Monday, October 24, 2005
The True Foreign Experience: Part II
And now, for the rest of the story:
I went to my parent’s hotel again Saturday morning to be picked up by Rink to bring us to see the Deltaworks. It was really, really cool. First, we drove to Spijkenisse to caravan with Hans and the kids. From Spijkenisse, we ventured off to Zeeland by car passing Port Zeelande along the way. I recognized the area and pointed out where I stayed for the weekend I visited Caroline and the kids during their holiday.
The Deltaworks is incredibly interesting and pretty amazing. Here is a very quick and brief history lesson…very minimal: as most of you know, the Nederlands is below sea level. Flooding is catastrophic and has occurred many times throughout the history of the Netherlands. The last huge flooding incident occurred in 1953, the Water Wolf. To combat the sea and protec the Netherlands, the Deltaworks was constructed. It was constructed to protect the land, people, water, while taking into account the ecology of the region. If you really want to learn what it is all about because I haven’t even scratched the surface, check out the Deltaworks .
We went to Waterland Neeltje Jans. The Dutch really do know how to do public attractions because there is a bit of something for everyone. (This was apparent on my Sunday at Madurodam as well.) During the summer, there is a water part at Neeltje Jans. Additionally, there is a video about the construction of the Deltaworks, a ride on a boat, fish and other sea creatures to learn about, sand sculptures, and other numerous attractions. We were able to go inside the storm surge barrier and saw where the water flows in from the sea and meets the river when the tide was coming in. So, the water was flowing against the river. It was really neat and a lot of fun. So…thank you Hans and Rink! I really, really enjoyed myself!
Sunday was a day planned to visit Madurodam. We planned to meet Sjoujke, Richard, and the girls at Den Haag Centraal at 10 am. I awoke early, showered, and went to my parent’s hotel again. I ate breakfast with them and we departed for Rotterdam Centraal after eating. We planned to take the 9:20 Innercity train. Wrong. The trains weren’t running from Rotterdam until 10 and then weren’t running until 10:30. We were told we could get on a bus to Delft and catch a train from there. There was no way we were going to make it onto one of the buses with all the other people vying for a spot. We also had three suitcases to take up space. Communication in the train stations here is terrible! TERRIBLE! We wandered back and forth through the stalls of the train station deciding to take the metro to Schiedam Centrum. We planned to take a train from Schiedam because according to the announcements, this would be viable.
We departed from Rotterdam Centraal at about 10:20. When we arrived to Schiedam via the metro, we looked up what platform we needed to leave from via the yellow train times signs, platform 5. We lugged our suitcases up the stairs and nothing was shown on the sign. I feared we would not be able to catch a train from here either. A couple of minutes later and some discussion further, an announcement went on overhead; the trains were not running from Schiedam either. Everyone was supposed to catch a bus to Delft. Lovely. We went back down the stairs and outside to where the buses are located. No signs. No information. We waited. We did discover only five buses were being used.
Another announcement was projected from the loudspeaker. (All the announcements are naturally in Dutch, so I didn’t really know exactly what was being said. I had to depend on my mom for this.) People began walking away. My mom couldn’t decipher the announcement either so we went back inside and asked some of the RET employees along the way if they knew anything. They didn’t and directed us to go talk to the train booth guy around the corner. Meanwhile, we heard a horn honk and some kind of vehicle depart. I was hoping this wasn’t for us.
My mom spoke to the train guy and he told us to go to platform five again. We started to sort of run off and he said we didn’t need to hurry. My mom didn’t exactly relay this information to my dad and me. The RET employees were no help and I was still hoping they didn’t aid in helping us miss the one transport that we could have caught. We lugged the suitcases up the steps and my mom started a run to platform five. My dad and I followed. There was no need; we climbed the remaining steps and waited.
Eventually, the board showed a train was going to arrive soon. An announcement said the tracks were slowly beginning to be opened again. A couple of trains passed us but were going in the opposite direction. The sign showed a sneltrein arriving at 11:19, the train we were waiting for. A couple of minutes later, platform one showed a stoptrein to Amsterdam arriving shortly thereafter. Then, the train was delayed five minutes. And then it was delayed ten. And the stoptrein came and went. I began to think; maybe we should have gotten on the stoptrein. Five minutes after the ten minute delay, the train still hadn’t had come. Finally, it arrived.
