The Trip that was: September 8, 2013

De Efteling!   A lovely day spent at a fairytale based themepark.  And the day I realized I'm too old to ride rollercoasters.  It was a fun, and magical day spent with friends. 

The fantastical entrance!

 Sprookjesboom -- The Fairy Tale tree.  

Hollebolle Gijs! Big Mouth paper eaters-- the trash cans of the park.  They call "paper here!" until you feed them. Then they say, "Thank you!" But Dutchboys will be Dutchboys. 

And they lived happily ever after. 

 

The Trip that was: September 7, 2013/2014

2013

The 50th Anniversary Party of Dutchboy's parents! Mum thought it was a fun party idea for everyone to paint a portrait of their spouse.  I thought it was a recipe for insults and bickering.  Turns out, Mum and I were BOTH right! It was fun.  Dutchboy worked hard on his painting of me.  And I turned out looking like a demon linebacker, while he turned out looking like an angel with lots of hair and a love of lipstick. For the record, he claims it is NOT hair on my chest, but my necklace.  Dutchboy has yet to hear the end of this monstrosity. 

2014

Haarlem! A favorite city, and one of my favorite museums that you'll see often in the days ahead, Frans Hals Museum.   Haarlem is also home the the Teylers Museum, a science-based museum that is housed in a beautiful building. 

We'll start with the Grote Kerk, the great chuch, St. Bavokerk.  The church is probably best know for it's magnificent pipe organ, which spurred a trip by G.F. Handel in 1749 just to play it.  Also Mozart played here in 1766, when he was just ten years old. 

And another big giant head photo. 

Teylers Museum 

Pretty street along the way to Frans Hals Museum.

Frans Hals Museum

Walking back to Haarlem Central Station at sunset. <3 

 

The Trip that was: September 6, 2013/2014

2013

On all my trips to the Netherlands to this point, the Rijksmuseum was closed for renovation.  Only a tiny portion of their collection was on display, and I had been longing to see more. 2013 was the year I could finally see the whole thing! Dutchboy and I met up with old friends, and spent the day exploring this beautifully face-lifted old museum! We met them at the station and headed to Museumplein straight away.

This is where I admit the truth: I don't like the Nightwatch.  I think it is very badly painted, and quite ugly. There I said it. 

I said earlier, I don't always visit libraries.  Unless they're in beautiful museums. 

If you go to ANY large museum, take a minute and look out the windows.  You'll usually have a unique perspective on the world.  Windows can be frames for amazing pictures.
 

After all that wandering around, and getting lost in! the Rijksmuseum, we headed to what has become a favorite restaurant for us, Stoop en Stoop.  Evenings out with friends make the best memories. 

2014.

Saturdays in The Netherlands means voetbal (soccer).  Dutchboy grew up playing in a voetbal club, with practice in the middle of the week and games on Saturday.  It's almost a religion! All of his nephews play, and sometimes we get to enjoy a game. In 2014, we watched Dutchboy's twin nephews play.  The little ones are so fun to watch.  So much excitement!! 

After the game, everyone heads to the canteen for a drink and a snack.  The old-time members of the club hang out and discuss the young talent, debating who has the ability to make it big, and perhaps bring glory to the club if they make it to the big leagues.  However, these old-timers are just Dutchboy, his Dad and one of the older nephews.

Leaving the soccer pitch behind, we headed to the beach to have supper, and see the brother-in-law's band play a gig. The Netherlands has lovely beachside restaurants, with good food and good music, and a very laid-back vibe.  It is gezellig-- it's the Dutch word with no good translation.  The closest English translation is "cozy".  But it's more than that?? It's a comfortable, easy feeling of belonging and kinship.  I can't remember an evening spent in one of these places when I didn't feel this way.  I'll leave you then with this clip, so you can see some for yourself. 

Tot Ziens!

The Trip that was: September 5, 2013 / 2014.

2013.  

This is the earliest in September we had been in the Netherlands, having arrived early on September 4th. We had a special reason! In 2013, Dutchboy's parents were celebrating 50 years of being married and there was a special party planned.  We flew in a few days ahead of the party because the kids had planned to surprise their parents with photos. Of course Dutch people don't like to pay for photographers when you have a perfectly nice camera, and can get photos printed in an hour at Hema! So, on our second day of vacation,  I played photographer for the day and shot lots of photos of Dutchboy and his sisters in Bloesempark. The park is part of the Amsterdam Forest (Amsterdamse Bos), and is known for it's amazing Japanese cherry trees. Cherry trees don't bloom in September, and may bees don't fly then either. No maybes about one thing-- it was hot. It was one of the hottest days on record for September, in the upper 80's.  The leafy shade was a welcome respite from it!  I took hundreds of photos, but I'll only share a couple that make me smile.  Seeing Dutchboy with his sisters is always a treat.  It's a way I don't see him any other time. And let's face it, they adore teasing their brother. And I enjoy that way more than I should. I considered his exasperation with them my payment for services rendered. 

2014. 

 This was a day again spent in Amsterdam.  I'm afraid you'll see a lot of that in the next month or so.  This was our first full day in Amsterdam in 2014, having flown in on the previous day.  I like to spend my first day in the Netherlands in Amsterdam, eating fries and wandering through the streets that I love so much.  
 

First stop-- Museumplein!  This may be the first in what would become the recurring photography series entitled, "Big GIANT Dutchboy".  Don't you LOVE that the guy that looks like a little angel tourist on Dutchboy's shoulder?  Seriously, though, if you're in Amsterdam this is a great stop to people watch, catch street musicians, and eat the krentenbollen you packed for a snack. 

Courtyard for the  Amsterdam Museum

That huge statute? It's "Dragon DJ" by Hamid El Kanbouhi.  Apparently, he was trying to express the complexity of religion, by showing how "religion would look as a person."  Oooookaaaaaaaaaay.   I don't see it. 

An exciting discovery: My shoes were MEANT for this city.  The stitching matches the city emblem!

One of our other traditions is taking the free ferry shuttle across the IJ to have a drink at a restaurant called De Pont and watch people bike furiously towards the departing ferry, and then laugh when they miss it, or cheery when they make it.  It's great fun!  

The building with the banners is the former Shell Building,now the A''dam Tower.  At this point in 2014, it was a work in progress, but it is now open and you can do cool things like drink in the rooftop bar, or pay to swing in a giant swing over the side of the building.  No. No thank you.  You can see in this picture the weather was turning gray. Weather changes so quickly in Amsterdam. Cool and cloudy is the norm for our holidays, and a sharp contrast to the previous year. 

The joy of finding your wine matches your shirt. 

The rest of this day was spent along the Prinsengracht and the area around Westerkerk.  Dutcboy and I both love the lettering on the building, juxtaposed with the very old canal house and the black fronted, old warehouse (now apartments). 

One of the things I love best about Amsterdam, art is everywhere. And you see the quirkest, weirdest things in house windows. 

Tot Ziens!