HOME SWEET HOME

We had such a fabulous time on our holidays but it certainly was nice to get home again and sleep in our own bed!  We arrived home on Thursday night and we had a very nice surprise at the airport.  David and Jenn were picking us up as arranged but when we walked out after picking up our luggage, there was David and Jenn and little Annika dressed as a fairy princess holding a sign saying “Welcome Home, Nana and Papa”.  What a wonderful surprise that was! 

This was Annika waiting for Uncle David to pick her up and bring her to the airport with her sign. 

We are very happy to be home and have the beautiful memories of our once in a lifetime vacation to Europe.  It truly was one of the best trips we have ever taken.

I also want to thank everyone for reading my blog and the great comments and e.mails I received at how they enjoyed reading it and looking at the pictures.  The YouTube video I made of the cemetery visit seemed to catch everyone’s emotions as it did ours but it will definitely be a keeper that we will play and I will post on my blog every Remembrance Day in honour of all the veterans that gave their lives so that we could all live in relative peace today. 

I will continue to blog about things that happen in our lives, so feel free to check back often. 

FINALLY, THE VIDEO IN HONOR OF BRIAN’S DAD

 

DAY 17 – VISIT TO THE CEMETERY

What a beautiful day it was for us today visiting the Cemetery.  Brian at long last had his dream of honoring his father at his gravesite.  The Dutch people are to be commended for what they have done for the Canadian Fallen Soldiers.  It is a beautiful beautiful place in the middle of a forest and is just so peaceful.  Both Brian and I had a few tears today but they were good tears.  I am putting together a YouTube video which I hope to finish by this evening and post it to my blog later (so please return to see it!).  In the meantime, I will put on a few pictures below:

On our way….

 

In the Museum, you can find all the soldiers in the cemetery.

This picture is of Brian with his Father’s medals which we brought up on the screen.

These are the little wooden shoes that Brian’s dad had sent to him from Holland before his passing.  Brian cherishes these shoes. 

Name on the wall of fame….

This is the entrance to the cemetery but at the moment it is under construction, so we took the picture inside the museum.

The Regiment his dad was in.

 

Carole (Brian’s sister) asked us to bury these coins in honor of her father.  Carole would have loved to have been here too.  This is for you Carole!  We had you in our thoughts all day.

Brian alone with his dad…this is where I lost it.  I think of my own dad and what he sacrificed for the war and I am so thankful to still have my dad here with me at 89 years of age. 

Brian’s dad, my father-in-law – Rest in Peace!

 

Row upon row….

Thank you Rens and Annemieke for all you do in taking care of the grave-site and for letting us stay with you and helping Brian realize his dream.  We thank you from the bottom of our heart.  May God Bless You!!

We stopped at a cafe to celebrate after our visit to the Cemetery!

This was the perfect ending to a wonderful holiday!  We will be on our way home tomorrow.

DAY 16 – OUR STAY IN AMSTERDAM

We disembarked from the ship on Monday morning and were taken by bus to the Krasnapolsky Hotel where we were staying for Monday night.  We were due to meet up with Joan at 2:00; so after we got our room and deposited our luggage, we meet up with our friends, Richard and Roseleigh, in the cafe for a coffee and then the four of us walked around Amsterdam together.  Since the Red Light District was close by, we decided to take a stroll through there first only just to say we saw it.  It is really sad to see girls sitting in the windows and everywhere you walk in Amsterdam, you smell Marijuana, since both prostitution and marijuana is legal. We were all a bit uncomfortable walking through the district but we didn’t stay long, just long enough to walk down the street.  The only other thing that I wanted to do while in Amsterdam was to see Anne Frank House but when we got there, there was at least a 2 hour line-in to get in.  It is unbelievable how busy Amsterdam is; what with cars, bikes, pedestrians and tourists; you had to keep your wits about you.  I was disappointed that we could not go through the house, but nevertheless, we were able to take a picture of us standing outside in front. 

