As anyone knows, and all of you will remember, Holland is flat.
But - there's flat and flat.
And the most beautiful flat in Holland - IMHO! - is north of where we live: the country above Amsterdam up to the naval base of Den Helder, then, crossing the Afsluitdijk, at the other end a totally different flat but equally interesting: the western part of the province of Friesland. This way you simply circumambulate the former Zuiderzee (Southern Sea), now thanks to the Afsluitdijk renamed the IJsselmeer.
A round trip if there ever was one!
I've decided - after seeing the enormous amount of must-share-with-you photos, to make a trio of blogs. First from our home up north via Amsterdam to den Helder, a second blog dedicated solely to the Afsluitdijk, the third with photos from Friesland, were we spotted the only snow covered fields during this winter.
This requires an explanation - and the answer to your 'erm, why this trio??'
Well - you see, my Cousin Paul came all the way from Australia to show his twins where their ancestors came from. They visited us mid-January (yes, I hear the Dutch groan!).
And, we being a water logged country with a population that is highly inventive when it comes to keeping the water out - they wanted to see the Afsluitdijk.
Alas - Holland may be tiny compared to the countries - continents - where you live but even so, crossing Holland takes a lot of time and it ran out. So no Afsluitdijk for Paul.
Hence these blogs, to show Paul what he unfortunately missed and why he should come back.
And also - - we've been where you live, and we think the countries you live in are way more special, stunning and exhilatating then our tiny little North Sea delta.
But this is the Holland I love!
But - there's flat and flat.
And the most beautiful flat in Holland - IMHO! - is north of where we live: the country above Amsterdam up to the naval base of Den Helder, then, crossing the Afsluitdijk, at the other end a totally different flat but equally interesting: the western part of the province of Friesland. This way you simply circumambulate the former Zuiderzee (Southern Sea), now thanks to the Afsluitdijk renamed the IJsselmeer.
A round trip if there ever was one!
I've decided - after seeing the enormous amount of must-share-with-you photos, to make a trio of blogs. First from our home up north via Amsterdam to den Helder, a second blog dedicated solely to the Afsluitdijk, the third with photos from Friesland, were we spotted the only snow covered fields during this winter.
This requires an explanation - and the answer to your 'erm, why this trio??'
Well - you see, my Cousin Paul came all the way from Australia to show his twins where their ancestors came from. They visited us mid-January (yes, I hear the Dutch groan!).
And, we being a water logged country with a population that is highly inventive when it comes to keeping the water out - they wanted to see the Afsluitdijk.
Alas - Holland may be tiny compared to the countries - continents - where you live but even so, crossing Holland takes a lot of time and it ran out. So no Afsluitdijk for Paul.
Hence these blogs, to show Paul what he unfortunately missed and why he should come back.
And also - - we've been where you live, and we think the countries you live in are way more special, stunning and exhilatating then our tiny little North Sea delta.
But this is the Holland I love!
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