The Netherlands – Page 2

Mission: Accomplished

I slacked in keeping up the day to day journaling whilst on the trip, due to usually just wanting to go right to sleep, whenever bedtime finally came around 😅 And typically being too busy during the days, to post.

But in doing so, I now have no posts written up in advance and have to rely on photos to stoke the embers of memory, which saddens me because I know I have forgotten potentially interesting details. So from now on, it’s all just out of recollection and not from recent happenings.

Forgive me if the details are lacking 😉

09/27/21

The children were in school, so Judith had the morning to go out with us ☺️
We went to Coffee Brew Krefeld.

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A modern/earthy little breakfast spot with tasty drinks and a menu filled with healthy, yet intriguing breakfast options.
Mike went for what was possibly their only non-healthy option 🤪

It sounded good to me too, but I didn’t want to just get two of the same dishes, so Judith and I went for smoothie bowl style dishes.

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All of us got specialty drinks which were very tasty and the presentation of it all, made it all the more enjoyable 😉

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From there, we headed into town to do some shopping.

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Judith making it her mission to find me some clothing stores after our failed shopping in Arnhem 🤪
And she didn’t disappoint!

In the first store, C&A, she and Mike took off, loading their arms with clothing for me and then ushering me to the change room 🤪

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I left with 5 skirts, one costing a whopping €2.99!😅
Redeeming the shopping aspect of the trip 😉👌🏻

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I also ended up purchasing a slightly dressier winter coat from Vera Moda.
So then I decided the shopping excursion must end 🤪

Actually our time for being out before the kids got back home from school was up as well, so it was timely 😉
Mike made us all some poffertjes for an afternoon bite to eat, and once we’d enjoyed those and packed up, we began our journey back to Doesburg.

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Not before some photos could be taken with each other though 😊

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(Elaine had quickly changed into the same outfit as me when she’d gotten back from school, so it was no coincidence 😉)

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Since Lake still wasn’t feeling 100%, we decided to stop in and see Oma at her pharmacy job for some advice 😉

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It was also raining pretty good so we stuck around to give her a ride home from work, rather than have her bike home. The delay due to traffic jams, which we are so not accustomed to anymore, and then the little wait for Oma, put Lake over the edge as far as being in the car is concerned. Oma held ‘Luca’ in Lake’s view and that appeased him until we got back and it was Opa’s turn to help get him back into a happier frame of mind 😉

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Savouring – The Snuggles, The Food, The Family Time

09/26/21

Lake and I had church from the couch on this specific Sunday.

He slept in until 10:30 and was back down for a large nap only an hour and a half later, after only having laid on the floor, or me, during his awake time between. Refusing any food or drink, aside from coffee 🤪

I can’t lie and say I didn’t actually sort of like the snuggles and calmness 🙈
It truly was the first time in his first year of life (aside from the baby days when he didn’t really have any say 🤪) that he willingly clung to me, and wanted to continue doing so 💗

The rest of the family that had attended church, returned with lunch from another Greek restaurant that we had on our ‘to eat’ list 😉

We decided that it did have the better meat compared to the first Greek restaurant we’d went to.
Looks aside 🤪 Why does it seem like some of the tastiest foods, look the least appealing?
So, if you’re ever in the area, make a point to go to ‘Grill Am Bahnhof’ and order Gyros, you can thank us later.

Lake stayed asleep until after lunch, which is always a nice treat 🙈 Once he awoke and seen the kids, he really perked up and seemed to be doing better ☺️

We went for a little visit to some family/friends from church later that afternoon and then popped in to say hello to some more family after that 😅 Mike has no shortage of family, friends and friends like family and so on and so forth, so if we ever had ‘spare’ time, it wasn’t hard to fill 🤪

Originally we’d planned to go back to John and Inge’s that evening, but after learning they’d both be working, we figured we’d might as well stay another night at the sisters, if she’d have us 😉

Once the children were all in bed, we were treated to an evening spread of veggies, sausages and bread with a feta/tomato dip 👌🏼

Untimely Unwellness

09/25/21

Saturday morning began with a family breakfast ☺️🍞🥐🧀🥓

Afterwords, Mike went to the barber, Tim, our nephew going with for some guy time 😎 They returned with churros 🤪

During their time away, Lake was entertained by aunty and uncle, and I got to relax.

Writing and being served coffee 😉

Judith and I went for a 6 km walk, knowing the rest of our day probably wouldn’t hold much movement, as we were headed to a garden party 🤓

Walking a new route with a new companion (no offence to my regulars 😉) surely makes the walk go by quicker 😅

Lake had been fading in the health category for a couple of days, but it was really showing up this day.

