Deventer, The Netherlands, 25-28 May 2007
The following week-end, off I was again... to the Netherlands this time, to hook up with Rosi, the lady I shared my tent with in Africa. It just showed that first impressions can be so wrong... because usually I am not comfortable around smokers, but we got on really well. In case you do not know this, 'Holland' is actually a province of the Netherlands, so it wouldn't be correct to label the whole country this way though even the natives seem to do so...
When she emailed me to say I was welcome any time, 3 weeks ago, I emailed her right back to say 'ok, how about the bank holiday?' (not being one to waste any). Done deed. I booked my flight with KLM within minutes. £127 ... not cheap, but the day before departure the fare had gone up to £297... seriously ridiculous when you can fly to NY for less than that... As usual, I left work early and went straight there, easier to use some flexi time than a day off annual leave at the rate I'm travelling!
Amsterdam is only a short hop from LHR, with a mere 40mns in the air, but I wasn't going to Amsterdam, but Deventer, East of the capital, in a straight line almost. I knew I had 20mns to buy my train ticket and board the train so was rather nervous about the flight landing on time, etc. Thankfully we landed 15mns early but I wasted precious time trying to work out the ticket machines and was getting nowhere fast, even with the 'English' option. I was sweating *buckets* and almost in tears as minutes were clicking away and in desperation I asked a cleaner if I could buy a ticket off a "real person" as I could not work out the machines (and my next direct train was an hour later, eeeek). He turned me round, and there it was... SO obvious and with such a BIG desk that I didn't see it first time round... I had walked straight past it.
I made it on the train with 1 minute to spare... then the controller checked my ticket and said that it was the wrong ticket... I had paid to travel after 7pm (a 'week end pass') and it was 6:55pm. My face dropped. The fine would be 35 euros. I told him I purposefully asked an official member of staff to sell me a ticket because I could not work out the machines... he sighed and said 'all right, no worries'... phew. My Dutch friend said it's because I was obviously a foreigner, whereas no one Dutch would get away with it. I'd said it's also because I was close to bursting into tears at this point and men can't handle weepy women very well ! :)
When I got off the train, Rosi was there, waiting... and we hopped on a bus for 5mns to get to hers. In The Netherlands most people do not drive cars, cycling is THE main means of transport. I felt sooo frustrated that I didn't think of hiring a bike well in advance (none available at short notice over a bank holiday week-end) because I love cycling and the country is so flat, it'd be a total breezer. Also, they are SO well equipped here with beautiful wide cycle lanes across town and the countryside. I saw hundreds of people on their bikes, with toddlers on the front and on the back... nothing phases them. Even Rosi would take her lovely dog Max in his basket in the summer (easier on his paws than walk on the hot tarmac). I really felt I missed out on one of life's greatest pleasures...
Rosi's flat was fairly spacious, had a beautiful garden and was overlooking a green area that led to forests and all... perfect location. We walked Max 11-17 kms a day... depending on the weather. He had boundless energy.... and we just tried to keep up ! :) London was dire, with downpour for 3 days, but Deventer was remarkably fine, with dry weather most afternoons.
The city itself is medieval and very very quaint... It was just really like walking back in time, or being on a movie set, it hardly seemed real at times, walking on so many cobbled streets, stepping into churches that were hundreds of years old (some had some junk sales stalls within the church to raise more funds). I just loved it. It has a river run through it, hence the history... with all the port activity and trade. Most houses were painted a soft yellow or pink, most doors were dark green....I did see one traditional mill too (with explanations in English - I don't recall meeting anyone who didn't speak English, amazing).
It was just a neat relaxing break, but no tulips left at this time of the year. There were plenty of other blossoms on trees though and it perfumed the air beautifully.
Rosi's cuisine was great (I saved a fortune not eating out) and Max, her faithful dog, was a treasure. It really made me want to have one! He was *the* best behaved dog I had ever met. Never once barked. During dinner times he knew he was not supposed to beg and would stay put in his basket. But as soon as we got up, he also knew he'd get a piece of left over as a reward and so would dance all the way to the kitchen, standing on his back legs (I had to video that!). Once I fell asleep after a 3 hour walk and just went in a coma for 2 hours... Rosi had prepared dinner in the meantime and Max woke me up gently when it was ready by just licking my hand (that was hanging down from the bed). No barking again. Just an absolutely sweetie. I just know I cannot own a dog till I retire (the poor thing would never see me) but I really felt they are such good company and comfort. And he could understand SO much Dutch. It frustrated me too ! Rosi swears he hasn't got a clue any more than I do, that he goes by tone of voice.... well, I'm not so sure. I think it's a bit of both. If we were at the table and just said 'let's keep this piece of bread for Max' his ear soon popped up as he recognised the sound of his name, no matter what the influx was!
