Netherlands winter 1990

I spent most of December 1990 in Europe after travelling for two months in southern Africa.

I arrived at Zurich, courtesy of a cheap around-the-world fare booked with a former school friend who became a travel agent.

Having met some young Swiss people in Zimbabwe, I stayed with them for a few days while I toured Zurich and took train trips to Berne and Lucerne. Lucerne is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

I practised my high school German in Switzerland and it proved useful.

After a few days I used my Eurail pass, which I had pre-purchased in Australia, to travel by train to Venice. I spent a few days there and then went to Amsterdam.

My mother is Dutch and back in 1990 she had aunts who were still alive. I visited one in Eindhoven and stayed with another in Baarlo.

Mum comes from Limburg, which is almost a separate country within the Netherlands, like Wales in the United Kingdom. People there speak their own language and have a distinct culture.

I stayed one night in Amsterdam and saw the seedy side of it. I then went to Rotterdam and stayed with Mum’s cousin Piet, a Catholic priest. He has since passed away.

He showed me around Rotterdam and introduced me to the music of Edith Piaf.

My next stop was Baarlo in Limburg, where I stayed with Mum’s aunt and cousin. Both have since passed away.

It was cold, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The nights were similar to winters in Victoria, but the days just never warmed up at all. That was how I viewed it.

I made day trips to Belgium and Germany while figuring out how to drive on the wrong side of the road. Being young (23) I was full of confidence. There is no way I would drive a car in Brussels today.

The township photo below was taken at Bolsward in Friesland. I spent a couple of days there exploring the province. The snow pictures were taken in Baarlo and the others in Rotterdam.