Lekkerkerk

...the Home Hill of the Lowlands

My lack of knowledge of the Dutch rental market combined with general laziness, lead me to leave the task of finding temporary accommodation in the hands of my company's HR department.  As a result I am now living in the country, in what has been described to me by a number of people as the "Bible Belt of South Holland".

Lekkerkerk, which literally translates "Tasty Church" according to one bar maid I met in Rotterdam, is situated on the banks of the mighty Lek.  Despite being home to a building in with the words "PARTY CENTRUM" written in block capitals above the door, there is not a lot of activity in this town (see rush hour photos below).  Nonetheless the houses are quaint, the gardens impeccable and the locals are really quite friendly and even attempt to make polite conversation with me in Dutch as I wait at the bus stop.  At least I think they are trying to communicate, either that or they just have something caught in their throat....it is often hard to tell. 

Lekkerkerk High Street

Over the river from Lekkerkerk is Niewe Lekkerland, not to be confused with the Liquorland chain of bottle shops and their cheeky personified bottle logo that can be found dotted throughout Queensland.  There is no bridge but you can catch a ferry across if you give the boat master a silver coin - although apparently he accepts Euros nowadays.  So, in search of a fresh cask of "Fruity Lexia" I paid the my way across the river and into the unknown, only to find neither a Bottle-O nor the underworld but just more neat rows of typically Dutch houses.

...more of the same

Stay tuned for tomorrow's entry Big Fat Dijk...

MS