Back to Holland / Terug naar Nederland

After a short visit with family in Los Angeles and San Diego, we got on another set of airplanes for a long trip to the Netherlands. The purpose of this trip was to visit family and friends and to sort out our affairs there, which is to say - to move out of our apartment and officially emigrate from Holland to the US.

We had surprisingly sunny weather during the month of April and it was a real treat to get back on the bicycles and enjoy the canals of Amsterdam. We spent lots of time in various parts of the country visiting with family members and particularly enjoyed being out in the countryside at a time of year when all the trees and flowers were blossoming.

Bedankt lieve familie en vrienden voor jullie gastvrijheid! Wij missen jullie!

The following photos were taken in Rijnsaterwoude, the small town where Michiel grew up and where his father still resides.







At the end of our stay, I finally did what is required to be called a REAL Amsterdammer - I participated in moving our furniture from our 3rd storey apartment to the sidewalk using a block and tackle. Almost all traditional Amsterdam apartments are narrow-fronted with steep, narrow staircases. In most situations, it is nearly impossible to move things like couches down the stairs...so most of these buildings have a big hook on the gable (just below the roof) on which to hang a pulley.

Here is Michiel's brother, Wilbert, and I managing the ropes from the sidewalk on our first practice run with a light load in the net. Michiel is in the apartment loading the furniture into the net and pushing it out the window of the living room. Well, actually, he's the one who took this photo. Heel erg bedankt voor je hulp, Wilbert!