We entered the train at the first class car entrance…just our luck. With three suitcases to maneuver, we stayed put at the entrance with two strollers and two sets of parents. We arrived at Den Haag HS; the next stop was supposed to be Den Haag Centraal. Right before the train doors closed, my mom discovered this train was not going to Centraal and she briskly jumped out of the train with the doors closing on her. My dad and I were still inside. My dad managed to drop his suitcase and stuck his hands between the doors right before they shut. He pried them open and we both jumped out much to the gasping amazement of those inside the train. With a very flustered mom, we found out which platform to depart from to get to Den Haag Centraal. We could have taken a tram from Den Haag HS but would first need to find it. Instead, we waited for the 12:00 +/- 5 minute train to arrive. Yes, the sign said +/- five minutes. My dad said it should be the whenever it gets here train. The train did arrive at 12:00 but stayed in Den Haag HS until 12:05. We finally made it to Den Haag Centraal where we were greeted by everyone.
Around 12:20, we left the station and headed to Madurodam by car. Richard and Sjoujke took two cars since there was so much luggage and so many people. (Thanks!) My dad and I went with Richard and my mom went with Soujke. On the way to Madurodam, Richard pointed out several things to us including the spectacular looking jail of Scheveningen.
We spent a long time at Madurodam due to my dad and me. We followed the very confusing route and read each description of each place along the route or Madurodam. Now, I have many more things I want to visit before going back to Arizona and know I will not be able to see everything. After going through the route, we had some coffee with a fantastic roomboter stroopwafel. I played with the girls on the playground. I had a splendid time!
After Madurodam, we drove to the Peace Palace where we took several pictures and horsed around some more. I love looking at the old buildings and this one did not disappoint. Afterwards, we went to dinner. I had a mushroom soup, chicken, potatoes, leeks, and an apple tart. It was again delicious…much much better than the Greek restaurant! While waiting, we played with the napkins creating a bra, two pointed hat, lotus flower, crab, and tried to remember how to make a sailor hat. So…thank you Soujke and Richard for the fantatastic day and great meal!
I was dropped off at Den Haag Centraal and I took the Innercity train home with no difficulties or delays. My parents departed back to Heemskerk with Richard and Sjoujke. I will see them again on Thursday when we go to the Efteling.
I went to my parent’s hotel again Saturday morning to be picked up by Rink to bring us to see the Deltaworks. It was really, really cool. First, we drove to Spijkenisse to caravan with Hans and the kids. From Spijkenisse, we ventured off to Zeeland by car passing Port Zeelande along the way. I recognized the area and pointed out where I stayed for the weekend I visited Caroline and the kids during their holiday.
The Deltaworks is incredibly interesting and pretty amazing. Here is a very quick and brief history lesson…very minimal: as most of you know, the Nederlands is below sea level. Flooding is catastrophic and has occurred many times throughout the history of the Netherlands. The last huge flooding incident occurred in 1953, the Water Wolf. To combat the sea and protec the Netherlands, the Deltaworks was constructed. It was constructed to protect the land, people, water, while taking into account the ecology of the region. If you really want to learn what it is all about because I haven’t even scratched the surface, check out the Deltaworks .
We went to Waterland Neeltje Jans. The Dutch really do know how to do public attractions because there is a bit of something for everyone. (This was apparent on my Sunday at Madurodam as well.) During the summer, there is a water part at Neeltje Jans. Additionally, there is a video about the construction of the Deltaworks, a ride on a boat, fish and other sea creatures to learn about, sand sculptures, and other numerous attractions. We were able to go inside the storm surge barrier and saw where the water flows in from the sea and meets the river when the tide was coming in. So, the water was flowing against the river. It was really neat and a lot of fun. So…thank you Hans and Rink! I really, really enjoyed myself!
Sunday was a day planned to visit Madurodam. We planned to meet Sjoujke, Richard, and the girls at Den Haag Centraal at 10 am. I awoke early, showered, and went to my parent’s hotel again. I ate breakfast with them and we departed for Rotterdam Centraal after eating. We planned to take the 9:20 Innercity train. Wrong. The trains weren’t running from Rotterdam until 10 and then weren’t running until 10:30. We were told we could get on a bus to Delft and catch a train from there. There was no way we were going to make it onto one of the buses with all the other people vying for a spot. We also had three suitcases to take up space. Communication in the train stations here is terrible! TERRIBLE! We wandered back and forth through the stalls of the train station deciding to take the metro to Schiedam Centrum. We planned to take a train from Schiedam because according to the announcements, this would be viable.