Snuggling with us after his nap instead of jumping up and wanting to be taken out of the room to play, and then slowly becoming more and more clingy as the day went on.
By the time we got to the garden party, he only wanted to be held and didn’t want to play, or eat anything aside from watermelon. All out of the ordinary for him 🤪

We partook of all the food items available, enjoying the variety of goodies 😉

We eventually took Lake for a walk in the covered wagon supplied by our hosts, to try to get him to sleep. It worked… for a few minutes.

He then just lounged in it, as he was gazed up and wheeled around…

making it really seemed like a pretty luxury accommodation for a special occupant 🤪

Dinner was served, and we happily indulged in that as well, of course, as we’re no strangers to accepting food 😉

After that, we took Lake inside where it was a cooler and less strenuous for our arms, as we could sit on a big comfy couch with him. Mike went back out to mingle after Lake settled a bit, and I stayed until he fell asleep… and then I actually fell asleep for 20 minutes too 😅

I felt bad once I awoke, as they’d put a note in the doorway to be quiet because there was a baby sleeping…but it wasn’t just a baby 🙈

The guys went to play a game of soccer late that evening, after the party ended. So Lake and I were taken home to go to bed.
He threw up before bed, and the poor little guy was very warm and having a hard time getting comfortable.
Making for a pretty restless night, with many wakings due to his cough and phlegm, causing many paci losses and hasty replacements 🤪😞

It was a little disappointing that the day Lake had his first real bought of ‘cuddle inducing, don’t put me down, and comfort me’ sickness happened during a day that held beautiful weather and multiple people I know a bit better than some, and could have really visited with, but that’s life 😉

Young At Heart…If Not In Our Senses

09/24/21

Oma Inge took Lake for a bike ride, so that I could have a child free morning to get myself and our things together, as we were once again bound for Germany for the weekend.

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Before heading there though, we were stopping in at a cousin’s home.

And before getting to the cousin’s home, we stopped at one of the few Starbucks scattered across The Netherlands.

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I was so looking forward to a coffee like I’d have at home annnnd they messed it up because I forgot they don’t do cream here 🙄 It’s milk or nothing, so instead they tried a cloud foam on top, and it just turned out to be a very strong, mostly black iced coffee, which had a weird flavour once the foam settled. Needless to say, it was disappointing 🙈

Being served traditional and delicious Norwegian waffles made by our cousins Norwegian wife, lifted my spirits 🤪 (yes it is probably somewhat obvious that she’d be Norwegian, but just in case there was a question as to why the waffles would be ‘authentic’ I thought I’d clarify 😜 ).

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After we’d eaten, we headed to go bowling.

Which turned into mini golf, some air hockey, and a roller coaster simulator… as well as some bowling 🤪
The glow golf was a bit over stimulating at times and I felt horrible that Lake had to come along on the roller coaster simulator, but he hardly complained and really was a little champ 😉💗👍🏻

We had fun being kids though and truly enjoyed our afternoon together ☺️
Even though all of the noise, dim and or flashing lights, really made us feel a little old, once we excited out into the now, seemingly ‘serene’ out of doors 🤪

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Sadly, Lake had begun to feel a little under the weather the day before and thus, he was pretty subdued for all the above activities, and this is how he sadly looked during the remaining drive to Aunties.

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Judith’s was gotten to nearer bedtime than not, so once the kids had gotten in their hellos, it was also time for them to say goodnight, and we adults followed not long after.

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I Say Pancake, You Say Pannenkoek

09/22/21

1 week and 5 days in, I got my first day at the house to do nothing but unpack, tidy up, shower, laundry (though my kind mother-in-law did most of the laundry during our stay 🙈) etc.

12 days of being on the go, visiting people, and being out and about amidst other humans in some form or another, is, as some may know if they know my personality, A. LOT. 😅🥴

I was so ready for a chill day. Meanwhile, Mike was not capable of relaxing in the day, wanting to know what we could do, or where we could go and when I stated no where and nothing, he managed to go out multiple times alone for different things, but that didn’t totally satisfy him 😏

He got us kibbeling and loempia’s for lunch.

Kibbeling being a delicious freshly fried fish with tartar sauce. The man even told Mike that the fish they use for it comes from Canada 🤔
But the seasoning and crunchy batter is 👌🏻

Lake decided to walk that afternoon! As we were sitting in our various spots, he suddenly stood by a chair, turned and walked to Mike with no cajoling. From there he walked to me and then so on and so forth until Opa came downstairs to witness it and the game continued.

