Count, Almere, The Netherlands

2012 Posted Mar 9, 2008, 12:52 pm	Count is anxiously waiting to start his voyage. His saying goodbye to his belongings . List of hosts (in travelling order): 1. drakie  2. Eryah  3. Lejow  4. magicwoman  5. Marjolein 6. Charda  <- 7. Boneyard Bears 8. gingermuggins 9. fam-united 10. Miss_Nadine 11. Deborah 12. WeGetOn 13. Lizette 14. Pandamao 15. Vicki . .
drakie Posted Mar 17, 2008, 5:59 pm	Well I have quite setting in, I have met Snowy the bunny, cute but naughty, I have to watch dirkie to make sure he doesnt get eaten... or nibbled to death.... Well I got out of my box, oh what a relief.  I had my picture took with Dirkie, he is very little so he sat on me for my portrait. Yesterday, Sunday we went to see a friend run in Comic Relief, it was very cold so I was glad i didnt have my shorts on!!!  Its Easter this weekend, will try and find some spooky places to visit.
drakie Posted Apr 1, 2008, 8:33 pm	It has been very persistantly raining here in the Uk, have made friends with Dirkie, this little fellow has a thing about climbing on my head, strange character, I know he is little but I have to have some authority here......  we just went for a little drive, when we got to Weymouth the heavens opened so we just had coffee in the car and watched the sea and then drove home.  First picture is the sights, very rural here and then approaching Honiton.  Did got to a cemetry though, at least on some of the pictures its not dark black.... to follow
drakie Posted Apr 1, 2008, 8:54 pm	tonight we went to Ottery St Mary ... in the graveyard, it was very dark, but you see I love t he dark... my little friends were very scared, but to me it was good and fun.... not scary... oh to be with men and not just boys...  I jumped out at them and they ran away. I teased them all the way home... well until we got to mcdonalds and I couldnt because my mouth was full of food, couldnt find blood so food had to doooooooooo, well tomatoe sauce is the same colour..... We are waiting for a full mooooooonnnnnn
drakie Posted Apr 13, 2008, 2:08 pm	my host is apologising for not updating logs.  The pictures will be updated in the next week or two.  Well, we waved off Dirkie,  my little friend really, its the strange little man that kept sitting on my head, long legs and no body.  ... but he was quite cute.  If you like that type of thing.... We sat at a bus stop, very rural so no buses came by. We have been looking for a full moon, we were ready and waiting and what happened we all fell asleep so missed it, I could have completed a mission Mummy so near yet so far. Well in two weeks I go to Dominican Republic, how exciting for little people, lots of sand sea and coconuts..... Updates to follow soon
drakie Posted Apr 26, 2008, 4:25 pm	Its took my host a while but as they say you get there eventually... Well we sat and ate Easter Eggs, it was a beatrix potter bunny egg, just like snowy the bunny... We then went out in the evening, did it rain it poured from the heavens... my host stayed at a house where her friend takes car for it and as it was empty the owner let them stay for the weekend it was lovely.  A jacuzzi in the garden, and there they sat and bubbled away ... just like vegetables in the pot, the only difference was it rained and it rained and my host she still sat in the bubbling pot,  I think she was a little mad... dont you!!!  The English must like the rain, cos it does it a lot
Eryah Posted May 21, 2008, 6:45 pm	Hello! Today i arrived in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. Pictures comes soon! Hugs Count
drakie Posted May 21, 2008, 7:10 pm	Well we arrived in Dominican Republic and boys was it hot, we got out our clothes and put them away.  After being in a suitcase we were glad to escape.  I kept trying on the sunglasses, not too sure about the pink but I did think i looked the best and really super cool, and I think the hat was good too, but again a case of pink maybe not a good choice of colour but it was ok.
drakie Posted May 21, 2008, 7:14 pm	Today was a special day it was my hosts husbands birthday, we got up very early and put up banners and balloons before he awoke, now this made us very tired at night.  But at night we went to a Chinese restaurant again, we went there a few ago, it was fun..... I finished off the soup and then was soooo full I fell in the cup, we played with the chop sticks ,  without much success as we missed all the rest of the food as we could not pick them up!!!
drakie Posted May 21, 2008, 7:17 pm	The day before we fly away,,,, to Dominican Replublic,  wow.... 9 hours is a long time to be in a case.  Anyway here we are helping my host to pack her case.... this was fun as we kept getting lost in the clothes....
drakie Posted May 21, 2008, 7:21 pm	Well we had a lovely day to day just resting on the beach, not a care in the world, just lazing in the sun... it was sooo fun, lots of ice cream and coca colas, again I think I still look cool in the PINK glasses, again not a choice of colour for a boy!!!
drakie Posted May 21, 2008, 7:26 pm	Today we went on trip on the Monster Trucks, they were very large zebra striped trucks and we went all over the dominican republic and into the bushes, across rivers. My host and all her truck had water fights with other trucks, that was great fund, in fact my host got very wet and then the truck all threw what water they had left over her, she then got very very wet, but secretly she was happy because it was so very hot and the water made her cool... [color=red][/color][img]null[/img][quote] We stopped for food and drink after a morning ride on the monster truck in readiness for later!!!
drakie Posted May 21, 2008, 7:33 pm	Well this is the last day before we went home, it was a lovely holiday.  Beautiful place, today we just stayed around the hotel, we watched the pink flamingo`s.  We sat by the pool, when we get home I will go to my next host Eyrah.  I have had fun with Dirkie at the beginning of my stay, I met Shirley Sheep and the thought lost Henry Hound came back.  I have travelled with my boy buddies, Mocke and Chocolate.
drakie Posted May 21, 2008, 7:40 pm	Today we went up in the cable car it was very high, on the way up it was very cloudy but on the way down we could see far and wide.  The most troubling thing was we had an armed guard come up with us in the lift, my host went with her girlfriend because her hubby gets ill a lot.  We think he was taking care of us, he then followed us back down..... so we really had to behave.  We saw lovely flowers. We got back to the hotel and the lady who cleaned the rooms made a very pretty swan with our towels, we couldnt use them again as it was too pretty to destroy!!
