The Netherlands ... or ... Holland. ..

I'm not really sure which is the most accurate name for this beautiful flat character filled bicycle king country, Tiff very kindly gave me a video clip to explain ... which was full of great information and really set my confusion in concrete :-) And so that you too can share in my taste of broad information on this particular topic ... here is that link :-) courtesy of Tiffany!  
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eE_IUPInEuc

I saw and climbed my first windmill in Heusden accompanied to the heights by the very brave Charissa!  I was intrigued by the wooden swivel mechanism  underneath! And we (Peggie, Tiff, Rissa and I) wandered a beautiful old village together...of course with a compulsory stop at a local cafe!  :)

I experienced the Netherlands soaked in the most delightful company that anyone could wish for!  I absorbed their beautiful culture with a Kroket out of a hole in the wall pay method, and was treated in a doting home with traditional snacks of Bitterballen, Brabantse metworst and Leverworst too!  I learnt their Houdo and Doei ... An found it hard to switch out of it when I returned to Deutschland! The Netherlands has lots of greenery, horticulture... agriculture without fences- often only sectioned by waterways even when right beside the motorway!  I don't know if I saw any house that wasn't beautifully and brightly adorned with flower boxes pots or  baskets, accompanied by wreaths and decorative cane work adorning doors windows and walls ♡ 

The driver's license can be sat at 18 yrs an costs about €2000 including compulsory driving school lessons.  

I learnt Rule #1 ... Never believe my ticket! (One train left from a different platform than was stated on my ticket, and another told me to get off at an extra station thst wasn't scheduled on my ticket.   #2 Ask questions even if it appears the answer is going to be obvious and it makes me feel stupid!  #3 Forgive the bus drivers ... they can't help it!   #4 If you want to catch the train ... RUN! Even if you are early!  Going to the toilet costs €0.50 (sometimes even in the cafe you are drinking in!) And hand sanitizer is a brilliant travel accessory!! Dutcht people are really friendly and welcoming. . . And they'll talk to you lots even though they know that you don't know a bar of Dutch and they don't know s bar of English! ♡! :)  And the  Dutch are very friendly and generous to the German people and frequently offer them their bike!  

Netherlands, Volendam

Peg, Charissa and I went in Tiff's car with her to   Volendam. Which is a larger tourist focused village about 1 & 1/2 hours drive away.  It really was very nice to see.  Lots of  cheese, mini windmills and wooden clogs of every size you could imagine, there were even soft slippers shaped like wooden clogs!  I bought a couple of post cards and took some good photos.  Peggie bought me (& her) a heering each! Raw. About 12 cm long.  Head scales guts and most bones gone yet the fish still holds together as quite well intact!  It is served on a little tray with finely chopped raw onion.  One is then to pick up the slippery little fish by the tail . . . Lay it each side in the onion .. .. ..  tip your head back open wide ... An fill your mouth with the raw fish!  Peggie did it with me to demonstrate the technique.  She Loves these herrings!
Volendam has a beautiful village which really shows the reality of the perfect potted gardeners that Dutch are.
There are brown headed seagulls (that look as if they've put their heads in something they shouldn't have)  and some of the most beautiful wooden boats I have ever seen.

Also in the Volendam village there is a beauty parlour that employs live fish to nibble off the  dead skin from your feet!! This requires great self control especially for the ticklish! :)

Köln/Cologne Cathedral

I went up inside the Köln cathedral today for only €3
It was so worth it!  On October 15th 1880 ... when the last stone of the finial at the top of the south tower spire was put in place Kölner Dom/ Cologne Cathedral was the tallest building in the world.
There are 533 steps (which it is really easy to get dizzy going round and round and round seemingly endlessly the tight spiral staircase... I am sure EVERYONE wonders just how much further is it!) to get to the viewing platform which is 97 metres above ground,  from there it is another 60 metres to the tips of the spires, , with a total height of 157.38 metres, accept that the Northern tower is taller than its southern partner by 7cms.
Most of the stone steps are seriously worn ... I took photos of that too.
There are 8 bells in the cathedral, one much larger than the others called St Peter's bell, it weighs 24,000 kgs and is the world's largest free swinging bell, which was cast in 1923 to replace the original 1874 Emperor's Bell which had been melted down in 1918.