Saturday we all 6 went on a day trip to Middenbeemster. We haven’t all 6 been out anywhere together since we got here, and particularly the boys haven’t done much except go to school & play on their Playstation. So I thought it was time they saw a bit of Netherlands – I’ve seen loads haven’t I.

It’s a UNESCO site as it was once totally underwater, and 43 windmills pumped it all away, the last drop in 1612 or something. feel free to read about the UNESCO stuff here: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/899

it has retained its style, particularly a type of big square house with a pyramid roof, and this cutesy village of mini-amsterdam-style houses.

Unfortunately there was a 30-minute wait between 2 buses at a dull bit of Purmerend , which didn’t help anyone’s mood. And we were all a bit underwhelmed by Middenbeemster.

We went in this agricultural museum after a hilariously ineffective dutch “conversation” between me & a very old man with an unclear voice/accent. 😂

While we were out it became clear why we don’t often move as a group of 6! I had forgotten about some of the difficulties of this complicated family.  It was hard work.

We had a nice cuppa & cake in a nice setting & were united as a family by laughing at all the things that had gone wrong. ! That’s how we roll.

So we will stick to smaller groups in future.

xx xx xx