Groeten uit Nederland!

I must be the luckiest sheep in the world! Jenni took me to the Netherlands with her and the family! Sadly, Shaun the Sheep had to stay home due to a scratched eye (what a wuss!), but I got to come!

I'm all packed and ready to go!

The plane ride was long and boring... It was about 13 hours of travel, but I was tucked away safely inside of Jenni's carry on.

When we got to the Netherlands, the first thing I noticed were these crazy wooden shoes. I mean, it's strange enough that people actually wear wooden shoes, but isn't it even stranger that they keep flowers in them? Do they take the flowers out when they want to wear them? Or, do the flowers use them as a method of transportation?

Which is stranger - people who wear wooden shoes, or letting your flowers walk around in them?

Now I realize that I'm just a baby sheep, but even I know that flowers don't just get up and walk around! Even if they did, would they really want to use shoes?

It took much convincing, but I finally convinced Jenni that I should be allowed to go to Amsterdam. She wouldn't allow me to visit the Red Light District, but I know that I'll be going back. I still have plenty of time to convince her that I'm old enough for that!

Does this thing really give out train tickets?

Okay, so maybe I needed a little help buying my train ticket to Amsterdam. Not only do I not read Dutch, but my poor little legs don't lift me up high enough to get my bank card in that pesky slot!

Here's my round trip ticket to Amsterdam!

I quickly discovered that the train ride is a little long and quite boring, so I picked up a newspaper so that I could immerse myself in the language and culture.

Trying to learn to read Dutch on the train.

Needless to say, trying to learn to read in any language is still a bit beyond me. I settled for looking at the pictures.

I took one look at the dirty sidewalks in Amsterdam and decided that Jenni could carry me. I must say that I've always heard that the Dutch are the tallest people in the word - but I saw proof! Judging by the size of this wooden shoe I found, they must have GIANTS!

I sure wouldn't want to make the guy that wears this shoe mad. Dare I ask where the other shoe is?

Now I realize that I am but a baby sheep, and am not allowed to drink, but I was pretty excited to find the building where they make some of that crazy Dutch beer!

Wow! It's actually sunny! Oh my, is that Heineken in the background?

Here's another traditional Dutch site - the Amsterdammetje - the cute little red-brown post thingy that seperates the sidewalks from the street in Amsterdam.

In 1984, there were about 100,000 of these! Sadly, these are being removed at the rate of about 2,000 a year.

I was quite excited to find a shop in Amsterdam where I could buy sheep! Look at this cute guy!

Jenni said that I couldn't take him home because we might get caught smuggling him into the country. I hope that he finds a good home!

I also found out that the Dutch sure do love stinky cheese! Why, they have whole stores that sell practically only cheese! I was afraid that my wool would stink like stinky cheese if I went all the way in the store, but I braved a picture at the entrance:

Peeew!

On my way back to the train station, I noticed that I was getting quite hungry. I whined a little bit, and Jenni got me some yummy patat! (Dutch French fries!) They sure were yummy!

Mmmm!

After we got back home from Amsterdam, Jenni took me to a park to play. It was hard to play much because I'm so small, but I do love the teeter-totter!

How do I get down again?

A few days later, Jenni even took me to see the North Sea! Just the thought of getting salt water in my wool was enough to make me scared, so I stayed away from the water. Here's a nice picture of me playing in the sand. I sure hope that I get to come back here soon!

Ahh, this is the life!

What trip to the Netherlands would be complete without a picture of a Dutch windmill? Here's an awesome picture of me with a few windmills in the background. Yes, it may look like I'm playing in the street, but I promise that Jenni was careful - there weren't any cars coming! Take that PETA!

Hmm... those windmills sure are pretty, but can I get back in the safety of the car now?