Day the second in Holland - June 4

Up at the crack of 07:00 as it’s going to be a long day and you might as well start early. Out for a walk through a wooded area with all kinds of animals getting their wake-up call. I had been told about Devonian-like marsh area which is used as some kind of water filter plant. This is a rather well-to-do area and all the houses are vying for attention. Everything is lush, clipped, from a gentler age and pristine, if you can say all that in one sentence. The area exudes an air of comfort and achievement – due in no small part to the Dutch work ethic. Time for coffees and some wonderful bread, some kind of fruity breakfast loaf (Ontbijtkoek). Aafke was going to visit her granny in the small seaside town of Katwijk so I was dropped off at the lighthouse and wandered around the seafront. First stop was at the fish stall to have some herring with onion and pickle then, a brisk walk to the end of the promenade and time for a swift glass of Ice-cold Heineken at Chuiringuito No. 19 – ‘De Watering’. I was meeting Aafke back at Chiringuito No.1 ‘Willy Zuid‘ so it was time to march back along the promenade. 1^st highlight of the day was when I heard a familiar sound and looking skywards, beheld a B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ droning up along the coast, there must be some sort of Air-Show on this weekend, somewhere. A couple of beers in ‘Willys’. Everybody thinks I’m German so I have to tell them I’m Irish, no luck. English? My poor father would turn in his grave. A curious thing about this town is that it’s all very modern, built in the 50s, the reason for this apparently is that when the Germans were in residence, they decided such a quaint fishing village was a threat to security, so they flattened it and built a string of bunkers. Into Haarlem for a beer in the main square and write postcards. I also bought a wooden clog, next time I might buy the other one. We were all going for dinner so it was time to get togged out and head for ‘Restaurant Amstelfort’ owned and run by Aafke’s brother Tijmen. www.amstelfort.nl . There is a separate posting on this, one of the best culinary experiences I’ve ever had. As we left, some local kids told us there was a police checkpoint on the main road and although Mrs. Aafke only had the one glass of wine, paranoia set in and we tried to find the back way out but to no avail. Anyway, it was a false alarm. Back to crack open the Patxeran and look at art.