To Schiebroek- for old times sake

Why visit Schiebroek a suburb of Rotterdam. Well it was here where my grand-parents lived. I have many fond memories of this area and have asked to go for a drive to the old unit in the Olijflaan and surrounding areas. I have taped everything along the way (sorry I haven't figured out how to put it on you tube yet.) Upon arrival, I get a little emotional as memories of my grand-parents come rushing in. I remember walking around the Bergse Plassen (lakes), going to Rotterdam city and always returning home with a brand-new outfit. Sleeping with Nan in the big bed and having a silent laugh at Pop having to sleep in the spare room. I was frightened at night time as a little girl. Doing acrobatics/gymnastics with Nan. Pops stories about the war and his magic tricks. What the unit looked like in general and my dog "Roet". When we migrated to Australia, Roet moved in with my grand-parents. I was supposed to return to the Netherlands after 6 months and claim her back, instead I stayed on in Australia and my grand-parents didn't really want to part with her anymore. I returned for a visit in 1993 to see both my grand-parents but unfortunately Roet had died earlier on in the same year. It is at times like these, when you realise, how much you really miss them. I would have given anything to be able to walk up those stairs and knock on their door to catch up with everyone (dog included), but other people live there now.

Scheveningen Beach

Scheveningen Beach in The Hague is a popular seaside resort that attracts many visitors to enjoy it's long stretches of golden sand. I remember the entire family packing the car choc a block full with all things imaginable just to spend a day at the beach. In The Netherlands summer days are few and far in between and on these rare days, the dutch flock to the beach, resulting in traffic jams that go for miles and once you arrive, it's welcome to sardine city. It takes time to find a spot and as you search you have to step over other people. The problem is you need a spot large enough to fit the entire family. The beach also has a pier with a restaurant, a casino and a bungy jumping tower at the end. The harbour is filled with modern fishing trawlers. Each June on flag day, Scheveningen celebrates the first big catches of Herring, which the dutch eat raw with finely chopped onions. There are plenty of restaurants and we dine in a seafood restaurant with oom Rob and Coby before exploring all this at a leisurely pace. Gary falls in love with Scheveningen and even manages to get some ideas for use at home. An outdoor table with fireproof tray in the middle and chairs right around to make sitting outside possible just a little longer.

Amsterdam- A city of contrasts

What is a trip to Holland, without a visit to the dutch capital. From food and fashion to art and architecture, this vibrant city has it all. Amsterdam has an eclectic atmosphere that's infectious. One of Europe's most radical cities in the 1970's. Amsterdam's illicit image has diminished quite a bit over the years-prostitution was legalised in 2000, and while cannabis is still sold in coffee shops around the city, few locals indulge in public. Despite it's reputation, though, there's more to the dutch capital than a liberal lifestyle-it's an eye opener for art aficionados and architecture buffs, and the picturesque canal-side cafes, intimate nightclubs and bustling squares offer plenty of opportunity to soak up the city's cool vibe. Gary and I go our separate ways in the City as Gary would like to look around the red light district and I really want to visit the Anne Frank House. This is not my first visit to Amsterdam. I have spend a day here with the De Groot family, in the 80's and walked around the red light district back than. When I was a young girl, I read Anne's diary and her story touched me deeply. Not only because of her but all those others who lost their lives during the war. I am on my way as soon as possible, camera in hand. I arrive at the Prinsengracht 267. This is the house where Anne and her family hid to escape deportation by the Nazis during the war. After paying the admission fee, I follow the others inside. No one is taking any photos and the visit is very thought provoking. The house has been left as it was on Otto Frank's return and it is amazing to think that 8 people shared this tiny place for such a long time. The thought of me having to share with 8 people, having to be mouse-still and so full of life is unimaginable. Anyway I want to see the chestnut tree, Anne writes about in her diary but that area has been closed of due to renovations as that section had some safety concerns at the time. After a long visit, I leave without having taken any photos. It felt terribly wrong to take pictures of a family's suffering. I catch up with Gary and we have a meal before returning home again.

