Since I wrote my last blog entry, more than a week ago, we have been spending time in Holland, visiting friends and family and taking it easy to let P.J recover from her bout with the cruise ship’s virus.
In Groningen, in the northeast corner of Holland, we stayed with cousins for a couple days on the Van Starkenborgh Canal, watching barges chugging back and forth, night and day.
House on the Canal (For Sale) in Aduard, Groningen
Van Starkenborgh Canal in Aduard
Arjan and Cousin Fokko in Aduard
On August 5, we made a daytrip to Schiermonnikoog, an off-shore Dutch island that has some resemblance to Nantucket, and on August 6, we visited friends in Drenthe, a province of the Netherlands that resembles Vermont— except that the highest point is only about 100 feet above sea level.
Drenthe is the least densely populated Dutch province, and there are wild natural areas there, which elsewhere in Holland is pretty rare. The family of our friends has had a summer home there, in Zeegse, since the 1920’s. We enjoyed a wonderful walk through the woods and heather fields.
Fireweed in Drenthe
Arjan Hiking with Koos and Neils Kuiper in Drenthe
White Hat Ladies: P.J. and Yuk Ying in Drenthe (photo by Koos Kuiper)
The Unmanicured Aa River
Scottish Bull in Drenthe
Photos © 2014 P.J. Gardner. All rights reserved.