Spring into Holland - Rijnsberg, Holland

16 - 25th April 2005

"We'll be back in 3 years" said the marshals and ourselves as we left site in April 2002. And so we  were! The weather hadn't improved much in the meantime but the welcome from Site Manager Philip Kromhout (Flip) and his staff was as warm as ever. On the first Sunday we had a sumptuous welcome dinner at which Flip kept us entertained with his anecdotes and constant homage to 'Queen Valerie'.  Later in the afternoon we all set off for Tulipland where famous local artist Leo van den Ende is painting a colossal 360 degree panorama depicting the flower bulb district of Holland as it was in the 1950's. Working just during the spring months (when the building is not needed for other purposes) the paining was started about 5 years ago and will take another few years to complete.

On the Monday morning we awoke to the smell of sausage baps and bacon rolls being cooked by the marshals. No wonder this rally was fully booked for months beforehand! After breakfast many of us set off on the short trip to Keukenhof to view the mature gardens at their absolute best, with stunning displays of flowers and other arrangements. In the evening we all got together in the Prinsenhof lounge to celebrate 2 important milestones. Trevor & Jenny Donohue were celebrating their 300th rally and Ron & Maureen Ward their 350th. A tasty cake had been expertly iced by none other than Keith Ratcliffe (how many of you knew he had cake icing among his many talents?).

On Tuesday Flip took us on guided tour of the old town of Rijnsberg and fed us with raw herring and a potent liqueur of ancient origin. The local 'hooligans' were recruited to guard the feast and then rewarded by being allowed to take part!

On a cold and wet Wednesday a coach arrived at 8:30am to take us all to Etten-Leur where we toured the excellent manufacturing facilities of Thetford Europe. There is too little space here to do the tour justice. Suffice it to say that we saw both fridges and sanitation products being manufactured and that Thetford 'did us proud'. Thank you Thetford! When we got back the sun was shining and from then on it was wall to wall sunshine every day!

Thursday was a quieter day but the evening saw a social gathering held  in the Prinsenhof with fun and games for all. The evening was shared with the lively members of the Swift Motorhome Owners Club, who were also rallying on the site

Friday was another early start with the coach arriving at 8am for the day's excursion. First stop was the largest flower auction market in the world at Aalsmeer. 19 million flowers and 2 million plants change hands here every day  This represents 44% of the Dutch market.  Some 2000 people are employed in the market building which has no less than one million square metres of floor space. Next stop was the ancient town of Alkmaar with its old cheese market and Gothic church. The church contains one of the finest organs in the world and is well worth a visit. After lunch we set off for the seaside town of Lelystad. Those in need of more retail therapy were amply rewarded with an outlet village, whereas those with an interest in history and ships could visit the excellent polder museum or get on board the full size reproduction of the Batavia, a Dutch East India ship sunk on her maiden voyage in 1629.

Saturday was the day of the Flower Festival. This is what we were all there for. A shuttle bus service took us to the nearby town of Vorhout, which lay on the path of the mammoth procession. There was a delay for some reason but the wait was well worth it. The sunshine was warm and the floats were better than ever. In the evening we held the farewell dinner and Flag as some were returning to the UK the next day. Flip once again provided excellent food and entertainment.

Despite a poor weather forecast Sunday was another day of wall to wall sunshine. In the afternoon we went on a boat trip taking in the local lakes and waterways. The boat was equipped with a folding seats on the top deck and a lowering bridge so as to negotiate some of the extremely low bridges. It was an excellent way to see the Dutch countryside and the many windmills in the area.

The rally ended the next day and, as we left site, we said "We'll be back in 2008", and so we will, God willing.

A write up like this cannot end without a mention of the work put in by the marshals. Running an overseas rally is hard work at the best of times. To include all these excursions and other events as well is even more work. In the end we had such a great time because the marshals put so much effort into making it all happen. What can we say?

An enormous and heartfelt thanks to John & Val, Ron & Maureen!

Terry Owen

Photos © & courtesy of Terry Owen

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