Gobble! Gobble!

I haven't yet made my top-five-coolest-things-we-did-in-Europe list, so I'm not sure which of our ramblings will make the cut. But whenever I do make such a list, our Thanksgiving day adventure in Leiden definitely gets a spot.

Leiden Centrum

Not many Americans in my neck of the woods have heard about the American Thanksgiving service held each year at the St. Pieter's Kerk  in Leiden, sponsored by the organization Overseas Americans Remember.

(*I can't find a good web link to the organization, but they sponsor a half-dozen events a year, all in the Amesterdam or Den Haag area.  In addition to the Thanksgiving service, they organize a MLK breakfst, a Friendship celebration in April, commemorating the date Holland first recognized the USA as an independent nation, a 4th of July celebration, a "Who's Your President" breakfast, the day after election day.)

Why Leiden???  The group of early-American settlers we usually call the Pilgrims lived in Leiden from 1609-1620.  It is from Leiden that they boarded the Speedwell and left for the New World.  The Speedwell wasn't sea worthy, however, and they made land back in Southern England and tried  again this time on the Mayflower.

Our plan for they day was this:  leave early enough to make the 2.5 hour drive to Leiden and be at the church by 11.  Grab a snack. Head to the Pilgrim Museum. Eat Thanksgiving dinner.  Drive home.
If you go, note that parking in Leiden is more than difficult.  There's really no parking at the train station, and very little down town.  There are two lots (one at the Groenoordhallen and one on Haagweg) where parking is plentiful and from where free shuttle buses run to the city centre. The shuttle buses run until 2:00 AM and parking is cheap, by Dutch standards. We paid about 10 euros for the whole day.

St Pieter's Kerk interior

The church service was well attended, with about 400 people. Attendees were mostly Americans and the day   began with a civic service including the presentation of the colors, patriotic songs, and historical readings.  I had forgotten that before he was the nation's second President, John Adams had  been the  ambassador to the Netherlands and that he and his wife, Abigail, had written about their respective visits to Leiden. The letters of Abigail Adams constitute a chapter of my now-irrelevant-opus, so I should have made the connection between Adams and Leiden before she was quoted in the civic part of the service.  If you want to read the letter that Adams wrote  her sister about her visit to Leiden, her travels throughout Holland, and her insight into the importance of the relationship between Holland and  young America, you can see an online version, here .  

While Pilgrim leader John Robinson is buried in St Peter's church, most of today's historians agree it is unlikely that the Pilgrims actually worshiped in the church; they were a fringe religious group in Leiden society, and as such likely held their services in smaller, less official venues. Although, they most certainly were in the church from time to time.

This is Hooglandse Kerk .Can you believe I didn't take a picture of the outside of St. Pieter's Kerk?

After the civic service, there was an interdenominational religious service, consisting mainly of hymns and readings, representing Catholic, Jewish, and various protestant traditions.  There was no sermon to speak of, simply various members of the American community in North Holland, sharing personal Thanksgiving reflections.  (This part of the service was kind of labored-- didn't need to hear quite so many variations on the theme.  One or two would have been plenty.)     Kids were definitely most welcome.  The church is very large, and a number of families with little ones stayed near the back while their restless ones toddled around the narthex.  We sat on one of the less crowded wings, to minimize whatever distractions the kids might throw in.  B watched a movie during most of the service (which clocked in at close to 90 minutes). C was interested in the singing and the musical performances, but he played his DS during many of the readings and reflections.

At the conclusion of the service, they served coffee and cookies and we toured the church, which has an impressive  pipe organ above the altar.  Then we moseyed Leiden, grabbed a quick bite at the local Bagels and Beans, and popped over to the Pilgrim Museum, a very very small museum commemorating the Pilgrims' years in Leiden.  The Pilgrim Museum was very crowded (probably their busiest day of the year), so we didn't stay long.  As the weather was lovely, we meandered some more, over to the Leiden Castle.  Leiden's Castle is really simply a fort, but it offers fabulous panoramic views of the town, is free, and perfectly suited for boisterous little boys to storm and climb.  Who needs playgrounds when there's 12th century ruins around?  After our little legs finished exploring, we meandered some more, over to the train station, in order to grab a train up to Amsterdam to partake in our traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

My littlest turkey

The Holiday Inn in Leiden was offering a traditional Turkey and all the trimmings buffet, but didn't open until 18:30 and we wanted to eat a little earlier so we could still make it home at a decent hour.  The only other establishment google led me to that promised traditioanl Thanksgiving fare was the Hard Rock Cafe in Amsterdam, which turned out to be a fabulous choice as Hard Rock Cafes are usually loud, perfect for masking the loudness we bring with us.  Dinner consisted of corn chowder, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, dressing (stuffing), broccoli, and pumpkin pie.  And it was good.  Not as good as my home made feast would've been, but better than what I was expecting.

While we caught a tram from Amsterdam Central Station to Leidesplein and the Hard Rock, we walked back. Each little square along the way was decorated with lights and  festive with mini markets of Gluhwein and waffles.We found Dam Square  jam packed with people waiting for  the famous De Bijenkorf department store to turn on its lights.

As you might imagine it was a really really long day and the kiddos, whom I often brag about here for being fabulous goers and doers, weren't in their most cooperative state, but 'twas still an unbelievably wonderful experience, even handicapped with whiny munchkins. (Both of whom fell asleep the instant their heads touched their car seats, so at least it was a peaceful drive home).   We were most certainly the only non-North Holland dwellers present in Leiden that day, many were surprised we drove all the way up from Limburg to give thanks, but if you ever find yourself anywhere near Leiden the fourth Thursday in November, make it a point to stop and take in a little trans-atlantic history.