Holland day 6

We finally made it to the last day of our trip.  John took us to the town of Alkmaar.  On Fridays they have a Kaas Mart or Cheese Market.  It was a bit cheesy (pun intended) and perfect for kids but it was fun to see. Oma was also adamant that we see it. We watched for a bit and heard the announcer explain the process in 4 language.  Then we stopped for some coffee.

After walking around in Alkmaar a bit more we headed toward Egmond and the North Sea.  It is a cute little beach town.  We walked along the the North Sea for a while, taking in the sights of all of the families.  Eventually we headed into the town.

Oma has been telling us for months that we had to eat the salted herring when we went.  John was very interested and excited in that plan.  He was a little too eager in fact.  So the herring is raw and you brush it through raw onions then hold it by the tail and take a bite.  Vince and I each took 2 bites but we couldn't handle it!  We think the texture was worse than the taste but it was all bad.  John finished it up for us and we went searching for ice cream to wash it down.

We headed a little further down the coast to a section that had a dijk instead of the natural dunes.  We got to climb up on top and look over at the sea on one side and the countryside on the other.  It was so beautiful.  Finally we headed back toward Enkhuizen and spent a few hours in the garden relaxing.

John's son Jorn came into town and the entire family met for dinner in town.  It was a wonderful end to an amazing trip.  We pray that we can go back some day and will always cherish our memories and pictures.

Spiral staircase at John and Vicky's house.  I have never seen as many spiral staircases in my life as I did on this trip.

Their living room

The dining room/kitchen

We passed the Ajax (soccer team) stadium on the way to Alkmaar

The tower at the cheese museum 

The Cheese market

Old fashioned musical thing in Alkmaar

The North Sea

So many people on holiday

Vince took a big bite...bad idea

My response - not flattering but too funny to not share

View of the countryside from on top of the dijk

View of the North Sea from on top of the dijk

John and Vicky's street and the front of their place

The garden in the back

The garden right next to the water

With Joop and Leis at dinner

They got along so well

Me with my mom's cousins John and Gerard

I wanted a picture of the four of us but forgot to take one until Joop and Leis were the only ones there.  Leis took 4 pictures before we got one that was somewhat centered :-)