Bessie has some exciting news

Our property has been teeming with domestic animals lately. Our neighbours are having a few problems with wild dogs. One of their calves had been attacked and is being cared for at their place. Since they had another 2 calves who were at risk of further attacks and a heavily pregnant cow, it was decided to move all these animals to our property. Gary and I own 2 donkeys and they make good herd protectors. Donkeys. Well there are a lot of dogs in our neighbourhood, who have developed a very healthy respect for Jack and Bonnie and avoid them like the plague ( Wild dogs included). Anyway we have been observing Bessie the cow for a while and yesterday, the big moment finally arrived. Our cow Clover was calling out and was very upset, as she had lost her best friend. Naturally, I thought it was a bit odd as they are always together. I have been reading up, as to what to expect, with calving etc and knew that a cow would look for a place to have her calf away from the rest of the herd. I believed she must have had it already but this was not the case. I decided to move her into a smaller enclosure near our house, to keep an eye on her. A few hours later around 8.20 AM, I noticed a sack hanging out from her behind and I realised, she was about to give birth. Back to the house to fetch the camera and check on time. Apparently if the calf hasn't arrived within the hour she needs assistance. I have managed to capture the entire birth on film and made some photos as well. It was a beautiful moment. The calf is just very cute and like all babies it just drinks, sleeps and plays a tiny bit. Here are the photos of Bessie and calf.

Say Cheese and smoking pipes

Whilst in Gouda, we visit the cheese museum and get a glimpse of how that famous Gouda cheese is made. The cheese is made from cow's milk that is cultured and heated until the curd is separate from the whey. Some of the whey is then drained and water is added. This is called "washing the curd" and creates a sweeter cheese, as the washing removes some of the lactic acid. About 10 percent of the mixture is curds which are pressed into circular mounds for several hours. The cheese is then soaked in a brine solution which gives the cheese it's rind and distinctive taste. The cheese is then dried for a couple of days before being coated to prevent it from drying out, then it is aged, depending on age classification, for a number of weeks for young cheese, to over 7 years for a vintage variety, before it is ready to eat. After watching an informative video and a guided tour in dutch as the volunteer present that day doesn't speak English. His only visitors (except me) are English speaking people but no problem, I have become an interpreter to help the visitors and guide along. Gary and the others want to know everything and my English is being tested. Immigrants tend to learn what is needed to get along in their new country. I have never discussed cheese making procedures with anyone in English before and it shows at times. Immigrants also learn to be descriptive when necessary and in the end we all get there. We leave the cheese making museum and look around in the other areas and notice all these smoking pipes being displayed. This gets us curious and we approach this guy to ask him about the smoking pipes and their significance. He informs us to hang around as there will be a demonstration in clay pipe making very soon. This guy speaks English and as Gary is interested he is given a very informative talk about the smoking pipes. Well here it is.

Clay smoking pipes museum

The material and shape of a pipe has a profound influence upon the aesthetic of a smoke. (I never thought I would write anything like this, as I am a non smoker) Many materials have been used for pipe making, but Gouda is famous for it's clay pipes. Top quality clays are hand made in a labour intensive process that requires beating all the air out of the clay, hand rolling each pipe before molding it, piercing it with a fine wire and careful firing. Traditionally, clay pipes are unglazed. Clays burn "hot" in comparison to other types of pipes, so they are often difficult for most pipe smokers to use. Unlike other materials, a well made clay pipe gives a "pure" smoke, with no flavour addition from the pipe bowl. Clay pipes were once considered disposable items and large quantities discarded in the past are often used as an aid in dating by industrial archaeologists.

