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USA meets
Europe! - Part II
July 10-16,
2003
A report on
Carli's visit to Frank and his family.
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Verduijn Cichlids in
Zevenhuizen, The Netherlands was our second destination.
For almost 30 years this is the reference shop in
African cichlids and books.
The trip took us
almost an hour, but that was no obstacle, as this is a
shop which was very high on the priority list. They have
some very neat display tanks and an impressive stock of
African and South-American cichlids. Carli was amazed by
the relatively low prices compared to what she's used to
back in the US. |
Carli posing at the idyllic Verduijn entrance.
A very exclusive synodontis... there were more of
them in that tank!
Carli and Catharina Verduijn at the counter.
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Carli:
Besides the bakers and butchers, some of the other best things
about Belgium were the cichlid shops! A large portion of the trip
was spent visiting other enthusiasts, as well as local sellers. This
was particularly interesting for me (in addition to jealousy
producing), as the prices in Belgium were comparatively very low,
and the selection was very large! I had to settle for satisfying my
urge to own each and every cichlid I came across by coaxing Frank to
purchase fish of his own. By the end of the week, Frank had stocked
a new tank with absolutely beautiful apistogrammas, corydoras, and
catfish. I, myself, fell in love with white Altolamprologus calvus
found in a local shop, but American Airlines unfortunately was not
as excited by the idea of me taking them home as I was. So I sadly
had to admit defeat, and leave behind these beautiful (and cheap!!)
specimens.
We also visited Verduijn cichlids in Zevenhuizen in the
Netherlands, which was absolutely amazing! I immediately fell in
love with the huge red-tailed catfish at the entrance…as well as
almost each and every tank I came to afterwards. On this trip, I
also got acquainted with Belgian traffic, which was very similar to
our own interstate traffic…. clogged, with many delays! This was a
particularly interesting aspect of my vacation, as all the cars
license plates had the initials for different countries, where in
the U.S. cars carry the initials indicating differing states. Just
a small thing…but something that very much reminded me that I was in
Europe now! |
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Continued in next
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