Tuesday, August 29, 2006

The bungalow life

We wisely chose (I can say this with great confidence now in retrospect) to stay at a Landal bungalow park the first week of our vacation in the Netherlands. It wasn't fancy, it isn't going to make any Top 100 destinations lists, and it was not glamorous vacation in quaint Olde Europe. It was just perfect for a busy toddler and her two laid-back parents.

The fact we had our own kitchen, living room, separate bedrooms and a spacious yard was wonderful. Peanut got her meals on her own schedule and in her own space. She llloooved playing outside, watching the birds, carrying pinecones and rocks around and wandering off the path into the woods. We would stroll through the woods to the park shop or playground enjoying the crisp, cool air. Best of all, Peanut loved the puddles from the rain - her first rain puddles.

Our neighbors were close by and all the bungalows could been seen from the roads. The Dutch like to keep their curtains open so everyone can see that nothing unacceptable is happening inside. This practice carries over to holiday time as well. Our living room and kitchen were virtually all glass walls so our fellow-vacationeers riding by on bikes or walking around could glimpse what was (not) happening.

All the conveniences of home, but still we were on holiday.

Nearby was the "largest waterfall in the Netherlands". The Netherlands is an extraordinarily flat country. In many places as you drive beside a canal or lake, you often are at or even slightly below waterlevel. So, a waterfall is something. This one was man-made to help drain the water from the canals of nearby Appeldorn. We had a good laugh though, it looked like a bit like a water cascade at a shopping mall.

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