Anyway, I would recommend Deventer to anyone. It's a really pleasant city, almost deserted on the week-ends, with a gorgeous market (with many flowers and fresh fruits) in the main plaza, with hundreds of beautiful walks and packed with history (none of which sank in, though Rosi made a brilliant tour guide). It is a very visual town too, with lots of details on doors, gates, etc. So, I was a happy bunny and took about 100+ photos in just 3 days (it says a lot). Again, no time to buy post cards, mainly because, unlike London, all the shops are closed on a Sunday !
On the Monday I left Rosi at 3pm, hopped back on the bus, got off at the last stop, the station. Waited 30mns for my train, got on the train for 90mns to Amsterdam Schipol Airport (direct)... checked in and then had to wait 1h45 for boarding. Well... I felt hungry so started to sit down for a leisurely dinner...then noted on the board that the 19h05 to London Heathrow was 40mns late. So, I thought, ok, my boarding time of 18:15 must now be 19h10. I took it really easy, ordered another snack... and then a little voice inside my head, at 18H50 said 'just check the board again, to make sure they haven't started boarding'... and then EEEEEK: they had. I did a double take, completely baffled as it still stated '40mns late'.... till I realised that there were TWO flights leaving for London Heathrow at exactly 19h05 and I had been looking at the wrong one, not taking note of the actual flight number. HOW could I do that ??? You'd think I'd never travelled before. DORK. I just never expected *that*... is my feeble excuse. I then had a panic attack when I realised I had not even gone through security and that my gate was '15mns way'.... I thought to myself, 'this can't be real, I am in the Hare and the Tortoise tale'... toooo relaxed because I had arrived too early.
I ran through security but the queues were endless... MORE sweat. Managed to compose myself, check my ticket again and realised my boarding pass just said 'go straight to gate D54'... but as bad luck would have it, D54 was THE furthest away.... I ran and ran and ran and was the last one to board... they closed the door 4mns later. We took off at exactly 19h05... which is usually unheard of. So, it shows that 'that still little voice' inside our head should never ever be ignored ! THANK GOD. I felt my guardian Angel was looking after me... though, if the little voice had popped in 10mns earlier, it would have stopped me running like a lunatic.
Then it was another 1h30 after I landed to get home at about 9:15pm, just over 7 hours after I said bye to Rosi... but looking at trains options, it still would be no quicker. It's like when I go home to Besancon... you are in a no win stituation, whatever you do. I will probably go back again, we had a lovely time. Next time I shall hire a bike though... great exercise... though 17kms hikes aren't bad either! Just more tiring on my feet...
The next adventure will be Borneo, 22 June till 8 July... so, watch this space for tales of orang utans and fantastic snorkelling and diving in Sipidan.... can't wait !!!
The following week-end, off I was again... to the Netherlands this time, to hook up with Rosi, the lady I shared my tent with in Africa. It just showed that first impressions can be so wrong... because usually I am not comfortable around smokers, but we got on really well. In case you do not know this, 'Holland' is actually a province of the Netherlands, so it wouldn't be correct to label the whole country this way though even the natives seem to do so...
When she emailed me to say I was welcome any time, 3 weeks ago, I emailed her right back to say 'ok, how about the bank holiday?' (not being one to waste any). Done deed. I booked my flight with KLM within minutes. £127 ... not cheap, but the day before departure the fare had gone up to £297... seriously ridiculous when you can fly to NY for less than that... As usual, I left work early and went straight there, easier to use some flexi time than a day off annual leave at the rate I'm travelling!
Amsterdam is only a short hop from LHR, with a mere 40mns in the air, but I wasn't going to Amsterdam, but Deventer, East of the capital, in a straight line almost. I knew I had 20mns to buy my train ticket and board the train so was rather nervous about the flight landing on time, etc. Thankfully we landed 15mns early but I wasted precious time trying to work out the ticket machines and was getting nowhere fast, even with the 'English' option. I was sweating *buckets* and almost in tears as minutes were clicking away and in desperation I asked a cleaner if I could buy a ticket off a "real person" as I could not work out the machines (and my next direct train was an hour later, eeeek). He turned me round, and there it was... SO obvious and with such a BIG desk that I didn't see it first time round... I had walked straight past it.
I made it on the train with 1 minute to spare... then the controller checked my ticket and said that it was the wrong ticket... I had paid to travel after 7pm (a 'week end pass') and it was 6:55pm. My face dropped. The fine would be 35 euros. I told him I purposefully asked an official member of staff to sell me a ticket because I could not work out the machines... he sighed and said 'all right, no worries'... phew. My Dutch friend said it's because I was obviously a foreigner, whereas no one Dutch would get away with it. I'd said it's also because I was close to bursting into tears at this point and men can't handle weepy women very well ! :)
When I got off the train, Rosi was there, waiting... and we hopped on a bus for 5mns to get to hers. In The Netherlands most people do not drive cars, cycling is THE main means of transport. I felt sooo frustrated that I didn't think of hiring a bike well in advance (none available at short notice over a bank holiday week-end) because I love cycling and the country is so flat, it'd be a total breezer. Also, they are SO well equipped here with beautiful wide cycle lanes across town and the countryside. I saw hundreds of people on their bikes, with toddlers on the front and on the back... nothing phases them. Even Rosi would take her lovely dog Max in his basket in the summer (easier on his paws than walk on the hot tarmac). I really felt I missed out on one of life's greatest pleasures...
