Final days in Europe/Holland

Here is a list of what we will miss most about Holland:

 - it is a flat country, although this is largely a matter of perspective seen through the eyes of people coming from an unflat one;

 - it is full of tall people, this being due to their consumption of milk based foods, so one theory has it, and this is perpetuated by tall Dutch people choosing tall partners thus producing tall children;

 - there are a lot of windmills, more nowadays used for producing electricity rather than grinding corn;

 - everyone rides bicycles (I believe I may have mentioned this before) and it is something to be admired and envied that in the age of the motor car at least one highly civilised country has chosen to give preference to the bicycle;

 - tulips grow well here, and not just in Amsterdam;

 - boats and bridges proliferate here, indeed it seems easier to get around by boat than it is by road. Road bridges will open for even the smallest vessel;

 - neatness and tidyness are part of the culture - roadsides are not rubbish strewn playgrounds, unlike more than one place we could mention;

 - black locust trees grow well here. Native to North America these were introduced deliberately many years ago, perhaps to improve the soil. They are a fast growing hardwood, a member of the pea family;

- finally, statues of cows are commonplace, in all colours.

And here are a foreigner's confessions about driving in Holland. Navigating the road network requires great concentration, eyes that can point in all directions at once and a translator. This is due to the proliferation of painted road markings and signs which only Dutch people  understand (although at the ferry terminal there is a sign pointing to 'England'). Oh, and keep well clear of anyone riding a bicycle. 

Our last night in Holland is at a campsite in Hellevoetsluis, pronounced...no, forget it. This was once a major naval port, only going into decline when the ships became too large to navigate the Haringvliet, the waterway on which it stands. The town now has a large marina full of leisure craft as well as a broad sandy beach where one can sit and admire the passing yachts.

So this just leaves us the day before our night sail back to England and thankfully our Dutch daughter, Maartje, has this planned for us; pannekoeken for lunch followed by a wild walk amongst the trees, just what we needed.

Then once again we drive into the bowels of a ship, wait for that telltale rumble that denotes putting to sea and climb into our bunks to try to get some sleep before the 0600 alarm call, which is actually 0500 for us as we have already put our clocks back to UK time.