It was time to head back to the Krasnopolsky to meet up with Joan and her friend, Nell.  It was great to finally meet Joan whom I have been corresponding with over the last couple of months.  She took us on a walking tour of Amsterdam and showed us two places that I was interested in seeing and we also strolled through a flower marketplace.  We decided to a take a little break and we went back to our hotel and agreed to meet up with Joan again around 6:00 for dinner.  Nell’s son, Peter, was also going to meet up with us at supper as Peter lives and works in Amsterdam.  It was great to meet Peter as he told us more about Amsterdam from a young person’s point of view.  After dinner, Peter suggested that we should walk the Red Light District at night as it is much different at night; at first we were reluctant as we were not that comfortable with it but then decided that we would.  It definitely was different and considering it was a Monday night, we could not believe the amount of people walking around.  We could only imagine how busy it must be on a Friday and Saturday night.  Here are a few pictures from today:

One of the many canals through Amsterdam. 

Red Light District – there is where the girls sit.  You are not allowed to take photos of the Red Light District if the girls are sitting in the windows.  This is enough said about this area, I’m sure you get the picture.

This is standing in front of the Anne Frank House

Looking straight up the building.

To prove that I actually was there even though we didn’t get a chance to go through it!

This is the Hotel Krasnapolsky where we stayed Monday night. 

This is where Joan took us – Our Lord in the Attic.  When the Protestants took over which I think was in the 12th Century, they banned the Roman Catholic Religion and a man who owned this home, built a “hidden” church in his home so that the Catholic people could worship there. 

This is the main church and it actually goes up three levels.  It is amazing how they built this church within a house and actually tore floors out to make the three levels. 

This was one of the bedrooms in the home. It truly is amazing what they go do with small spaces!

This is Nell, Brian and Joan. 

We then walked over to another peaceful church setting in another part of Amsterdam but I cannot recall the name.  This depicts David and Goliath. 

This little Sanctuary was where only girls or women lived of the Roman Catholic Faith. They were not nuns but when they decided to marry, they could not live here anymore, they had to move out.  Apparently during the Protestant rule, they did not disturb this area and allowed the women to live here freely and worship but turned a blind eye to it.

   This too was almost like a hidden church where the women of this area worshiped. 

For supper, we had good old fashioned hamburgers!!  They were delicious!

Brian, Joan and me.

We then said good-bye to Joan, Nell and Peter and they walked us back to our hotel. 

Tuesday morning, we met up with our friends, Richard and Roseleigh, in the Hotel Restaurant for our last breakfast together and then had to say good-bye.  Meeting Richard and Roseleigh was one of the best parts of our trip and we promised to keep in touch and one of our goals was that we would visit with each other either in Canada or Australia, whoever gets the chance first.  Meanwhile, we will keep in touch on Facebook and Email.

Joan then met us at 11:30 Tuesday morning to take us to the train to get to Holten.  Joan was gracious enough to travel with us by train which we were so thankful for as I am sure we would have been lost trying to figure out the train system!  Rens and Annemieke met us at the train station and it was great to finally met them.  I was a bit concerned about getting all our luggage in their little car but we managed with some luggage on our laps! We have had a great afternoon getting to know Rens and Annemieke and the language barrier isn’t too bad at all.  We are getting along well and if we say something they don’t understand, we get out an English/Dutch translation book and figure it out!  It is great fun.

Tomorrow is the big day when Brian finally gets to see his dad’s grave site.  I will blog again later in the day tomorrow. 

DAY 15 – AMSTERDAM!!

We woke up this morning in Amsterdam!  Our excursion was suppose to be the bike tour but as Brian was not feeling that well and it was cold outside, we decided to forego the bike tour and go for the Windmills and Wooden Shoe Factory Tour and we were glad we did.  We were on the bus for about an hour as they toured us around the outskirts of Amsterdam and we also stopped in a Cheese Factory along the way where they make Gouda cheese (pronounced as “Houda” cheese here).  It was interesting to see how they made the cheese.  We were soon on our way to the Windmills.  We toured around the Windmills and then headed for the Shoe Factory Store. 

