Teddies at Madurodam



Our very last day in Holland : Maddi and I woke at 5am but fortunately, I could give her a bottle and she went back to sleep for a while.  I, however, didn't.  Instead I worked on my blog and also had breakfast.  Every half hour, I checked whether she (or Dad or Wiwik) were awake, but they slept till 8am!  We were leaving for the airport at about 1pm, and Madurodam was close, so I decided to go there - I could see lots of Holland in miniature!  Dad stayed with Maddi so she could have a good sleep (she had 1/2 an hour the day before and 2 lots of 1/2 hour sleep the day before that and she normally has about a 2 hour sleep twice a day) before our journey back.  He was quite happy to do it, I think he was ready to just relax and have a good sleep.  Thinking about it later, I probably could've done the same - I think the last 4 weeks have been fantastic, but also very draining and now that we know we're going home, we are just focussed on that.  Madurodam was very nice and the kids would've loved it, but I've had enough, I want to go home!



Miniature soccer (football to the dutch) field at Madorodam

We took a taxi to the airport, which was much easier than taking the tram and then the train.  We were there nice and early so we didn't have to stress too much.  It's really nice outside Schiphol airport - they have a huge observation deck where you can see all the comings and goings of the planes and also an old plan that you can actually go into (great for kids).

Oom Eg, Tante Herma, Oom Roel and Tante Geke came to bring our last bits of luggage and wave goodbye.  Once we had checked in our luggage, we went and had a drink and a snack.  Then it was time to go.  Big hugs goodbye and tears. 

I am so thankful for this experience - seeing the extended family and getting to know them a bit, also to see my country of birth and where I spent the first 4 1/2 years of my life.  I am still so glad that we moved to Australia, or otherwise I wouldn't have met Steve and had my beautiful kids, also my fantastic friends.  We also had many wonderful "Uncles" and "Aunties"as we were growing up - the Schoofs, Oldes, Baxes and Dobbes at first and the whole time the Mulders and Templemans.  But blood is thicker than water, which I found out on this trip.  Meeting people that you basically don't know from a bar of soap, yet, you connect, you come from the same background, you are blood family.

Here are the last things I want to say about Holland : 

• the "gezelligheid" (warm, cosy, good feelings - no word in English describes it properly) - the Dutch have got it down to a tee when it comes to their homes. Small lamps on in a room instead of one big one, beautiful decorations on the walls and in the windows, lots of candles.  They even have classes and workshops where people can go to learn how to make nice decorations for autumn, Christmas, spring etc.  One reason I can think of for this is that the Dutch spend a LOT of time inside, whereas in Australia, we live outside a fair bit.  As a result, I think, we don't place as much emphasis on the insides of our homes (which is probably a good thing in a way).
• Nice Dutch words.  Our words in Australia like darling and love are not as loving I feel as some of the dutch ones eg. lieve schaat
• How extended families can work eg.  all going to Oma's on Sunday morning.  All chipping in with a bit of housework, maintenance, gardening.  It's made me think more about the ways maybe we can learn from this.
• In Holland, people don't even wear helmets when they ride scooters and some motorbikes!
• This blog has been viewed nearly 1800 times!  Thankyou for your interest!
• The train toilets flush directly onto the tracks...interesting...
• Bikes have the right of way in Holland, cars need to be on a constant lookout - if a biker is hit by a driver there are big penalties and nearly always the driver is held responsible (even if the cyclist was at fault)
• Everyone has just loved Maddi, everyone comments on her, how friendly and easy she is.  The other day, there were 3 lots of people behind us at the checkout and they were all trying to get her attention!  The people in Malaysia also really love her, talking to her, touching her cheek.  Apparently these people think she looks just like a doll.