For our 7th Herfstvakantie (fall break), we hadn't made any plans. I was supposed to be in Denver, celebrating the wedding of aunt Rach and when that was postponed, we were holding out hope that the borders would open and family could come over to visit. WORST case scenario, we would take a road trip through Germany if we couldn't go anywhere else (I know how snobby that sounds!). Still, I didn't book anything, feeling that a "wait and see" approach was best. Schools had been open 6 weeks or so and I had a feeling things were going to start going downhill again. As late as a week before the break was to begin, when it was apparent that most countries were closed to us (even Germany), I was still contemplating driving to Austria to get our fall break-fix of mountains and sun. Then we booked a vacation house on the Dutch island, Texel, thinking we'd just get away for a few days for a change of scenery. Then the weather forecast was cold and rainy on Texel and the idea of packing the car and spending a week inside a holiday home did not appeal. If you are thinking something must be wrong with me that I didn't want to travel, rest assured, I was really ok! I thought of all the "fall" things we wanted to do, all the cozy things we could do at home, and the friends we could see who were also staying put, and I was actually looking forward to the week at home! I had already taken the week off work and it was so nice to have all of my evenings free to hang out with Pete and catch up on Netflix.
The first few days of the break were dry so we lit up the fire pit and roasted marshmallows.
We made our annual pilgrimage to Olmenhurst for apple picking. Two ISA families joined and we ran into many others. For good reason, they had taken away the large signs that you could put your face in. I had pictures of Pete with the kids doing that every year since Jude was a toddler, so I was sad to break that tradition. Thankfully, our friends took some nice family shots for us instead.
We stopped in the Haarlemmermeerse Bos on our way home and Jude and I enjoyed adventuring around.
On Tuesday, we had a fun day out at the Zuiderzee Museum and then had some downtime at home on a rainy Wednesday. Thursday, we found another adventure, this time with the Nazlawys in the Waterleidingduinen, a really lovely nature reserve in the dunes near Zandvort beach. There were wild deer, mushrooms, dunes to climb, and a bunch of kids who walked a really long way with minimal complaints! A cafe at the entrance to the park was doing take away food and drinks, which we indulged in at the end.
It was a really nice week in the Netherlands (with the best still to come). Grateful for this mental break!
