Updates of blog...

Sorry that our blog updates have been slow...

KEEP CHECKING... WE WILL UPDATE OVER TIME!........

I bought Wi-Fi time for the train, and it worked beautifully the FIRST time on the FIRST train!...  but it is pathetically inconsistent.  I thought I'd be able to do our updates on the train, but some trains don't have it, some are from Germany (they also don't have it), some have it, but you get connected, then can't access the Internet.

Anyways, we'll show a TON more photos when we get back, and will update our blog the best we can!

Love ya's...

12jun19-TUE-Fly back home! (boo hoo!)

Our wonderful travel consultant, YVONNE, again, drove us to the train station at Almelo, where we could catch a direct train to Schiphol Airport at Amsterdam.

We got the 9:18am train, and were at Amsterdam by about 11:30am.

Then we checked our bags, and went to a station where we waited 2 1/2 hours for a ride to the baggage check.  Funny part is, it was JUST around the corner!  (we thought by the signs, it was WAY over).

Then after that, another long wait for security check.  When we got to the area, we found out our plane was delayed (we got combined with what was SUPPOSED to be a direct flight from Frankfurt Germany to Toronto, but they added more people at Schiphol.

Then flew to Toronto... very nice flight on a newer A330!... that was REALLY nice... more leg room than the flight to Holland.  We met an author that wrote books, and he gave me a "Melatonin" pill to try for Jet Lag.  I slept for about 2 hours on the flight!

Then in Toronto, another LONG wait of 2 1/2 hours for a ride to the baggage, and then through security.  We got fast-tracked at the security, so that was great.

It was HARD to stay awake driving home, so I stopped in Markdale, and slept for about half an hour, then drove the rest... got to Owen Sound at 11:30pm (near midnight).

12jun18-Down Day

Yvonne had bought us more train tickets at our request, but we were so pooped, and it was raining (lightening hit the train system at Utrecht, and the trains were 1 hour delayed, so it was a good day to take a down day).

Ingrid and Yvonne went shopping for a while, and I stayed back and did some organizing on my photos (I thought i had lost them all, because i set up a test "Google Drive" on my MacBook Air, and decided to blow it away, and in turn, IT blew all my photos away!

Luckily, I had copied photos to Yvonnes, and still had the originals in the trash folder on my camera and phone!

I also worked on their WiFi to see if I could get it going better (it stops a couple of times a day if being used, and has to be reset every morning).  Tried setting to "G" protocol ONLY.  It is much faster, but in the end, it still needs a kick in the pants every morning.  I also got Danique's notebook working a few days ago as it couldn't browse).  We uninstalled AVG and Norton?, and put in MS.   Also put all of their machines to a STATIC address (as the LinkSys router DHCP goes whacky)... these problems are known problems with LinkSys (come on Cisco!).

12jun17-SUN-At ter Avest

Did devotions in the dutch language first thing in the morning with Arjen and Yvonne.

Then we went with Arjen and Yvonne to Tante Mieke's house and saw her place as well as Oom Johan's bicycle shop tools.  While there, Oom Dinand came and dropped our camera case off (we (oops, i mean ME) left it in his car during the visit to the farm).

We also visited the gravesites of Ingrid's relatives

We also visited the Canadian Memorial (where Canadian soldiers who died in WW2, are buried)

Then, at night, Holland soccer tried to win again (oops, they lost).

12Jun16-SAT-To Friesland...

Today (Saturday) we are going to the North, to Freisland, to search for my (ij) mother's birth place.  Our friends Arjen and Yvonne drove us in their car...
What a great day!
We started out in Nijverdal, Overijsel, drove to Ommen, to Staphorst, to Meppel and stopped in Giethoorn "The Venice of Holland",

then Steenwijk.  Just before Heerenveen, we found Uitwellingerga (Thialf Speed Skating Arena), 

We were looking for Uitwellingerga, the birth place of my Mom (ij), we found it on our way to Sneek).  Uitwellingerga ended up being a very nice village.  Yvonne seached out the village and she even knocked on a door and asked if they had heard of the family Feike Dijkstra history.  They knew the family!!!  We were led to a farm that may have been related to "Pake" Dykstra.  On the way to Lemmer, we stopped at the Afsluitdijk (where it was WINDY) and people were wind-surfing FAST!!)... saw sheep grazing on the banks, where we took some photos... then to Lemmer to meet Ingrid's twin cousins, Jantina and Johan. 

then stopped at a nice place (Cafe De held van '63) on the water, and had a Duvel beer (Yvonnes brother sells it around Holland), 

then drove back via Kampen (where Yvonnes parents were), and the church (De Bovenkerk Kampen http://www.debovenkerk.nl/ ) famous for its pipe organ (just missed a performance, but could hear the pipe organ from outside).  We went and ate ice cream near the church...

Here's a concert link where you can hear the organ... (thanks Arjen!)...

12jun15-FRI-Our Amsterdam Day!

Good times... Relaxing! (on train from Amelo)



In Amsterdam...

12jun14-THU-Farm Visit

We got picked up by Om Dianand Griet, and taken out to their farm, where we met Henry, and a lot of the Wassink family was there also (Herma, Mieke(BicycleShop), Jannie, JennieStam(going blind).

It was a nice visit, and Henry has a robotic milker, that was interesting to see.

Then we got a ride back again by Dianand, and went back and at dinner at Arjen and Yvonne's place...