From the culture that brought the world windmills, wooden shoes, and a tulip craze that had some Dutchmen trading their farm or their horses for a single bulb - you can't expect much. What you'd expect is a bunch of good-natured people living on the edge (of liberalism). In fact, to these cheese-loving, bike-riding, gay-marriage-authorizing people, soft drug use and euthenasia are not even things they talk about in their goofy, vowel-heavy language. And it's great.
And so is the cheese. Gouda was the cheese of choice for this weekend's trip, which involved heading to Kinderdijk, Alblasserwaard, for the annual National Windmill Day. On this day, many of the historic windmills are "turned on" and become open to the public. And, in Kinderdijk, where a vast number of Holland's windmills are, there was much to enjoy.
The next stop was Gouda (prounounced HOW-da), where the cheese was easy to find and hard to dislike. We found a Saturday-morning market going on when we were there, which added a bit more charm to an already-charming city.
After that, we went to Delft, home of Delft-ware pottery. This famous blue-and-white earthenware was found in many gift shops around the main market square. The canal-ridden town was where I learned that the Dutch are, by and large, tall, blond, attractive, and well-versed in the ways of the English language. They even speak with a slight British accent.
After that, we tip-toed (by car) through the tulip fields of northwest Holland, including making a stop at Keukenhof, home of the world's most famous tulip gardens. Definitely worth a trip, whether you've got a green thumb or a not.
And capping off the trip was a short pause in Amsterdam, where, after two-and-a-half hours of walking around, sniffing the aroma eminating from the coffeeshops, and reluctantly making eye-contact with the girls in the red-light district, we decided it was time to head home - poorer in our wallets but richer in wooden-shoe-replica slippers.
More pics on shutterfly.com. E-mail us for more info.
9 comments:
"You know what they put on french fries in Holland instead of ketchup?"
das vashbear (if that is your real name),
I don't know what you heard, but I saw them Dutchies slathering their french fries with nothing but ketchup. Maybe it's them Frenchies who use de Mayo....but it ain't them Dutchies.
Pecos is so photogenic! Bacci is v. cute too! Looks like you had fun in Holland! The pics were cute!
Thanks for sending me your pages link again! I finally finished reading about all the stuff you guys have been doing in Germany and beyond. You both sound excited to be there and to have this opportunity, which is awesome. Looking forward to more Justin, Kate, Pecos stories.
-Rachele
Dear Justin and Karen,
So how are my two favorite bleeding-heart liberal-commie-fascists doing?
Gouda pronounced HOW-da? Not in America my friend. We pronounce it Freedom City. So, your little trip has turned into eating freedom fries with your pooch and Pacos? Sounds kinda fruity to me. How was the selection in the red light district, good or great?
I like the addition of images to these "stories," good touch. .... so you think you're better than me?
Keep up the good work.
Love,
JF
P.S. Cheating on Kate, taking pictures in the midst of it all, and then posting the evidence on the same blog that she maintains: I like your style, you don't take no guff from noone.
Love the red shoes!! Now you can just click your heels and say, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home!" and be back here in no time.
Allison ~
About those red shoes...you definately have your father's legs, except his are not bowed, and of course Edward has mine. that is the way genetics works.
Pecos is so cute and Barn and Rudes and I miss him in the garden.
Love MOM
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