When Brian was a baby, his father  who was in the Canadian Army, helped the Allies drive the Nazi’s out of Holland.  While here, he knew of Brian’s birth and sent over these little tiny green wooden shoes and he wrote on the bottom of the shoes “to my son, love daddy” and it was the only present Brian ever got from his father as he was killed shortly after.  Brian cherishes these shoes and while in Holland he wanted to buy his two little granddaughters a pair of wooden shoes as well.  We picked out the wooden shoes that he is going to give to Annika and Selena and a few other things in the store.  The store clerk told us to just leave the things we had bought on the counter while we continued to shop.  While I was still looking around, Brian told the store clerk the story of his father never meeting him and how it was his life-long dream to come to Holland to see where his father is buried in Holten.  This store clerk was so touched by the story, when we went to pay, she asked us to pick out a couple of more little things which they wanted to give us as a memento of our visit to the Wooden Shoe Factory.  She told us that she was so honored to hear Brian’s story and it was a moment in time she will never forget. 

We came back to the ship in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing, knowing that we had to pack our bags ready to disembark in the morning and sadly say good-bye to all we have meet.  The cruise was truly something we will never forget.  Here are some pictures from today:

The Cheese Factory where they make Gouda Cheese

Where they make the cheese.

The Windmills

The Windmill we walked through

The narrow staircase to get up to the top of the windmill

The wooden shoe factory

The entrance of the Wooden Shoe Factory

The store clerk who was so touched by Brian’s story.

A ship that sailed by our ship this afternoon

Along the river we have seen many swans and ducks.  I think they are very used to the cruising boats and come right up close, hoping to get some morsels of food!

So that ends our Riverboat Cruise on the Danube.  We were very very impressed with the tour company – Scenic Tours.  They were extremely well organized, the tours and excursions were great and the food phenomenal.  We now disembark in the morning and head to the hotel we have for tomorrow night and where we will meet Joan who is going to show us a bit more of Amsterdam tomorrow and then take us on the train to Holten to meet Rens and Annemieke and then Wednesday will be the day that Brian has been waiting for forever – the day he sees his father’s grave. 

I hope that I can write my blog sometime this week but if I do not get a chance, I will catch up our last week in Holland by next weekend. 

It will be the end to a perfect holiday! 

DAY 14 -COLOGNE, GERMANY

In Cologne, we relaxed in the morning and then around 10:00 a.m., we took a little walk into the city.  It was quite chilly today but the fresh air felt great.  Cologne is Germany’s fourth largest City with a population of almost one million people and as soon as we docked and looked out at the city, it was differently a “modern city”.  Gone were all the little towns and villages we had seen in the last couple of weeks.  Cologne was what I would call very Americanized.  We even came across a Subway and Dunkin Donuts!!  The most beautiful part of Cologne was the Cologne Cathedral and is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. 

 

What strikes you most about this cathedral was how big it was.  It was impossible to get the whole church in one picture.  Of all the churches we have seen so far on this trip, this definitely took the prize for the most beautiful impressive church from the outside. 

This is the back half of the Cathedral. It really takes your breath away.  It is beautiful.

Another angle – looking up from the bottom.

The front entrance. 

This was taken from the front of the church looking back.  See how high it is.  You almost fall over backwards trying to see the ceiling!

This was another smaller church down the road.

and this couple just got married!! 

One of the Bakeries – everything looks so good!

Who would have thought you would see a Dunkin Donuts, A Subway and “The Body Shop” along the streets of a German city!!!! 

A courtyard with a lot of cafe’s and restaurants although it was too chilly for people to be at the tables outside.  What is quite interesting though is that some of the cafes actually have blankets on the chairs so you can still enjoy your hot drinks outside in the fresh air and wrap yourself up in a blanket to keep warm. 

Well, sadly enough all good things have to come to an end and we are nearing the end of a fabulous trip. Last night was the Captain’s Farewell party and dinner on the ship.  One of the best things that have come of this trip is our new friendship with Roseleigh and Richard..  We thoroughly enjoyed each other company’s and had a lot in common and were never lacking for conversation!  It is going to be sad to say good-bye tomorrow.  Roseleigh and Richard live in Australia and we all agreed that if we travel to each other’s country, we will be spending some time together.  Of course, Roseleigh and I are already friends on Facebook!

This was part of our meal last night – it was Ravioli stuffed with something I can’t remember.  None of us were too impressed with this though!

Chateaubriand was the main course and it was delicious!

Last but not least Baked Alaska!

As we were having our Farewell party, the ship was heading to the Netherlands and in the morning we port in Amsterdam.