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Our friendship with Pieter began in Juneau, Alaska in 1999. We were all part of a 10 day Alaska Discoveries wilderness adventure called Grizzlies and Glaciers. We camped and kayaked on Admiralty Island where we visited Pack Creek Bear Sanctuary and days later camped and kayaked in a remote fjord area of the Hubbard Glacier. A couple of years later Pieter visited us in our home and NOW here we are starting our European vacation with Pieter and staying at his home. |
Gouda, Holland |
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Pieter met us at the airport in Amsterdam and took us back to his home in Gouda, yes, like in the cheese. Boy do we Americans mispronounce the name. It’s pronounced How-da. Wonderful cheese and the town is fantastic. Pieter lives with Miesha (“little girl”) a lovely pastel tiger-striped cat in a 3 level apartment that dates to the mid 1700s and just a block away the church and public buildings date to the early and mid 1600s. The room in his home with most character was the toilet that displayed postcards and memorabilia. We felt honored to have several posting on the wall. |
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I
expected to see lots of water and canals in Holland (Pieter prefers the
name Holland over The Netherlands … and so do I) but I was really
surprised at how many canals there are. There seemed to be nearly one
canal for every street in the country. As Pieter said if you drive drunk
you have an opportunity to drown on every corner. We visited Den Haag and were in the right spot at the right time to see the Prime Minister of The Netherlands walk out of his office get in his car and drive away. We also drove around Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Edam.
The North Sea Madurodam
- http://www.madurodam.nl
Zannse Schans
Holland is a wonderfully beautiful and friendly country. Thanks Pieter and Measha for a great time!
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The windmill
outside Pieter's backdoor
