Spontaneous weekends in Holland

It's Monday. You're married to a rugby player, so most of your weekends pretty much revolves around the games. Ernst surprises me with the words, "We have off this weekend. Do you want to go visit our friends in Amsterdam?" Before even thinking about it, I said yes. Like I've mentioned before, coming from a country as far as South Africa, the option of travelling abroad, has basically never been a viable option before. And I have to mention - we have no kids, no animals, no responsibility as the moment - therefore, why not? At the onset of our marriage we have decided our goal is to travel. In terms of our budget, we are saving on things like a car, and food choices, in order to have more disposable money for "guilt-free spending," as I have heard a finance guru once call it.

On Friday afternoon, we hopped on an EasyJet flight from Manchester en route to Amsterdam! Accommodation was free, as we were sleeping on a mattress in our friends' living room. In terms of the time of year, our first visit was last Christmas for three nights, and recently, two nights during March.

We spent our days exploring Amsterdam and Haarlem, eating lekker stroopwafels, pannekoeke, admiring tulips in every colour and dodging cyclists. When in the Netherlands, be sure to pack your umbrella, and be careful to not be run over by either bus, car, tram or cyclist! I wish I could say cycling in Amsterdam was a wholesome, beautiful experience. Not a cyclist myself, it was more like a constant anxiety and survival mode!

The Dutch engineering is truly admirable. It is remarkable how they have learnt to work with and alongside water in order to create a functioning albeit thriving civilisation. If you find that kind of thing interesting, we highly recommended you experience the This is Holland flight simulator. We enjoyed it so much we would certainly do it again! The airport and trains are clean and advanced. The Dutch prove that it is possible to live without a car or tons of space. What I found most interesting, was that parents cycle with two or three kids in a little tented carriage in front of their bicycle! I did not see one home with a garage - they just park these "dutch cars" outside their tiny cubicles. However thin and ancient these homes may seem, the ones who belong to our friends, are perfectly spacious and modern inside.

After a disturbing evening walk through the red light district, too many thick pannekoeke, confusing Afrikaans-Dutch conversations, kilometres of cobble street walks and too many Aperol Spritz, the Netherlands captivated our hearts. I bought a tulip bulp in a little tin can, to remind me of my precious times in Holland. Today she is standing 50cm tall, her brilliant white face showing me she is happy and healthy here in Manchester.

Love,

Amor