Holland 2012, Day Eight

May 21st Day Eight

Got up early and got the room ready to leave, only for the rep to inform us that we could use the room until 12:00 if we wanted to.

So we spent a final couple of hours in the amusement park.

 

Then we drove to the seaside and popped into Lidl for some wine and beer to take home, I was surprised how much I could fit into an already full car. I got as much of the canned wheatbeer as I could, this was the beer I bought a lot on our trip to Germany in 2007, Grafenwalder, Hefe Weissbier. Also got a couple more new beers from the wine shop close by, I though I had the exact money to pay but forgot the deposit on glass bottles and had to go back to the car for more, very embarrassing.

We then set off to be somewhere closer to the port, also stopped for some engine oil, on the way, as the oil warning light had been flicking on and off. As has happened before to us, when you get too close to the ferry port, there is nowhere to go but the terminal, so we ended up there. Although we didn't have to wait too long to get on the ferry.

We had a beer while the ship was loaded and wandered on deck to take photos. Also bought more beer from the booze shop on board, Got two slabs of Morland, Old Speckled Hen. I have worked out, if I bought 13 packs of beer, the price difference would pay for the ferry crossing, and that would be for the van not just the car.

Back on deck for photos as we left the port and of the other ships in harbour. Later Amber and Dot went to the children's play area and watched a Alvin and the Chipmunks film, while Ralph and I had another beer or two. Then Amber fell asleep while we had a final beer of the holiday.

I did venture out a couple more times for shots of the sunset as we headed out to sea and home.

Holland 2012, Day Seven

May 20th Day Seven

Our last full day in Holland, did some packing, then Me, Dot and Amber went for a walk into town, I think Ralph was a little delicate after the long football match at the bar.  We had a pleasant walk before heading back for lunch.

Later after food, we all went back over to the town for a couple of final drinks in a couple of bars we hadn't visited before.  We had a couple in the first bar sat out in the sun before moving on the the bar just outside the campsite.

Not only was it the closest bar to the campsite, it was also the cheapest we had used all week, typical the last place you visit, is the one you could have used every night.

Amber kept herself amused by getting money from her Gran, to use in the gumball machine, to get little toys to play with.

Then it was back to the van for an early night, we had to be up early but only because we had to vacate the room by ten.  The ferry wasn't until the evening so we intended to stay on the park and spend some of the day on the funfair.  We just had to be out of the room.

Holland 2012, Day Six

May 19th Day Six

Could not find the problem with the car battery and with a little help from passer-bys we got it running. With the car running immediately set off for a day at the seaside, this would also help recharge the battery.  We headed to a resort recommended by the Thompson's rep, Scheveningen.

The first thing to go wrong was a road that sat nav wanted us to turn onto had a sight saying no right turn and this was the way we wanted to go. So from being within a mile of the resort we were heading for, we were on a dual carriageway heading the wrong way and it took an age to get back.

Then, when we eventual got to Scheveningen, there was nowhere to park, it was very very busy but of course it was still the holiday weekend. So we headed back to the smaller seaside resort that Ralph and I had found earlier in the week, Katwijk aan Zee.

Parked up on the sea front and headed for the beach, only for Amber to inform us that she doesn't like sand. So we went for a beer in a beach bar instead of playing in the sand.

Back at the site and at the funfair again, I think the beer had an effect on me, as I agreed to go on a ride that I had said "I am not going on that" earlier in the week. I think a went blind just before the end of the ride, with all the G-force involved.

That evening Ralph and I went to the "Irish Bar" to watch the UEFA Champions League final, between Bayern Munich of Germany and Chelsea of England at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Bayern Munich's home ground. It was very crowded and we didn't know who was supporting who. When Bayern Munich scored there was a huge cheer but when Chelsea equalised five minutes later, there was an even louder cheer. The game went to extra time and then went to a penalty shoot-out, which Chelsea won 4–3. We where late geting back to the van.