He walked between us all for some distance and time, and we figured our days of having a crawler were no more.

Opa offered to babysit Lake, while we were allowed to take out his Porsche for a ride 😎

The Pannenkoekhuis Strijland in Velp ended up as our destination.
A fairly renowned restaurant which we had never actually been to together/Mike hadn’t been for to years.

One sweet and one savoury were ordered to share, peaches with sugar and Italian.

The pancakes are a little tricky to explain, as they aren’t as thin and light as crêpes, nor are the as thick and fluffy as some North American pancakes. They are on the thinner side, but also more dense, bordering on a heavier, custard like texture.
We were without a doubt the youngest couple in there 🙈
It appeared to be ‘the’ spot for those who are let’s say…of a wiser and more learned place in having lived a more substantial amount of life 😜
The flavours on the Italian one were very nice, and the peach one was good as well, I’d just expected a little more than it came with topping wise 🤪
All in all, it was nice to try, we checked that attraction off of our list, and we probably won’t be headed back overly soon, but that’s just because we’re not huge Dutch pancake fans to begin with ☺️

John, Inge and Lake were met back in Doesburg, as they were finishing up a little snack at a restaurant there, and we didn’t have keys for the house.

Lake may have had a look of slight confusion for a fleeting moment, not understanding how mom and dad were suddenly on the path where he was after not having seen us for a while 🤪

We all headed back to the house then and later that evening, our delivery from Tout Pâtisserie arrived 🤤

The best macarons we’ve found in our European travels thus far 💗
The taste, the texture, the crunchy chewiness, the thick, creamy filling. They are amazing.

We always try to get them, but they are in some out of the way spots for us, so it gets tricky. Thinking of having them deliver, worked out perfectly 👌🏻

Lake showed his newly rekindled talent for walking once we got back to the house as well, getting giddier and picking up speed as well as some extra swaying, the more praise he received 🙈

(I say newly rekindled, because over a month ago, he was walking between us and from furniture and whatnot for a couple of days and then just stopped until now 🤪)

Where We Once ‘Winkled’

09/21/21

Winkel – To shop.

A Dutch word that never fails to amuse me

We’d pre-planned a shopping date with Oma as babysitter for Tuesday, so we readied ourselves and drove to Arnhem.

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That’s the city we’d typically go to for a day of shopping when we lived here. It’s street shopping, meaning in and out of stores, walking down streets and allies, where I’d be completely turned around and lost if not for Mike always seeming to know which way to go, to get to wherever we are headed 🤪

It didn’t take too long until we felt like we needed food, so we went to one of Mikes favourite places to get fries. Spot him ordering below.

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It’s very much a Dutch thing to eat fries, but Mike REALLY loves them.

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I love the mayo and peanut sauté sauce that covers up that fact that I’m eating fries 🤪

We walked and shopped and didn’t really find much. The stores being on what I consider to be the slightly pricier side and a fair chunk of them currently having very similar styles.

I always enjoy ‘Dille & Kamille’ a shop with a variety of home and gift items.

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Mike gets sick of my picking up all the little cutesy things, wishing I’d just look at something of substance, but I can’t help that A; little things are cuter and B; we have only suitcase room, so that’s what I’m keeping in mind 😏

This adorable wooden seashell hairbrush set was spotted in a children’s shop. I found it to be extremely precious.

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The €60.00 price tag meant it stayed there and wouldn’t be a gift for the newest niece though 🤪
A follower wisely reminded me though that there aren’t only mermaids but also mermen, so technically it could have been for Lake 😜🙌🏻

There was a ‘pepernoten’ pop up shop due to it being fall and nearing their Sinterklaas season (look it up if you’re curious, I find it confusing 🤪 It’s like a pre Christmas thing, which is very much like Christmas 🤓) so we purchased a bag to take home. I remember mom getting ‘peppernut’ cookies from the farmers market when we were young, so there must have been a seller of European decent 😊

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Back at the house, nearly empty-handed from shopping, it was decided that a calzone, kapsalon and pasta would be ordered in for supper.

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Babysitting had gone well for Oma, and she’d taken Lake on a 20 km bike exploration 😅

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* I ask that you do your best to ignore any spelling mistakes, as on my iPad the set up is different, and I can’t find an easy way to do a spelling / grammar check. Thank you for your understanding

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