Homesick

The night before we left the Netherlands, I awoke at about 4:30 a.m. with the word "homesick" bouncing around in my brain as if I had just awaken from a dream that seems absolutely real. I hadn't even left the country yet and I was already feeling homesick for the place I was leaving.

At church on Sunday in Phoenix someone asked me why I like the Netherlands so much and I struggled to find words for it. I finally said "things just make sense there" and cited examples like road signs that make sense, roundabouts that keep traffic moving  instead of traffic lights, universal healthcare. All of those things are true enough for me, and yet they don't really convey that it's just a place where I feel like I belong.

Tonight we went out to Wildflower Bread Company (our favorite local restaurant) and afterward walked to the New Frontiers market a block away. It's a walk we probably make once a week, and yet everything seemed alien and out of place somehow. We took a bike ride this afternoon and the traffic around me really seemed busier than my experience in the Netherlands, plus it was really striking how different it feels to ride in a place where bicycles are viewed as second-class, recreational things, instead of a real mode of transportation.

I suppose that some of this is more about the change from vacation back to day-to-day job responsibilities than anything else, yet somehow it really feels different.

I keep telling myself that if I really relocated it would be quite different than it seems when I'm visiting. On top of that is the reality that I would not see the children and grandchildren that I love often enough. Skype is no substitute for helping your grand-daughter do back-flips off your shoulders, or hearing how Eve's talking has improved since we last saw her, or seeing Nate's latest Lego creation, or hearing Ellie wake up singing "opee Opa, omee Oma" to a tune of her own making. Those are the kinds of things that are important, and the scenery they are set against just doesn't really matter much.

Reflecting back on the trip, there were lots of neat things to see, but the things that really stand out are the people. Jan and Elles open their home and invite us in for an afternoon visit just because the building is the windmill where my great-grandmother was born. Harm & Baudina took time from their busy schedules to have us come by to visit, share a meal, and hear their children lead us in a prayer of thanks before the meal. Our hosts Jan and Jannie were much more than "landlords" and became people that we truly care about. The congregation at the English Reformed Church was warm, friendly, and obviously a very alive fellowship of believers that made us feel at home, and energized our faith. Those are the memories that stick with you long after you've forgotten what that painting in the Rijksmuseum looked like.

So tomorrow it's back to work. We'll see how it goes...

Last day in NL

It's been a very busy 3 weeks. We're not ready to leave, but the plane is scheduled for tomorrow morning so I suppose we need to be on it as scheduled. Besides, if we stay we'll have to go grocery shopping because we've emptied the refrigerator! Wait... grocery shopping is one of our favorite things to do, so that won't work.

This was the view out of our north window this morning.

This was a day to stay "home", organize things, take our bottles back to the store, and pack our bags. I'm sure the car is lonely because it never moved today.

The weather turned darker and windier as the morning progressed, but it was dry so we took the bikes out for one last ride into "downtown" Zevenhuizen. We got back the deposit for our bottles, then spent it on a soda. A walk across the street to the bakery got us raisin buns, and goodies for afternoon snack & evening dessert. We did some window shopping for Dutch bikes. About €500 we could have just the kind of bikes we want, but I'm not sure we could get them shipped to the U.S.

I love the deep, dark blue that is used on so many Dutch houses. It's not just the color, the paint looks inches thick because of the gloss and evenness of the paint. I want it on my house!

Linda brought along this quilt as a gift for our hosts to grace the dining room table. It looks right at home.

 Hanging around home today meant that I could get out and grab some shots of some of the other residents.

 The cat, in its usual spot, reigning over all it can see.

 

Our usual view of the cat, looking from our upstairs window.

 Here we are with our hosts, Jan and Jannie Visser (and their dog Boef). What a wonderful couple. We've truly enjoyed our time here at their home.

The day came to a close with a dinner of split-pea soup accompanied by raisin buns with butter and Beemster cheese. During dinner we were blessed to see a complete rainbow out of our windows.

Last Beer Report for this trip: Leffe Blonde, 6.6% alcohol content. Normally, I don't care for light-colored beers, but Linda's cousin Harm Hubbeling recommended this one and it has turned out to be a great recommendation. This one is Belgian, and it shows in how smooth it is. No sharp, hoppy edge - just wonderfully smooth flavor. Highly recommended.

Zaanse Schans and more

This morning it was not exactly clear weather, but not raining. The animals were out in the yard and pasture near our apartment so I took a couple of shots.

Today's goal was to visit some areas of North Holland, just north of Amsterdam - Zaanse Schans, and the towns of Edam, Volendam, and Monnickendam.