Gouda City

Gouda is famous for it's Gouda cheese, smoking pipes and it's 15Th century city hall. The town takes it's name from the Van Der Goude family, who built a fortified castle alongside the banks of the Gouwe River, from which the family took it's name. Gouda's fabulous array of historic churches and other buildings makes it a very popular day trip destination. Gary, Coby and myself, grab our pushbikes and set of to Gouda ( about 15 to 20 kms) from Nieuwerkerk a/d IJssel. We stop and have a mugachino and appeltaart (Dutch speciality) with Coby, before it is time for her to return home once again. Coby has been extremely busy helping Stella with the renovations at her place. In the 13TH century, the Gouwe was connected to the Oude Rijn (Old Rhine) by means of a canal and it's mouth at the Hollandse IJssel was developed into a harbour. Castle Gouda was built to protect this harbour. This shipping route was used for the trade between Flanders and France with Holland and the Baltic Sea. In 1272 Floris V, Count of Holland, granted city rights to Gouda, which by then had become an important location. In 1577 the demolition of castle Gouda began. In 1855, the railway Gouda- Utrecht began to operate. In the beginning of the 20TH century, large scale development began, extending the city beyond its moats. From 1940 on, back filling of the city moats and canals began, but because of protests from city dwellers and revised policies of city planners, Gouda did not continue back filling moats and canals, now considered historically valuable.

The Endless Battle

For over two millenia the dutch have been fighting against floods and reclaiming land from the sea. The sea has been driven back, but at what cost? Countless lives and homes have been lost to the sea and the rivers. The Dutch know that every square meter of soil came at a high cost, yet giving up is simply not an option. We know how the Dutch keep the waters at bay nowadays, but how did this endless battle begin? It started with a terp (or wierde) this is an artificial hill, made to create a safe haven at high tide. The first terps were built around 500BC and ended with the coming of the dike somewhere around 1200. A dike is an artificial earthen wall, constructed as a defense or as a boundary. The best known form of dike is a construction built along the edge of a body of water, to prevent it from flooding onto an adjacent lowland. Dikes are mainly found along the sea, where dunes are not strong enough and along rivers for protection against high floods, along lakes or polders. Dikes have also been built for the purpose of empoldering. A polder is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. Some need drainage by pumps to prevent the water table within it from rising too high. Some can be drained by opening sluices at low tide or pumping mills (windmills). In Europe windmills were developed in the middle ages. The earliest mills were probably grinding mills. They were mounted on city walls and could not be turned into the wind. With further development mills became versatile in windy regions for all kinds of industry, most notably grain grinding mills, sawmills, threshing and pumping mills. The pumping mills allowed the drainage of the Dutch wetlands, to claim new land (polders), by continuously pumping water to the rivers, land below sea level could be created. To claim ever more land it became necessary to build a series of mills (molengang, mill pace). Each mill pumps water into a higher reservoir, with the last mill pumping it out to the river. In the 18th century several molendriegangen (3 mills) and molenviergangen (4 mills) were built, the largest preserved mill pace in kinderdijk was awarded world heritage status in 1997. Gary and I paid a visit there and visited some of the working mills and saw them in action.

Delta Works (Maeslantkering)

In the North Sea flood of 1953, breaks in the dikes and seawalls killed 1835 people and forced the evacuation of 70.000 more, 10.000 animals drowned and 4.500 buildings were destroyed. To prevent such a tragedy from happening again, an ambitious flood defense system was conceived and deployed, called the Deltawerken. This project was intended to improve the safety of the lower areas of the Netherlands against severe storms and flooding. Since more than 1 third of the nations land lies below sea level, this was no simple task. Dunes along the entire seashore were raised by as much as 5 meters, while the Islands in Zeeland province were joined together by dams and other large-scale constructions to shorten the coastline. The most sophisticated and famous of these dams is the Oosterscheldekering, which can be opened and closed to keep the sea at bay while preserving the salt water river delta for wildlife and the fishing industry. Gary and I visit the less known, but not less impressive Maeslantkering storm surge barrier near the port of Rotterdam. This storm surge barrier had to be located in the Nieuwe Waterway. This played an important role in the planning stage of construction as this waterway is the main route to the port of Rotterdam. Therefore a barrier like the Dutch Oosterscheldekering and the Thames barrier could not be constructed, as such a barrier would block the shipping route. The barrier that was built is connected to a self operating computer system which is linked to weather and sea level data. Under normal weather conditions the 2 doors themselves are well protected in their dry docks and a 360 meter wide gap in the waterway gives ships enough space without any inconvenience, but when a storm surge of 3.00 m above normal sea level is anticipated in Rotterdam, the barrier will automatically close. Four hours before the actual closing procedure will begin, in and out going ships are warned. Two hours before, the traffic in the Nieuwe waterway will come to a standstill, thirty minutes before, the dry docks that contain the gates are flooded. After this the gates start to float and two so called loco mobiles move the gates towards each other.

