Halfway point?

I write to you this time from Hengelo. A city in Eastern Overijssel, really close to the German border. Its been a good week. Met up with Rene in Meppel at a train station. It was really good to see him again, hard to believe it had been 5 1/2 years. Headed north to the province of Gronigen and met Rene's parents. Throughout the course of the weekend I met family that to be honest I didnºt know existed. My grandpaºs sister, cousins of my dad, it was really neat to meet these people. I saw the barn of the house that my grandpa grew up in. Climbed the Martinitoern, had a beer in a pub off the square, listened to his band practise, and went to Germany. See, Reneºs parents live less then 1 km from the border, so throughout the course of the weekend we crossed the border about four times. Yep. Iºve hugged a windmill in Germany, laid on the border. Then, on the way to Zwolle, we took the autobahn for a bit. Autobahn is the German word for Highway, and when you are on it in Germany, there is no speed limit. We hit 180, then got passed like we were standing still. It was awesome.

Spent a few days hanging out in Zwolle with Rene. It was nice. After thinking about it for a bit Iºve come to realize that before I came here I have spent all of 12 days or so actually with these guys. But somehow, despite that, and I suppose along with the internet connection, it feels like Iºve known them forever. Got to meet up with a friend of mine from Kings while I was in Zwolle. Renee is here for a semester studying, learning Dutch, and enjoying life. It was pretty awesome to be sitting in a cafe, chatting with someone I lived with in the tower.

Wednesday Rene and I jumped on the train and came to Hengelo. We met up with Jero, went for a beer, and it was time to head off to my latest Dutch home. Iºve had a good few days here so far. Iºve met a bunch of Jeroºs friends, had a couple nights at various pubs, met his sisters family. Rode double on a bike, did some shopping, played some basketball and checked out a dutch forest. I love living a relaxed Dutch life. So far =)

Tomorrow afternoon we jump on the train for Dussledorf, Germany, after which we shall board a plane for Venice, Italy. Its a whirlwind trip, two nights there, and land back in Germany late Wednesday night, but I am really excited about it. I love Europe!