Trying to catch up... (Mainly Nijmegen)

I left off on Sunday the 6th and now it's the 15th already.  Time is flying indeed.  Now, with my memory you know I lose track of things that I have done if I don't write in my diary or make notes on my calendar, so.... I'll try and figure out what I have done by going through my pictures!

Here goes:

Monday and Tuesday remain blank, but on Wednesday we went to Bocholz in Limburg (near the German border) to visit Ferdy's aunty Yvonne.  A lovely lady who had visited Ferdy and Leonie last year.  I met her then and was glad I was included in the visit so I got to see her again. We had a lovely day, albeit the drive was quite tiring.  The difference between driving in the western part of the Netherlands and the east is quite noticeable.  It didn't help we were in peak hour traffic both times of the day! During that time trucks are not allowed to overtake, but there are still the super fast drivers (doing 130 kms/h or more) who try to push you off the road, so you have to constantly weave in and out of the truck lane if you don't want to drive that fast.  There are some three-lane highways, but even then it's harder then on the five-lane highways in the west.

Anyway, I don't have many pictures of our visit.  Just managed to take one on the road while I was waiting in a parking lot at a service station.  Perhaps I'll get a few more from Leonie later.

Our little Renault Twingo (if you know me well you know I hate little two door cars, in particular when there is three of you in the car and you don't get in and out as easy any more.  This may date back from my VW Beatle times.... :-))

We may have gone out for shopping in the meantime, or it has been raining.  I can't remember, but on Friday we went to Nijmegen.  We visited the Valkhof (castle) ruins and Valkhof museum; walked along the Waal river; traipsed around and around the labyrinth; enjoyed the view from the bridge, and walked to the heart of the city.  We had lunch at a snack bar and enjoyed our real Dutch lunch: frietjes and kroketten (hot chips with mayonaise (!) and croquets with mustard)  I had a lovely goulash croquet. In the city centre we set down for a huge ice cream.  It was such a lovely day.

Valkhof and walls

Chapel

View across the Waal

The red ones are boats of the fire brigade

At the bottom beneath the brown cloth are archeologists at work

Scale buildings of the former castle, chapel and walls

A very friendly guide at the chapel gave us lots of information about the past and all in perfect English.  He was a lovely man and, of course, one of the many volunteers that we come across everywhere in this country.

Inside the chapel

Outside the Valkhof Museum

Walking towards and along the Waal river

The traffic on the river is humongous

huge boats

a big boat pushing a slightly smaller one

The Labyrinth

The railway/bike bridge

Walking towards the city centre

old orphanage

this building use to be home of  the newspaper 'The Gelderlander'

'Even if I have to crawl or go barefoot, I would do anything to hear the bells of the St Steven's one last time'