Amsterdam, Holland - Day 2

We got up early Sunday morning and had a full day of sightseeing.  We started at Coster Diamond Factory.  They had some beautiful diamond there.  They were supposed to be about 20% cheaper than in the UK, but they were still really expensive!  Most of us were looking for the outlet shop, thinking we could find something that was a second, but we never found one!



The old fashion way to make clogs.



 Making clogs the new way!

This is a wedding clog.  In the old days the groom made a pair of clogs for the bride.  These were made by hand, so depending on how long it took to make them the engagement could be very long.  Also, the clogs that were made by the groom were supposed to be very beautiful and shown to the father of the bride before presenting to the bride.  Another interesting fact, they did not have divorces back then, if they wanted to end the marriage, they just broke the clogs.

Beautiful new houses going into Volendam.



In this picture and the picture below, you can see that Holland is below sea level.  This is the road leading into the small fishing village of Volendam. 



We left Coster Diamonds and continued on to Volendam.  This is such a wonderful little fishing village.  Our first stop there was a cheese and clog shop.  We received a lesson on how cheese is made, and of course got to sample the cheese, which was very good.  I bought some smoked cheese.  We moved to the next room where they have the workshop to make the traditional wooden clogs.  She demonstrated how to make them by hand, which they can make about 20 shoes per day.  Then she showed us the machines they use to make the clogs.  The machine reminds me of a machine that is used to make keys, basically it copies the clog and cuts based on the model that is in the machine.  With the machine they can make about 150 pairs of clogs per day.

The old fishing village of Volendam was such an awesome little place.  It is has cobble stone streets lined with shops and restaurants and coffee shops.  It looks like it is on the sea, but it is actually on a harbor that was dammed, so it is fresh water.  All of the canals that run threw the Amsterdam area are all fresh water.  I tried not to go crazy with shopping, but I did have to buy Morgan a little Dutch doll, and I bought me a Cuckoo clock.  Stephen is going to be thrilled.  He has commented before how the chiming would drive him crazy.  But I love it, I am sure he will get used to it!  My Grandma and Pa had a Cuckoo clock and I absolutely loved it!

Canals of Amsterdam, see the houseboat, that is actually someones home!

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Canals of Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

This picture is not good, but I had to post it to show you, this is a four level bicycle parking deck!

After we left Volendam,we were back to explore Amsterdam.  I had no idea that Amsterdam/Holland had so many canals.  When said that to Stephen, he said didn't you ever hear the story about the little boy that stuck his finger in the hole in the dike.  Well, of course I have, but until you actually see the area it very hard to imagine!   There are 100 kilometers of canals that run through Amsterdam and there are about 2,500 houseboats on the canal that people actually occupy.  Land is such a premium there, that people live in the houseboats.  They own the houseboat but have to pay rent and taxes on the canal area that their boat is docked.

Many of you may know that prostitution and marijuana are legal in Amsterdam.  We walked thru the red light district to get a taste of this.  It was really something, there were like small store front rooms that have beautiful girls, very scantly dressed, looking for business.  There were bars that sold cannabis.  The law is if they sell cannabis, they cannot sell alcohol and vice versa. I didn't actually go into one the bars, but I could definitely smell it!

Amsterdam is full of wonderful cheese, candy and pastry shops.  It was fun to wonder around and look in the shops.

We ended the evening with an hour long cruise through the canals of Amsterdam.  The last stop before the hotel was at Hard Rock Cafe to purchase T-shirts!

Amsterdam, Holland and Delft Day 1

Finally! My trip to Amsterdam, Holland and Delft.  It was colder in Holland than it was in Great Britain.  The trip started by catching the bus here on base and heading south to Harwick.  We caught a ferry that went from Harwick to Hoek Van Holland.  The ferry was like a cruise ship that carries cars, buses and people!  The ferry ride was six hours, so it got a little boring before it was over!  There were a couple of restaurants and several bars on the ship.  When we arrived in Hoek Van Holland, it was about an hour to our hotel in Amsterdam.  The first night we went to the Sea Palace Chinese Restaurant for dinner.  It was nice, they brought out several large bowls of different foods and we all shared.  It was pretty good.  The restaurant is a floating restaurant, it was built on a barge, it was very nice, a lot of beautiful decorations.  But, it is crazy to go to Amsterdam to eat Chinese food!

