We got up, feeling refreshed on Monday, ate a satisfying breakfast at the hotel and started our journey out into the countryside.

Before we got on the road, we stopped at a bank's ATM machine for cash and a local grocery store to purchase water and fruit (most meals here consist of bread, meat and cheese, and I miss my veggies and fruit).

Then we headed out to a village on the water where we rented some bikes for the day.

Ferrys go out to the islangs that dot the North Sea. The islands are a popular vacation spot for the Dutch and this time of year is when the Dutch are on vacation, so we saw waves and waves of people heading for the ferry terminals.

We rode around the village and surrounding countryside for a couple of hours. These small Dutch villages are so charming.

We then headed to Tzum, the very small village where one of Mark's great grandfathers lived before he immigrated to the United States.

We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast that was in an old farmhouse just on the outskirts of Tzum and while there we were so lucky to find a piece of the puzzle that was missing from Mark's grandfather's history.

Mark's great grandfather had been orphaned at an early age and eventually wound up in Tzum. His grandfather referred to his home there as an orphanage, but no-one could find a history or any records of the orphanage.

Staying at the farmhouse was a stroke of luck because the proprieter of the Bed & Breakfast was familiar with some of the local history and was interested in Mark's grandfather's story. That evening he discussed the story with a friend of his who had a book that described the "orphanage" where Mark's grandfather lived (I'll post more about that in another blog entry).

That evening we headed to Franaker for dinner. Franaker is a village that is about 2 miles from Tzum.

We walked around Franaker that evening and I thought these geraniums planted along the buildings was quite beautiful.