Things I've learnt from lockdown in the Netherlands (Part 1)

Did I envision that I would be spending 6 months (and quite probably more, depending on how soon the world gets to ‘the new normal’) living in the Netherlands? I’m going to go with a strong no. It’s not that it’s not a country I would be averse to living in, it just wasn’t part of my plan. However, I think 2020 had a different plan for all of us, and mine led to me living here. Whilst not being what I thought would be best case scenario, having temporary residency here has opened my eyes to a number of things that are so very Dutch that I never would have realised had I not been placed here. Please enjoy the things I’ve learnt from quarantining in the Netherlands:

Transport

Everyone rides a bike

And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. We play a game here to see if we can find the youngest child riding a bike by themselves with no stabilisers, and think our record is about 3 years old. 3 years old?! I don’t think I could ride a bike until I was about 7, and even then I was still pretty shaky. However, this country is built for bikes, I’d say even more so than for cars. Every road has clearly marked out cycle paths, cyclists have right of way at roundabouts, there are traffic lights specifically for bikes, and the whole country is basically flat. Since living here, I think I’ve been in the car about twice, because it’s so much easier to just cycle everywhere. From my house in North Holland, we’ve cycled to major cities like Hilversum, Amsterdam, and Utrecht, and I’m sure there’ll be more to come. Getting fit and getting wherever you need to go? It’s a no-brainer.  

No one wears a helmet / cycles without hands

Maybe something which isn’t as much of a no-brainer for me is the fact that not a single person wears a helmet in the Netherlands. When I arrived here and was notified that we would be getting around by bike, my first question was ‘Where’s my helmet?’ The answer: ‘You can’t wear one, you’ll look stupid’. Excuse me? Safety is stupid? I wasn’t very thrilled with this answer (please wear a helmet if you’re out cycling!) but it is true that no-one wears one here, not even little kids. What’s more is that there is also a distinctly Dutch way of cycling with no hands – we’ve seen people texting and talking on the phone while cycling, eating, carrying groceries, and even holding a guitar instead of the handlebars…

If they’re not on their bike, they’re in their Tesla

I come from a country of Fords and Volkwagens, so one of the first things that I noticed upon arriving in the Netherlands is that every other car is a Tesla. I swear to you that I am not exaggerating in the slightest. I have never seen so many Teslas in my life! And I don’t think it’s necessarily because the Dutch are in general super wealthy, it’s more that, just like with the bikes, the country is built for Teslas. You’ll find electric charging stations on most streets and in most carparks, and I also believe that electric cars are heavily subsidised by the Dutch government, meaning that Tesla owners have to pay very little tax. Nice.

Homes

No curtains

Okay, guilty pleasure alert: one of my favourite things about Christmas is getting a glimpse through peoples windows of their Christmas trees and decorations as I walk home, but back in London, this is far from easy. Most houses would have net curtains, and come nightfall, i.e. the time they’d be turning those beautiful lights on, the curtains are drawn and it’s just me and the flickering streetlights to keep me company along the streets. Completely different story here. Most downstairs windows in the Netherlands are huge, and almost none have any form of curtains. Why? This dates back to the popularity of the Calvinist sect of Protestantism, which had a core belief that faithful citizens should have nothing to hide. A lack of curtains and big windows were a way to show everyone this, and the influence of Calvinism remains to this day. I haven’t been here for Christmas yet, but I’m sure I’ll get to see some great decorations when the time rolls around!

Trampolines

Kids here are lucky. When I was growing up, my form of entertainment was sitting in my room and reading a book. Go outside? No thanks, there was nothing to do, and it would most likely be raining. Dutch children don’t seem to have that problem, and it seems like inside is the last place they would want to be. They’re either out on their bikes, decorating the pavements with chalk, or bouncing on the built-in trampoline that most houses seem to have. Who cares if it’s raining if you have a trampoline to bounce on? The social activity of the day seems to be seeing how many children you can fit on one of these trampolines. Looks like fun!

Flags

If I asked you what you thought the most patriotic country was, what would you say? I find it hard to believe that the Netherlands would be the first to pop into your mind, but my gosh, it sure seems that way. Just like the trampolines, the vast majority of houses are equipped with a small metal or plastic holder on the side of the house. This is where you hang your Dutch flag from, and you’ll definitely see every house on the street with these on important days like Kings Day, if not every day. If you’re super patriotic, you can also get an absolutely massive flag pole to stick in your front yard because, why not? It’s also nice to see schoolbags at the top of the flagpole towards the end of the school year to signify passing exams, or a teddy hung up to signify a new baby in the house. 

Well, who'd have thought that there'd be so much to discover from spending my lockdown in the Netherlands! And this isn't even the half of it - I've had to split my discoveries into two parts, so I hope you'll check out my upcoming post with even more revelations from living here when that's posted soon! Be the first to know by following me on Twitter @CiarasCountry, where you can also send me a message (or leave one in the comments below) on what discoveries you've made from wherever you've been quarantining - I'd love to know! Thanks for reading!

Travel: GREAT OCEAN ROAD, AUSTRALIA

After my beautiful time in Melbourne and it's surrounding areas (read about them here), it was about time I headed out of cities and back into nature. What better way than charting off on a three day adventure through some of Australia’s most beautiful landscapes? So here we go – the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians.

Collected from central Melbourne, myself and the small group tour I would be spending the next few days with set off out into the great unknown. Now, I’m not sure if you’re familiar with Australia or not, but it’s pretty massive, meaning that it was going to take us some time to even get in the vicinity of where we were going. As a result, this meant plenty of breaks at picturesque locations en route!

Our first stop was Torquay, the town in which Ripcurl was born. Victoria has plenty of surfing towns like this, so it’s no surprise that surfing brands like Ripcurl and Billabong have their origins here. I stopped for avocado toast and an iced chocolate (one of Australia’s greatest inventions) at Mavis Mavis, before taking a walk along the nearby beach in the morning sun.

Back on the bus, we carried on until we reached a photo stop for the beginning of the Great Ocean Road – a big sign towering over the road which we were lucky enough to reach just before a big tour bus pulled up!

Next up was Apollo Bay, a popular beachside town where we stopped for a picnic lunch and the option to check out the nearby souvenir shops and beach. I’m hoping I’ll be able to spend some timing living in Victoria in the not too distant future, but I must remember to pack some warmer clothes because it certainly was rather chilly whilst I was there!

We took a break from the beach to visit the rainforest in Melba Gully where we took a rather rainy walk through the trees to a small waterfall. This part of the journey brought back sweet memories of Hawaii (read about that here) where I visited a similar beautiful rainforest which was certainly equally slippy and wet as this one!

Our final destination of the day was the main attraction along the GOR – the Twelve Apostles, rock formations that stick up from the sea alongside a picturesque beach. What I found particularly interesting is that there is not, and never has been twelve structures. There have only ever been nine rock structures, and one has fallen down, meaning that there’s actually only eight apostles! The more you know!

We took a walk along the boardwalk to get some great views of the monuments and (attempt to) take photos in the raging wind. In spite of the grey and rainy weather, it was still undoubtedly beautiful, and I can only imagine how lovely it looks on a sunny day.

We headed to the tiny town of Princetown which is home to little more than our hostel for the night, the 13^th Apostle; and a campground. Cosy. We dropped our bags off and then had free time before dinner. What to do? Go in search of kangaroos of course! We took a walk down into the valley and found a pack of kangaroos happily munching the grass – a lovely and peaceful moment to observe.

By the time we’d finished dinner, the sun had just about started peeking through the clouds, so you’d best believe that we hurried back to the Twelve Apostles to watch the sunset. This was incredibly beautiful, with insane purple hues unlike any sunsets I’d seen before. The only disadvantage? It was utterly freezing which made taking my usual timelapses more difficult than usual since I couldn’t feel my fingers, but the outcome was certainly worth it.

It was tough getting out of my toasty bed the next morning but we had a full day of activities ahead of us. Up first was Loch Ard Gorge, named after the ship which ran aground there in 1878. The gorge is famed for the story of passenger Tom Pearce who survived the wreck and pulled himself ashore in the gorge, and subsequently rescued fellow passenger Eva Carmichael from certain death after hearing her cries from the ocean. Eva was so traumatised by the experience that she only ended up staying in Australia for three months before returning home to Ireland. The story remains, as does the cave where Tom and Eva took shelter, so we had the opportunity to explore and watch the treacherous waves come crashing in.

Next up was London Bridge, a natural bridge which used to be connected to the land, the link to which collapsed in 1990 leaving two tourists stranded atop it and requiring helicopter rescue. For obvious reasons, tourists have no way of getting on top now so the bridge is best admired from afar.

The next stop was my favourite – The Grotto. Wandering down a steep set of stairs, you arrive at a natural window looking out on the ocean. It really did look like something out of a fairytale, and I could happily have spent even longer watching the waves roll in and out.

Alas, we had places to be, and carried on to Tower Hill volcano (why are so many of the places down here named after London tube stations?) where we had a short walk in search of koalas and then cooked up some lunch on the park barbeques, accompanied by some friendly emus who were keen to help us with our lunch.

We had a brief cultural break at Brambuk cultural centre where we were given free time to wander around the informative centre to learn about Aboriginal culture and history in the area. Next up was Mackenzie Falls, a beautiful waterfall which I was a bit disheartened to see had become effectively an ‘Instagram location’ – visitors would walk down to the falls, take a photo in front of them, and then leave without even taking a moment to admire the falls. I don’t deny that I’m a victim of this too, but I like to think I also appreciate the landscape for what it is too!

We were staying in the town of Halls Gap that evening, so I had a quick walk into town to check out the craft fair taking place, before heading back for dinner. No sunset to head to that evening, but we had a surprise in store the next day…

We woke up early and hopped in the van in the dark to make our way to Pinnacles. A twenty minute walk brought us to a viewpoint with amazing views over the Grampians, and this is where we perched ourselves to watch the sunrise. I’m a big fan of sunrises (when I can be bothered to get up to watch them) so watching the first rays and then the glowing ball itself appear over the horizon was really quite special.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to wait much longer and continued on our hike up to the highest point, with a windy viewpoint to take in the early morning light, before we retraced our steps and headed back down to the carpark.

The rest of the day was spent in the van as we drove along the highways towards Adelaide and the end of our tour. I was indeed due to spend a few days exploring Adelaide and the surrounding areas at the end of this tour, but as circumstances would have it, had to leave earlier than expected – let’s hope I’ll be able to return to Adelaide at some point soon to see what that lovely city has in store!  

Thank you for reading about my trip along the Great Ocean Road! I can't wait to get back to Australia to do some more exploring - do you have any recommendations for where I should add to my bucket list? I'd love to hear - drop me a message in the comments below or on Twitter @CiarasCountry, where you can also stay up to date with all of my upcoming travel blogs!

Travel: YARRA VALLEY, AUSTRALIA

No rest for the wicked, as the morning after my trip to Phillip Island (read about my time with the penguins here!) I was up early again to head off on another excursion – this time to Victoria’s answer to the Hunter Valley – the Yarra Valley. Like the Hunter Valley, Yarra is famed for producing beautiful wines, as well as other artisan products, so of course I was going to have to test them out!

Right at the beginning of the Yarra Valley was the aptly named Gateway Estate, which coupled as both its own producer of strawberries and capsicums, as well as a local upmarket grocer for locally produced goods. Our visit to Gateway began with a mini tour around its greenhouses. Having just completed 3 months farmwork myself, I will admit that being back in such a space gave me something akin to minor panic, but it was interesting to learn about how they grow these fruits and vegetables as they weren’t ones that I had been working on.

After this, we returned back into the store, where a table had been laid with a variety of products for sale. These ranged from jams and chutneys to cheeses to chocolate covered pretzels, all of which were well and truly delicious. As well as munching on the array of foods presented before us, we also had three liqueurs to taste as well. Not bad for a first stop!

I definitely couldn’t complain about the next location either – Yarra Valley Chocolates. Not only was the chocolaterie located in utterly stunning surrounds, but upon walking through the door we were greeted by three huge bowls of small dark, white, and milk chocolate buttons. A spoon was stuck into each one, inviting you to pour some into your hand to taste as you checked out the vast selection of chocolates in the rest of the shop – I didn’t need to be told twice!

There were far more varieties of chocolates than I had time to look at, so I settled on two truffles – a strawberry delight and apple cider – just in case I got peckish later. On we went to Morgans, a small estate where drinks were poured and we were pretty much left alone to enjoy them in the warm autumn air. Here we sampled a cider, rosé, chardonnay, and pinot noir.

Killara Estate was a joint tasting and lunch spot with absolutely phenomenal views – I have no doubt that there’s plenty of weddings which take place here every year. We sipped on the deck looking out across the extensive orchard, and then sat down for an Italian inspired lunch consisting of antipasti and a choice of pizza, fish & chips, gnocchi, or salad. I was glad we had a bit of extra time after we’d finished lunch to wander serenely around the estate. I understand why people choose to live in this part of the world!

And just like that, we’d reached our last destination of the day – Helen & Joey, another massive estate owned by a Chinese couple whose vineyard emblem was a unicorn, presumably to highlight the unique wines that they produced. Here we had a selection of white, red, and sweet wines to sample before we hopped in the van and made our way home. 

Thank you for reading today's blog! Are you a fan of wine tours? If so, where's the best tour you've been on? I'd love to know - drop me a message in the comments below, or on Twitter @CiarasCountry where you can also be the first to know as soon as a new blog is posted!

Travel: PHILLIP ISLAND (AND PENGUINS!), AUSTRALIA

I had a late pick-up for my Phillip Island tour so had a leisurely morning in Melbourne (read about my time in that beautiful city here), before waiting outside my hostel to be collected for the days adventures. With longer drives like this one, tour companies often put a midway point into the journeys, and ours was Maru Wildlife Park. We had a brief talk on koalas from one of the keepers and were then given free rein to wander around until we were due back on the bus. 

Having been in Australia for a year, there were few Aussie animals that I hadn't seen many a time, but this was my first time seeing albino kangaroos, and I also enjoyed getting up close with gliders and Tasmanian Devils. 

We continued on to Phillip Island, our main destination of the day. Our first stop was Woolamai Beach, a glorious and practically deserted stretch of beach which was very pleasant to walk along, albeit rather windy.

Our next stop was the GP Racetrack where we spent a few moments watching bikes tear around the course. Apparently anyone can use the course, but I have to say, at the speeds some of those bikes were going, you could definitely count me out!

We next went to a Nature Reserve where our guide took us through a walk through the bush, stopping to sample some plants favoured by the island's unique residents that we would be meeting later that evening. The walk culminated at a huge lake brimming with bird life, including black swans which I was amazed to find out actually existed outside of the Natalie Portman film. Apparently, swans in the Northern Hemisphere are white, and those in the Southern Hemisphere black. The more you know! 

On we went to the Nobbies, the furthest point of the island. We had time here to walk along the boardwalk and admire the beautiful scenery as well as the animals who make it their own. I was thrilled to spot a wombat and an echidna, both the first of their kinds that I'd seen in the wild. 

By now, it was basically the end of the day. The sun was setting, which meant it was time for the main attraction - the Penguin Parade! Indeed, the main reason people visit Phillip Island is to see the Little Penguins that reside there - who would have thought Australia of all places would be home to penguins? 

We were dropped at the plush visitors centre and basically told 'be back at the bus for 9:25pm or pay the $300 fare taxi ride home'. I knew where I would be come 9:25! I was dying for food so bought something to eat from the overpriced bistro and then scanned my ticket to head down to the beach.

I walked along a boardwalk where little penguin huts stood, a small number actually with a penguin in them. This was my only chance to take photos of the little guys as once the sun was fully set, cameras were a no-go.

Down on the beach, I sat nice and close to the front, and the crowd waited in anticipation for the parade to begin. I pride myself on my observational skills so was thrilled to be the first one to spot their white bellies come out of the ocean. Initially the penguins stood timid in the surf, before a group of them would rush up the beach and into the safety of the grasslands. 

I sat there for about half an hour or so as it got darker and darker and more and more penguins made their way up the beach. An added benefit of the night I got there was the spectacular moonrise we saw as it crested over the surrounding hillside. Pretty cool! 

Back in the carpark with plenty of time to spare before our 9:25 cutoff, we took the quiet ride back to Melbourne and almost instantly into bed. What a cool experience to have had, and one I never would have anticipated finding in Australia of all places! 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Phillip Island adventures - what other Australian hidden gems are you familiar with? Please let me know by dropping me a message in the comments below or on Twitter @CiarasCountry where you can also stay up to date with all of my travel adventures!