We spent most of the day, chatting with Jolanda and Han and then touring around Zoetermeer with Han. Although it seems suburban, the region has a focus on sporting activities and venues. This includes white-water rafting, indoor skiing, ice skating and rock climbing in addition to all the usual activities.
The area has many nice Dutch features and lots of details that make it interesting. We’re still getting used to the water flowing (in canals) above the level of the land, instead of being in the bottom of valleys or low lying areas. Bicycles everywhere of course, and no helmets, which makes their use even easier.
We visited a local farm, set up for family tourism (Boerderij ‘t Geertje) and an amazing, and expensive, restaurant (Hofstede Meerzigt) situated in a collection of historic farm buildings, bounded by a canal and farmland. It’s quite interesting to see this interaction of suburbia, cottage industries, recreation attractions and farmland in close proximity.
