The Forest
Just outside of Utrecht, there is a "forest". I put it in quotes cause compared to our Canadian forests (that are sadly burning right now) it's more like a little patch of trees than an actual forest. However, when in a country where the population density is 500 people per square kilometer (Canada has 4, just to put thing into perspective for you), it's hard to come by any space. Especially since the Netherlands is a fraction (1/18 to be exact) of the size of Alberta. Moral of the story: the Netherlands is tiny and full, so this rather large patch of trees is actually quite refreshing. I spent the whole afternoon wandering the trails and stopped for a picnic lunch under some trees. It was wonderful!
This one reminded me a bit of Alberta!
The Tour
Last weekend was a bit of a whirlwind of a weekend. Saturday started bright and early for me. I went to Maarssen to see Pippa, Pilou and Cleo's piano recital! It was so wonderful to see them again. I cannot believe how much they have grown and matured!
I'm so glad we braved the heat and spent the day outside. I know it's so cliche to say, but I feel like it was a once in a lifetime chance, and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to see it live!
A day in Enschede
Yesterday, Sander and I took a little trip to Enschede and met up with Nora and Hannah! They're spending some time in Germany right now visiting family and friends and made the trip to the land of bicycles to spend the day with us! We shopped around a bit but mostly wandered distractedly while catching up on a couple months of news. It was absolutely wonderful!
Just outside of Utrecht, there is a "forest". I put it in quotes cause compared to our Canadian forests (that are sadly burning right now) it's more like a little patch of trees than an actual forest. However, when in a country where the population density is 500 people per square kilometer (Canada has 4, just to put thing into perspective for you), it's hard to come by any space. Especially since the Netherlands is a fraction (1/18 to be exact) of the size of Alberta. Moral of the story: the Netherlands is tiny and full, so this rather large patch of trees is actually quite refreshing. I spent the whole afternoon wandering the trails and stopped for a picnic lunch under some trees. It was wonderful!
This one reminded me a bit of Alberta!
The Tour
Last weekend was a bit of a whirlwind of a weekend. Saturday started bright and early for me. I went to Maarssen to see Pippa, Pilou and Cleo's piano recital! It was so wonderful to see them again. I cannot believe how much they have grown and matured!
They put on a wonderful performance and have taken leaps and bounds in their piano playing. Cleo has even started singing lessons and sang while she played Mamma Mia! I was so impressed!
After the piano recital I headed back into the chaos of Utrecht for the Tour de France. As you may or may not know, The Tour started this year in Utrecht. It was so cool to see in real life. The first day was a timed lap so each cyclist went one by one. It was a shorter lap so they were basically sprinting past us going at least 50km/h. I tried taking a video to share the experience, but as it always happens, it's not as good as real life!
The next day, the cyclists did a lap through Utrecht and then headed out of the city. It was really fun to watch and even more fun since they went by at the end of our block! We watched them leave the start line and then walked down to get a good view of the real action.
A day in Enschede
Yesterday, Sander and I took a little trip to Enschede and met up with Nora and Hannah! They're spending some time in Germany right now visiting family and friends and made the trip to the land of bicycles to spend the day with us! We shopped around a bit but mostly wandered distractedly while catching up on a couple months of news. It was absolutely wonderful!
That's pretty much a summary of what I've been up to the last couple weeks. I've started my Dutch class now so my days are significantly fuller. ;) I've already noticed a huge increase in my abilities and feel like by the end of the intensive course I'll be much more comfortable with the language!
