Venice of the North

There's a lot of water in this country.  Sometimes, there are more canals than there are roads.  Statistically speaking, this sometimes leads to the case when there are no roads at all - just canals.  Welcome to Giethoorn - a town with no roads - also called the Venice of the North.

All of the transportation in Giethoorn is either done by bike, by foot, or by boat on the numerous canals.

A "garage" for boats.

The picturesque bridges of Giethoorn.

When we visited, there was plenty of opportunities to get to know the locals.

...including the black sheep of the family.

And the newborn lambs (ok, yes, I am a bit behind in my posting this year. :)

 

 

The ducks took the opportunity to get to know my dad better, mainly in the fashion of chasing him around the tree, asking for bread.

  

Finally, mom lures them away.  They think she will give them food, but she's actually just trying to get a good picture of them.

 

Take a boat to church, taking the convenient canal to church stairs.

Beautiful thatched roofs on houses along the canals.

You may wonder - why all the canals?  Well, Giethoorn had it's origins almost 800 years ago.  For a point - what one product was produced in Giethoorn, essentially giving the town its modern day characteristic of plentiful canals?

Of course, it is the Netherlands, so bikes are still used.  Here's a nice bike ramp on one of the many bridges over the canals.

Out for a spin.

The canals drain into a large nearby lake.

Mom posing with rose quartz.

Dad on a bridge.

The Rolls-Royce of boats.

And the parking lot!

Journey of a Million Flowers

After a winter that seemed to last forever, spring seems to finally be coming to the Netherlands.  Shrugging off our winter apparel, my parents joined me on a decidedly Dutch bike riding adventure - through the flower fields, all the way to the North Sea!

Our bikes, ready to ride.

Unfortunatly, since the winter has been so long and so cold, the tulips were not blooming yet.  But, there were massive fields of hyacinths and daffodils.  Do you have any idea how wonderful a million hyacinth smell?  I wish I could encode that smell into html to share with you.

On the way to the North Sea.

Flowers in all colors.

Approaching the sea.

Another hallmark of spring - lambs!  The sheep seem to take an interest in us as we bike past.

My parents following along behind.

On reaching the coast, the scenery changes drastically.  The flat flower fields are gone, replaced by the sandy, undulating dunes of the North Sea.

Finally, we reach the sea!  My parents with the beach in the background.

Boats, followed by the obligatory cloud of birds.

Sunshine!  Six months ago, the sun went behind a cloud.  Now that it's out again, you better believe I'm enjoying it!

Sharks on the beach.

The drifting sand dunes.

Now, heading back to the flower fields, through a forest.

I didn't see any, but I hear they are there.

Back to the flower fields.

At last, we see tulips!  They stand out, one red streak in a sea of green.

Another brave tulip sticks its head out, seeing if it really is spring yet.

Unopened buds.

Closer to the world-famous Keukenhof, a windmill stands above more tulips.

Finally, we see a full field of tulips!  I don't know why this field was blooming when others weren't, but we took the chance to take our pictures amid the flowers.

One yellow daffodil finds a place amid the tulips.

So it's official!  Spring is here!  Enjoy the sunshine and happy spring!