A Day in the Dutch Country with Hans and Ida

We were picked up at the hotel in the morning by Hans Bolland, my father's father's brother.  The plan for today was to go back to his house in Maarn, south of Amsterdam, visit with he and his wife, then explore some Dutch countryside.


On our way to Maarn, we got off the highway a little early to take the scenic route, which included a brief stop in Nieuwersluis, a small town situated on the river Vecht.  We parked by a school, I think, that apparently makes their own children at play signs.

With very sneaky parking enforcement.

The town had very nice, well groomed, small houses.  There was also a lot of patriotism, but more local.  The house above has a Dutch pendant flying, but above the door you can see the coat of arms for Utrecht, the province we were in, on the left and the coat of arms of Amsterdam on the right.


Just across the Vecht from where we parked was a beautiful and marvelously decorated building with heraldry and royal lettering on its facades.  A second, more elaborate building lay behind a gate and guardhouse.  I took a picture, for surely we had stumbled upon some sort of countryside palace that Hans had meant to show us.

Hans saw me taking the above picture and informed me it was a women's prison.

We continued driving along the Vecht and enjoyed the remainder of the small town, which consisted mostly of large estates right on the river, almost all of which had small houses paired to them on the property.  This was a very popular area for the wealthy to settle, being a reasonable distance from Amsterdam, which is accessible via the Vecht as well as by car.  The smaller houses on the property are tea houses, used basically for afternoon tea or maybe guests.  Two of the more moderate examples of the beautiful homes are above and below.

We arrived at Hans's home where we met Ida.  We'd all met before, but it had been many years since they last came to California to visit my grandparents.  They have a beautiful home in Maarn with an equally beautiful garden in their backyard.

After catching up with news from family in the States as well as each other over nice, strong European coffee, we enjoyed a Dutch lunch.  We were presented with a nice spread of breads, cheeses, some meat, and a variety of spreads.


After lunch we headed out.  Our first stop was the Keizerlijk Huis in Doorn.  This palace was used by exiled Keizer Wilhelm III after WWI.  It is still owned by the House of Oranje, but they have not used it as a residence since the Keizer moved in.

On our way to our next destination we stopped upon sighting a windmill in action.  Most of the windmills in the Netherlands are only operated sporadically by volunteers as a hobby more than a business.  Commercial windmills exist, but they are generally not the same variety as the historical landmarks that come to mind when you think of Dutch windmills.

This windmill, in Coathen de Ruolen, was called the "Oog Int Zeil" and was built in 1869.  Hans and Ida pose in front of it above.  Below, the molenaar (miller) is working the mill and explaining its operation to my parents.  As the wind turns the mill, he has to manually adjust the height of the grinding stone to produce meal of the proper fineness, depending on what it is he is grinding.  The grinding stones are located on the level above that seen in this picture.

Going out on the balcony around the mill afforded a beautiful view of the town, including this church.

Finally, we reached our destination: Wijk bij Duurstede.  This town includes the very small harbor seen below that was a key harbor for the Roman empire in the Netherlands.

As you walk from the harbor into the town you cross through this water gate.  As a reminder of the low altitude of the country, if the water level of the river rises too high, this gate could be closed to seal water out at this wall and hopefully protect the town from a disastrous flood.  Nowadays, the inland water level is controlled by locks and dykes on the coast.

Like many of the towns I've seen on this trip, this one also had a main shopping street.  Read the sign carefully and you'll see that the Sicilians have apparently settled here, too, although I'm disappointed to report that I was not able to test the authenticity of their claim.  To me, the best Sicilians in northern Europe still reside in Helsingør, Denmark.

The church below is the largest in the town, and has an obviously unusual bell tower.  Apparently, a strong storm did away with the traditional steeple of the tower and it has never been rebuilt.  The church is beautiful and quite large, but the interior is very plain.  Dutch protestants did a number on it, I think.

However, the interior did have some uniqueness.  When we first walked in there were some men, apparently sound technicians, setting up and tuning an electric organ and grand piano at the front of the church.  About 15 minutes after we entered the man below started going to town on the organ.  Ida informed us that it was the famous dutch pianist Jan Vayne, who, we learned after speaking to his "posse", was giving at the church in the evening.

Parked in front of the church as we left was this giant Buick Skylark with matching paisley velour interior and a Bakersfield, California licensplate poking out from under the European tag that had been mounted over it.  Our suspicions were confirmed that this was indeed Jan Vayne's car.  The artist collects Skylarks.  Why, I do not know.

We headed back to Doorn to have dinner at Happy Garden, a chinese restaurant Hans and Ida enjoy.

We returned to their home in Maarn for coffee and dessert before being driven back to our hotel in Amsterdam.

Today was great being able to see some less touristy parts of the Netherlands away from the masses of people in Amsterdam.  It was also a great opportunity to see some of the family on my dad's side with have always been so far away.

The Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, and the Anne Frank House

After a very nice breakfast at the hotel, we decided due to the rainy weather that we would hit the major museums today.  I think everybody else made the same choice.

Our first stop was the Van Gogh Museum, which was only about a block away from our hotel.  No pictures allowed inside the museum, but the most striking thing about it was how many people were inside!  Pretty much every room was shoulder to shoulder if you were trying to actually see a piece of art, which got very tiresome.

The museum was set up chronologically, first showing artists that influenced Van Gogh, then chronicling his growth and development as an artist, and ending with artists who drew inspiration from Van Gogh.  This museum also owns a huge collection of letters written by Van Gogh, and they are incorporated in explanations of pieces of art as well as to provide some background to his mindset and attitude during certain periods.

