So today, Alex and I headed back to Friesland to go and see Sneek. This is where my Mom was born and grew up. It is a beautiful little community filled with old buildings and canals.
We got there after about a 90 minute drive – having to stop twice on the way there while on the Afsluitdijk. One time on either end to let ships pass from one side to the other. Each stop was almost 15 minutes long. A lot of boat traffic goes through these tiny little channels that connect the Atlantic Ocean to the divided body of water.
Once we arrived in Sneek, we found a pay parking lot – sat there at the machine for 5 minutes trying to translate the instructions and then we were off.
We then went to find the Waterpoort – it is an iconic bridge that typifies Sneek.
We then wandered the side streets of Sneek for a while – had lunch at a great little bistro
After lunch, we wandered a bit more, found an AWESOME pair of pants and found some very nice pieces of jewelry for Alex.
Before we knew it, it was almost 4:30. Time to head back to Amsterdam. Traffic in the Netherlands is similar to driving in Vancouver, only amplified. It took us close to two hours to make it back to the hotel. By that time, I was no longer in the mood to drive to a restaurant for dinner.
So, we went down to the lobby grocery store and bought a couple of pizzas that I was able to bake in under 10 minutes.
Time to settle in for the evening.
Tomorrow, our last day in the Netherlands and we will be visiting Nance and Tjalline once more in Alkmaar.
Al Zylstra 