Bicycles and Carnivals

Everyone uses a bike to get to just about anywhere here. It's not like Australia where trips are mostly made by lycra-clad enthusiasts. Here bike trips are made by anyone, any wheather and in any clothes. I'm not joking-girls will ride in skirts and high heels. Also, dinking is extremly common. It's kind of like 'Oh you don't have a bike that you can ride with me at this very second? Jump on the back of mine then!' The other thing is that our group sticks out like a sore thumb. One, some of us a wearing helmets (you hardly ever see people wearing them here because the infastructure is so good they don't need it) and Two, we have all got brand new, shiny (and mostly baby blue...) Gazellle bikes. Walking down the streets here you see hundreds and hundreds of bikes (I think I've seen more bikes than cars here!) but very few that are new. In fact, most of the bikes are old (and rusty) because people don't need top quality bikes for the rides they do in their ordinary lives.

The other things that we have been enjoying here in Groningen (but not at night.... I'll tell you why in a sec) are the carnivals. There are at least 3 spots here, including one right across the road-it goes to very late at night :/-and there are quite a few rides :) Mum, Ben, Joel and I went on the "Crazy Coaster" yesterday and this afternoon Joel and I went on the "Future Dance" and the "Rock It" (we did the Rock It with Dad as well) We also got MASSIVE fairy flosses yester day (:D) and today we got these yummy dough thing covered with icing sugar and apple in the middle-YUMMY! :)

Another thing you need to know. My mother decided to take a "short cut" the other night that went through a nature trail, across a padock (with cows in it), over a fence and along the top of a dyk lock. I am not kidding. Also, that days ride was supposedly meant to be 80kms but someone used their GPS to work it out and it was more like 110!!!

I have seen windmills and clogs (and some other things that you may think of in dutch land.....)!! We have seen 3 big windmills and 2 miniture ones as well as a rack of clogs and 2 people actually wearing them!!!! I was so excited!!! Also we went across a cannal in a tiny kinda boaty thingy (with our bikes) and it was hand pulled!! Joel had a go but he definitely wasn't as good as the man running it :P

Everything here in Dutch land is pretty good (although today it was a tad drizzely every so often). We are very glad for the day of rest we've had today as it was hard going having a 63km day and then a 110km day-even if that was a few days ago now! We are in Groningen now but tomorrow we are "sneeking" over to sneek (as Dad says..... very bad joke Dad) and then we have a night in Hindeloopen before we ride into the big lights of Amsterdam :P

Hope things are not too bad in Aus and we will try to bring the weather home with us!!
Love Emma xxx