Holland/The Netherlands June 2010

I was finally able to leave Liverpool and arrived safely in Amsterdam to be greeted by Jan and Annie Langen (Opa’s brother and his wife). We travelled to Cuijk – Opa’s birth place. It’s a small village very close to the border of Germany. I saw the street that Opa grew up on and where he played and crossed the river to go swimming in the river. I also saw his school and church – which is the tallest and most lavish building in the village. Actually, Holland is similar to New Brunswick and Quebec in that way – where the church is the tallest structure.

I visited many other villages and cities in Holland as well as Cuijk. I was in Nijmegen, Arnhem, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Hertogenbosch, Boxmeer, St. Agatha, and Grave, to name a few.

Here are some pictures and brief descriptions of the area where the pictures were taken.

The first windmill I saw was just outside of Cuijk.

I went to Hertogenbosch – where Bosch is from. Needless to say there are many replicas of his work in the town. There is an old church that has been transformed into the Bosch Museum. This is the view from the tower of the church.

As well as seeing all the sights, my education of Holland included eating certain “typical dutch” foods. Pancakes were on the agenda as a must to try. They are not the same as the pancakes we have in Canada. Mine and Jan's had mushrooms, cheers, and onions. I would say it is more like an omelets. This is Jan and his pancake.

We went to a beautiful park in the middle of Holland (about 1 hr south east of Amsterdam) called the Hogue Veluwe National Park. A very wealthy couple (Helene and Anton Kroller-Muller) bought the area in the early 1900s and turned it into a public place for all to enjoy. You can tour their country home/hunting lodge – called St. Hubertus Hunting Lodge – designed by the famous architect Dr. Hendrick Berlage, who also designed the Amsterdam stock exchange building. You can also and cycle or hike all through the area. It is beautiful. Helene Kroller-Muller was an avid art collector who fulfilled her dreamed of having her own museum on the grounds of the park. She collected 11,500 pieces – which includes 180 works and 91 paintings from Van Gogh - the largest private Van Gogh collection other than the Van Gogh family collection.

St. Hubertus Hunting Lodge.

Here I am standing next to the original Café Terrace in Arles.

Annie and I took a cruise through the canals in Amsterdam. On the tour, I saw the Anne Frank house.

The canals in Amsterdam.

A cheese store in Amsterdam

Annie and I having lunch in Amsterdam (we shared a sandwich and Dutch krokettes – which are pasty, meaty, deep fried things)

Being my first time in Amsterdam required a walk through the Red Light District. Here I saw many coffee shops (soft drug shops – with very little coffee). This one was called the Old Church Coffee Shop and was situated directly opposite one of the most beautiful churches in the area. - seems to be a strange arrangement.

There were many signs that the Dutch take football serious. They desperately want to win and I’m convinced that beating Germany would result in a major holiday.

During my visit to Utrecht, I saw many florists selling Holland’s national flower – the tulip.

On my last day, I visited Grosbeek and saw the Canadian Cemetery, with more than 2000 graves. I also visited the war museum there – which was very educational. Amazing to learn about the attacks on Holland that occurred so close to Opa's village.