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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Country living!

Naarden-Vesting
We are staying in the country - Naarden to be exact. This is only for a short while until our renovations are finished, but it is a totally new experience for me, being a city person.
Naarden  is one of the most beautiful cultural monuments in the Netherlands. The unique Vesting (the great fort), surrounded by a moat,  is one of the best preserved defensive works in the world and was built in the 14th century.
Naarden-Vesting boasts the famous "Het Arsenal" - a historic part of the town, filled with top end designer interior shops. Incredible fixtures and fittings  and hugely inspirational, if only that, as the average price for a bath tub was around the 9000 euro mark! The town centre is full of attractive small shops with a wide variety of cafés and restaurants. Really gorgeous.
  
Beautiful surroundings, and it's wonderful to go on a cycling tour through the country lanes and meadows. Holland is a flat country, so it is really easy to cycle everywhere. You don't even need gears on your bike! There is an attachment so you can put the baby car seat on the back of the bike, and off you go. All the farmers sell cherries and delicious things en route. Amazing system - you put your money in a little box and take a bag of cherries, for instance. No-one steals the money already in the box and no-one takes more than what was paid for. This system would NEVER work in Africa!
So much for country tranquility though! The neighbor's rooster woke Kai up at 5am, after we got home from a dinner party at 1:30am. No wonder there are always fewer roosters than chickens! I think neighbors always find a way of silencing a squwaarking rooster in the end! It is STILL carrying on.
I am enjoying my time here, but in the end, I know I will be happier back in the city, with all the vibey things that Amsterdam has to offer...


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