Took off from Prague with Dutch in his cool VW van named "Knobby." Traveled across Germany with an overnight stay in Weimar, a quaint, artsy, quiet little town in Eastern Germany. Dutch commented frequently about the beautiful mountains and rolling hills of Germany. I was thinking "yeah they're nice, colorful, so?" Upon reaching The Netherlands, I understood his appreciation of natural elevations! I've never seen such a flat place, except maybe Texas.

Hung out at Dutch's place for a week. I really appreciated his hospitality and generosity. The chance to stop moving and rest for awhile was most needed and welcome. His place was in a hip, multi-ethnic neighborhood with lots of interesting shops and restaurants. We celebrated my birthday by having breakfast at an authentic Russian Tea Room complete with scones, muffins, cakes, pancakes, crepes, and lots of toppings such as double creams, jams, chocolate, curds, marmalades, etc. It was heavenly!

Dutch was the perfect tour guide as he grew up in Rotterdam and has traveled the country extensively. We spent a day at the port wandering through the Maritime Museum and various beautifully restored Dutch Flat Bottom boats that depicted living conditions aboard them in the 1800's. Hung out at Dutch's favorite watering hole frequently and met an interesting and fun cast of regulars.

Did a day trip to the cute town of Delft, home of painters Pieter de Hooch and Jan Vermeer, and the world famous blue and white china and pottery that was nowhere near my price range. It was fun looking though. Checked out Kinderdijk, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 19 windmills built in the early 1700's and I was able to go up into one of them that was restored to resemble living conditions during the 1700's. I was surprised at how close the vanes come to the windows and how loud they are when they pass by. It's a bit unsettling as everything goes darker when they pass by with a loud "swoosh!"

Another day trip was to The Hague, International Palace of Justice, Scheveningen, and Mesdag Museum which was stuffed with lots of impressive Dutch art. By far, the best part of the museum was the 360-degree beach view mural dipicting life in the town during the 1900's. Walking up a flight of stairs to the roof, one emerges into a beach scene complete with boats, buildings, animals, people. It looks miles away but in reality, it's just several feet. It blew me away, never seen anything like it. Dutch said he used to go there as a kid and spend hours looking at all of the details of the mural. I can see why! It's truly mesmerizing!

Took a road trip to Amsterdam and met up with my travel buddy, Sanne, whom I met at a hostel in Darwin, and her boyfriend. The four of us had a great dinner at an Italian restaurant and caught up on all of our travels. It was so good to see her! Next day, I hit the van Gogh Museum (fabulous) and the Anne Frank House. It was left basically as it was when the Frank family left, Anne's magazine clippings still tacked to the walls of her room, windows still darkened. Her diary was also on display. It was very touching and really brought the book to life. Dutch and I wrapped up our stay by taking a canal trip around the city, a cheap and fun way to see everything in a hop on/hop off style.

Heading north the next day, we drove through one adorable little town after another...Volendam, Monnikendam, Hoorn, and then across to Flevoland (reclaimed land) to Friesland. Ended up in Makkum where we stayed overnight with Dutch's friend, Hester, whom he had met on his safari. We had a wonderful dinner of mussels and beer in a homey pub while waiting for Hester to get off of work. Took off the next morning and drove through Afsluitjijk, Alkmaar, Haarlem on the way back to Rotterdam. The scenery was green and gorgeous, over several dikes with seawater on one side, fresh on the other. The dike system was impressive and ingenious. I was clueless as to how many types of barriers are used in The Netherlands to provide defense from the sea and rivers. It's a complicated system that keeps the Water Control Boards very busy. It's the safest levee system in the world and it makes me wonder why the U.S. hasn't tapped into The Netherlands' wealth of experience and information.

I loved the Netherlands! What a beautiful, green, efficient, friendly place! Gotta go back!