If You Ain't Dutch, You Ain't Much

Firs of all, let me say that my people rock.

Brugge was wonderful... we spent three nights at a classy, normal people hotel (opposite the prison in Geneva), and the city itself was canal-filled and cozy. There were chocolate and tea shops everywhere - so I fit right in! 

Unfortunately, we spent a large portion of our time in class, and getting to and from our expedition to Brussels. It shouldn't have taken too long, but we ended up spending about twice the amount of time traveling than we spent at the European Parliament. We got a chance to speak to an employee of the EU, which gave us a different, and appreciated perspective on our classes, but it was a long haul for a little time. 

And then we came to the land of the best people on Earth. It doesn't hurt that we have another beautiful hotel (with normal beds (as opposed to cots/bunk beds), USA-sized towels, and the most wonderful breakfast in the world. We are staying in Harleem, and traveling to Amsterdam each day we spend here, so when we arrived, we leapt at the chance to explore this city (since we won't have a lot of that!). Harleem is a much smaller city than a Paris or a Berlin, but its a nice middle between our time in Normandy and city life. 

The first thing I did was buy Muisjes and Stroopwaffles. (Don't worry Dad... you raised me right!) and make everyone I was with try them. I also learned that "my people"are tall, friendly, and I can pass as a local. All wonderful things. 

Hayley and I (I hear I have Deforests reading my blog? Either way I've taken it upon myself to make sure that they know Hayley is alive)

Jan and I at the North Sea

OUR PEOPLE!

Bikers everywhere. 

Oma's and Opa's Street!

:)

Place where lots of family dinners used to take place... sadly it closed down last year :(

Marianne and Denys' house!

The fish pond in the back of the house that I remembered from last time!

The next morning, Jan Maarten picked Scott and I up from our hotel and we spent the afternoon traveling around the parts of Holland that my Oma and Opa grew up in. First we went to the North Sea,  saw the Dunes, then went to the streets where their houses were and the church that they grew up in. Surprisingly, a lot of the places that we traveled to when I was in elementary school came back to me as soon as we saw them, which was wonderful because it gave me a sense of familiarity that I hadn't felt since we left! We also got a chance to visit a "typical Dutch house" (aka- you can look right into the living room from the small street next door) where Jan's friend Jose was staying. We just dropped in on Jose (which I'm learning is normal in European culture) and said him! Thankfully, he was extremely friendly, offering us coffee and showing us his place, and explaining that he works in Holland and lives with his wife in Spain. We got his card and he told us to call him when we're there in a few months! After stopping at Jan, and his wife Jun's, house the "program" as Jan called it began and we visited his sisters and mom :)

First we went to Marianne and Denys’ house and had coffee. We stayed in their house back in the day and it was fun to remember the staircase, the driveway, and the pond in the backyard. And I got to hear stories of their kids and grandchildren… one of which had fallen into the pond a few days prior!

Then we headed over to Yoke. We talked about our trip and the traveling she has done in Europe and she explained that her sons live in Rotterdam and she gets to see them every two weeks or so, and she showed me where her daughter lives on the way to dinner! (I also LOVED her kitchen!)

Then we took a break and headed back to Jan Maarten and Jun’s for some super yummy lunch before going over to visit Jan’s Mom! She only spoke Dutch, but Jan translated for us, and it was so much fun seeing her and looking through all the pictures she has of the family going back to the 19^th century! She even had some of our family, and it was really cool to see how connected we all are with this place!

Scott and I spent a little time walking around the town shopping and then by the sea, before heading back to Jan and Jun’s. From there, we went to a wonderful restaurant on the beach. Dinner was so relaxing and fun. The owner of the restaurant thought that I was Yoke’s daughter, which was funny(and made my miss my Aunt Yvonne)! And it was fun to get to talk about life and get to hear more about JoraVision and their travel plans for the next few weeks… We ended the day by going back to their house and skyping my parents.

It was one of the best days of the trip so far. Everyone was so excited to see us and welcoming to Holland, that it felt home-y… we were extremely blessed to have a day of being taken care of, the de Raad’s were all excellent hosts! And I have to say… all of the bragging that we de Raad’s do is completely warranted: our people rock.