Dedicated to Bahrain this week

I wasn't able to travel to Bahrain, but I am totally dedicated to them this week!  I am working from 4:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. so that I am available during their office hours.  The wonderful things about this is I get to work from my room.  I had appointments scheduled all five days that I was supposed to be there.  Each of those personal interviews has turned into a telephone interview.  So, I am hanging around my room waiting for the phone to ring.  The weekend in Bahrain is actually Friday and Saturday, so I had my Monday today!  Since I finish at 1:30 each afternoon, I am going to try to see some things around this area in the afternoons.  Because I worked today, I am looking forward to my day off Friday, which is when I will be going to Dublin for the weekend.  I am definitely going to get pictures posted this week from my trip last weekend!

Market at Bury St. Edmund's

I finally made it to the market at Bury St. Edmunds today.  It was really awesome.  I left here about 9:00 so I was able to get a parking place.  I am sure the fact that it was raining helped also!  This is such a neat little village, there are a lot of restaurants, confectioneries, pastry shops and all kinds of other shops.  I had lunch at Prezzo, which is an Italian restaurant  The Sspaghetti Bolognese was so good!  On market days, which are Wednesdays and Saturdays, the entire town centre is open to pedestrians only.  It reminded me of the River Market on Saturday morning, each of booths had something different, from flowers, fruits and veggies, fresh fish, fresh baked breads to books and clothes.

No trip to Bahrain

I was supposed to be flying to Bahrain today, but that has been cancelled.  We may try to get it rescheduled before I leave, but we will just have to see how things are over there in the next month or two.  I have mixed feelings about this, I really wanted to visit Bahrain and was looking forward to meeting the service members that are stationed there, but I was not thrilled about the thought of all the demonstrations going on in that part of the world.

Sunday through Thursday, I will be working for Bahrain, but it will be from the convenience of my room.  I will be available from 4:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. each day to answer calls from them.  Since it is not possible for me to be there in person, I am going to be hold my interviews over the phone.  I have a DSN (a military phone line) phone in my room, so I will not even have to go to the office each day!  That will be nice, but I bet by Thursday I will really be sick of this room!

My trip to Dublin is still on for Friday, so I am looking forward to that! I am working this weekend on getting my Amsterdam, Holland and Delft pictures uploaded, so more to come!

Lakenheath countryside

Aren't these little lambs so sweet?

More horses wearing their coats!

The Lakenheath area is so very different from London.  If you have ever been to London, you know that is so big and busy and crowded.  I am living in the middle of  a beautiful countryside.  These pictures were all taken within three miles of my base.

RAF Alconbury to RAF Molesworth

Thursday afternoon I drove the back roads from RAF Molesworth to RAF Alconbury.  During the scenic 11 mile drive, I passed 7 chapel/churches.  Of course, this was the day that I didn't have either of my cameras with me, so I used my phone, pictures aren't too bad for a phone!  You can be driving along in the middle of farmland and there will be a chapel/church in the middle of the farm.  Someone told me the difference chapels, churches and cathedrals, but I can't remember what it is, I will have to research that!  Anyway, I love taking pictures of churches, but there are so many churches here if I stopped to photograph all of them I would never get anywhere!  In these pictures you can get an idea of how the weather is here most of the time.  It was 2:00 p.m. when I took these pictures.  I would say that we are lucky if it is sunny one day a week and the sunshine usually doesn't last the entire day.  But, thank God the days are getting longer!  It is no longer dark when I go to and from work!

Hampton Court Palace in pictures.



This courtyard is in the center of the palace.
 The opening in the walls of the upper towers is where the ladies used to stand to watch the jousting
matches that were held in the courtyard.



The Hampton Court Palace Astronomical Clock.  The astronomical dial dates from at least 1528.  This clock is really neat, it shows the date, time, moon phases, zodiac signs and more.

This room is completely decorated with weaponry.  There are over 3,000 weapons in the room,

which is located in the King's apartment area of the palace.