Holland 2012, Day Five

May 18th Day Five

Spent another full day in the funfair, mainly watching Amber enjoying herself. We had initially intended to spend some of the day in the pool and had gone over early to miss the crowds but we were too late. The queues were very long, too long to waste holiday time. If we had known about the long holiday weekend in Holland, we would have used the pool more earlier in the week.

At lunch time Amber had to catch up on her homework, a diary of her holiday for school, to make up for having time off. Then it was back to the funfair.

We had a night in with a movie but first Ralph went off to buy some beer, only to discover that the car battery was completely flat. We could not find a reason for it but it would have to wait until the morning.

Holland 2012, Day Four

May 17th Day Four

Headed for Leiden, the closest large town to Wassenaar, described in travel books as a mini Amsterdam. That should give plenty of opportunities for bridge photos. We had also read that parking was difficult and expensive, so we parked at the park and ride (the transferium) just off the main road outside the town. From there we got a bus the short distance to the centre. It was relatively expensive at €2.00 each (even Amber) and tickets were only available one way, that would make it €16.00 total, parking in town would have been cheaper.

We arrived at the busy bus and train station and popped into a tourist information opposite, to get a town centre map. From there we followed the map towards the shops, only the shops were not open, in fact it was a public holiday, Hemelvaartsdag (Ascension Day). Again we are caught out by public holidays we didn't expect and especially didn't expect on a Thursday.

So all we could do was have a nice walk around a practically deserted town centre but I did get lots of bridge photos.

 

Eventually we stoped for a drink, at least the bars and restaurants were open and doing very well by the look of it. They had an old favourite of mine, Gulpener, Korenwolf from Holland so that's what I had and it was lovely.

Suitably refreshed, we continued our walk and I took even more bridge photos, until we arrived back where we had started, bit of good map reading there.

By now there were quite a lot of people out enjoying themselves eating and drinking on a day off. There was also a stage set up with a band playing, I would have stopped longer but we set off back for the bus. On the way back the driver didn't charge for Amber, so it was only €14.00 all together for the trip.

When we arrived back at the site, the car parking place next to our van was taken, as was just about every parking place on the park. I did manage to find a space eventually and it wasn't too far away.

Later we spent some time at the funfair before tea and then went for a drink at the campsite bar, our first visit. It is called the "Irish Bar" but the only thing Irish about it, was a picture of some Guinness on the wall. It was also cold and noisy (there are several a nine pin bowling lanes in there). The children's disco was starting just as we were about to leave, so we ended up there longer than we intended.

Holland 2012, Day Three

May 16th Day Three

It was a nice warm morning, so I wandered over to reception, to ask about buses to Leiden the nearest big town, or if there was a park and ride. I also asked if they had any DVDs for us to watch, the nice girl on reception said she would ask around for me and bring any over later.

Back at the van, I found a compass in my backpack, so Ralph and I had another go at getting the satellite working. We had some success, we managed to lock on to the satellite but not good enough to receive any channels, although it did allow us to watch all the stuff we had on the hard drive.

 

After a morning in the sun, we spent the rest of the day at the fun fair and went on just about every ride between us.

  

  

That night we walked back into the town centre for a couple of beers.  Later back at the van we had a much better choice of film to watch.

The Beers

Holland 2012, Day Two

May 15th Day Two

It had rained all night but now the sun was out so we had a walk into town. Amber needed armbands for the pool, they are mandatory for all smaller children, no mater what their swimming standard.

It is about a ten minuet walk to the centre of town, with lots of shops, eating and drinking places. We got the armbands and some goggles and topped up our food supply's from a supermarket.

 

Back at the site Dot and Amber went to the pool, while Ralph and I drove to find the beach, there was a nice sea front in the town where we had been to Lidl but it was cold and windy, so we drove back to make tea.

That night we walked back over to the town and had beers in a couple of bars, it was very quiet, perhapes we were out a bit early. I will add a blog just for the beers later. Afterwards we watched a cartoon film that I found on my phone and transfered to the laptop so we could all see.