To say that today was a full day would be an understatement. We left home at 4:30 pm yesterday and drove to Detroit. All went very smoothly, which was wonderful! We left the car at the car park and made it to the airport with a comfortable cushion of time before the flight - which ended up being delayed about 30 minutes. We got snuggled in our seats, took some pills to help us sleep (left at 10:30) and off we went. We both slept fairly well. We landed just before noon. After getting our luggage, we went to pick up the rental car. We were told that we could have a Ford Focus - which was disappointing. We can drive that at home. So we asked for something else. It sounded like we were getting something European but it turned out to be a Hyundai. Sigh........ It's much bigger than the car we had last time - which is great for luggage. After we figured out how to turn the car on and get the trunk open, we were on our way. Flo (our GPS lady) came along again and she kicked into gear right away. I think we frustrated her for the first 15 minutes but we got to see some lovely countryside. Lots of dykes, bikes, Dutch houses, and an incredible number of greeenhouses.
We headed to the Hook of Holland which was only a 45 minute drive. We didn't have an address so Dave put in the name of the town and Wilhelmena St. into Flo. Most towns (in Holland) have a street with a name close to this and so we at least get into town. We were both very tired at this point. We got to the town about 2 - just in time to see the 2:30 ferry head off to England. Ours was the 9:30 ferry. We parked the car downtown - which was bustling with people doing their shopping. Loaves of bread and bunches of flowers in bike baskets - so Dutch! We wanted to get something to eat and after a couple of tries found a place that had pannekokken (dutch pancakes). They were amazing! We then had to solve a rather significant dilemma. At the airport we tried to get some cash out of the ATM. It told us that we had insufficient funds - which wasn't true. So we needed to call our bank and get that straightened out right away! Did you know that they aren't any pay phones in Holland any more? Me neither. Awonderful women, who worked at the ferry station, let me use her cell phone. Turns out that the new debit cards, we received for our account, were the problem but all was fixed during the phone call. Or so we've been told. We won't know until we try to use the card again.
We got in line for the ferry, which was to start loading at 6:45. Perfect time for a nap. We slept for about an hour - which we both really needed! There was still about an hour before the ferry left so we wandered back into town to find almost all the shops closed. A wonderful find was a store much like Aldis. Great prices and full of dutch food. (Of course it would be but this was exciting to us!) We bought some chocolate and almond cakes, plopped ourselves on a bench on the street and had a snack. We've eaten often since we left home. We had supper at 6 pm on Friday, a second supper on the plane at midnight (these are all Eastern times), breakfast on the plane at 4:30 am, our pancakes at 10 am, and our snack at noon (still ET time). It's now 3 pm (8 pm for us) and we plan to have supper before we head to bed. That's five meals and one snack in just over 24 hours. Is it any wonder people gain weight when they're on holidays?
Right noe we're sitting on the ferry that will take us to Harwick, England. It should be setting sail in about 30 minutes. The ship is very much like the cruise ship we were on at New Year's. Our room is on the 11th floor and has a window. When walking in the halls, on the deck, in the restrauants etc, it's very much like the cruise ship. There's lots to do here but I think we'll be sleeping. The boat will land at 6:30 tomorrow (Sunday morning). Our wake-up call comes at 5:30 am which should allow us to get a good night's sleep.
We did a bit of a walkabout on the ship and went through a door with a lock on it but Dave was sure it was fine. It was open after all. Wrong! A very pleasant English ship employee said we weren't allowed up there but not to worry. "Let me take your picture before you head down." :)
Right now we're sitting in a lounge . As I blog, Dave's watching the boats go by. He's pretty mellow at this point. I think a supper we don't really need may be next and then it's time to slip under the sheets. Hopefully tomorrow we're much more rested and can really get into the holiday spirit.
One thing I learned today: When people need to catch a train, they can leave their bike in a cage - complete with a roof and lock.
One new thing I experienced today: Calling the US from Europe.
Most powerful moment of the day: It will be when I hit the pillow tonight.
One pleasureable experience: Enjoying the incredibly clean windows on people's homes.
