Days 42 & 43 - Last Host for Holland then on to Belgium

April 30 & May 1 - Lisse Couch Surf Hosts

How can we leave Holland without telling you about our wonderful hosts - Natasja and Jos?

Our hosts in Lisse, Netherlands

Keukenhof with its beautiful flowers is a very touristic sight as you can imagine and they get several requests every day for people to stay with them.  We were very lucky that they chose us.  They were so kind and their two cats (which we never got a picture of) were like children.  These two picked us up from the train station, fed us, talked philosophy, gave us insights to so much about their culture, and brought us back down to earth with their simple life.  Their house was very old, with a garden, an upstairs with one bedroom, an office, a sewing room, and a bathroom.  Downstairs had a nice country kitchen and large family/dining area.  I was so sad that I didn't take but just a few pictures.

They put down a mattress for us in Natasja's sewing/craft room.

The shower was unique - we have actually seen several like this since.

They had fun serving us some lovely Dutch food.

We were surprised as to how many dishes they could present without meat

These are vegetarian sausages that were really good & greens from their garden

Please sir....may I have more? 

Nasaja made a really rich chocolate dessert that two us two days to finish (except Rich)

Keukenhof is situated close to Lisse, a town in southern Netherlands.

Lisse, southern town in the Netherlands

 It celebrated its 800-year anniversary in 1998, although there is an indication that there was already a settlement there in the 10th century.  In the Middle Ages, Lisse was small; there were only 50 houses in 1500.  In the 17th and 18th centuries, Lisse was home to many estates of rich merchants and nobility. Yet in the following centuries, every one of these estates (except Keukenhof) was removed to make way for the cultivation of bulb flowers.

 
 The sandy soil in Lisse's surroundings were highly suitable for its growth provided the soil was fertilized. The nearby dunes were excavated and forests cut down progressively over time for more fields for the flower business. This brought employment and prosperity to this area.  In the 20th century, the bulb flower business continued to boom, resulting in the establishment of auction and trading houses, large-scale cultivators and cooperatives.

Their home was similar to this - in a complex with other homes.

Today, Lisse exports bulb flowers in large quantities to over a hundred countries worldwide.

Natsja and Jos drove us to our next destination:  Brugge, Belgium.  We paid them in gas money instead of taking the train, which was so much more enjoyable.  They were happy to visit one of their favorite cities.

Ok Dave & Phil - what kind of car is this one?

Dike System in the North Sea

Many cities in the Netherlands are built on dikes. In the decades that followed the deadly flood of 1953, Dutch engineers set out to build a new kind of barrier against the sea. They steadily replaced the old dike system, which had been in place since the medieval ages, and created 3­50 miles of what many consider the safest levee system in the world.

These photos show boats coming through the locks across the sea.  Sometimes the cars would have to wait for hours for the boats to go through.