60. Europe Bicycle Trip--Day 19--Corrie and Dirk--A `Warm`Couple

I am in the habit these days to qask people for directions so as not to get lost or waste time. When I came to Zoeterwoude Dorp, I stopped and talked to an elderly man. He said Westeinde Weg was in a certain direction. He then conscripted 4 teenagers that were cycling by to show me the way. I could follow them. One by one they arrived at their cutoffs and the final boy left was Tim (if I remember correctly and I apologize if it is not. I did give him my card so I hope he sees his photo. Thanks boys!)

Dirk and Corrie van der Zon`s house--it was originally a side house of a big boerderij house and used to house the farm helpers.

Dirk and Corrie--I apologize but I tried 3 times to redo this phot from my picture album where it is horizontal but for some reason it will not correct itself. However it is a nice photo of Dirk and Corrie so we will all have to turn our heads sideways to see. They greeted me very warmly, even though they did not know I was coming. We had a cup of tea and then they showed me their place. Dirk is retired and does a lot of woodworking.He used to work for a company called Van Dam that made sailing yachts. Corrie is a teacher and does beautiful paint work as a hobby.

A very old silo to keep animal feed

An old shed that they renovated for their children to live in. It is empty now.

This is a big circular container lined with plastic on the bottom. Then it is filled with tulip bulbs and covered with sand. Then plastic is put over the top with tires to press it all down. It is very high when it starts and then gets compressed down . This is apparently a delicacy for the cows. It is fed to them in November and December before they get the grasses to eat. They love this! I don`t think that my parents did when they had to eat tulip bulbs at the end of the war.

This is a horse drawn cart that Dirk made and there is also an older model leaning on the back of it.

They have a fishpond made by blocking off two side of the little waterway that goes by their house. They started out with 5 fish and now have many.

These are the paintings, starting with an egg mixture, that Corrie makes. They look like stained glass windows.

Thank you Dirk and Corrie for a lovely visit. I felt right at home with both of you.

On my return to the caravan in Alphen aan de Rijn I met this lady bicycling with a basket full of flowers.

A colourful windmill on a farm

View from the back

Taking wet soil from the barge to build up the dike along this canal.