Today was a day to discover where Frantz and Marianne were married and left Holland. We drove to Rotterdam. Rolfe, Petra, Ome Natan, Tanta Lenie, Mariska and myself in a hire van. Frantz and Marianne were married at the Rotterdam city hall first and then went to the church - Onze Lieve Vrouw van Altijddurende Bijstand. They left Rotterdam 2 days later on a ship from the Holland America Line. Tanta Lenie acompanied them on the ship as far as Amsterdam. Ome Nath...

Today was a day to discover where Frantz and Marianne were married and left Holland. We drove to Rotterdam. Rolfe, Petra, Ome Natan, Tanta Lenie, Mariska and myself in a hire van. Frantz and Marianne were married at the Rotterdam city hall first and then went to the church - Onze Lieve Vrouw van Altijddurende Bijstand. They left Rotterdam 2 days later on a ship from the Holland America Line. Tanta Lenie acompanied them on the ship as far as Amsterdam. Ome Natha...

Today we met up with Petra and Rolf - the Doof side of Mariska's family. Leaving Rob abd Jolanda's house for now. Travelled to Gouda - pronounced as Howda. Absolutely quaint Dutch architecture, very picturesque. Long rows of terraced houses which are a couple of centuries old. A church from the 1200's which was burnt down and restored in the 1500's. Floors of the church made from the tombstones of previous graves. Ome Nathan (Mariska's uncle, Mariane's brothe...

Morning drive of about 100km to see Mariska's uncle - Ome Theo, her father's brother. Theo is a retired Christian Brother now in his 80's. Saw his album of old pictures. Took copies of pictures for later blackmail of the family. Ome Theo gave Mariska a new nickname - Haaibaai (b****) Quized him about where he grew uo and where Frantz (Mariska's father) went to church as altar boy, kindergarten, played table tennis, courted Marianne in the local park. Drove to...

We are now experts in all things windmills and will build one in the backyard. Visited Kinderdijk - UNESCO heritage site with several working and restored windmills with people that actually live in some of them. I now know there are windmills for pumping water out of the lowlnds to the canals and then to the rivers. We were below sea level most of the time. Had my first time inside a real windmill. I also hate wearing clogs - most uncomfortable painful things w...