drakie Posted May 21, 2008, 7:43 pm	Well we got back safely and today I leave all my friends I have made.  I have had a wonderful time.  And now I say goodbye, maybe one day I can come back..... Goodbye drakie..... hello Eryah
Eryah Posted May 21, 2008, 7:48 pm	Hello! I arrived at a great day because today it is my new host her birthday. When i was in the box i have to whait very long before they opened it. I heard i wasn't the only one who arrived today at Eva her home. But finally it was time for me to come out! These are from the left to the right: Davy, Margarida, Ambrosius, a birthday present and the little bear sitting in the middle is Lumi. I think i'm gonna make good friend here! But first i'm gonna sleep because i'm very tired of my travel. Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted May 22, 2008, 5:30 pm	Hello! Again a new TV arrived today. It's getting more and more cosy here! We all were very curious who can be in it. We are allready with a cat, dog, rabbit, bear and a count so we hoped it was an other animal. And it was! It's a monkey! This is Roberto Now we are gonna chat about our goals and who we are. I'll be back soon! Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted May 24, 2008, 11:55 am	Hello! Today we asked Eva to tell us everything she know about Alkmaar and the Netherlands. She told us some funny stories! Alkmaar is above all Holland's cheese town. During the season from the first Friday of April to the first Friday of September a traditional cheese market is being held here on Friday mornings between 10 and 12.30. The cheeses are sold by dealers on a clap of hands. Thereupon the 400 year old cheese porters' guild goes into action, carrying the cheese off on barrows after the lot has been weighed at the Waag (the official scales). In the Waaggebouw - in which the scales are housed - a cheese museum that tells everything about dairy farming has been established. Cheese has been weighed in Alkmaar since 1635. Alkmaar is historical with around 400 monuments. The Waag, dating back in its earliest form to the 14th century, the 16th century town-hall, Grote St. Laurens Church and the many courtyards, facades and canals give the town an ambience all of its own. With the past as a setting, the town has a modern stock of shops offering a wide choice. Besides the predominantly small shops in the old centre, the Noorder Arcade with large scale shopping facilities stands by the side of the Noord Holland Canal. Alkmaar is the biggest town in the region. Relaxation can also be found in the Geestmerambacht recreational area close by. The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland]) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the Caribbean. The Netherlands is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east. The Netherlands is often called Holland. This is formally incorrect as North and South Holland in the western Netherlands are only two of the country's twelve provinces. As a matter of fact, many Dutch people colloquially use Holland as a synecdoche, being well aware of the widespread use of this name. For more on this and other naming issues see terminology of the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying and densely populated country. It is popularly known for its traditional windmills, tulips, cheese, clogs (wooden shoes), delftware and gouda pottery, for its bicycles, its dikes and surge barriers, and, on the other hand, traditional values and civil virtues such as its classic social tolerance. But primarily, the Netherlands is a modern, advanced and open society. An old parliamentary democracy, the country is more recently known for its rather liberal policies toward recreational drugs, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, and euthanasia. The Netherlands is also one of the most densely cabled countries in the world; its internet connection rate is 87.8%, the 2nd highest in the world. The Netherlands has an international outlook; among other affiliations the country is a founding member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, and has signed the Kyoto protocol. Along with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Netherlands is one of three member nations of the Benelux economic union. The country is host to five international(ised) courts: the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. All of these courts (except the Special Tribunal for Lebanon), as well as the EU's criminal intelligence agency (Europol), are situated in The Hague, which has led to the city being referred to as "the world's legal capital." A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is its flatness. Hilly landscapes can be found only in the south-eastern tip of the country on the foothills of the Ardennes, the central part and where the glaciers pushed up several hilly ridges such as the Hondsrug in Drenthe, the stuwwallen (push moraines) near Arnhem and Nijmegen, Salland, Twente and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. Religion Main article: Religion in the Netherlands The Netherlands is one of the more secular countries in the Western Europe, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35), although 62% are believers (but 40% of those not in the traditional sense). Fewer than 20% visit church regularly . According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 34% of Dutch citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 37% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". In 1950, before the secularisation of Europe, and the large settlement of non-Europeans in the Netherlands, most Dutch citizens identified themselves as Christians. In 1950, out of a total population of almost 13 million, a total of 7,261,000 belonged to Protestant denominations, 3,703,000 belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and 1,641,000 had no acknowledged religion. However, Christian schools are still funded by the government, but the same applies for schools founded on other religions, nowadays Islam in particular. While all schools must meet strict quality criteria, from 1917 the freedom of schools is a basic principle in The Netherlands. Three political parties in the Dutch parliament (CDA, ChristianUnion and SGP) base their policy on the Christian belief system. Culture Erasmus (1466–1536).The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. The 17th century, when the Dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "Dutch Masters", such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruysdael and many others. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century were Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. M. C. Escher is a well-known graphics artist. Willem de Kooning was born and trained in Rotterdam, although he is considered to have reached acclaim as an American artist. Han van Meegeren was an infamous Dutch art forger. The Netherlands is the country of philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza. All of Descartes' major work was done in the Netherlands. The Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) discovered Saturn's moon Titan and invented the pendulum clock. