To finish off our time in UK we spent a few days with Lil's sister Annabelle and her partner Mark Thompson. They were busy during the daytime so we were able to help with the household chores and cook some evening meals. We picked up John's new New Zealand passport and so we shouldn't have any more problems at border crossings.
Behind the New Zealand Consulate is a shop that sells all sorts of new Zealand foods, clothes and souvenirs. We bought a few items that we could easily carry and will give them to friends that we are going to visit in Europe. We have realised that we didn't get any photos of the Thompson clan. Sorry about that.
We caught a train from Liverpool station to the ferry at Harwich. The train was late so we were taken by taxi to the ferry. It was a calm crossing and we were able to get our train to Amsterdam easily. Friday evening in rush hour was not the best time to take a train with full backpacks!
We met our friend Frankie at Amsterdam South Station where he lives across the street from the station. We first met him in the Philippines where he had been diving and we stayed in the same resort together. Frankie has an interesting Dutch/Australian accent when he speaks English as he lived and worked in Australia for some time.
Frankie now works for the Happy Home Company which is a company that organizes holiday homes in several countries. He is also a scuba diving instructor and a qualified panel beater and likes to restore cars.
We were invited out to go on an old (1911) cargo carrying ship that has been restored. The ship used to carry sand and goods along the canals and now takes passengers sailing in the Ijsselmeer. The sea is an area inside a dyke system that helps protect Holland from flooding.
It was a cold miserable day so we put on all the warm clothes that we have and managed to stay warm and dry. The skipper gave us some herbal alcoholic drink to help warm us up. Frankie's flatmate Anne-Laure from France and her friend also joined us.
Frankie, Auraly, Anne-laurer, Lil
We had to help set up the sails and then sailed through the sweet water bay. The water was originally salty but the dyke fills with fresh water from the land. From the ship we could see only the rooves of the houses visible above the dykes.
We were served traditional Dutch food: bean soup with smoked sausage, cheeses, and speculaas (ginger biscuits).
Monnickendam is an interesting place. It has narrow streets and houses that look like they will fall down any day soon as they are built on such boggy land.
On a beautiful day with all its sails, the Golden promise ( Gulden Beloft) would look like this!
