Bovensmilde, The Netherlands - 6th July 2009
By: Avalance
Helloooooo mom!
Today I finally arrived in the Netherlands. It was a long trip, but arrived safely from out of Spain.
I was really tired, but I got a nice big bed-couch to sleep on from this host-mom.
As you know, this host-mom lives close to Assen where the MOTO GP get held as well at the TT-circuit. Sadly it was over before I arrived so we don't have any pics there.
Assen is in the northern-part of the Netherlands and is not close to Amsterdam. It takes around 2 hours by train, same as for when host-mom is going to visit her parents by train.
Host-mom lives with her boyfriend and his parents in Bovensmilde, that is around 10 min away from Assen. A little history about Bovensmilde:
Bovensmilde is a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, and lies about 6 km southwest of Assen.
In 2001, the town of Bovensmilde had 2,873 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.76 kmē, and contained 1,094 residences. The statistical area "Bovensmilde", which also can include the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 3,960.
On 23 May 1977 Moluccan terrorists occupied an elementary school in Bovensmilde and took 105 children and 5 teachers as hostages. (At the same time other Moluccan terrorists hijacked a nearby train.) After 5 days the children were released. On June 11 the 5 remaining teachers were freed when the school was stormed by a Dutch army tank, and the hostage takers were apprehended.
Host-mom lives there now for almost 5 years. She moved to this town, because she wanted to be closer to her boyfriend and also be closer to her Institute/University.
Her university is in the city Groningen and is 20 min away by train. So first she has to take the bus to Assen-station, then take the train to Groningen, take the bus to university. All the travelling for just a little trip.
Anyways the first few days I haven't done much, mainly resting and getting to know my new friends!
~Bally
|
Posted Jul 31, 2009, 5:56 pm
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Bovensmilde, The Netherlands - 9th July 2009
By: Avalance
|
Posted Jul 31, 2009, 6:05 pm Last edited Jul 31, 2009, 6:07 pm by Avalance
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Bovensmilde / Smilde / Hoogersmilde, The Netherlands - 23rd July 2009
By: Avalance
Oh wow, time flies! It's already a few weeks later. Host-mom was busy and didn't went anywhere.. but today she had to go to Groningen for a meeting first and then travelled to her trainee workplace which is in Hoogersmilde.
As you see here we are waiting at the busstop. I am looking at the times when the bus will arrive. Host-mom keeps wishing she had a car. So she could just go when she wants to. I would like to drive a car too .. !
Here I am sitting down, with the trainticket we had to buy for the trip to Groningen. Host-mom got a student card, so she could travel for 40% discount. During the week and outside holidays she can travel for free, but as it's summer holiday now she has to pay.
I think reading newspapers are important, to keep a bit up to date with what is happening in the world. Though I couldn't read it, host-mom told me what happened and stuff. Still a lot about the financial crisis and other horrible things.
After reading, I took a peek outside, this is what I saw at that moment:
After the meeting she had in Groningen we had to take the train back home to Assen again. This time we had another train, which is bigger and got other color interior. Their country color of royalness is ORANGE .. maybe that's why they also did it for the interior. Hahaha!
Don't I look silly ?! *giggle*
Since she lives in such small town, she had to switch from bus, here we are waiting at the busstop, which is next to the canal, the Drentsche Hoofdvaart. The Drentsche Hoofdvaart is 41,8 km long and it was used for shipping peat and had a drainage function. Later they also use this canal for shipping construction material and for pleasure sailing.
And here you see me at her "work". She writes here her graduation thesis and sometimes do also other stuff too. It involves a weddingpage. Hehe
~Bally
|
Posted Jul 31, 2009, 6:28 pm
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Arnhem / Tiel, The Netherlands - 25th July 2009
By: Avalance
On Friday 24th July we went to Arnhem (her parents lives in this city) to stay the night there and travel the next day to visit a friend in Tiel. Her friend had her first baby! But baby was sleeping and then later had to drink mommy's milk so we only have a picture on our trip in a train.
Yes, looks like we are train lovers aren't we .. *haha* !
On this day we also went to see her best friends new home. Host-mom was impressed and so, that she forgot to make a picture of me ..
~Bally
|
Posted Jul 31, 2009, 6:39 pm
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Assen, The Netherlands - 27th July 2009
By: Avalance
On Monday we went back home to Assen. So here you see me at the train station Assen.
Cool heh ?!
Yes, host-mom was very sorry that she didn't had much time to take me all kind of places, but she said she would have holidays this week so we will go to the zoo and also to an open air museum of a legend that is well known in the province Drenthe. I am looking forward to going to the zoo and to the museum!