We departed from Rotterdam Centraal at about 10:20. When we arrived to Schiedam via the metro, we looked up what platform we needed to leave from via the yellow train times signs, platform 5. We lugged our suitcases up the stairs and nothing was shown on the sign. I feared we would not be able to catch a train from here either. A couple of minutes later and some discussion further, an announcement went on overhead; the trains were not running from Schiedam either. Everyone was supposed to catch a bus to Delft. Lovely. We went back down the stairs and outside to where the buses are located. No signs. No information. We waited. We did discover only five buses were being used.
Another announcement was projected from the loudspeaker. (All the announcements are naturally in Dutch, so I didn’t really know exactly what was being said. I had to depend on my mom for this.) People began walking away. My mom couldn’t decipher the announcement either so we went back inside and asked some of the RET employees along the way if they knew anything. They didn’t and directed us to go talk to the train booth guy around the corner. Meanwhile, we heard a horn honk and some kind of vehicle depart. I was hoping this wasn’t for us.
My mom spoke to the train guy and he told us to go to platform five again. We started to sort of run off and he said we didn’t need to hurry. My mom didn’t exactly relay this information to my dad and me. The RET employees were no help and I was still hoping they didn’t aid in helping us miss the one transport that we could have caught. We lugged the suitcases up the steps and my mom started a run to platform five. My dad and I followed. There was no need; we climbed the remaining steps and waited.
Eventually, the board showed a train was going to arrive soon. An announcement said the tracks were slowly beginning to be opened again. A couple of trains passed us but were going in the opposite direction. The sign showed a sneltrein arriving at 11:19, the train we were waiting for. A couple of minutes later, platform one showed a stoptrein to Amsterdam arriving shortly thereafter. Then, the train was delayed five minutes. And then it was delayed ten. And the stoptrein came and went. I began to think; maybe we should have gotten on the stoptrein. Five minutes after the ten minute delay, the train still hadn’t had come. Finally, it arrived.
We entered the train at the first class car entrance…just our luck. With three suitcases to maneuver, we stayed put at the entrance with two strollers and two sets of parents. We arrived at Den Haag HS; the next stop was supposed to be Den Haag Centraal. Right before the train doors closed, my mom discovered this train was not going to Centraal and she briskly jumped out of the train with the doors closing on her. My dad and I were still inside. My dad managed to drop his suitcase and stuck his hands between the doors right before they shut. He pried them open and we both jumped out much to the gasping amazement of those inside the train. With a very flustered mom, we found out which platform to depart from to get to Den Haag Centraal. We could have taken a tram from Den Haag HS but would first need to find it. Instead, we waited for the 12:00 +/- 5 minute train to arrive. Yes, the sign said +/- five minutes. My dad said it should be the whenever it gets here train. The train did arrive at 12:00 but stayed in Den Haag HS until 12:05. We finally made it to Den Haag Centraal where we were greeted by everyone.
Around 12:20, we left the station and headed to Madurodam by car. Richard and Sjoujke took two cars since there was so much luggage and so many people. (Thanks!) My dad and I went with Richard and my mom went with Soujke. On the way to Madurodam, Richard pointed out several things to us including the spectacular looking jail of Scheveningen.
We spent a long time at Madurodam due to my dad and me. We followed the very confusing route and read each description of each place along the route or Madurodam. Now, I have many more things I want to visit before going back to Arizona and know I will not be able to see everything. After going through the route, we had some coffee with a fantastic roomboter stroopwafel. I played with the girls on the playground. I had a splendid time!
After Madurodam, we drove to the Peace Palace where we took several pictures and horsed around some more. I love looking at the old buildings and this one did not disappoint. Afterwards, we went to dinner. I had a mushroom soup, chicken, potatoes, leeks, and an apple tart. It was again delicious…much much better than the Greek restaurant! While waiting, we played with the napkins creating a bra, two pointed hat, lotus flower, crab, and tried to remember how to make a sailor hat. So…thank you Soujke and Richard for the fantatastic day and great meal!
I was dropped off at Den Haag Centraal and I took the Innercity train home with no difficulties or delays. My parents departed back to Heemskerk with Richard and Sjoujke. I will see them again on Thursday when we go to the Efteling.
