Colin's Family is Here!

 This week brought a pleasant change of pace as several members of my (Colin's) family arrived in Amsterdam. My Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Sister & her Boyfriend all landed in one piece. It was a good thing 6 of them came as the odds of one of them becoming bicycle roadkill casualty are very high in Amsterdam (especially when jet legged). We made great use of the tram system getting around the city visiting some of the great sights such as the Leidseplein Plaza, Red Light District, Heineken Museum, Vondelpark and a great tour of the Canals. 

After a couple of days we picked up the rental cars which were registered as Mazda's, but they were out so we were "upgraded" to brand new Mercedes and Volvo cars. We luckily escaped Amsterdam without any Bicycle splats on the windshield and headed to Rotterdam. 

En-route we made a stop at Kinderdyke, home to a significant collection of operating windmills. I was enjoying climbing up inside the wind-mils and found Grandpa at the top of the stairs smiling so big I thought he was having difficulty with his dentures. (Not the case, just having a good time)

Rotterdam was a pleasant surprise being a stark contrast to historical Amsterdam. The city had been levelled in WWII resulting in a present day city full of modern buildings and architecture. The entire family enjoyed the buildings as each has its own twist of creativity, some of which are downright impressive! We were fortunate enough to meet up with family friends Hanneke and Tjeu who reside in the city. They showed us to an amazing restaurant overlooking one of the harbours making for a fantastic meal.

While in Rotterdam, our original plan was to take a 8 person water taxi across the harbour to the New York Hotel. As we waited, a boat floated by with 100's of gallons of water splashing over the top due to rough water, Grandma's eyes looked like softballs bugging out of her head. We ended up taking a pass. In the morning Hanneke and Tjeu were gracious enough to take the 8 of us to visit the New York Hotel for coffee followed by a grand tour of the  SS Rotterdam cruise ship which has been remodelled to look as it did in the 1950's.

Next stop was Winterswijk where we met up with Renee's family...Oma, Rens, Dirk, Monique and all of the kids. We enjoyed some great food, beer and wine, and of course had some great visits. The Willink family showed us some great Dutch hospitality including a world class tour of the countryside from Dirk and Monique. Oma treated us all to some terrific Dutch Pancakes, and Rens along with Yara accompanied Renee and I to the Disco!

With 8 people in tow things must be significantly more planned and organized, but all is going great! Off to Belgium for some chocolate and beer.

COLIN (pics to come)