Cancelled, postponed

Our planned bike trip to Zaanse Schans had to be postponed due to weather issues. We tried, but after about 15 kms we decided to come back. It rained, our clothes got wet, and riding the bike was really exhausting because of the strong winds.

Weather have started to be this extreme since about the first day of the astronomical spring (21th March). But maybe it is normal here.

Let me show you a video from this morning:

A couple of minutes later one of the pines gave the battle up against the wind. It has broken in half. 10 minutes later an other one did the same. At least now we have a greater view to the lake...

Anyway, we will have guests from tomorrow till next Tuesday (my soon-to-be sister-in-law and her husband), so we have to pray for a lot nicer weather.

Naarden

This weekend we went on a bike trip again. It seems to be an average Saturday activity for us. I guess we will have got really fit, by the time we move back to Hungary. This time we chose the city of Naarden.

On Saturday morning the weather was not as favourable as we expected. Mother Nature did not stand on our side. The heavy winds and rain made us think: to go, or not to go.

Finally things had got a little better by 11 a.m. The sky was still filled with huge grey clouds, but we were brave enough to start off. Our trip was about 16 kms and took approximately an hour. Halfway we got terrible wind, and it also started to rain heavily. This nightmare took  8-10 mins.

As we arrived in Naarden, the sun started to show up between the mean clouds. We searched for a place to lock up our bikes, and countinued our trip on foot.

At the local fortress museum we discovered many interesting facts about this city. As we were informed, Naarden was founded back in the 1300s. For centuries its aim was to protect Amsterdam from enemies, like the Spanish Empire (1568-1648: Eighty Years' War, also known as Dutch War of Independence).

Actually it is a star shaped fort surrounded by moat.  It was made of bricks and the whole thing was covered with dirt. It was useful, because cannon balls could not damage them.

At the museum we saw many martial stuffs such as weapons and cannons. People can learn about the history and background of this city through short films. Interesting fact: Netherlands often used water in order to block or obstruct the actions of the enemies. They created flood artifically. These floody areas were too shallow for boats, but too deep to cross over on foot or on horses. Very tricky...

We spent a couple of hours in Naarden before getting back on track. Naarden was really wonderful with its unique landscape, little narrow cobblestone streets and  green areas. It was an unforgettable experience. :)

We have already found out our next destination. It is Zaanse Schans. If you are curious about that adventure too, please come back next week. Tot ziens! ;)

Artis

One week has already gone here, and it is getting to feel like home.
On Saturday (Zaterdag)  we went to the local zoo, called Artis. We have decided to go there by bike (fiets). It was about 9 kms. Traffic was not disturbing at all, so I enjoyed it a lot. Fortunately, there aren't so many cars in the city centre, as it is in Budapest. People use public transport or their bikes instead.

Artis was amazing. It is about the same size as the zoo in Budapest. We took a lot of cool photos.This little guy was my favourite. I could easily pick it up, and put it in my bag. Penguins are just too cute.

We saw how the zookeeper lady feed the sealions (zeeleeow). It was an adorably great show. They got fishes to eat, and gave hugs, claps and plunges in return.

We also visited the house of butterflies (vlinder). Taking photos of them was not so easy. They were flying from tree to tree constantly. Too bad, I did not have much luck with the most beautiful blue one.

I guess we had arrived to the home of lions (leeuw) just before lunchtime. The male one was hammering on the door with his paws heavily. He must have been hungry..

With the variable species of fishes and other sea creatures, we had a magical time in the Aquarium. Underwater life can be experienced just a couple of inches away. You can admire many animals from tiny colorful fishes to giant predators. (Interesting fact: Fresh seawater transported from the port of Amsterdam is used in the aquarium.)

This zoo also has a Bird house, an Insectarium / I am not really into those animals/,  a Reptile house and many-many interesting animals such as giraffe, elephant, zebra, gorilla, camel and so on. It was totally worth visiting this place. In summer Artis is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. until sunset. Maybe we will go back again for a night adventure in the near future.  :)

Talking about cycling home... it was not so enjoyable after a 4-hour-long tramping in the zoo. Headwind did not help either. I got really really really exhausted..