The Moss Family Weblog

We’re back from our holiday to Drenthe, where we stayed in a caravan at campsite De Kremmer in Gasselte for 2 weeks. The weather was glorious, we only had 2 rain showers the entire time… No piccies of us sunbathing, even though we did enough of it… It was a great combo of enjoying nature, exploring new towns and cities, and relaxing on the beach! We could write a lengthy post to tell you all about it, but as one picture can say a thousand words, here’s a few thousand words in pictures… 39,000 words, to be exact… Enjoy!

The weekend before last we went to Austria for a wedding. Yes, we DROVE to Austria for a wedding, 1320KM there and 1320KM back. Mad or not? We had a great time, not only there, but also on the way. Despite it being a long trip, the kids loved it. Hannah had a map and crossed all the major cities on the way, Sam read his books, played with his cars, marvelled at all the trucks (and was disappointed there were hardly any on the Sunday back) and slept. We took the necessary breaks to fuel up (ourselves and the car) and to let the kids run wild for a bit, take a pee and sniff the grass. On the Friday we drove until about half an hour of the Austrian border and stayed in a cute hotel in Deggendorf, in the south of Germany. Then the Saturday, we drove the last leg of the trip, towards ever higher mountains, some even with snow (in the distance). Steve tried his hardest to get some proper pictures, but alas… Trees and walls kept popping up and blocking the view.
And then, after a few more hours, we arrived here:

Yes, a car park But when you looked the other way:

Still doesn’t give much away, does it? Okay, will a small bird’s eye view do?

Told you… Gorgeous!!! A place in Austria that makes you sing and gets you in the mood for a wedding… Theirs:

Christian and Christina tied the knot in a beautiful, although muffled (no microphone), German and slightly rainy ceremony in the courtyard of the castle. Here (see both flags? Austrian and Frisian):

With music to cheer everybody up who was looking up and seeing the rainclouds draw in closer and closer…

A happy and beautiful bride, now travelling around Indonesia with her new hubby:

After dancing the night away and enjoying the fireworks, we had a restful night’s sleep in the hotel/castle, and then after a hearty breakfast we drove the 1320KM back in one day. Just over 13 hours it took, despite lots of roadworks in Germany… A weekend to remember!

Thanks, Wiebe (brother-in-law of the bride) for the pictures!!!

Sun, sun, terrible showers, sun, sun, more showers and more sun. That was the week here. We have been living outside mostly, and are now retiring back indoors, now the weather is turning more cloudy. In the meantime, we’ve cleaned out the upstairs rooms, and the house looks half decent again. Boy, 4 people can make a big mess!

Steve and the kids went out to play a lot, while Amy was working. No rest for the wicked… Holidays are great, but they do mess up your deadlines. So, to give Amy’s head some peace, Steve, Hannah and Sam went out on ‘adventures’… They are trying to visit all the playgrounds in Leeuwarden by the end of the year!

On the hottest day of last week, Thursday, we had planned another visit to Harlingen. There was a fair on, and we just wanted to get away and enjoy our time with the kids again! More beach, too!
We went by train this time, super relaxed, I tell you! It brings you straight to the centre of town, the terminus is at the city harbour where the ferries leave for the islands. Sam was very impressed with the train. And so were we, the Arriva trains are cool, very clean and with a huuuuuge toilet. Hannah went twice, to make sure she hadn’t made it up
Sam looking out of the window at Leeuwarden station.
In Harlingen, we surprised Hannah with a pony ride. She loved it!

And here she tells you what we did that day on the beach:

Last Saturday, Simone, Gerrit and Jente paid a return visit. They were on holiday in Friesland and came round to see us. The two boys are great together, big eejits…

Sunday we played about in the park and visited Hanneke, who’s back from her holidays in France. She and two friends visited Taize and surrounding area. It was very impressive…

Bike is all fixed now, the front seat has now been moved to Steves bike, so that we both can take the little critter out. Hannah is now cycling everywhere herself, such a star!

And for those who are interested!!! We are looking for hat knitters! The regional theatre group Tryater is performing an epic spectacle this winter, and for this extravaganza, they need winter hats. Of course, Amy’s SnB group is already brainstorming, but here’s the article for those who want to read (or hear) more about it…: Omrop Fryslan

Yesterday, we decided to make use of the nice weather and go out to the beach. As we had never been to Harlingen Beach, off we went! It was great! Not too busy, enough sand to bury yourself in and water which was not too cold to splash about in. Oh, and not to mention the goat’s cheese rolls and patatas bravas… and the nice beer… with a view… Definitely a place to go to again! We’ll probably go by train next time, as the train goes from Leeuwarden directly to Harlingen, a great way to combine what we all love: beach and trains (well, Sam loves trains… haha… we should’ve called him Thomas…).

The boys are a-diggin’

Hannah’s looking to see whether her knight in shining armour is going to come and help her with that sand castle…

…and Sam shatters her dreams…

Off to the water to dip their feet!

We have some video as well:

And while we’re at it, of Amy making a fool of herself…