Thursday,
A bit of a restless night knowing we had to get up early (to get to the boat on time) and got up just before 5 to check out and wait for the bus. All the connections worked fine, and people were very helpful in providing directions. We had to swap trains at Manningtree and helped a dutch girl lug her two heavy suitcases onto the train. At the ferry it was all fairly simple and no stamp on our passports leaving GB. We checked in and got our cabin number (9613) and they then ferried us out to the ship in bus loads of 12, so it took a few trips to get us all on. Our tickets didn’t open the door so we went to the office/reception on board and they gave us new swipe cards. We had booked a 5 berth cabin so that we could stow our luggage, have a place to make some breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, and somewhere to have a shower and sleep comfortably. They rent the cabins at half price during the day trip and it was a good decision that gave us a bit of room. We went out on the rear deck and watched them load the trucks on and they were still doing it when it went 9 o’clock (when we where supposed to leave). The semi-trailers are driven on board by these neat little prime movers that have a swivel seat for the driver so he can be facing forwards or backwards depending on the direction he’s driving. They have to be fairly precise because the trailers have to fit in close together. they get backed in and then lifted onto stands while the mover heads off to get another one. A few guys then chain the trailer to the deck so it won’t move in rough weather - quite a process as I counted at least 28 trailers just from the back deck without looking in side! There was also a queue on the dock of camper-vans, caravans and motorbikes still waiting to get on too!
At 9:30 Ash and I went to the movies to see Wild Hogs and it was a fun look at mid-life for a few wannabe bikers and good for a laugh. During that time we heard the announcements that the ship had ben delayed for an hour. This means we’ll miss our connection to catch the train for Groningen from Rotterdam at 6 pm. So, we’ll have to catch the next one which will be an hour later. During the voyage I was able to catch up on blog writing and photo editing and the others slept, went for wanders, read, ate, and had showers etc.
After the ship docked we whizzed through customs (got a stamp this time) and were welcomed to Holland (land of my forefathers & mothers). Hopped straight onto the train and connected at Rotterdam Central and again at Armesfoort (had to get on the front half of the train because the back was going to Leeuwaarden).
The boys are very interested in the language and how to pronounce words, it should be fun when we are amongst native speakers to see how they cope. Everyone here speaks very good English though, so they’ll get by. Was nice that the conductor who checked our tickets spoke to us in Dutch and I didn’t have to ask him to say it in English. Asher has the railway station announcements down pat - reckons he can understand them in any language! Amazing what a couple of months overseas can do for you... Had to wait at Armesfoort for 15 minutes so bought a coffee and watched a guy on a mobile (talking Arabic or Jewish) who was pacing so hard up and down the platform and speaking so earnestly that he was loosing most of the Malteasers out of the packet (held in his other hand) and he didn’t even notice. They were rolling everywhere, and everyone was having a chuckle. Gave Hanneke a call and said we were going to be late. Willy was home so they were be able to take us from the station to their place without any of us having to catch the bus.
A bit of a restless night knowing we had to get up early (to get to the boat on time) and got up just before 5 to check out and wait for the bus. All the connections worked fine, and people were very helpful in providing directions. We had to swap trains at Manningtree and helped a dutch girl lug her two heavy suitcases onto the train. At the ferry it was all fairly simple and no stamp on our passports leaving GB. We checked in and got our cabin number (9613) and they then ferried us out to the ship in bus loads of 12, so it took a few trips to get us all on. Our tickets didn’t open the door so we went to the office/reception on board and they gave us new swipe cards. We had booked a 5 berth cabin so that we could stow our luggage, have a place to make some breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, and somewhere to have a shower and sleep comfortably. They rent the cabins at half price during the day trip and it was a good decision that gave us a bit of room. We went out on the rear deck and watched them load the trucks on and they were still doing it when it went 9 o’clock (when we where supposed to leave). The semi-trailers are driven on board by these neat little prime movers that have a swivel seat for the driver so he can be facing forwards or backwards depending on the direction he’s driving. They have to be fairly precise because the trailers have to fit in close together. they get backed in and then lifted onto stands while the mover heads off to get another one. A few guys then chain the trailer to the deck so it won’t move in rough weather - quite a process as I counted at least 28 trailers just from the back deck without looking in side! There was also a queue on the dock of camper-vans, caravans and motorbikes still waiting to get on too!
At 9:30 Ash and I went to the movies to see Wild Hogs and it was a fun look at mid-life for a few wannabe bikers and good for a laugh. During that time we heard the announcements that the ship had ben delayed for an hour. This means we’ll miss our connection to catch the train for Groningen from Rotterdam at 6 pm. So, we’ll have to catch the next one which will be an hour later. During the voyage I was able to catch up on blog writing and photo editing and the others slept, went for wanders, read, ate, and had showers etc.
After the ship docked we whizzed through customs (got a stamp this time) and were welcomed to Holland (land of my forefathers & mothers). Hopped straight onto the train and connected at Rotterdam Central and again at Armesfoort (had to get on the front half of the train because the back was going to Leeuwaarden).
The boys are very interested in the language and how to pronounce words, it should be fun when we are amongst native speakers to see how they cope. Everyone here speaks very good English though, so they’ll get by. Was nice that the conductor who checked our tickets spoke to us in Dutch and I didn’t have to ask him to say it in English. Asher has the railway station announcements down pat - reckons he can understand them in any language! Amazing what a couple of months overseas can do for you... Had to wait at Armesfoort for 15 minutes so bought a coffee and watched a guy on a mobile (talking Arabic or Jewish) who was pacing so hard up and down the platform and speaking so earnestly that he was loosing most of the Malteasers out of the packet (held in his other hand) and he didn’t even notice. They were rolling everywhere, and everyone was having a chuckle. Gave Hanneke a call and said we were going to be late. Willy was home so they were be able to take us from the station to their place without any of us having to catch the bus.
3 comments:
Hi guys,
Glad that you're having a good time, seeing the world and the different things it holds!
Enjoy Holland!
Ben, Maria & Kellyann McD.
Doe de groeten an eidereen van ons here in Mullumbimby
Dear Colin,
Wow, what a trip! Your blog has been sensational and I still wonder how you find the time to fit it all in. Will enjoy all the stories when you return home.
Cheers,
Pete M
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