Saturday the 7th July: 'Cycling, Midgets and Pancakes’

Needless to say we all slept like cats on a sofa after our first day filled with travelling, emotions and activity. Luke my big brother stayed with me in my apartment while my parents stayed at the Scholtens. This meant that the evening before we first had to cycle all the way across Hilversum before we could crash for the night. On the way to my apartment we pass a ‘brandweer’ or fire station which has big massive glass windows for the garage doors so you can see the fire engines. My brother must have been really tired as while we cycled past he asked if it was the library. It was good to have my brother back.

The plan for the day was to spend it with the Scholten’s and what a better way to experience the dutchness than to cycle. So after hurling Luke out of bed we set off back past the library to the Scholten’s to eat breakkie.  Ellen, my host mom had organised bikes for my whole family and after some brekkie we all got onto our bikes. The whole Scholten family and the whole Jessop family had formed a biker gang for the day. And what a day it was! A blue moon or as the Dutch call it a blue sky. Sun, oh yes the wonderful sun had graced us with its presence on exactly the right day and the Jessop/Scholten biker gang rode on in good spirits.

We cycled out of Hilversum through the forest and the heather towards a little town called ‘Lage Vuursche’ nearby where the Queen of Holland has a spring household. We however were not on our way to have tea with the Queen but to eat some famous Dutch pancakes! The size of large pizzas, savoury and/or sweet and a taste that will cause your taste buds to orgasm. Lunch was good.

After our satisfying luncheon we decided to play what the locals call ‘midget golf’ or in a more politically correct nation putt-putt. Much to our surprise and my brother’s humorous satisfaction who should we find playing just a few holes in front of us but a midget.  I’m still not sure whether to call it ironic or poetic...

18 holes later and our biker gang were back on the road again making for home. Rick however had been having nervous fits all day as the following day was his parents wedding anniversary and they were going to go out as a family for dinner but he had just been asked by his boss to work that evening. He spent the day starring at his phone waiting for his boss to reply to his plea to change his shift and by the end of the day he roared off ahead of us to see his boss at work. We all got home tired and content with the days progression. Though for us young folk the end of the day is the start of the night and we all know what that means.

After playing Kings with Rick’s friends we went out, in both meanings of the term. I had already become accustomed to going out on a bike but for my brother it was his virgin voyage. Thankfully we all arrived in town safely and had a great night even in the unfortunately named club ‘G-spot’.

Another day passed, another day to look forward to... 

Friday the 6th July; 'Family, beers and boats'

My holiday started with the well anticipated arrival of my family all the way from Cape Town.  My host father Peter and I went to go pick up my brother and father from Schipol airport. My mother was only expected to arrive later that day as she had spent the last couple of days working in Blackpool, England. It was absolutely fantastic to see my father and brother again and even though the weather in Holland was absolutely dull, the mood was far from it. I must say after having travelled all through the night they looked exhausted but non-the less we still headed off to Amsterdam after we dropped their things off in Hilversum.

We took the train through to Amsterdam Central but unfortunately for us so did hundreds of others.  We could only just squeeze into the entrance of the carriage and to add insult to injury the air-con wasn’t working. Now I know I’ve complained about the crap weather in Holland being wet, grey, raining and or cold all the time but during the time they call summer you can add humid to the list. Yes, it was incredibly humid while we were stuffed in a non air conditioned and full train all the way to Amsterdam.

After losing several kilos in our sauna train we had arrived in Amsterdam which even though I have been to a couple of times now, still amazes me. Now we only had the afternoon in Amsterdam as we had to fetch my mother at the airport later on so we had to choose what we wanted to see carefully. We could go for a canal tour, see many of the famous history and art museums such as the Van Gogh and Anne Frank. Naturally we decided on the Heineken brewery experience. Lack of female presence had nothing to do with it...

Now we had our heading but without a direction. I knew it was south of the station but exactly where south was the problem. Luckily us being in a first world country finding a map was easy and we were soon on our way south, the right south. We walked passed Dam square and then down the Kalverstraat, the Dutch ‘Oxford street’.  We then found ourselves in Rembrantplein before we made it to Heineken. At first sight I thought it was rather small for a brewery but we soon discovered that it was in fact the gift shop and the actual ‘Heineken Experience’ was another half hour walk. Luckily they had a boat! A boat we could ride for free! This meant we got our canal tour anyway and goes to show that men are always right when there is a decision to make. Most of the time. And or only when food, drink and sport are involved.

Hence the three Jessop men cruised the canals of Amsterdam while sipping some bruski’s on their way to a brewery. Seemed like the holiday had officially started. I have failed to mention the red-faced almost falling off the boat hanging young man who served us our beers, but that is pretty much everything there is to say about him. That and he looked like Dirk Kuyt.

An hour or so, a couple of free beers, new knowledge about beers and our very own bottle of ‘Jessop’ beer later we had finished our brewery experience and were ready to pick up my mother from Schipol. After a pizza dinner we caught a train to the airport and met up with Peter who would drive us all back to Hilversum. It was great to see my mom again and even better to have my whole family together.

My first day of an unforgettable holiday was complete.

Peter's summer holiday diary

It's taken me almost as long as my actual holiday to start writing these but I finally got rid of that pest procrastination and got on with it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed experiencing it and then recalling my experiences by writing about them. Many thanks to all those who were part of what was a most amazing and memorable holiday.

And so it begins...