Holland is a breath of fresh air!
Rotterdam’s skyline gives lie to its prestigous status as the biggest port in the world – full of cranes and docks towering over the waterways themselves busy with huge cargo ship and liners.
It’s the economic mouth of Europe with record busting imports and exports entering and leaving different shades of green.
Then there is the patchwork quilt of its country landscape, fields carefully manicured, allotments equally so. Some allotments have people working on them with their bikes parked up; the number of people cycling is astonishing and puts the UK to real shame. These Dutch, young and old, think nothing of cycling 10 – 15 kilometres to work or place of leisure.
Holland, a green country in so many ways - you’ll never see so many shades of green.
Cycling you have the pleasure of viewing everything from above – from the myriads of dykes that you cycle along.
A couple of you have requested a log of the number of miles/kilometres I do each day – I am not a fan of record keeping, but I’ll try my best!
Day one London to Harwich – 77 miles
Day two 7 hour boat trip to the Hook of Holland followed by 43 miles through Rotterdam to Werkendam
Day three from Werkendam to Arnhem 75 miles (I cut one or two of the convoluted routes out and settled for the smaller roads instead that were more direct – as I wanted to be at Martina and Pauls’by 6.00.
They have just given me a wonderful meal and presented me with a huge, sumptious birthday cake to celebrate my 60th!! Very welcome. I just spoke on the phone to Martina’s parents and said what a wonderful hostess she is! Thank you Paul and Martina! A friend came round and donated to the cause. Some of Martina’s photos are attached.
Also had a passerby in Trafalgar Square who was so intrigued by the proceedings there that he went home and did a search on the internet and donated 30 pounds!
To Billericay school members – as I can’t get onto the website, just a quick notice that I have downloaded a five minute interview with Ian Wyatt which went out on some of his BBC Essex breakfast shows – they are in the L: drive in the General Studies folder, then in the Red Cross folder there.
The work starts now, the Rhein, here I come!!!!!!
all the best! Nick
Not sure when I can update again, my mobile phone doesn’t sem to work like it did in the UK!
