Building sand castles

We spent a week in the Netherlands in a 

house just behind the dunes...

I rode a bike again for the first time in 10 

(perhaps 15) years (and it felt really good) ...

... and the kids (young and old) built a sand 

castle almost every day.

One more week till school starts.

The Lion King, Madurodam and the beach

Last weekend we went to the musical The Lion King

 (so amazing!) in the Netherlands in Scheveningen beach. We wanted to meet up with my sister and her family on Saturday, but the roads were extremely slippery in

 her part of the country and they couldn't make it

 (it's a 1,5-hour drive). 

Instead we went to Madurodam, a tourist attraction,

 showing lots of Dutch highlights in miniature.

 Last time I went there, my husband and I were

 not even married yet, which is almost 30 years ago.

 It was fun to take the kids there.

On Sunday the weather was unexpectedly beautiful

 and instead of driving back immediately, 

we had a short stop at the beach.

I miss the beach and the water in Holland so much. 

Dutch magazines

My dad brought my favorite Dutch magazines. 

Waiting in front of dance school is so much nicer if 
you have a couple of magazines to read.

Dutch treats

My oldest son has a Dutch girlfriend (he really has,

I thought he was joking when he told me) and he

brings me all kinds of treats from home.

These made my day.

Visitors from Holland

All my favorite Dutch magazines.

Holland

We spent some lovely days in the Netherlands.

We visited the market in Spakenburg
 and tried smoked eels.

I don't think the kids ever tasted them before.

(they actually taste better than they look).

And now another two weeks before school starts again.

 

The Netherlands

Are you ready for some Dutch pictures?!

The old fisher village of Spakenburg.

 The view from our apartment.

My sister bought a dog, a very cute little dog.

The kids wanted to spend the night with my sister and her family, but my daughter is really afraid of dogs. 

She always has been, I'm not sure where it comes from.

But this dog is so kind and funny and kid friendly, 

that she even dared to touch him!

Beautiful mosaic decorations.

 We like to eat fish when we are in Holland.

 Love this color, we call it "ossenbloed" (oxblood). 

It is somewhere between red and brown.

And now we're back home again. 

School is starting on Tuesday.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend.

 

The Netherlands

After almost 30 years of living in Luxembourg, 

still feeling so very dutch...

Poffertjes

 Sometimes we have a craving for "poffertjes",

a Dutch treat, made of batter and baked in a special poffertjes pan. 

 

They are so good! 

We eat them with a little butter and powdered sugar.

Our trip to Holland

It had been a year since our last trip to Holland, so it was really time to head north again and visit my family. We told the boys we would be gone for a week  and that they could invite their friends from Germany if they wanted to. We were a little bit worried about the house though, but apart from the fact that they didn't clean the kitchen once (they didn't cook, they only ate frozen pizzas!), they left our brand new bbq in the rain and there was drying laundry all over the place, the house still stands.

 

We had a really nice lake-view apartment. I miss the feeling of being surrounded by water so much. 

  
We visited the "Dolfinarium". The last time I went there was perhaps 15 years ago. The kids loved the dolphins and the sea lions.

 
A visit to the Netherlands is never complete without fresh fried "kibbeling".....

..... bought at a typical Dutch fish stall.

The fishermen's harbour of Harderwijk.

What a lovely week we had!

What I wore Wednesday - May 1st, 2013

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy today!

Dark grey cardigan (By Ti-Mo) and dark green underdress with lace (Kaffe). I just love Scandinavian brands.
The necklace and bracelet (by me) contain glass beads from an old necklace (my husband's grandmother's).

By the way....did you see what Máxima wore yesterday? 
Oh, that blue dress! I spent most of the day in front 
of the tv.

Holland - Flat land and windmills....

.... so good for my soul!