Heatwave in Holland

Along the canals in Gouda

Ah Holland. So lovely to be back here! It's still just as lovely as when we left it in spring, though a little browner. I'm really enjoying the architecture, the bike paths, the grand trees lining almost every road, the thatched roofs, the steeples of the churches and the language all over again.
Coming through Belgium and France I had been feeling that I was ready to go home now - that I had seen just about as much as I could take in, and life in the camper was beginning to become a strain.
But now that we've been resting up in Holland with our lovely friends Daniel, Glencora and Klaske which feels like a nice slice of home, I'm feeling refreshed enough to move on to the next stage of our journey - 6 weeks in the UK.

The town hall of Gouda. Check out the platform on the left
 that was used for public executions. D:

But first, let me tell you about our week here in the Netherlands.
We arrived the Den Bosch on Friday and we met Daniel, Glencora and Jella at the lake that we'd been to last time we were there for a swim. Just as well, as it turned out to be one of the hottest days on record in the Netherlands ever - 38 degrees! Holland has been experiencing some of its hottest and driest summers yet. Very unusual for here, which is known for it's overcast skies and cooler summer temperatures in general. Though I'm pleased we are here now and not in Spain and Portugal where they are recording temperatures close to 50 degrees!
Luckily the water at the lake was actually cool (unlike some of the swampy types of water we'd swam in previously in Belgium!) and we delighted in catching up and picnic-ing by the water. We ended up staying at D and G's house for the next few days while we explored Den Bosch again. Josh and I even got out on a date on Saturday - thanks D and G!

Having dinner at one of the lakes of our way up through to Den Bosch

A flower grower selling at the market in Den Bosch.

And then on Monday we went to the place that has been so long awaited by Josh and the girls..... the Efteling!!
For those who don't know what the Efteling is, it is a fairytale fantasy theme park much loved by the Dutch - it's like disneyland but not based on cartoons, but old fairy tales, using stories and classical music to enchant everyone. And there is something for everyone there - from massive, scary roller-coasters, to fairytale forest walks, carousels, talking trees, dragons and live shows with real horses and knights in shining armour.
Daniel, Glencora and Jella came with us and we had the most perfect day. The sun wasn't too hot, the crowds and queues not too long. We had plenty of treats with us to keep us going and we were able to have a turn on most of the rides. We used every minute of our 10 hours there, but could easily have spent another ten hours doing it all over again. It will be a day to go down in our history as one of our best yet.

At the Efteling with Daniel, Jella and Glencora. In the background is one of the attractions where you are taken along in a little car to see the sights of the Arab world.

 This is the original carousel from the 1950's with it's own music box churching out a famous carousel tune. It was originally fueled by a steam engine.

The last few days we've been staying at Klaske's place - (Daniel's mum), where we have become well ensconced again in Klaske's warm hospitality. We've had some great sleeps in proper beds and have enjoyed biking around Breda and visiting some fabulous opp shops where we have found some great bargains and new outfits. (Some of us are getting tired of wearing the same thing over and over!) Klaske even set up her own little opp shop for us with the clothes she'd been putting aside for us to have a look through!

Doesn't this look like one of those old fashioned paintings of the Dutch countryside? We saw this scene today in real life! Sorry the photo isn't the best quality.

And today we biked to Belgium! Although it wasn't quite as far as it might sound, although biking to another country is still a crazy concept for me even after all the travelling. It took about an hour or so, our destination being a big playground that Daniel and Josh remembered enjoying as kids. It wasn't quite the same as they had remembered but it was still a great ride through the city of Breda which is of course stunning (as most Dutch towns are we realize) and through vast areas of farmland, forest and water reserve.
There are many small lakes here in Holland, most of them man-made from the draining of the land and from digging out sand to use as building material, and so these have become recreational swimming areas they call beaches. (Though quite often they are in the middle of farming land. Did you know that most of the soil here is just sand? It did use to be the sea floor of course not that long ago. It's truly astonishing the engineering that went on the create the Netherlands! I am always amazed to see every forest and farm we pass with sand as the soil base. Quite fascinating that everything can still grow so well!)
 We stopped for a swim at one this afternoon which everyone was pleased about to escape from the heat.

Biking home from Belgium through the forest.