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms with a microscope. In the Dutch Golden Age, literature flourished as well, with Joost van den Vondel and P.C. Hooft as the two most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the bad treatment of the natives in Dutch colonies. Important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Simon Vestdijk, Cees Nooteboom, Gerard (van het) Reve and Willem Frederik Hermans. Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl was published after she died in The Holocaust and translated from Dutch to all major languages. Replicas of Dutch buildings can be found in Huis ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan. A similar Holland Village is being built in Shenyang, China. Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese and Delftware pottery are among the items associated with the Netherlands. Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted May 25, 2008, 4:35 pm	Hello! Today was such a rainy day that we all get very bored. We watched the rain outside the window. Before we all get depressed we decided to take a good look in Eva her house. You never know what you can find... Margarida, Roberto and I found some gnomes and asked them what we can do here.... Lumi found a very strange creature. He asked her the same after she gave him a very wet kiss with her strange lips... Ambrosius asked it too to a very beautifull but mysterious girl... They all pointed to a closet full of books. We had no idea what they mean with that but we decided to take a look in the closet. We found some very old books. Eva told us she get this books from her father. You can't buy them in the shop anymore. Even the pages in the books felt old. We read the books and they were so great! Appie has a lot of adventures with his friends. Before we know we were in a other world: the world of Appie. Time really flies when you read and especially when you read about adventures. Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted May 27, 2008, 7:22 pm	Hello! Today we went to the house of Eva her ex husband. He lives on a camping in Heiloo. They have some real nice things there. First we found a beautifull car and you can imagine we have to drive in it. Suddenly a woman called us she have to show us something. Look how sweet!!! Bug hugs Count
Eryah Posted May 29, 2008, 2:44 pm	Hello! Today it was time to say goodbye to Davy. Tomorrow he is going to his next host. He is very emotional at the moment, so that's why he decided to do it today. I'm gonna miss him a lot! Allthought we just met, we became good friends. Hopefully i see him again in our journey! Goodbye sweet Davy and i wish you a lot of fun! Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted May 31, 2008, 5:10 pm	Hello! Today the mail man brought a magazine called Yes. It's a magazine for girls and we were all very curious what they write in it. Suddenly we saw Eva in it! We called her and she explained us that she had an interview a couple weeks ago about her divorce. Now we understand why Eva is sitting in a white dress next to a boy on the picture in the magazine. She also told us she was pregnant on that picture. Good to know because we thought she had a big belly because she is addicted to the Mac Donalds. Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 1, 2008, 7:05 pm	Hello! Today we watched a practice game football between the Netherlands and Wales. It was for the Europian Championchips. It was very exciting and the Netherland won the game with 2-0. To support the dutch team we wear orange stuff just like the other supporters. Eva made us a dutch snack to eat while we were watching the game. It were kroketten, aardappelkrokektjes and a kaassoufle. It was very delicious! We really wanna know some dutch words. so Eva tought us some. Hello= Hallo Bye= Doeg or Doei Hugs= Knuffel I love you= Ik hou van jou Sweet= Lief Food= Eten How are you= Hoe gaat het met je What's your name= Hoe heet je Stuffed animal= Knuffel Thanks= Bedankt Count= Graaf Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 2, 2008, 4:55 pm	Hello! It's very hot here today. Look at this picture and you know what i mean. When it's hot like this in the Netherlands it's very muggy. I sweat my pants off today, and i don't even wear pants... We want to find something cool here. In the garden we found a cage that is standing in the shadow. Suddenly a big rabbit came to me and ask me what i was doing in his cage. First i was a little bit afraid of him, but he told me that it wasn't necessary to be scared. When i told him about the hot weather he said i was welcome in his house. Pfieuw!!! Later this afternoon i saw Eva lives by the water. Water= refreshment so i decided to take a look there. It was so cool because a bird was swimming there with her children. Dharma also take a look by the water. He's a 4 moths old puppy who lives here. Because of the heat i was getting tired and i heard there is someone in this house who sleeps all day long. I find here and now we are gonna sleep together. Sleep well Isis... Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 4, 2008, 9:08 pm	Hello! Today we went with Eva her mom to Callantsoog. Callantsoog is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zijpe, and lies about 13 km south of Den Helder. Until 1990, Callantsoog was a municipality; its area is now part of the municipalities of Zijpe, Den Helder, and Anna Paulowna. Callantsoog has the oldest official nude beach of the country, dating from 1973. It is a sandy beach 1.5 km to the south. Callantsoog was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Zijpe. In 2001, the town of Callantsoog had 1956 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.58 km², and contained 899 residences. The wider statistical area "Callantsoog" has a population of around 2580. This includes also the village of Groote Keeten and the hamlet of Abbestede north of Callantsoog itself. You can imagine it isn't a big town. Here we are sitting on the car and watch the dunes. You can also see them behind us. The dunes. On our way back we saw this dutch mill! On our righthand you see the dunes again. On out left hand we had the Noordholland Kanaal. The Groot Noordhollandsch Kanaal (Great North-Holland Canal), now known simply as Noordhollandsch Kanaal, is a canal in the Dutch province of North-Holland. The canal stretches about 75 kilometres, from Den Helder in the north to Amsterdam in the south, passing the cities of Alkmaar and Purmerend. The Noordhollandsch Kanaal was dug in the 1820s to shorten the sea route to Amsterdam. Also, the city's harbour was becoming inaccessible to sea-faring ships due to the increasing number of shoals and shallows in the Zuiderzee. Construction of the canal was begun in 1820 and completed in 1824. It was part of King Willem I's efforts to revitalize the country's once-flourishing trade and industry. The canal connected a number of existing waterways, including various canals and the small Rekere river. At either end of the canal, sluice gates were built: the Willem I-sluis at the Amsterdam end and the Koopvaardersschutsluis at the Den Helder end. The canal soon proved inadequate due the growing size of ships, the many bridges and sluice gates and the many curves and turns in the canal. Also, the canal froze in winter. It was therefore decided to dig a new canal, the Noordzeekanaal, between Amsterdam and IJmuiden. Completed in 1876, it made the Noordhollandsch Kanaal largely obsolete. Though still used for commercial shipping, the Noordhollandsch Kanaal's main functions today are recreation and water management. A unique element of the canal are the floating bridges, so-called vlotbruggen ("raft bridges"). These bridges were constructed because engineers in the 1820s were not able to build bridges long enough to span the canal. The bridges opened by sliding the floating middle sections underneath the fixed end sections. Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 7, 2008, 1:29 pm	Hello! A new tv arrived today! We were wondering wo could be in that envelope. We told the TV in the envelope he could come out because it's fun here! This is Summy I think we gonna be great friends! Hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 7, 2008, 1:36 pm	Hello! I ride on a bike today! It was scary! But i also love to do it! Fortunate for me the bike has wheels on the frame. So i kept well in balance. Look at me mum! When i'm home a want a bike for myself. You feel the wind and you can go fast if you want. I notice that in Holland they do not wear helmets for their safety. Everybody here rides on a bike and the people learn it to there children almost before they can walk. I looked my eyes out. Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 9, 2008, 4:08 pm	Hello! Today we saw such a beautifull insect. Eva never saw such thing before here in the Netherlands, so she made a picture of it. Off course i wanna share it with you mommy. Because of the sunlight his wings look gold. Eva searched on the internet and we found out that you call this a Libel in dutch. Hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 9, 2008, 4:33 pm	Hello! Every evening Eva read us a bedtime story. I really wanna share this story with you because i'm a little bit flabbergasted they call this a story for children... Egg drop Egg was young. He didn't know that much. We try to tell him, but he wouldn't listen. If he only had whaited. This is a story about the egg that wants to fly. Egg loves to look to the blue sky. There he saw the birds, baloons, plains and insects, helicopters, bats and clouds. Egg wants to fly with them. He dreamt about ways to fly. But egg was young. He didn't know much about flying. The only thing egg knew was that he had to go up. On a hill there was a high tower. Inside the tower there were 538 steps. Egg climbed to the top. Egg was in the clouds. A bird fly near him. Egg closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and stepped into the space. He heared the wind. Egg opened his eyes. He saw his friends in the sky. 'Woehoe,' he shouted. 'I'm flying!' But egg wasn't flying. He dropped. It took a while to clean up the mess. We tried to fix egg. But it didn't worked. Egg shelves doesn't heal. Egg was young. He wouldn't listen. If he only just had whaited. Luckely egg didn't get lost. I hope you enjoyed the story just as much as i am. Hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 10, 2008, 4:55 pm	Hello! Today it was envelope time again! We were again very curious about our new friends. It's always fun when new tv's arrive. A black head popped out of the envelope. He was very excited about this adventure and he really wanna get out of the envelope. Suddenly he began to talk to the envelope. We all looked to each other and thought he was a little bit crazy. Maybe because of the temprature in the envelope or something. So it was a big shock to see a second head coming out of the envelope! The black one his name is Nepomuk. The mouse his name is Dottie mouse. They both are very nice! Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 14, 2008, 1:56 pm	Hello! Today it was time to say goodbye to Lumi and Margarida. It's alawys hard see another TV leaving. I hope they both are gonna have a wonderfull trail. Maybe we see each other again, you never know. Bye Margarida Bye Lumi Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 14, 2008, 5:27 pm	Hello! Because Eva isn't able to go outside at the moment we decided to show you information and sites about Alkmaar at another way. I hope you enjoy it! Cheesemarket: This cheese market is open every Friday morning between 10 and 12 from the first Friday in April until the first Friday in September. Market activities are explained in Dutch, German, English and sometimes Japanese. There are four teams (vemen) of cheese-porters (kaasdragers), who can be recognised by their differently coloured straw hats: red, blue, green and yellow. Two porters bring cheese on stretchers to the weighing house (Waag) - a typical stretcher "weighs in" at about 160 kilograms. Merchants sample the cheeses and decide on a price using a barter system called handjeklap, literally clapping hands. Ruin church in Bergen: This picturesque ruin church in Bergen once was the biggest church in Noord-Holland. From the 16th century church there is only a ruin left now, because the Beggars started a fire here. Only the choir of the church was rebuilt, so from the original church you can now only see the ruins. In the village Bergen in Noord-Holland there are many beautiful old houses situated around the old village church. Big church During building the largest medieval church in Alkmaar, the church was already called the big church, because of its size. The big church is not only the largest and highest church in Alkmaar, but also the church which trough the centuries, stood most and called the jewel of the city. Originally the church was dedicated to Saint Laurens. That’s why, for centuries, the church is called The Saint Laurenschurch. The church was probably designed by architect Anthonius Keldermans (Belgium) (1440-1512) Beside Anthonius Keldermans brother, also his son was involved in the disign of the church, in which 26 freestanding columns support the roof. The Saint Laurens church is a basilica, The outside walls rest on a fundation which is just below the ground. Built in the Brabant’s gothic style, which is bigger and more massive in its form than the French gothic. The building is 35 meters high and has a cross length of 85x56 meters. The outside walls rest on a one meter broad foundation which is just below thethe ground, and gradually becomes broader to a depth of tree meters. The last resauration of in-and exterieur was accomplished in 1996. The large saint Laurens church counts two, world famous organs: Van Covelens organ (also called choir organ) and it VanHagerbeer/Schnitger or large organ. The choir organ descends from 1511 and has been placed against the northern wall of the church. The last restoration of this old, still playable, organ in the Netherlands, was completed in the year 2000. In 1636 arose the idea for the construction of a large organ in the church. Several organ builders have worked on it, but in 1645 Jacobus Caltus van Hagerbeer completed the large organ. Jacob Van Campen devised the organ cupboard and in 1643  Caesar Van Everdingen got the task to paint the doors of the organ cupboard with the ‘triomfe van den Coninck Saul’. This painting belongs to his first large work. Above the organ the painter Romeyn de Hooghe painted in baroque striking, (‘de deugd, die de ondeugd verplettert’)" virtue crushing the vice". From 1723 up to 1725 the large organ was restored and extended by Frans Caspar Schnitger. In course of time there have been several restorations on this organ. St. Joseph Church This church was put in use in 1910. Designed by famous church builders and students of PJH Cuypers, the Margry brothers. The church is built in neo-gothic style, which shows by the way the towers are placed and by the arched roofs. The church is placed beautifully and is in possession of wonderful stained glass windows. The statue of Christ has been placed in 1948, in memory of Alkmaar war-victims. Their names are placed on a memorial plaque on the churches wall. Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 17, 2008, 1:01 pm	Hello! Today we were playing in the garden and suddenly Eva had an idea. She wants to do something for us to thank us for our stay here. Just like the tiles on Hollywood she write down our names. Take a look: How great is that? Now she will always remember us Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 18, 2008, 6:08 pm	Hello! We had such a great party last night! We watched the football game were the Netherlands were playing against Roemenia. This was the thirth game they win and all the people in Holland were celebrate it. The Netherlands have a strange creature that is there mascotte. It is called a Welpie and they even have a song for it. The national color of the Netherlands is orange so he's orange too. But dear, he can party!!!! This morning at 6 o clock i finally go to my bed. I dance all night long. Off course we made a picture together with the Welpie. Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 19, 2008, 5:10 pm	Hello! Today it was bad weather here as you can see: We decided to each build or own dreamhouse. It was so much fun to do! Here you can see mine: Big hugs Count
Eryah Posted Jun 20, 2008, 1:06 pm	Hello! Time flies when your having fun. Today was my last day here in Alkmaar. When you read this update i'm on my way to Poeldijk. Luckely to a friend of Eva and she told me Lejow is also a nice girl so i'm not worry at all! But first it was time to say goodbye to everyone. Bye Nepomuk! Bye Dottie! Bye Roberto! Bye Summy! Bye Ambrosius! He's also going away today. I had a great time here in Alkmaar and gonna miss everyone i get to know here. But i'm also very excited for all the other adventures that are coming now. Big hugs Count
Lejow Posted Jun 22, 2008, 9:13 pm	Hello! This weekend I arrived at another adress in the Netherlands. I saw two other TV's.. they looked a bit scared? When we they seemed to be a little calm down and used to my look, they came closer. I am not scary!! I showed them where I come from. I'm from Finland, and Rex is aswell! We immediatly started talking in Finnish, Rex is very nice! Then we saw Henry a little dissapointed, he can't speak Finnish, how rude of us! We went further in English! Later this evening we watched the sunset Wow it is pretty Do you see me ??  Hug Count
Lejow Posted Jun 26, 2008, 5:25 pm	Hello! Yesterday we went to Lejows girlfriend, she is building in her house. We helped her a little! pulling uit nails view Look at all the hard work we did! Hug Count
Lejow Posted Jun 28, 2008, 3:14 pm	Hello! Today we did some animal-seeing Wat a variety of animals Lejow has in her Neighbourhood!! We saw a Bambi! We saw a goat! And we even saw some Flamingos! Unfortunate we couldn't get any closer than this! Have a nice weekend! Hug Count
Lejow Posted Jun 30, 2008, 5:43 pm	Hello! We had an exciting weekend!! Yesterday we went to see the Centre of Rotterdam. We went by Metro When we arrived and got out, we saw the trainstation, and two trains where just arriving! There we saw some marvolous buildings We saw the Cubic houses. Here is some info: Kubuswoningen, or cube houses, are a set of innovative houses built in Rotterdam and Helmond in The Netherlands, designed by architect Piet Blom in 1984. The houses in Rotterdam are located on Overblaak Street, and beside the Blaak Subway Station. Blom tilted the cube of a conventional house 45 degrees, and rested it upon a hexagon-shaped pylon. There are 38 small cubes and two so called 'super-cubes', all attached to each other. As residents are disturbed so often by curious passers-by, one owner decided to open a "show cube", which is furnished as a normal house, and is making a living out of offering tours to visitors. The houses contain three floors: ground floor entrance first floor with living room and open kitchen second floor with two bedrooms and bathroom top floor which is sometimes used as a small garden The walls and windows are angled at 54.7 degrees. The total area of the apartment is around 100 square meters, but around a quarter of the space is unusable because of the walls that are under the angled ceilings Next to the cubes houses you will see another designed building by the Dutch architect Piet Blom (1934-1999). It is called the Blaaktower and has the shape of a pencil, that is why it is popular called 'The Pencil', Het Potlood Yesterdayevening we watch the Final of the European Championship of Football. a match between Spain and Germany (the Netherlands have made it to the quarter finals). And wooowww it was exciting! They both played very good. But only one was the best. Spain has won with 1-0 getting the medals getting the cup hug count
Lejow Posted Jul 4, 2008, 2:29 pm	Hello!! Since Lejow hurt her back yesterday very very much, she wasn't able to work today. So we went baking little cakes!! Step 1: Getting al the ingredients Step 2: Get everything out of the box Step 3: read the recepy Step 4: Mixing everything Step 5: Putting it in the cakecups Step 6: Then, in the oven! Step 7: 15 minutes later, PLING!! Done!! Step 8: Making the Icing Step 9: decorating! Step 10: completely done!! Enjoy!! Hug Count
Lejow Posted Jul 11, 2008, 8:57 am	Hellloo!! This weekend we went to the harbour of Hoek van Holland From here the Stenaline leaves to England! We were just in time to see him take off. Unfortunate it was very very very bad weather.. But we managed to make some pictures Stenaline harbour more harbour Hug Count
Lejow Posted Jul 11, 2008, 10:59 pm	Helloooo! Today we went to Scheveningen again. We went to see a movie and see the sunset. We saw Kung Fu Panda, and laughed a looooot! First we played in the sand and after that we saw the beautiful sunset. It was raining the whole day, but it in the afternoon the sun appeard and showed us this!!! Hug Count
Lejow Posted Jul 15, 2008, 9:42 pm	Hello! I had the most wonderfull, awsome, exciting weekend EVER!! Lejow had a short holiday break with her boyfriend, and she took us (the TV's) with her. We went to a place called Nijkerk. Sunday we first went to the zoo in Amersfoort. Wow, it was so beautiful We saw so much animals, even dinosaures!! The dinosaures Hug Count
Lejow Posted Jul 15, 2008, 9:57 pm	This is the hotel we were sleaping in, it was beautiful and had a nice bed Monday evening we went to the beach It was nice and sunny Hug Count
Lejow Posted Jul 15, 2008, 10:12 pm	Today, the last day, we went to a some kind of Castle. At least, what we thought that it was There were people living, so we could get any closer, or even inside of it.. That was a pitty! It was called 'Oldenaller' Later this day we went to a TV toys museum. They had all kinds off tv puppets over there. We weren't allowed to make pictures, but I secretly got on the picture with Dexter Now we are home, and tired Time to sleep!! Hug Count
Lejow Posted Jul 19, 2008, 4:45 pm	Hello!! This was a strange day, al three of us went traveling further to the next host We gave each other a big hug, and than it was time to go in the boxes and envelope Bye Bye Lejow, Bye Bye Poeldijk!
