Now its back to where we always start from; the Netherlands, this is because our motorhome “the Bunyip” lives here. We are head north to a village called Winkel, it’s Friday and our plan is to arrive there on Sunday morning. This gives us a couple of days to visit a couple of Dutch towns along the way.
Zierikzee
After our quiet night parked up at the harbour we drive north through the Westerschelde Tunnel one of the few toll roads in the Netherlands but only 7.50 euros for our motorhome. We reached the town of Zierikzee midmorning and found an easy park. Jenny and Lori went to explore the town while I had a quiet time catching up on some computer work. Always behind with blog writing etc., not that I’m worried, our trip and experience comes before the blog and putting it out on time. Below are some of the photos Jenny and Lori took while on their walk.
In the afternoon we found a harbour west of Rotterdam which was 15 euros with all services, power and shower included. The weather has been kind to us with only one day of rain in 6 weeks, today was no exception, sunny and warm, barbeque weather. Our barbeque came out and on the grass next to the moored boats we cooked our tea. It was a bit noisy during the night with a birthday party on the adjacent harbour and people playing music at 7.00 in the morning. Oh well that is what our earplugs are for. In the morning we filled our water tanks, emptied our waste and had a shower, then back on the road again.
Volendam
A must see place for tourists on a bus trip is Volendam. It’s a sea side village north of Amsterdam and in the past had people dressed in national costume and quaint shops and stalls, Now it’s all tourist shops and bars along the seaside. We have not been there for 37 years so we thought why not see what it’s like now. A free parking area is situated just after the paid places and had plenty of room. The weather was sunny and being a Saturday the place was very busy, but after walking through the main tourist area, we headed through the back streets of the village and it was a lot quieter. After stopping at a pub for a beer we came across a market where I bought a belt and Jenny a new handbag. The backstreet were far more interesting yet most of the tourist were in the bars or looking at tacky souvenir shops on the crowded road by the harbour.
After a stroll through the tourist town we drove a few kilometres down the road to a clog and cheese factory which welcomes motorhomes to stay overnight in their carpark. Arriving just after 5 pm we were greeted by one of the friendly staff and told where we could park up for the night. The place was part museum and mostly shop but very interesting and of course we bought some cheese, after all they were giving us a free place for the night.
Winkel
Winkel is a small town in North Holland where our friends Gaby and Renko live, we met on our first trip in 2009 and have tried to visit each time we come back. They now have built a Mongolian Yurt in their backyard and Gaby uses it for her yoga lessons.
The day we arrived was the villages annual flower parade, they have stalls, rides and displays set up through the village. The main event is a parade of floats made with chrysanthemum flowers and marching bands start off at 1.00 and does three laps of the village with people from all over the district and even Australia all jostling for a good view.
After a busy day we all settled into Gaby and Renko’s lounge and watched a couple of movies before going bed. In the morning we said our farewells and headed off to Amsterdam where we plan spending three days. Thanks again to Gaby and Renko for there friendship and hospitality. I will leave the blog with some photos of the flower parade. The floats were made by community groups and school classes.
