After reuniting with dad for a day in Zurich, we flew to the Netherlands to see our favourite Dutchies Bart & Manon. Dad met Bart & Manon seven years ago while they were climbing the highest mountain in South-east Asia Mt Kinabulu in Borneo. Six years later, Dad received an email from them telling us they were finally coming to Australia and was it ok to stay with us. This was amazing - for so many years to go by and then they were finally travelling to Australia was so exciting.

For the first week of their stay, mum and I were inconveniently in Waikiki, Hawaii but luckily for us we still got to spend just under a week together exploring Sydney from a tourist perspective. It really is different looking at your own city from the viewpoint of a traveller.

Anyway … when the time came for them to leave Sydney and continue their journey to South America, we promised them we would see them the following year in their home country of Holland.

And here we were. When we stepped off the plane (on which we had nicely been upgraded to business class) we were ready to follow the list of directions they had sent us about the trains and trams in Amsterdam. But all of a sudden someone leaps from my backpack and we get the shock of our lives realising they have come to surprise us. It was such a pleasant surprise (and slightly relieving because working out public transport when you arrive in a new city with all your luggage is always stressful!)

Our Netherlands adventure was quite quick-paced as we only had three days to see the country. So we knew that when Bart and Manon were helping us run for the train with all our bags we were in a race against time. About 10 minutes after arriving at their place, we headed out to town as we happened to arrive on the equivalent of the Gay/Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival in Holland which was a complete coincidence.

It didn't take long to realise that everyone in Amsterdam uses bikes as their main form of transportation and this was cool - I knew how to ride a bike. But when I saw the bikes Bart & Manon had so generously lent us to use I was starting to lose a little confidence. Not only did I not have any handbrakes on my bike but my feet couldn't actually touch the ground so the easiest way for me to stop if I couldn't find a ledge to lean on, was to fall.

And so I did … ten minutes into the ride I crashed into a moving tram … still have 10 fingers and 10 toes so that was all good. But then like five minutes after that I crashed into a stationary sandwich board. Well done Kathryn … I actually apologized to the people that were staring at me in disbelief while my bike was crashing into this board. The customers of this café who were sitting across the road from me actually stopped, jaws-dropped, with their hands holding their coffees mid air. It was then we decided, yeah, might be easier to park the bikes and walk the remaining way to the festival.

The boat parade down the canals of Amsterdam was so exciting. Despite the threatening dark clouds that later turned into pretty heavy rain, the vibe was vibrant and so were the colours. I have missed the last couple Mardi Gras in Sydney so it was nice to be reminded of how fun these events are as it's a chance to celebrate the modern world and especially the importance of equality. Plus watching half naked guys in pink budgie smugglers with pretty impressive bodies dance like they are the guy from Dirty Dancing iis very entertaining.

Back on the bike and off to a lovely roof-top terrace to try out some local appetizers of bitterballs and cheese sticks.

The other parts of Amsterdam explored over the next two days were the ever so famous coffee shops and red light district, as well as a really nice restaurant/cinema overlooking the water and a tour of Anne Frank's house.

Anne Frank's house was moving and another reminder of the tragedy of war. I likened it to the experience I had when visiting the Killing Fields in Cambodia and the Rwanda genocide museum. Even though this tour was expressed from the view of a 13 year old, it still conveyed the depression and complete loss of control victims of war experience and the heart wrenching feelings that people have to go through. It's definitely not a tour that you walk out of feeling enlightened and uplifted but a necessary one to remind you of how lucky you can be to be born at a time or in a country that never needs to experience that.

We also went to Rotterdam to check out those famous windmills (my stereotypical ideal of old Holland) and these weird cubic houses which sort of act as a symbol of new Holland. It became a mission to match our photos to the ones in the Lonely Planet which was a lot of fun. Rotterdam was a bit quieter to the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam, but even more chilled then there was Bart & Manon's old town of Leiden, which was personally my favourite place in Holland. We rented a boat and Bart drove us around the canals pointing out some really picturesque houses and parks. Couldn't help myself but to have a little snooze in the sun while floating around the town. Manon even organised a picnic so it really was the perfect day.

The Dutchies cooked up a wonderful BBQ for us one afternoon and introduced us to some of their English-speaking friends which really reminded me of how such a simple BBQ lunch at home can be so fulfilling … and I'm not just talking about the food!

Our time in the Netherlands was short, fast and fun-filled and we loved catching up with our friends. It was hard saying goodbye because we really don't know when we will see them next as we do live on opposite sides of the world but that is the beauty in the internet and Facebook. It will never let you fall "out of touch" with anyone that you don't want to.

Catch you on the Flipside.!