~Bally
|
Posted Jul 31, 2009, 6:44 pm
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Emmen, The Netherlands - 28th July 2009
By: Avalance
Today we (me, host-mom and boyfriend) went to the zoo! The zoo is called "Dierenpark Emmen". This is also the best zoo in the Netherlands. It was a lovely day and we saw many animals, the only thing is. We had imagined it to be bigger
Some pictures of me in the zoo:
Earlier this year, something tragic happened. Their eldest elephant Annabel (45) died, during play time. She fell down in the pit (the hole they made to keep them on distance between them and the zoo-visitors) and landed on her back. They tried to get her out with a big heavy crane, they succeeded to get Annabel out, but she refused to stand up. They gave her infusions and tried again with air cushions of the fire-department, to give her support to stand up. She didn't.. it looked so bad that they had to put her to sleep.
While writing the report about her, it looked like she had osteoarthritis, that made her so unstable so she fell in the pit while playing. Also the reason she didn't stand up was because she fractured her neck, so she got paralyzed.
A picture of Annabel
Poor thing!
After the elephants we saw my family. Well far away family, it was fun!
I even saw some cool giraffes, nice heh ?!
And, euhm .. I forgot how this thing was called again!
We made some other pics at other animals too, but some turned out really weird + too dark, so host-mom decided not to put those online
At last we went to hang out with the penguins.
Fun!
We were there in the zoo from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
~Bally
|
Posted Jul 31, 2009, 7:08 pm Last edited Jul 31, 2009, 7:10 pm by Avalance
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Schoonoord / Bovensmilde, The Netherlands - 31st July 2009
By: Avalance
This will be my last day here, before I get send to the USA! For my next trip.
Today we went to the open air museum about a legend of 2 giants called "Ellert en Brammert".
Their website: http://www.ellertenbrammert.nl/
It's about a son and his father that needed to survive 350 years ago. But because they still didn't had any job to get food on the table they started to rob farmer fields and later also raided a path that was used by a lot of travelling farmers. They got really scared and tried to do something about these robbers, but everytime they started to talk about it, no one did anything in the end. So these men "grew" to giants if farmers came home to tell their wives that they got robbed and all.
And since they were longing for female company, they kidnapped a girl called "Marieke" who came close to the farmer field that they raided for food. As their hair got longer and longer they also had to get it cut. While Brammert was on raiding, Ellert stayed home with Marieke. Ellert got then killed by Marieke, while Ellert asked her to cut his hair. Marieke then escaped, while Brammert came home and saw what happened. He tried to pursue her, but she fleed.
What happens then, is unknown, but it seems that he moved because the road that was used by the farmers, became safe again.
Some pictures that were made:
The "giants" Ellert & Brammert
As Drenthe in 1930 had many big herd of sheeps, someone had to take care of them. Schoonoord had one shepherd, who lived in such kind of home with the sheeps.
In Drenthe there are like 50 dolmens. The one you see here is a true imitation.
A deer that was just resting there.
I saw this "hole". I asked host-mom what this was and she said that they used to store potatoes in there.
This is a limestove, where they used peat in.
With these ovens, they use to make mortar (bricks) for building houses.
Then we saw a one classroom school, it's so tiny!
When you were rich, you could afford to have a better house with bricks, instead of peat.
Here you see me at a "vennetje". Some bog bodies got found and got really well preserved by it.
Read Wikipedia.
In Drenthe they had a lot of big boulders, so they used it to make the dikes stronger here. If the boulders were too big to be transported they were blown up for smaller rocks to use for roads.
This is a forge where they made all kinds of things for craftsmen.
This small church got reconstructed.
And this is the inside:
Of course they also had a village prison for people who were drunk and misbehaved. They had to wait in this building to be transported for trial in Assen.
The prison:
And here you see me in a workshop:
We then went home, where I had to pack my bag and fly to USA. But before leaving, I made a picture with of course all my friends that I made during my stay here in Bovensmilde, The Netherlands.
I had a wonderful time here, and learned a lot! I hope one day I'll be able to come back and visit some more!
~Bally
|
Posted Jul 31, 2009, 8:18 pm Last edited Jul 31, 2009, 8:27 pm by Avalance
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
|
Fairfax, Virginia, United States - 15th August 2009
By: wmphimu
Hello from Virginia!! I am already having a wonderful visit! I arrived last weekend. My flight was good, but I was happy to see Plaid Moose and be safe and sound at my host's home!
It's been very very hot here, so we have been spending most of our time INSIDE! For a monkey like me, that's great, since it's even hotter for those of us wearing a fur coat! Sunday we went to a big outlet mall called Potomac Mills. We didn't really buy anything, but it was nice to get out of the heat and have somewhere to walk around!
|
Posted Aug 16, 2009, 1:34 am
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
|
|
|
Washington DC, United States - 4th September 2009
By: wmphimu
|
Posted Sep 5, 2009, 12:00 am Last edited Sep 5, 2009, 12:02 am by wmphimu
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
|
|
|