Holland Trip Blog - Day 1

You will all be glad to hear that we have successfully made it to Holland without losing anyone, starting any international incidents, or requiring emergency medical attention. Consider this a minor miracle.

After the last-minute flight change that had us all questioning our life choices, we're delighted to report that we all made it to the airport ON TIME. Yes, you read that correctly. 52 kids, their luggage, and their teachers all arrived punctually. We're considering this our first miracle of the trip.

Airport security was largely successful, with only minor casualties. Apparently, several of our young travellers packed metal forks for their pasta lunches which Belfast International Airport's security team deemed "potentially weaponisable." Who knew that a little fork that was required to eat a post-flight carbonara properly could be viewed as a threat to aviation safety? 

Once through security, we made the classic rookie mistake of unleashing 52 10/11 year-olds into the wild frontier of airport retail. WH Smith and Boots will never be the same. We're fairly certain your children single-handedly kept the British retail economy afloat today.

The real concern, however, is the beverage situation. Apparently, one 500ml drink wasn't enough for our young adventurers. Oh no. They've gone for the hat trick - three bottles each. We're now travelling with what essentially amounts to a mobile water park. We better hope the bus toilet is in operation!!

Your children were absolutely exemplary on the flight. The cabin crew were genuinely impressed with their behaviour, and several passengers commented on how polite and well-mannered they were. We were so proud we nearly cried (mostly from relief, if we're being honest).

The only noise came from the traditional round of applause when we touched down in Amsterdam - a delightful display of enthusiasm that the Dutch passengers seemed to really appreciate.

Our bus driver is a gentleman named Jeffrey, who thankfully speaks perfect English. This is particularly fortunate since Miss McCormack's Dutch vocabulary currently extends to "hello," "thank you," and "where is the toilet?" - which, let's be honest, covers about 90% of what we'll need anyway.

The coach company clearly hasn't done their research. They've provided us with a pristine, two-week-old vehicle that's so spotless you could perform surgery in it. What were they thinking, giving us the good bus? We're already placing bets on how long it'll take for Mr. McIlvenny and Mr. Beckett to leave their mark.

The bus journey started with the energy levels of a bag of popcorn in the microwave - all that energy building, about to explode with excitement and bounce everywhere, but as the kilometres passed, the inevitable energy crash began. They're all starting to fade now, which means they're recharging for whatever chaos awaits us this evening. We're choosing to see this as strategic rest rather than impending doom!

Once we arrived at our hotel we gave the troops some time to "settle in and get unpacked." Some rooms now look like they've been hit by a category 5 hurricane after precisely one minute of occupancy! We're not sure how it's physically possible to create that level of chaos so quickly, but your children have clearly mastered the art of explosive unpacking!

The evening meal was absolutely delicious! Fresh-baked pizza straight from the pizza oven, golden chips, and an impressive array of breads, pastas, meats, and salads. The kids attacked the buffet with the enthusiasm and we're pleased to report that everyone found something they liked.

Then came dessert. Oh, the dessert. The ice cream station with its rainbow array of sprinkles! Within minutes, the dining area looked like a unicorn had exploded in a confetti factory. There were sprinkles on the floor, sprinkles on the chairs, sprinkles somehow embedded in people's hair, and we're fairly certain we spotted sprinkles on the ceiling. 

After dinner (and a brief sprinkle clean-up operation), we ventured into town for the essential supermarket run. Nothing says "cultural immersion" quite like Northern Irish kids marvelling at Dutch chocolate prices and trying to figure out what flavour "stroopwafel" crisps might be. The local Jumbo supermarket staff watched in fascination as our group systematically worked through their entire snack aisle.

What a fantastic first day! Your children have been an absolute credit to both you and Towerview PS. They've been polite, enthusiastic, well-behaved, and genuinely delightful company. 

Now it's time for everyone to get some sleep before the real adventures begin!

Sweet dreams from Holland 😴😴😴