magicwoman Posted Jul 22, 2008, 4:17 pm	Hi Mum today I arrived at Magicwoman's house.Finally,cause it was very warm in the box.But I was not alone in the box Henry the adventure hound was travelling with me It was very cosy just the 2 of us in this box The weather is warm here. Trafalgar that is another toyvoyager stayed at Magicwoman  her house (marije is her real name she told me ) to . Pictures soon,I take a nap cause i'm so tired now Bye Bye Count
magicwoman Posted Jul 23, 2008, 3:36 pm	Hi mum Here are the pictures of my arrival Me and Henry finally out of the box Henry,Me and Trafalgar More photos soon Bye Bye Count
magicwoman Posted Jul 28, 2008, 5:26 pm	Hi mum Today I discoverd the area were I am at the moment. This is the view out of the window.They are building houses across the street. Every morning I woke up with a lot of noise,and I hate it My host (Marije),has a real electric guitar And here is a picture with me and the guitar The Dutch soccer "welpies"says Hello to me And Trafalgar was saying goodbye today,He is going to his next host BYE BYE TRAFALGAR I am gonna miss you Bye Bye Count
magicwoman Posted Jul 29, 2008, 9:18 pm	Hi Mum Today I helped Marije with cooking  a meal,it was chicken ,rice with tomato-cream sauce,and it was delicious. I was so hungry so I was glad I could eat Ad rice in the boiling water cutting the onion I was watching TV,when the food was boiling And...finally,the food was finished.It looks disgusting,but it was yummy Bye Bye Count
magicwoman Posted Aug 3, 2008, 12:25 pm	hi mum Today I've picnic togheter with Henry,it was very delicious.And cosy! I want to taste the wine,it was very good!! After that,my belly was very full.I played in the garden First I ride a bike Then just sit down and relax BYe BYe Count
magicwoman Posted Aug 5, 2008, 4:24 pm	Hi Mum Yesterday I went out for a walk,and marije showed me the shopping centre of Ede. It was nice and the weather was sunny! hmmm look at the big ice cream Today I visited a castle in a Dutch village called "Doorwerth" Here a story about Doorwerth Doorwerth Castle is a medieval castle situated on the river Rhine near the city of Arnhem, Netherlands. The first castle, probably wooden, was first mentioned in 1260 when it was besieged and burned to the ground, after which it was rebuilt in stone. In 1280 this second castle was again besieged and this time the bailey was burned down. This original castle probably consisted of a simple hall-keep, two stories high and with 1.20 meter thick walls and a surrounding moat which was fed by the nearby river Rhine. During the 14th century the castle was continually enlarged. Until 1402 Doorwerth Castle was the property of the Van Dorenweerd family. Then it was dedicated to the Count of Gelre; Reinald IV by Robert van Dorenweerd. In return Robert was granted the castle and its land in fief. Around the middle of the 15th century the castle was enlarged again, this time by knight Reinald van Homoet, the 10th Lord of Dorenweerd, who was also the owner of Doornenburg Castle. Doorwerth Castle reached its largest form just after the middle of the 16th century under Daem Schellart van Obbendorf, the 15th Lord of Dorenweerd. He made the castle and the group of buildings on the bailey into a unity and adjusted them to the need for more space and comfort. So by 1560 Doorwerth Castle had almost reached its present appearance. Around 1637 the bailey was rebuilt to its present appearance and a dike was build around the castle to prevent it from floodings by the river Rhine. Shortly after, the castle changed ownership due to financial problems and was granted in fief to a German Count; Anton I van Aldenburg. His successors didn't alter the castle or the bailey but only acquired more land. At the end of the 18th century the castle wasn't inhabited any more, but was looked after by a steward for its owners who now lived in England. As a result, the castle was in a neglected state when it was bought, in 1837, by the baron JAP. van Brakell. He carried out a thorough restoration and a complete modernization of the castle. This revival of the castle only lasted for a short time, for after the baron's death in 1844 the castle again fell into neglect; it would have certainly crumbled away had it not been bought, in 1910, by a retired artillery officer; FA. Hoefer. Again the castle was thoroughly restored, undoing some of the 19th century alterations and additions. And after 1913 it was used as a Dutch Artillery Museum. The castle suffered heavily in 1944 when it was transformed into a cheerless ruin as a result of German destructiveness and Allied shelling. Directly after WW II a lengthy restoration followed that lasted until 1983. By then the castle was back into its 18th century state and was owned by the "Friends of the Castles of Gelderland"-foundation who now maintain the castle as a museum. a sign in Dutch the castle unfortunately it was not allowed to made photos inside the castle Here I am in the castle garden at the stair a good shot from the castle After that I take a walk in the castle garden A Dutch landscape take a rest on this wooden couch The front of the castle Bye Bye Count