Where memories live.

Whilst we are in Holland, I return to Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel. This is the suburb where I lived with my family 23 years ago. We surprise Family, friends and old neighbours. I am enjoying the sight of their faces, when they realise who is at their door. It's great to catch up and exchange stories of days gone by and our todays. I show Gary around my old neighbourhood. We go to the shopping centre ( De Reigerhof). This is where I had my very first job. Like many other teenagers I worked as a check-out operator in the local supermarket (Albert Heijn ). Here I discover the shopping centre has expanded and is no longer recognisable to me. The swimming pool is also a wonderful memory. It is in this pool, where I get to swim, whilst it is still being build. I can truly say, I was the first to swim here. The park with obstacle course has completely disappeared. We go past my aunt and uncle's old house, this is still there but everything has been changed. On the inside there are no longer timber floors and everything is white. I have never really liked this style, it looks too sterile to me. I am keen to show Gary where we kept our horses and just want to return to the place where we had so many good times. I set of in that direction but soon discover it is impossible to find. Where once were paddocks with cows, sheep and horses, I now find an industrial area. I am unable to find anything to guide me to this old beloved place. I feel sad, I know the horses weren't there anymore, but I was told the farm was still there. In the suburb Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel is also the lowest point in Holland. A large part of Holland is below sea level. People used to ask me, what is it like to live below sea level. I never gave it much thought, as so much has been done to protect the dutch from any disasters. In 1953, however Holland was struck by disaster. In a terrible storm, most of Zeeland flooded and many lives were lost. The dutch have since found a way to keep the water out of Holland and keep the people who live there safe. Gary is interested to know how it is done. We visit the Maassluis tekering and are the only ones there at the time of the presentation and this makes it possible to have it in English.

Piet Heijn

Piet Heijn was a dutch naval officer and folk hero during the 80 years war between the Netherlands and Spain. Heijn was born in Delfsthaven (Rotterdam) and he became a sailor while he was still a teenager. In his twenties , he was captured by the Spanish and served as a galley slave for approximately 4 years, when he was traded for Spanish prisoners. In 1607 he joined the Dutch East India Company and left for Asia returning with the rank of Captain five years later. In 1623 he became a Vice-Admiral and sailed to the West Indies the following year for the Dutch West India Company. Piracy was condoned by the West India Company, but this is in fact what made Piet Heijn most famous. In 1628, Heijn sailed out to capture the Spanish treasure fleet, loaded with silver from their American colonies. Part of this fleet had been warned, because Heijn had been spotted, but the other half continued it's voyage. Twelve Spanish ships were trapped of the Cuban Coast, in the bay of Matanzas, and Heijn captured about 12 million guilders of booty in gold, silver and other expensive trade goods. The "Silver Fleet" was the companies greatest victory in the Caribbean. As a result, the money funded the Dutch army for eight months and the shareholders enjoyed a cash dividend of 70 per cent that year. Heijn returned to the Netherlands and was hailed a hero. Even if it was all for the wrong reasons. Piet Heijn was the only one ever to succeed, with the capturing of the Silver Fleet, though many had tried to do the same.