We then walked a couple of blocks in the same area to the also very nearby Rijksmuesum, which is a Dutch history museum.  It, too, did not allow cameras.  Its exhibits began with the evolution of the Dutch Republic, and then its growth and development over time.  Artifacts demonstrated various cultural trends and changes, with pieces of art to illustrate important people and places.  Sadly, a large portion of the museum was being renovated and, therefore, closed.

There was also a nice walking garden with sculpture just inside the outer gate of the museum grounds.

The weather had cleared up a little bit by the time we were out of the Rijksmuseum.  It was a good thing, too, because our next stop was a bit of a walk.  We made our way northwest through Amsterdam and saw some nice sculpture that appears to be scattered about every European city.

Although sometimes you think that maybe they should have excluded a piece or two...

We also got to get a feel for the Dutch architecture and color schemes along the canals.

And even saw a bit more Van Gogh, for good measure.

Finally, we made it to the Anne Frank House, which we only recognized because of the long line of people waiting to enter.  The facade was very modern and even looked like it had been strengthened.  The shutters on the lower level looked made of steel and able to completely cover and protect the windows.  The reception area, where you purchase tickets, looked like a bank in a bad neighborhood, with thick plexiglass separating the staff from the entrants.  It all looked very nice and clean, but it was also obviously very cautious.

The museum and house were incredible to see.  First, background was given on the climate in the Netherlands for Jews at the time of the Nazi occupation.  You are introduced to those who would go into hiding, and then you get to enter the hiding place through the secret passageway behind the bookcase.  It's a surreal experience to be standing in the same spot in the same building where those people, including that little girl, spent so much time, so much of her childhood.

The house is unfurnished, as per the wishes of Otto Frank, but permanent fixtures and the wallpaper and decorations that Anne put up remain.  It's emotionally overwhelming.

The last stop of the day was dinner.  My dad's father spent much of his childhood in Indonesia while his father (my great grandfather, if you'd keeping track) worked as a teacher for the Dutch colonial government that was in power in Indonesia at the time.  Because of this, my father grew up with Indonesian cuisine as part of his diet at home.  So, we sought out some traditional Indonesian food.

Sama Sebo was recommended by our hotel.  They specialize in Rijsttafel, a traditional Indonesian fiest.  Basically, you get rice, a number of vegetable dishes, a number of meat dishes (including pork, beef, and chicken) and you get to have at it.  You're supposed to careful not to mix the dishes on your plate so as to savor the flavor of each individual dish.  I particularly enjoy the peanut sauce that accompanied the pork skewer and bean dishes.

Tour of Helsingør and Flight to Amsterdam with Parents

After a busy day in Copenhagen, we opted for a slightly quieter day and headed to one of my favorite towns, Helsingør, Denmark.  We left our bags at the hotel and caught the Øresundstag up to Helsingør.

We headed to the pedestrian shopping street first to get acquainted with the town and get some coffee and breakfast (pastry).  My parents also discovered the cheese shop.

We then headed toward Kronborg Slot, enjoying the narrow streets and Danish village architecture of this charming town.

Kronborg Slot would serve as a nice comparison to Rosenborg, which we saw yesterday.

A scale model of the castle is just within the outer walls.  You can see the bastions and buildings that once surrounded this once economically important castle.

The Christians made their mark on the entrance to the castle.

You can see the outline of the cannons that were used on any ships that refused to pay the toll to travel down the Øresund.

For some reason, this time through Kronborg I seemed to be focusing on the fireplace mantles throughout the castle.  I love the craftsmanship evident in their creation, whether masonry or carpentry.  The nice thing about Kronborg is that it is presented in an authentic way, so you can see how it was likely furnished and decorated when it was occupied.

This man, however, is not original.

The Danes are very precise with their sword positioning.

He, too, is not original to Kronborg.

After seeing the royal apartment, we looked at the castle chapel.  The pews of the chapel all have very ornate woodwork with crests that commemorate royalty and nobility throughout the region.

This one, I believe, is in honor of the Stanford Griffins, although it looks like the color scheme is slightly off.

From the chapel we headed to the Casemates of the castle, which are underground tunnels below the grounds.  Helgor Danske, the great Danish hero, is resting in the casemates of Kronborg, awaiting his next battle.

The Danish Maritime Museum is also housed in Kronborg, and that was our next stop.

From the maritime museum, you can climb the stairs of one of the castle towers to the roof of the castle and get an amazing view of Helsingør and across the sound.

Our last piece of business in Helsingør was to get lunch.  Lunch #3 at the delicious Sicilian pizza place on the Helsingør square.  We met Scott Boer there and the four of us had a delicious Sicilian meal including Caprese salad, bruschetta, and pizza.  It was nice to see Scott again.  His season has also ended, but he is still working with his club as a coach of two of their junior teams.

We took the train back to Copenhagen and went to the airport via the hotel shuttle, which was driven by a Swede.  We had some extra time before the flight so we took it by wandering through the shopping area of the airport, which included, of course, duty free shops.

Will somebody who drinks please tell me how this poster helps sell cognac?

Finally, after a just under two hour flight, we made it to Amsterdam.  Finding the hotel, though, was a rather unpleasant trek that included a train ride (fine), and tram ride (ok), and a rather long, windy walk through Amsterdam at 10:30 at night thanks to getting off the tram 2 stops too late.

Our hotel room.  Hard to find, but family run and pleasant, with a large room.  Good thing, as we'll be staying here for the next 6 days.