magicwoman Posted Aug 7, 2008, 6:26 pm	Hi Mum Yesterday I visit a Dutch village called "Harderwijk" Harderwijk is in the Dutch province "Gelderland" It is the same province as were Ede is! Harderwijk is famoush in Holland because of his eel There are many eels there and you can eat it! Look at this eels they are swimming in the tank full of water,and you can pick one of those for eating this is me Yu can see at the corner there is a mill,typical Dutch! this is me with a bridge,and this bridge goes up when a boat is coming,or else the boat crash against the bridge This is me today,togheter with a postcard from Ede! Bye Bye Count
magicwoman Posted Aug 12, 2008, 5:40 pm	Hi mum Just a short update this day Yesterday I visit the zoo,look how curious the parrot is And today I had a meeting with other Toyvoyager,I was visit Eryah at Alkmaar,Marije is a friend of Eryah,and we had so mucht fun with all the Toyvoyagers,and it was good to be back at Eryah her house from the left to the right: Henry,me,Mulalu,Strider,HitchaRideDooey  and Roots Bear me and all the other TV's with Eryah her cat Isis more photos soon bye bye Count
magicwoman Posted Aug 13, 2008, 4:57 pm	Hi mum Today I visit museum,it is a Dutch museaum,and they have old houses and farmhouses there,they showed how it was back in the early days in Holland. In Holland we called this museum "openlucht museum"in English it is"open air museum" an old farmhouse from holland at the museaum there was a forrest to,and we take a walk into it you can see between the trees,and old farmhouse a mill again,I am in Holland and a lot of mills are here offcourse,cause Holland is famoush because his mills. Dutch cows are graze in the grassland,and at the backside a mill again this is a farmhouse,from the Dutch province "Groningen" Groningen is in the north of Holland And this is a huge farmhouse You can see it on the map of Holland,Groningen is the orange province at the top of Holland! Ede is in the province Gelderland the big blue spot in the middle of Holland! it was a nice day Bye Bye Count
magicwoman Posted Aug 20, 2008, 12:17 pm	Hi mum Yesterday I visited the Capital of Holland AMSTERDAM! It was so great,to see amsterdam,and I was so glad that Marije took me to Amsterdam Here are the pictures Here you see the Royal Palace of Amsterdam The Royal Palace in Amsterdam (Koninklijk Paleis te Amsterdam in Dutch) is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which is at the disposal of Queen Beatrix by Act of Parliament. It is situated in the west side of Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam, opposite the War Memorial and next to the Nieuwe Kerk. a good view at one of the canals Amsterdam has,Amsterdam has many canals,and this is one of those This is a typical pole from Amsterdam it is called a "Amsterdammertje"in Dutch The three crosses on the pole is the weapon of amsterdam When you are in Amsterdam you have to see the coffeeshop,I know its wrong to go in it but it is typical Dutch and here i am again Bye Bye Count
magicwoman Posted Aug 21, 2008, 3:40 pm	Hi Mum Today I'm saying goodbye to magicwoman and Henry.I am going to Marjolein at Den Bosch the Netherlands,I had such a great time here,and saying goodbye is always very diffycult.Offcourse i'm a bit sad,but I'm sure I'm having a great time spending at Marjolein her house Giving Henry a goodbye hug and then its time to get in to the enveloppe Goodbye Henry Goodbye Magicwoman greets Count
Marjolein Posted Aug 26, 2008, 10:00 am	Goodday!! I arrived at Marjoleins house in 's-Hertogenbosch last friday! Marjolein was at her parents house in Groningen so she couldn't open the envelop untill today, but here I am!! Last April Marjolein went to the castle of Dracula in Transylvania, Romania! She then took this mug back home, it's so cool! I decided to take a look inside. This will be a very good mug to drink some blood in! I said hello to all the other ToyVoyagers. It's Davy, Pingu, Finja, Chompers and TheOutsider. I wonder what kind of adventures I will have here! Count
Marjolein Posted Aug 28, 2008, 3:27 pm	Hi! We went to visit Marjolein's boyfriend at his internship at the footballclub PSV Eindhoven! We weren't allowed to make photo's inside the stadium but we made some cool shots in front of the stadium. The stadium is called the Philips Stadium. The guy on the photo is Coen Dillen. He was a famous footballplayer for PSV. He played at the club in the fourties, fifties and sixties. He stands in front of the stadium. On the background is the entry-gate to the stadium. You can see the sign of PSV and the words: 'Eendracht maakt macht'. This means something like: United we stand stronger. Count
Marjolein Posted Sep 2, 2008, 10:24 pm	Hello! Today we visited the Bookmarket of Tilburg! This is the biggest bookmarket of the South of The Netherlands. Marjolein bought these books: It's: Angels & Demons from Dan Brown, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and a book called 'Bedwelmd' from Lulu Wang.
Marjolein Posted Sep 2, 2008, 10:41 pm	After the Bookmarket in Tilburg we went to the fair in Den Bosch; the 'Bossche Kermis'. This fair takes place once a year, in the summer. And it's very big!! I especially liked the hounted house!! At the end of the fair, which took place for about a week, they set the city hall on fire!! It's looks very real doesn't it But it was just fireworks. It looked great though Count
Marjolein Posted Sep 9, 2008, 2:45 pm	Hi!! Yesterday we said goodbye to Davy, Pingu, Casanova and Alizée. But it didn't stay quiet for long: today a couple of new ToyVoyagers arrived! They're Hinz + Kunz.
