Family and Middeleeuws

Whenever we mention to acquaintances that we're going to the Netherlands, they'll ask if we have relatives there. I think people just can't imagine that you'd visit one country for so long without having family there. Well, we have one relative here that we know for certain. Harm Hubbeling is Linda's 3rd cousin (we're not sure about the "removed" part). We visited Harm, Baudina, and their children Michael and Lilian on Saturday.

On the way to their home in Nieuwe Pekela, we saw a couple of classic vehicles on the highway.

The big event of the day was attending Middeleeuws Ter Apel together - a trip back in time to the middle ages. One of the re-enactors is a friend of Baudina's. It was great fun to hang out together and to soak up the experience of ancient past.

We missed the big battle that was staged, but we did get to see some combat practice and firing of medieval cannons. It seemed like everyone had a pot over a fire and had something cooking. Unlike the Renaissance faires that are held in the U.S.A., there was not a turkey leg to be seen.

I'm not sure that Poffertjes were part of Middle Ages food, but they sure were good!


There were also musicians, playing instruments from the period - they were very good!

Spinners and weavers were there among the demonstrators. I've never seen a spinning wheel this large or a vertical 2-shaft loom. The loom was an amazing piece of work!

We ended the day with dinner together. Nick, our waiter, was kind enough to snap a picture of the bunch of us.

It was a long day since the drive home was 2 1/2 hours, but what fun - and so good to see Harm, Baudina, Michael, and Lilian again!