Rosi's flat was fairly spacious, had a beautiful garden and was overlooking a green area that led to forests and all... perfect location. We walked Max 11-17 kms a day... depending on the weather. He had boundless energy.... and we just tried to keep up ! :) London was dire, with downpour for 3 days, but Deventer was remarkably fine, with dry weather most afternoons.
The city itself is medieval and very very quaint... It was just really like walking back in time, or being on a movie set, it hardly seemed real at times, walking on so many cobbled streets, stepping into churches that were hundreds of years old (some had some junk sales stalls within the church to raise more funds). I just loved it. It has a river run through it, hence the history... with all the port activity and trade. Most houses were painted a soft yellow or pink, most doors were dark green....I did see one traditional mill too (with explanations in English - I don't recall meeting anyone who didn't speak English, amazing).
It was just a neat relaxing break, but no tulips left at this time of the year. There were plenty of other blossoms on trees though and it perfumed the air beautifully.
Rosi's cuisine was great (I saved a fortune not eating out) and Max, her faithful dog, was a treasure. It really made me want to have one! He was *the* best behaved dog I had ever met. Never once barked. During dinner times he knew he was not supposed to beg and would stay put in his basket. But as soon as we got up, he also knew he'd get a piece of left over as a reward and so would dance all the way to the kitchen, standing on his back legs (I had to video that!). Once I fell asleep after a 3 hour walk and just went in a coma for 2 hours... Rosi had prepared dinner in the meantime and Max woke me up gently when it was ready by just licking my hand (that was hanging down from the bed). No barking again. Just an absolutely sweetie. I just know I cannot own a dog till I retire (the poor thing would never see me) but I really felt they are such good company and comfort. And he could understand SO much Dutch. It frustrated me too ! Rosi swears he hasn't got a clue any more than I do, that he goes by tone of voice.... well, I'm not so sure. I think it's a bit of both. If we were at the table and just said 'let's keep this piece of bread for Max' his ear soon popped up as he recognised the sound of his name, no matter what the influx was!
Anyway, I would recommend Deventer to anyone. It's a really pleasant city, almost deserted on the week-ends, with a gorgeous market (with many flowers and fresh fruits) in the main plaza, with hundreds of beautiful walks and packed with history (none of which sank in, though Rosi made a brilliant tour guide). It is a very visual town too, with lots of details on doors, gates, etc. So, I was a happy bunny and took about 100+ photos in just 3 days (it says a lot). Again, no time to buy post cards, mainly because, unlike London, all the shops are closed on a Sunday !
On the Monday I left Rosi at 3pm, hopped back on the bus, got off at the last stop, the station. Waited 30mns for my train, got on the train for 90mns to Amsterdam Schipol Airport (direct)... checked in and then had to wait 1h45 for boarding. Well... I felt hungry so started to sit down for a leisurely dinner...then noted on the board that the 19h05 to London Heathrow was 40mns late. So, I thought, ok, my boarding time of 18:15 must now be 19h10. I took it really easy, ordered another snack... and then a little voice inside my head, at 18H50 said 'just check the board again, to make sure they haven't started boarding'... and then EEEEEK: they had. I did a double take, completely baffled as it still stated '40mns late'.... till I realised that there were TWO flights leaving for London Heathrow at exactly 19h05 and I had been looking at the wrong one, not taking note of the actual flight number. HOW could I do that ??? You'd think I'd never travelled before. DORK. I just never expected *that*... is my feeble excuse. I then had a panic attack when I realised I had not even gone through security and that my gate was '15mns way'.... I thought to myself, 'this can't be real, I am in the Hare and the Tortoise tale'... toooo relaxed because I had arrived too early.
I ran through security but the queues were endless... MORE sweat. Managed to compose myself, check my ticket again and realised my boarding pass just said 'go straight to gate D54'... but as bad luck would have it, D54 was THE furthest away.... I ran and ran and ran and was the last one to board... they closed the door 4mns later. We took off at exactly 19h05... which is usually unheard of. So, it shows that 'that still little voice' inside our head should never ever be ignored ! THANK GOD. I felt my guardian Angel was looking after me... though, if the little voice had popped in 10mns earlier, it would have stopped me running like a lunatic.
Then it was another 1h30 after I landed to get home at about 9:15pm, just over 7 hours after I said bye to Rosi... but looking at trains options, it still would be no quicker. It's like when I go home to Besancon... you are in a no win stituation, whatever you do. I will probably go back again, we had a lovely time. Next time I shall hire a bike though... great exercise... though 17kms hikes aren't bad either! Just more tiring on my feet...
The next adventure will be Borneo, 22 June till 8 July... so, watch this space for tales of orang utans and fantastic snorkelling and diving in Sipidan.... can't wait !!!
posted by Sylvie at 5:25 PM
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