Travelog for: Amelie

Hello!

Today we eat a typically dutch snack called kaassoufles and kroketten. It taste very strange in the beginning but after a few bites it was delicious!


I also learned some dutch words.

Bites = Hapje
Delicious= Heerlijk
Strange= Raar
Cheese= Kaas
Fridge= Vriezer
Strawberry= Aardbei
Sweet= Zoet
Sour= Zuur
Spoon= Lepel
Knife= Mes
Plate= Bord
Drink= Drinken
Food= Eten

Big hugs Amelie

Hello!

Today we drived around on the dutch highways. Off course i made a picture of it to show it to you.


Big hugs Amelie

Hello!

I'm sorry you haven't heard from me in a week, but it was a very hectic time here. Eva her son went to school for the first time, so it were also exciting times around here.

Today we wanna go to the playground. The moment we arrived it started to rain. And not a little bit, no, it was very hard and there even were some hailstones. We whaited for a couple of minutes and decided to go home.
Hopefully we have better luck tomorrow.




Big hugs Amelie

Hello!

Today we had better luck!

We finally went to the playground and played a lot.

























As you can see we had a great time!

Big hugs Amelie

Hello!

A new TV arrived here today.
He's joining random act 3: the TV challenge. He was so excited that his adventure has started now. I think we are gonna be good friends. He seems very nice!


His name is *~Mr. Bubbles~*

Big hugs Amelie

Hello!

Today we went to the Northsea in Bergen aan Zee.
It was raining so hard, that we decided to make pictures and run back to the car as soon as we can.

Here some information about the North Sea:
The North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European continental shelf. It is more than 600 miles (970 km) long and 350 miles (560 km) wide, with an area of around 222,000 square miles (570,000 km2). A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea including water from the Baltic Sea. The North Sea connects with the rest of the Atlantic through the Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and through the Norwegian Sea in the north.

The North Sea averages about 100 m (325 ft) deep, with a maximum depth of 700 m (2300 ft) and in some areas shallows can be a mere 15 m deep. The North Sea lies above what used to be the triple junction between three continental tectonic plates in the early Paleozoic Era. Movement on the faults associated with these tectonic phenomena can still cause earthquakes and small tsunamis. The sea's coastal features are the result of glacial movements rather than tectonics. Deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark the coastline of the northern part of the North Sea, whereas the southern coasts consist of sandy beaches and mudflats. These flatter areas are particularly susceptible to flooding, especially as a result of storm tides. Elaborate systems of dikes have been constructed to protect coastal areas.

The development of European civilization has been heavily affected by the maritime traffic on the North Sea. The Romans and the Vikings sought to extend their territory across the sea. Both the Hanseatic League and the Netherlands sought to dominate commerce on the North Sea and through it to access the markets of the world. Britain's development as a sea power depended heavily upon its dominance in the North Sea, where some of its rivals sought power, first the Netherlands and finally Germany and to a lesser extent Russia and the Scandinavian nations. Commercial enterprises, growing populations, and limited resources gave the nations on the North Sea the desire to control or access the North Sea for their own commercial, military, and colonial ends.

Its importance has turned from the military to the economic. Traditional economic activities, such as fishing and shipping, have continued to grow and other resources, such as fossil fuels and wind energy, have been discovered and developed.

And here am i in front of the dunes, and in front of the sea:




Big hugs Amelie

Hello!

Today it was time to say goodbye to Bokkie. She become such a good friend. I'm gonna miss her a lot. Maybe we will meet agian sometimes. I hope so!


Big hugs Amelie

Hello!

This is my last message from Alkmaar, the Netherlands. I'm going to Leidschendam now!
I planned to go earlier, but my host had the flu, so i wasn't able to go away. But it gave me more time to say goodbye to everyone here. I had a great time!


Bye Alkmaar, Leidschendam here i come!

Big hugs Amelie

I arrived in Leidschendam today! It wasn't such a long trip. I will update with pictures later

Today I arrived here in Leidschendam. I hope I'll like it here!

They have this really strange tradition here in the Netherlands. It's called 'Sinterklaas'. It's a bit like Christmas with the Santa Claus, but not exactly. This is what Wikipedia says about Sinterklaas:
The Sinterklaas feast celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas (280-342), patron saint of children. Saint Nicholas was a Greek bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey and became the patron saint of children based on various legends that include resurrecting children from death and saving them from prostitution.

Sinterklaas has a long white beard, wears a red bishop's dress and red mitre (bishop's hat), and holds a crosier, a long gold coloured staff with a fancy curled top. Sinterklaas carries a big book with all the children's names in it, which states whether they have been naughty or nice in the past year. Sinterklaas is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colourful outfits, modelled after 16th century Spanish clothing. These helpers are called Zwarte Pieten (Black Petes) in Dutch (see below for names in other languages). During the Middle Ages, Zwarte Piet was a name for the devil.[citation needed] Having triumphed over evil, it was said that on Saint Nicholas' eve, the devil was shackled and made his slave. Although the character of Black Pete later came to acquire racial connotations, his origins were in the devil figure. Sinterklaas traditionally arrives each year in November (usually on Saturday) by steamboat from Spain, and is then paraded through the streets, welcomed by cheering and singing children. Invariably, this event is broadcast live on national television in the Netherlands and Belgium. His Zwarte Piet helpers throw candy and small, round ginger bread-like cookies, kruidnoten or pepernoten, into the crowd. The children welcome him by singing traditional Sinterklaas songs.

And last Saturday he arrived in the Netherlands! He arrived in the town of Almere. We watched some of it online. This is Sinterklaas still on the boat:

And this is him with the 'Hoofdpiet':

It feels like a real celebration here!

Today we did something really exciting! We travelled by train! This is me next to a large cup of coffee

This is the view from the train:

And this is the inside of the train: