BACK FROM 80 DAYS AROUND THE WORLD with fond memories

PICTURE ABOVE, THE STAGES OF EACH LAG OF MY TRIP IN DIFFERENT COLOURS.
I COVERED 6717 KM TRAVEL OVERLAND BY TRAIN IN EUROPE NOT COUNTING INTERNAL FLIGHTS.
INCLUDING INTERNAL FLIGHTS WITHIN EUROPE I CLOGGED 10.379 KM.

IF YOU READ THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME SCROLL DOWN TO ARCHIVES AND CLICK ON THE LOWEST LINKME IN THE "NIGHT" IN FINLAND

ME IN LEIDEN WITH MOLEN DE VALK ON BACKGROUND.

MY COUSIN ELLY( LEFT) AND ME TOGETHER IN HOLLAND, ELST.

ME AT THE CASTLE "DOORENBURG"

WELL, HOME AGAIN, AFTER A GOOD FLIGHT. PHOTOS LOOKING BACK....

80 days its been today since I left for my Europe trip.
It's been amazing, thrilling, exciting, scary, adventerous, and most of all, it's been wonderful to have been with lovely friends and family all over Europe from the very North of Finland to the South of France.
Very special thanks to the Lichtenstein family for hosting me for a week in their lovely home in Pullach, near Munich. I had a fantastic time. Thanks for showing me Saltzburg that day and the city of Munich. It was great and the weather was so warm. I Was very lucky with that.
My thanks go to my lovely cousin, Elly, whom I met for the first time when I got to the Netherlands, she is my twin cousin, we look alike and are both "typical Diederixes". Thanks for having me there for a full week and showing me many things including Den Bosch and the Bosche bolle and the tour of the under the city tunnels/canals.
Also thanks to Carolien and Jan for hosting me. Also my cousin Ken for picking me up from their place and then staying and catching up with him after 30 years of not having seen him !!!
Thanks to Annie and Henk, my ex-neighbours, for showing me around my old hometown and hosting me for a week!!! Spoiling me lots, but I enjoyed it all!!
Thanks to my other cousin, my German cousin, Claudia, for having me at her flat for a few nights and then showing me Heidelberg and Stuttgart and a bit of Frankfurt. It's been fun watching the soccer wih you during the Euro cup. Thanks for that Orange hup Holland T-shirt, I showed Brian.
Thanks to Beatrix and Bernd for having me stay with them for the weekend and showing me Cologne, it was fantastic and great to meet again.
Thanks to Mirjam and Jeroen for showing me Rotterdam and Kinderdijk, it was amazing, and I had never seen Kinderdijk before. It was fun and fellowship and food, with the fantastic Indonesian restaurant at the end of that day.
Thanks to Mercy my flatmate from 1980 , it was great to spend time with you in den Helder and see Texel with you.
Special thanks to Winnie, who I stayed with in Amsterdam,spoiled me heaps, showed me some of Amsterdam and being the step- mother of Maarten, my nephew, and thanks to Maarten for catching up with me in Paris. It was great to see you again.
Special thanks to Helena from Finland, Lapland, for hosting me and coming with me to Estonia and having a great time there and also for the time in Lapland, I must say it made a big impression on me there with the midnight sun and our trip to Norway, Tromso, and Alta. I will never forget the thousands of mosquitos and the rein deer and the lovely lakes and pine forests. Lovely to have met your family too.
Also thanks to my brother Ronald and Geke for hosting me in the South of France, near Cannes, showing me the cute old villages and surrounding areas.
Also to Elfi , thanks for coming out to Munich from Heibronn to meet with me and catch up again after we got lost in China in 2003.
And also thanks to Catherine for showing me around in Singapore, that was not only showing me around but coming to the hotel to pick me up and making sure i wouldn't get lost.
I hope I haven't missed someone out but as I have only today got off the plane you'll need to excuse me but all who have been involved in my trip, either by posting comments or emailing me privately, it has been a huge encouragement, as sometimes there have been moments when I felt alone. Thanks for all my christian friends and my homegroup who have been praying for me for safety.
And all thanks go to my God and Saviour Jesus Christ who has protected me and kept me safe from all harm. PS 121

My high lights of this trip were: Finland and the midnight sun. It was so weird and intreging, not to have " night" as we know it. Also being up so high at Lake Inari and Tromso in Norway.
Then there was Tallinn, Estonia, the old Medieval town built in 1154.
I loved being back in Holland, Kinderdijk was a highlight and connecting with new and known relatives. I defenitely will be back soon.

DOWNTOWN SINGAPORE WITH CATHERINE

SATAY ON THE BBQ
OUR DINNER
MANGOSTEEN FRUIT IS DELICIOUS
THE NEW OPERA HOUSE THE ESPLANADE
THE MERLION
DOWNTOWN SINGAPORE BY NIGHT

ST ANDREWS CATHERDAL

THE SINGAPORE FLIER
SINGAPORE BY NIGHT

CHINATOWN
TELL ME WHAT THIS IS AND YOU COULD WIN A SINGAPORE KEYRING, FIRST RIGHT ANNSWER GETS IT, NZ ONLY !!
THE MRT STATION

MONORAIL TO SENTOSA.

Hey there,

Last night I did the night safari, a zoo with night animals that you see by driving quietly through that area in a quiet tram. It is dusk and you just see the animals. Photos didn't come out good.( twilight)

Today Catherine comes again, and together we go to China town to get some Chinese herbal tablets that help expell kidneystones. We have some lunch there . It is very hot and humid, and so far almost every afternoon, there has been a thunderstorm.

From here we take the MRT ( underground) to suntec city, and also the trade centre.

Then to the new Esplanade, and walk over the bridge towards the downtown business area.

By now it is dark, and I am taking good night shots of the skyline.

After this we go to a shopping mall near the esplanade, and thats great because its so hot outside, and I am constanty sweating... Inside is lovely and cool. As soon as we stand outside watching the monorail travel to Sentosa, the sweat is pouring off. Let's go inside again I say to

Catherine.

We head for a satay market, the pictures tells you where it is. Very yummy satay sticks and sauce.

IN SINGAPORE WITH CATHERINE( A LOCAL)

ME WITH 2 GIRLS FROM VENUZUELA
THE POOL FROM "EDELWEIS" COMPLEX
ONE OF THE 2 POOLS
THE POT LUCK DINNER AT 7 PM
THE POOLS ARE LIT UP AT NIGHT
THE KIDS PLAY MUSICAL CHAIRS
LOOKS NICE AT NIGHT
CATHERINE

ME AND HER SON GERALD
HAVING A SWIM WHEN I ARRIVED WAS GREAT.
THE OTHER POOL, ALL WITHIN THE SAME COMPLEX JUST A FEW STEPS FROM THE OTHER ONE
AT THE POT LUCK TEA.
CATHERINE AND I

TAKEN FROM THE BUS ON THE WAY TO CHANGI


GERALD AT THE POND OF THE COMPLEX APPARTMENT BLOCKS

GERALD AND I HAVING A SIT IN THE SPA POOL

CATHERINE AND I AT OUR LUNCH
HONEY SOY CHICKEN WITH RICE
AND WATERCRESS SOUP, YUMMY!!
SINGAPORE POST BUILDING
THE MRT ON YOUR RIGHT.( UNDERGROUND TRAIN)

OR MASS RAPID TRANSPORT.

Hey there friends,

Felt much better today, had a good sleep. BP is still up but not too bad.

Catherine,( niece of Lynette from katiKati but Singaporean) came to my hotel to pick me up top go to her place.

They live near the airport , in a condominium complex with 2 swimming pools fitness centre and games room.

It was national day yesterday, so big celebrations. National day is celebrating Singapore 43rd year of independance from Malaysia.

We took bus 2 to " Edelweis complex" where Catherine, and husbandd and 3 kids live.

It's a 3 bedroom appartment and they have free access to the pools etc.

There was a party at 7 pm. Before that we caught up with each other because Catherine had been to our place with her 2 kids to ride the horses while she was staying at Lynette's place .

We had lunch on the way somewhere near here and then went ont he bus.

At night there was a big thunderstorm, and they get very loud here. Good amount of rain too.

On this complex live also a lot of people working in the aircraft industrie. Catherine's husband is an aircraft engineer. I met stewardesses and pilots too. I told them about the spraying incidence and my asthma attack as the result of it. This one pilot said it sould never have been sprayed while the passengers are onboard. It should have been done beforehand.

Big mistake from Emirates.

So anyway, I still feel tired and I now have a cold. I had a good swim in that pool, which has water that is about 30 C.

But very nice settings and a nice party afterwards with a pot luck dinner.

Tonight( if its not raining, because now it is) I am going to that night Safari where you see the night animals come out at the Zoo.

For now, enjoy these photos from yesterday( Saturday)