At one time there were over 600 windmills in the area along the Zaan river. It was the manufacturing heart of the Netherlands and molens were used for everything from cutting timber to grinding flour, producing oils, and grinding pigments for paint. The area became known for the green paint which was used on many of the buildings in the area. Zaanse Schans is an area which has been set aside to house some remnants of this industrial past. Many of the buildings were moved here from nearby. You can tour the mills to see how they were used to manufacture different things. There are over 900,000 visitors per year to this place, and a good percentage of them were there today in the cheese shop!

Linda asked if she looked cold and windblown - I'd say yes.

 

Edam was a pleasant surprise. We knew that the towns along the coast of the Ijsselmeer  were frequent tourist destinations so we expected a more obviously tourist-oriented place. Instead, we found that Edam is a wonderful small town where real people live & work and the tourist part is very low key. Very nice!

I love the art of Dutch doors and doorways.

St. Nicholas church was begun in the 1400's. The tower was rebuilt in the 1600's when a fire caused it to collapse.

 

We learned from a volunteer that the markings on the gravestones (that look somewhat like cattle brands) were "house marks" that were used because people could not read. These marks were placed on the doorposts of houses to identify them for the residents. To mark the graves in the church, the same marks were used.

 

Volendam is very touristy. The shops are all lined up on the dike that faces the harbor. I think all the tour buses that we saw at Zannse Schans go to Volendam next.

The shop on the left is where we enjoyed Poffertjes when we visited here 15 years ago with our kids.

Right across the street is the shop where we shopped for window lace.

It was a great day for Poffertjes and the shop still makes great ones!

No photos of Monnickendam. We just drove through the center section to get a feel for the place. It is a lot like Edam - not very touristy, but still a place with a special charm. We've put it on the list for our next trip to the Netherlands.

The drive south to our apartment involved the whole gamut of weather. Sun, followed by clouds and hard rain, then sun so bright I needed to put on my sun glasses. When we got back to the apartment the sun got under the clouds and made for a very pleasant opportunity for taking the bikes out for a spin.

There were new clouds rolling in as we rode the bikes tonight, but the combination of dark clouds and low sun made for a very striking view.

The view from our north-facing window at sunset.

Beer report: Gulpener Korenwolf Rosé - 3.5% alcohol content. A refreshing, fruity brew that hardly tastes like beer at all. Baudina recommended this one to Linda. Yum!

Here's a fun one - run korenwolf rosé through Google translate - it comes out at hamster pink. What??? Well it turns out that korenwolf really does mean Hamster - there's even a hamster on the label. There's no explaination of why the hamster is there.

Fun, Quilts and Inspirations

One of our must-do things in the Netherlands is a visit to Staphorst and Rouveen. They are well known for being ultra-conservative communities where many women still wear traditional outfits. We often see these, but we go there mostly for a couple of special businesses.

ROËL is a fun toy / souvenir / home decorating store. It is the most unlikely place from the outside, but inside is absolutely jammed with great stuff that you just won't find anywhere else.

There are 4 aisles in ROËL and every one of them is filled with stuff like this. At the end of the aisle, you can see their Delftware selection.

These push-bikes are made entirely from wood, and have pneumatic tires. We actually saw some grade-school aged kids riding these on a school outing yesterday when we were at Ribbels.

Pretty cool selection of riding toys. The motorcycles are wooden rocking-cycles.

 Stegeman's is one of the most fun quilt shops around. Not only do they have a ton of fabric, and lots of things you won't find anywhere else, they also have yarn, lace, clothing, shelf paper, "oilcloth" fabric for table cloths, and more!

I forgot to take any pictures inside Stegeman's today, so this one is from our last visit in 2008.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the real score of our trip to Stegeman's - the tag says "handgebreide €13,50" - hand knitted socks for €13.50. They fit wonderfully and make great evening-wear around the house!

I love the buildings in Rouveen and always take a few photos.

This place makes me feel like Bilbo Baggins should come strolling out of the door at any moment.

 

Although the village is proud of their traditional costume, the folks aren't keen on being photographed. This pair came around the corner as I as photographing the house behind them. The young girl was obviously convinced that "that guy with the camera" was going to take a picture of them. I love the decoration in the dress shield.

 Our trip was timed perfectly for taking in a quilt show that is only on display for a short time. We only learned about "Moderne Quilts & Antieke Tegels" after we arrived, but we knew we had to make it to the Nederlands Tegelmuseum to catch it. The museum is all about tile-making in the Netherlands, and the show was a display of modern quilts - many of them inspired by the tiles in the museum.

 

 

 

There were some modern tile pieces as well. I have no idea what a one-eyed frog has to do with bicycles, but somehow it seems appropriate that the reflection of the room lights looks like a shaft of light coming out of the eye - I think they are possessed!