric and Deanne...

...and got out the cameras.

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