Holland-america line (Rotterdam)

After the Speedo we end up exploring the rest of Rotterdam. We visit the markets and Gary has to try one of the dutch specialities. It's called a kroket and he likes it. You can buy these at the

dutch shop in Australia as well. I have to try a childhood favourite of mine ( a frikandel special). I am no longer fond of these. We drive to Delfsthaven and my uncle shows us the point where the Holland_America line started in 1873. Today we associate this liner with elegant ships, cruises around the world and especially to Alaska, and gracious service.The Holland-America line was not always a vacation cruise specialist. Begun as the Netherlands- America steamship company, it was originally based in Delfsthaven (Rotterdam) and was a principal carrier of immigrants from Europe to the United States in the late 19Th and early 20Th century, carrying over 850.000 people to new lives in America. Holland-America line offered it's first vacation cruise in 1895. During world war 1 and 2 the company was chartered to carry military personnel by the British, American and Dutch governments, losing ships and personnel in the process. After WW2 demand for leisure cruises grew and in 1951 Holland-America line became the first ship line to give tourists class passengers the run of the ship. By 1968, most transatlantic travelers were taking jet planes to their destinations rather than sail. Holland-America line re-invented herself as a vacation cruise lines and has concentrated on that business ever since. We also go and look at Piet Heijn's house. After almost 24 years in Australia Dutch history has been forgotten and I ask my uncle what he did to become so famous in Dutch history and my uncle replies he won the silver fleet. Piet Heijn's story to Dutch fame will be next.

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the largest harbour city in Europe. Once it could proudly call itself largest harbour in the world. Everything in the city seems to evolve around water. The city developed through the centuries as a harbour -, a manufacturer city, as a trade point. It began in the 14Th century as a small fishing harbour at Rotte riverside and only in the 19Th century did it really grow to a powerful harbour, since a connection was opened to the North Sea, from then till today the port has just been growing and expanding. Rotterdam is a relatively "new" city, thanks to WW2. Most of the city centre was bombed during the war and this is why there are so many new and daring buildings, such as the cubus homes. A few statistics about the harbour. Every year around 300 million tons of goods pass through the harbour. An average of 30.000 ships/per year leave the harbour and 130.000 have it as it's destination. It is also the main spot for oil, chemicals, containers, steel, carbon, food and metal transportation in Europe. When you are along the river "Maas" you can see a great deal of industrial structures, equipment and crates from a distance, but only when you take a tour on the Speedo can you access the otherwise inaccessible and see the enormity of the harbour and it's operations. Once a year, usually around the beginning of September you can visit the world port festival, where there are a lot of events and is completely dedicated to Rotterdam and it's harbour.

Holland's story

After 2 days in Santiago de Compostela, it is time to catch a Ryan Air flight to Frankfurt Am Hahn. We will from there on travel to Heidelberg to catch up with a friend of Gary's. Here we will spend 4 days to rest, chat and explore the neighbourhood. I enjoy a meal of sauerkraut with Hans, Gary has something more to his liking and the kids have a kids' meal. We all enjoy the time we have together but soon it is time to move on. We catch a train from Heidelberg to Rotterdam Centraal station. We haven't arranged a place to sleep. Gary is a spur of the moment man. I feel a little uneasy about this as my family is a family that likes to be forewarned. I believe this will not necessarily cause too much of a problem as lodgings were promised prior to our departure to Europe. We arrive in Rotterdam in the late afternoon and contact my father in hope we will be able to stay with him for the duration of our stay in Holland, but as he is renovating we are unable to stay with him. We contact my uncle but are told that his wife's daughter and her 2 children are staying there at the present time, as their unit is being upgraded by the dutch government as the units were originally build in the 70's and are in need of modernisation inside each unit and out. What does this mean? It means we can stay for a little while only. Luckily for us my old neighbour offers us his spare bedroom and this turns out to be the best. Gert is easy-going and we can stay as long as we like.

