The Finale - Tale of Eleven Dutch Destinations - Jaunts Twelve to Eighteen

Looking back, many picturesque cities in the Netherlands stole my heart, ^{perhaps the ancestors calling?}
The rich history, pretty canals, fertile fields of farmlands, and beautiful vibrant cities like Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Den Haag (The Hague); made it very difficult to choose a favourite, but looking back, Den Haag still is a stand-out, although Utrecht is not far behind, although each city has its unique charm!

7 Oct - Den Haag - from Canals to Culture
The day my son and I visited Den Haag was very special; perfect weather, we visited a market at the canal along Buitenhof, drank delicious 'Vers Appelsap', and stood mesmerized listening to a talented young Dutch singer Babette Zwinkels singing French songs!

I marveled again at how the trams, buses, cars, MANY bicycles, and pedestrians weave without any incidents.

As the largest city in the Netherlands, with ultra-modern as well as historical buildings, Den Haag's claim to fame is that it's the official residence of the Dutch royalty, the liberal Dutch Parliament, and the Peace Palace, which is where the United Nations International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court is housed; not a Royal residence as I fleetingly thought. We only saw it from the outside on a previous trip when we were passing through the city.

We visited the Mauritshuis art gallery where the priceless Vermeer painting of the Girl with the Pearl Earring is kept under strict guard. To get an idea of just how priceless it is, another Vermeer painting nowhere near as good as this masterpiece, was sold in 2004 for $30 million!

My son bought me a fun 'Cat with a Pearl Earring' T-shirt ;)




10 Oct - Hello and Goodbye...Until We Meet Again

I arranged to meet @edenmichelle who is making waves in the Vibes Community, and her brother @leelektrik, who now lives in Amsterdam, both longtime Hive friends. Their Mom @christinepoulos unfortunately was not there at the time. It ended up as an informal spur-of-the-moment mini-Hive meetup at a cafe in the Oudegracht, with its narrow cobblestone lanes, canals, and historic buildings.

I would have reached out to more of our Dutch friends, but my focus at the time, was on dealing with my loss. Still doing that. I have picked up a few coping skills that work, but also let me down at times!

It was fabulous meeting in person, Eden bought me a tray of Poffertjies, while we chatted and walked around this old part of Utrecht. We ended up inside the tallest church in the Netherlands, the Dom Church, where my son and I shared a special moment, each lighting a candle at the memorial chapel, and writing a prayer for Arthur in their prayer book which would have been read at their next service.

10 Oct - Utrecht - City with a Heart
What struck me when I stepped outside Utrecht Centraal, was the ultra-modern buildings - the wavy shape of the steel roof of the train station, the stunning Hoog Catharijne shopping mall, apparently the best in the Netherlands, the glass facade of the Rabobank headquarters glitters like a jewel not far from the station.

Once you step outside the mall, you suddenly find yourself in the old city, the Oudegracht, and I spoke a little about that in my meetup post.

What is interesting about the canal that runs through this part of the city, is that there is a lower terrace with pathways and wharf cellars, as well as restaurants, cafes, as well as bars.

The very tall beautiful Dom Church with its Gothic architecture has a fascinating history. I was puzzled that the 112 metres high Dom Tower is totally separate from the church, but apparently a tornado destroyed the church nave in the 17th century, but the tower stood its ground and was not damaged! Strangely, they never reconnected the church to the tower! I got dizzy trying to capture those high walls and stained glass windows, you will see many of those images in my post link above.



17 Oct - A Green Oasis connecting Towns
A mere 15-minute walk from my son's apartment lies the tranquil Goois Nature Reserve, what a bonus! We took a couple of walks through this nature reserve late afternoons when my son was finished with the day's work.

It truly is a haven of tranquility that connects a couple of towns with wide pathways. Cyclists cannot ride through the forest, but have to stay on the cycle lanes. It was clear that some people use this to and from work, what a great start and end to a day at the office!

This reserve has a pond and fields of heath, with many of the giant oak trees. We saw a small Deer, and some Highland cattle as well.

My son and I had long chats during those walks, and seeing the sun trying to find its way through the pathway, was kind of symbolic about how we hope that the sun will soon shine in our hearts again, after our immense loss. Arthur was supposed to be walking beside us!

21 Oct - Bicycle Shopping in Utrecht
I was astounded at the display of bicycles of every kind at the Mantel Superstore, and the track inside the store to test-drive the bike you have your eye on. My son's girlfriend wanted an E-bike; she was focusing on that, with many questions and debating between them and the knowledgable salesman. She test-drove a couple, and finally found her fit, arranged delivery, so she was a happy gal. I walked around snapping, wondering what the different bikes were designed for; my son explained but it was just too much for my brain.