Marjolein Posted Sep 14, 2008, 6:20 pm	Goodafternoon, I saw a beautiful cemetery in 's-Hertogenbosch today. I felt right at home! It was called 'Begraafplaats Groenendaal' (cemetery=begraafplaats in Dutch) and is very old, from 1858. We did see a lot of very old graves. You can see on the first photo, it's a very big cemetery. We walked around for quite a bit. The sun was shining and I was having fun. This is a very big familygrave from a rich family from Den Bosch called De Gruyter. I very much liked the flowers on this stone! Look at the beauty of this cemetery! On our way back home we went to a little park. Marjolein told me almost every city and big village in the Netherlands has a little lake like this surrounded by houses. It was a wonderful day! Tonight we are going to a stand-up comedy show! Count
Marjolein Posted Sep 15, 2008, 11:49 am	In the night we went to a comedy club. This was in the Verkadefabriek in 's-Hertogenbosch. The Verkadefabriek is a former factory of the brand Verkade, who make cookies! Too bad they didn't had any more cookies in the factory hihi. The stand-up comedyshow was very cool! Altough I didn't know the comedians, they where very funny. Yes, I am learning a lot of Dutch on this Dutch trail! Across the road of the Verkadefabriek was yet another former factory. This is a sigaretfactory of Willem II. This factory is also a place for theater, music and other performances now. Doeg doeg (bye bye) Count
Marjolein Posted Sep 24, 2008, 9:55 pm	Hello, I went to the party of Marjolein's grandparents today! They are married for 55 years! Wow that is a very long time!! I got a very nice invitation just for me! We ate cake and drank coffe and after that made a boottrip, on the Paterswoldsemeer. That's a lake near Groningen. After this we ate lots of food! Very, very nice food! And that wasn't all: they had cake! Mmmmm it was very nice! Count
Marjolein Posted Oct 10, 2008, 1:12 pm	Aloha! It was a wonderfull day so we went to see the city 's-Hertogenbosch! This guy is looking of the water. He is a sailor put there because of Maritiem 's-Hertogenbosch which is held every year. Let's see what he's looking at. The central station. This is the most touristic place of Den Bosch. It's where people get on the boat to go through the Dieze, which is the canal that goes through Den Bosch. The market of Den Bosch. The Sint Jan's Cathedral. We went to the museum! It was the Noord Brabantsmuseum. Noord Brabant is the province Den Bosch is in. The museum contains lots of art from people from Den Bosch and mostly from the painter the city was named after: Jeroen Bosch. There was a fourties exibition. So I learned a lot about the Netherlands in the fourties of the 20th century. This is what there furnature looked like. And the little boys. And the carnaval. We also went to see the history of 's-Hertogenbosch. This is what the market looked like in 1665. And this is what is looked like in 1579. And more recently 1983. On our way back to Marjolein's house I saw this really cool restaurant. Count
Charda charda1982@gmail.com Posted Oct 23, 2008, 8:30 pm	Today I arrived at our new hosts' place. It wasn't such a long trip, but I'm glad to be out of the box!
Charda charda1982@gmail.com Posted Oct 23, 2008, 10:50 pm	Today our host had an exam at the university in Leiden. We got to come along, as long as we were really silent during the exam. It took her an hour and a half to make the exam, and all that time we had to stay quiet. That was pretty hard! Ambrosius kept whispering all these jokes to me and these hilarious anecdotes about Merlin and King Arthur that I had to laugh so hard! I hope no one heard me After the exam our host took us for a short tour of Leiden. We had to wait twenty-five minutes for the bus anyway. First we took a picture with this statue of Rembrandt. And there's lots of water everywhere in the Netherlands: At the busstop we saw this picture of some toys, though they are pretty scary. It's for a commercial by a Dutch supermarket company. You can save for these puppets from the movie 'Sleeping Beauty'. The TV-commercial is very funny. Some more water... And this is a school concerned with water, well, it's a teacher training college for seamanship. Here's a Dutch windmill. And our host's most favourite view in the Netherlands: Another statue of Rembrandt: And finally his picture and a Dutch lamppost.
Charda charda1982@gmail.com Posted Oct 26, 2008, 5:45 pm	This morning we had a really nice breakfast with fresh croissants. We baked them off ourselves and it smelled delicious! Look at the picture of the windmills on the cheese package. That looks pretty Dutch, right
Charda charda1982@gmail.com Posted Nov 16, 2008, 10:02 pm	Today we had a very special lunch. We ate a 'kroket'! It's a Dutch snack. This is the description from Wikipedia: A croquette is a small fried roll containing mashed potatoes, minced meat, shellfish or vegetables, often encased in breadcrumbs. The croquette is usually shaped into a cylinder or disk, and then deep-fried. The Dutch version is filled with ragout. It tasted very good!
Charda charda1982@gmail.com Posted Nov 16, 2008, 10:12 pm	Today Amelie arrived at our place! Welcome to our little gathering here!
Charda charda1982@gmail.com Posted Nov 16, 2008, 10:25 pm	They have this really strange tradition here in the Netherlands. It's called 'Sinterklaas'. It's a bit like Christmas with the Santa Claus, but not exactly. This is what Wikipedia says about Sinterklaas: The Sinterklaas feast celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas (280-342), patron saint of children. Saint Nicholas was a Greek bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey and became the patron saint of children based on various legends that include resurrecting children from death and saving them from prostitution. Sinterklaas has a long white beard, wears a red bishop's dress and red mitre (bishop's hat), and holds a crosier, a long gold coloured staff with a fancy curled top. Sinterklaas carries a big book with all the children's names in it, which states whether they have been naughty or nice in the past year. Sinterklaas is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colourful outfits, modelled after 16th century Spanish clothing. These helpers are called Zwarte Pieten (Black Petes) in Dutch (see below for names in other languages). During the Middle Ages, Zwarte Piet was a name for the devil.[citation needed] Having triumphed over evil, it was said that on Saint Nicholas' eve, the devil was shackled and made his slave. Although the character of Black Pete later came to acquire racial connotations, his origins were in the devil figure. Sinterklaas traditionally arrives each year in November (usually on Saturday) by steamboat from Spain, and is then paraded through the streets, welcomed by cheering and singing children. Invariably, this event is broadcast live on national television in the Netherlands and Belgium. His Zwarte Piet helpers throw candy and small, round ginger bread-like cookies, kruidnoten or pepernoten, into the crowd. The children welcome him by singing traditional Sinterklaas songs. And last Saturday he arrived in the Netherlands! He arrived in the town of Almere. We watched some of it online. This is Sinterklaas still on the boat: And this is him with the 'Hoofdpiet': It feels like a real celebration here!
Charda charda1982@gmail.com Posted Jan 3, 2009, 10:25 pm	Today we did something really exciting! We travelled by train! This is me next to a large cup of coffee This is the view from the train: And this is the inside of the train:

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