As there was nowhere for a midnight snack, finding anything before 7am for breakfast was also very difficult. Our taxi took us back to the airport and we had some time to eat and look at shops. It was sad to be leaving the Czech republic, such a lovely place. Uneventful flight to Amsterdam, took us over the Dutch farmlands with their myriad of warerways and canals, quite a sight.
Then the fun with train tickets begun. The machines didn't work for us, were told that the train would leave at a certain time, and on the platform there was an earlier one, so were confused! We did get on that one and sprinted off through the country side and Guy was able to spot a few windmills and see some farms and traditional houses. And as in the CR also lots of little plots of land belonging to locals who liked to do a bit of gardening.
The Hague central station was without public phones, tried madly to find somewhere we could get a sim card. We got a free one, but wasn't as free as we thought. Guy got some credit an discovered that we then had extra credit so all good. This process all took time and my aunt was waiting for our call! Of course we didn't have her number on us, but did have my cousin, so via via we did manage to contact her. We waited for her outside of the station looking at a park with deer and swans! Very cute. The Hague has a lot of forested space around. My aunt has a flat at Chateau Bleu which is bordered with the property of the Queen.
Firstly we went to my cousin Carien, who lives nearby, for lunch. Then to the minature town of Madurodam, which displays major buildings from around the country.
My aunt has a lovely flat overlooking massive gardens in all directions. Signs beyond her property warn people to not driving further without Invitaion. My cousin Mary came over for dinner and we went for a walk through the forest and past the palace. All of the original forests were destroyed during WWII and the regrowth is very impressive.
9/5/12
The day started off with the first sleep in for a week. With a heavy first day in The Hague and Caroline's sprained ankle we ddn't breakfast with Auntie Dieuwke until 9:30 upstairs in her appartment. We had been advised that a visit to the photo Museum and the Community Museum had been arranged and we headed off shortely after. Caroline's cousin Beate(Carien's sister) arrived from Amsterdam after a 2.5 hour drive (traffic snarls) and we met at the Community Museum.
It housed a stunning array of 15th to 18th Century art and really depicted life in the Netherlands. There were also works from modern artists and all housed in a Frank Llyod inspired art-deco building of amazing proportions. We had lunch in the cafe there and then went back to the appartment to look at family photos and discuss recent events. It was a short break before the next cousin, Adele and husband Herman arrived from Baarn to take us to a bar/cafe in Scheveningen (near the beach). Cousin Frits was there waiting with beer in hand and soon the other cousins arrived, Toon and partner Helene, daughter Marije and cousin Steven arrived later. We had a wonderful night and it was just great for Caroline to be able to see her cousins on her fathers family tree and share some stories. There was much laughter and Aussie/Sicilian/Dutch sledging really kept things in balance. At the end of the evening we accompanied Steven to his house a street away. He kindly gifted us a book entitled "The Netherlands from the Top" which I immediately rewrite the title to be "Holland from Underwater or Downunder (take your pick". Frits drove us back to Chateau Bleu and here we are again typing these stories.
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