I now know what people mean about bicycles and the Netherlands, as they are everywhere; in all shapes and sizes; something to suit almost every need. There are bikes with trailers, some built to carry the kids, the doggies, shopping, etc. I'm sharing just a handful of examples below. The parking facilities are enormous at some of the main centres, especially at the train stations.



28 Oct - Timeless Magic of the Ancient Fortified Town of Naarden
The fortified town of Naarden was truly enchanting, it is the best-preserved fortified town in the country and is unique in that it was built in a star shape, as can be seen from the Google image in the collage below.

A tip - if you visit off-season, check the bus timetables, as there only was a bus every hour back to the train station. This was the one town where we saw the most cars on the road, some really snazzy ones. Property is very costly here!

We were enchanted from the time we entered the town across the moat, and walked down a tree-lined street past some quaint shops. Narrow lanes with cobblestones and private homes are aplenty. Some had such pretty window displays, that I thought were shops, but my son quickly stopped me when I was trying to take photos, as these were private homes.

Naarden naturally is a town with a rich history. As with many towns and cities in the Netherlands, there always is a couple of churches, most ancient. Naarden surprisingly has what is known as the Grote Kerk. Why a big church in such a small town?

This town used to have a vibrant textile industry, and a port, so became the capital of the Gooi region.

There is much to see in Naarden, so pop over to my blog link if you want to learn more about this fascinating town.

29 Oct - Highs and Lows and everything in between
1 November was getting closer, time to fly back across the waters, where did the time go?

My son surprised me with tickets to attend a live concert at the Ziggo Dome, in Amsterdam, just 2 days before my departure. It was a last-minute decision. I was listening to Hauser, Rebel with a Cello, on YouTube. My son had wanted to take me to a live concert, and discovered that Hauser was performing in Amsterdam on the 29th, and managed to book tickets to the show.

It was an unforgettable experience, starting with torrential rain during our 20-minute walk from the train station, rain like that is most unusual for the Netherlands. Our shoes were soaked, but thankfully our sopping-wet jackets and umbrellas went to the garderobe. We dried out our shoes as best as we could but forgot all about wet shoes once the concert started.

This show was one of the highlights of my stay, from walking in the rain to watching the fabulous performance!

The best therapy I could have asked for
Dean and Andi gave me the biggest gift as this trip showed me that I can still find joy in living life in our beautiful world after losing my darling man.

As you saw from my blogs, we squeezed as much as possible into the first two weeks when my son took leave, especially for my visit. I averaged 10,000 steps on our days out.

The pace slowed down and we did take some rest days in between.

We'd often be sitting at our PCs, just enjoying the togetherness. My son only goes into the office twice a week but works from his home office upstairs on the other days. He bought me a mini PC which I brought home with me and is all I now use, it's brilliant, and a big space saver!

I was brave enough to travel on the train, all by myself, to meet a friend, which may not sound like a big deal to many, but here in SA, it's ingrained in us to be careful whenever we go anywhere on our own!

I was sad to say goodbye not only to the kiddos, but also to the beautiful Netherlands, which in some way now feels like a second home.

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Making sense of dates, what, where, and when
This has been a ton of work, but it's great to finally have a synopsis of my entire 6-week Netherlands trip condensed into three blogs!

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Hive truly is my forever memory bank ♥

My Handy Travel Check List

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Table of Contents

A Tale of Eleven Dutch Destinations - Jaunts 1-6

• 22 Sept - Arrival at Schiphol Airport
• 23 Sept - Hilversum Farmer's Market
• 24 Sept - Sailing on the Ketelmeer
• 26 Sept - An oasis of serenity in the ancient town of Weesp
• 27 Sept - Amsterdam - Pannenkoeken Boot
• 28 Sept - It smells like Amsterdam

Sequel to the Tale of Eleven Dutch Destinations - Jaunts 7-11

• 2 Oct - Gouda - More than just a Cheese Market
• 3 Oct - Sint-Jan Kerk, the Longest Church in the Netherlands
• 3 Oct - Rotterdam Reborn - From Devastation to Reaching for the Sky
• 4 Oct - Delving into the Charms of the City of Delft
• 4 Oct - Scheveningen Fisherman's Wife and World Peace in Den Haag

The Final Destination - Jaunts 12-18

• 7 Oct - Den Haag - from Canals to Culture
• 10 Oct - Hello and Goodbye...Until We Meet Again
• 10 Oct - Utrecht - City with a Heart
• 17 Oct - A Green Oasis connecting Towns
• 21 Oct - Bicycle Shopping in Utrecht
• 28 Oct - Timeless Magic of the Ancient Fortified Town of Naarden
• 29 Oct - Highs and Lows and everything in between

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Map from Google Earth depicting our Destinations

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^{Artwork by @artywink}
[//]:# (!pinmapple 52.23777 lat 5.17366 long Our Journey's Start & Finish - Hilversum Media Park Train Station d3scr)