In Europe again and loving it

We are back in Europe again.  We arrived in The Netherlands yesterday after the usual looooong flight which involves over 24 hours in the air, plus all the transfer stops.  But this time, Nikki travelled in comfort, having chosen to go business class.  Andrew resisted and he travelled cattle class.  There are no photos available of him enjoying economy travel :-)

This very unflattering photo shows Nikki lying down on the full size Qantas bed.  Unfortunately, the stewardess who acted as the photographer was not very adept at handling the camera.

This photo is taken on the FinnAir plane on the Singapore to Helsinki leg of the journey.  The seat is like a capsule and it too folds down into a reasonably comfortable flat bed .  The food too is superior on business class but while enjoyable and appreciated, this is of not the same interest as the flat bed.

I read in a magazine the wise advice "If you don't travel business class, your children will".  I took heed and decided at my age, and stage of life, to spare myself the discomfort of contorting my ageing body to accommodate the confines of the economy class seats.  I regretted nothing as I lay down to sleep fully stretched out.  It was blissful.

These are typical Dutch houses.  Comfortable and always two storeys with a small, well tended garden.  The bedrooms are always upstairs and the stairs are the narrowest one can imagine.  They would be illegal back home.  There are almost no garages.  All the cars are parked in a small parking place in front of the house or in the street.

We are enjoying Andrew's cousin Sieska's kind hospitality while we are here.  She lives in the village of Heiloo (pop 23,000) which is about 35 kms from Amsterdam.  Sieska is going to drive us around the country while we visit Andrew's and her many relatives.  We will also go into Amsterdam for the day by train.  as well as to The Hague, where we did not go on the last visit to The Netherlands.

The Netherlands is so small in area that you never have to drive for more than two hours to visit any relative.  It is a very small and supposedly crowded country but you would never think it driving around.  Everything is verdant, well-laid out  and spacious looking.  It is only when you venture into shops and find yourself in a crowd that you start to appreciate how may people live here.