Coming to the end.

Why this great interest in Santiago de Compostela? Why walk that distance? Why not worry about all difficulties involved? Why, why, why? Paying homage to Saint James is a bit old fashioned, but it is what most pilgrims do at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. Saint James can be found in the centre with his hand resting on a walking stick. On arrival into the cathedral all pilgrims place their hand on the central pillar of the door, it is known as the pilgrim's pillar and the pilgrim does this as if to say "I got here safely". Above the main altar you see a statue of Saint James. The apostle's grave is found in the crypt, behind the main altar. The pilgrim has completed his journey upon kissing the hem of the jeweled cloak that drapes the statue. A dome above the crossing contains the pulley mechanism to swing the butafumeiro, which is a famous incense burner found in this church. It was created in 1851 by a goldsmith named Jose Losada. It is the largest incense burner in the world, weighing 80kg and measuring 1.60 meters in height, during certain important religious days and all pilgrims' mass, it is attached to the pulley mechanism, filled with 40 kg of charcoal and incense. Eight red-robed tiraboleiros pull the ropes and bring it into a swinging motion almost to the roof of the transept, it reaches speeds of up to 60 km/h and dispenses thick clouds of incense. One explanation of this custom which originated more than 700 years ago is that it assisted in masking the stench created by hundreds of unwashed pilgrims. I am so glad I made the effort to attend this service as this tradition is very special and a great way to end our pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Afterwards we say goodbye to the many friends we have met along the way and leave Spain for Holland.

Good witches and Galicia

Galicia has an unique character quite unlike anywhere else in Spain and this is all thanks to its Celtic heritage. Visitors to this part of Spain can expect to discover a mystical place where women have professions that exist nowhere else in the country like "good witches " and mussel collectors.

Galicia is one of the most remote regions of Spain, even the ancient Romans rarely ever made the journey there. But the Celts who arrived in Galicia about 600 BC did leave their mark. Evidence of their presence can be seen all over Galicia. Pallozas ( round, pre roman stone huts with cone-shaped thatched roofs can be found near many villages. Ox carts and wooden ploughs are also familiar sights. Galicia's musical heritage is characterized by an instrument called the Gaita, a type of bagpipe. Galicia has a strong christian heritage evident from the way of St James (the camino) but the region's pagan past has not been entirely forgotten and many people still believe in Meigas (witches), who are considered successors of the Druids. In the town of Combarro, the meigas are a part of everyday life and are not just something to entertain the tourists with. If someone becomes ill or if rain threatens the harvest, the locals will go to church and pray to Saint James and than visit a meiga, most fishermen have their boats blessed both by a priest and by a good witch before they set out to sea for the very first time.

Arrival in Santiago de Compostela

Today is our last day of walking. We are walking from Pedrouza to Santiago de Compostela. I have mixed feelings today. It's funny this pilgrimage has had an impact on me and others alike. Today I am elated and sad at the same time. People have done things for us that truly touches your heart. The fellowship has been enormous. Today I wished I could have been alone. All along I have wanted to do this for just 1 day and this really is the last opportunity. I have wanted to experience this feeling but decided against it as the camaraderie is also important to me. The walk itself is a rather boring one. We arrived in Santiago and meet up with Sang Kyoung. She has been waiting for us for 5 days to exchange e-mail addresses from her and others alike. She guides to the place where we can pick up our compostela and than to the albergue where we now can enjoy unlimited hot water and stay for as many nights as we wish. We will be staying for 2 nights as we are flying to Germany to stay with a friend of Gary's for 4 days. After that our journey will be taking us to The Netherlands. After securing our beds we are of to do some window shopping. We visit some souvenir shops and all of them are selling laughing witches etc. This seems like an odd item to sell at the end of the Camino and I ask some questions and I am told that Galicia is the birthplace of the witch. I have done some research and will share this story with you in my next blog.