The Great Vine in the Hampton Court Palace Gardens is the oldest and largest known vine in the world.  The Great Vine is more than 230 years old and 120 feet long. It is believed to have been planted by Lancelot "Capability" Brown around 1768.  This one vine crop averages of 500 to 700 bunches of grapes that weigh 507 to 705 lb.



 The kitchens at Hampton Court Palace, extended by Henry VIII in 1729, occupied more than 50 rooms and some 3,000 square feet or 279 square meters. In their heyday, they were staffed by 200 people providing two meals a day for the 800 members of the king's court who were entitled to eat there.

Each place setting had their own desset made from sugar and marzipan, and then painted with pure 24 carat gold.



No, there aren't real peacocks - they were made from marzipan and painted.

Tracy Porter and I outside Hampton Court Palace

A million miles away -

Last week I interviewed a lovely lady about VA benefits for surviving spouses.  Her husband died in August and naturally after being married for 40 years, she misses him very much.  She told me that her sister wrote a poem about him and read it at his funeral.  As she recited the poem to me she began to cry, you know me, I was crying right along with her!  She looked up and said "Oh my love, have you lost your husband also?"  Through my tears I shook my head and said "No, he's just a million miles away!"  I guess you can tell I am really missing Stephen!  On the bright side, it is less than 90 days until he gets here!

Hampton Court Palace

When I was in Reading, I went with Tracy on a tour of Hampton Court Palace.  This is where Henry VIII lived.  It was very interesting.  I keep saying it is so amazing to see all these places that are sooooo old!  In 1494 Lord Chamberlain leased Hampton Court and began "modernizing" the building.  It was 1529 Henry VIII took over the Palace.  In 1527, Queen Jane Seymour gave birth in a room just above the arched walk way, and died in the same room 12 days later.  It is said that her heart is buried in the Chapel.  Her body is buried at Westminster Abbey in London along with Henry VIII. 

We toured the Tudor kitchens, which were built in 1530.  During Henry VIII's era they fed some 1,200 of his court members per day.  Currently they have kitchen staff dressed in the Tudor era clothes, preparing Tudor meals.  At the end of each day, the Hampton Court staff share the meal that was prepared int he kitchen that day, to include magnificent sugar and marzipan desserts.

They have beautiful gardens.  I can only image how lovely they are during the spring and summer.  There is a huge grape vine, that is the oldest and largest vine in the world.  Yes, it still produces grapes.  As with many of the castles and palaces here in England, Hampton Court Palace has a maze.  After going through the maze at Leeds Castle, I decided not to attempt the maze at Hampton Court!

Off to Reading

I left Croughton Friday afternoon and went to Reading.  Ms. Britt took me on a beautiful adventure through the country.  Reading is a large town about an hour from London.  I met Tracy Porter (she lived just down the road from me on Bunch Road, when we were in elementary school) and her boyfriend for dinner.  We had been in contact through Facebook - I love reconnecting with old friends on Facebook!  Tracy has been living in Reading for about 17 years and loves it.  When Stephen asked me how long she had been here, before I actually found, I told him, "long enough to sound like an English person - no Arkansas accent left!"

Going South



I am standing at the Education Center, at RAF Croughton, the main gate it to the right.  The view is awesome!





This is a house that is near Croughton, actually it is a farm that I guess you can visit, there is a sign on the gate the says "A Day Out at the Farm"

 



More of the countryside close to Croughton.

  Thursday I went to RAF Croughton.  This is a beautiful base out in the country.  The temporary lodging at RAF Croughton is outstanding!  I had a nice big room with a living room and my own kitchenette!  Oh how I wish I could have that at Lakenheath!  When I read the directions that had been written by a former VA Rep he said that you go through 29 roundabouts.  Oh my goodness, he was not kidding!  For me this was more like 50 roundabouts because I had to go through several of them more than once.  Let's just say I got to hear Ms. Britt say re-calculating more than once on this trip!  Just outside the fence across the road from my office there were sheep grazing.  The countryside is just so beautiful with sheep, horses and cows.  The fields are so green, you would never know that it is winter!