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.

Amsterdam: Behind the Scenes

As if spending a day in Amsterdam, sans kiddos, with a friend wouldn't be fun  enough, this summer I managed some time off for good behavior and got to go to one of Amsterdam's Open Garden Days.  Each June, 30-40 of Amsterdam's canal side homes open their doors to allow you to walk through their first floors and sneak a peek at their gardens out back.  Some of the homes are private residences, some are businesses (law firms and such) and others are smaller, lesser known museums.  I had no idea Amsterdam had so many specialty museums.  Because the neighboring buildings often cast deep shadows into the gardens, there aren't a lot of flowering plants.  The gardens are mostly green, well planned and nicely manicured with fountains and statues for added interest. Because there's a limited number of shade-loving plants out there, after visiting 8-10 homes, the gardens  started to feel derivitive, but it was beyond awesome to get a quick glimpse into the inside of some of the canal homes and short peeks into museums that otherwise I'd never visit.   So, without further ado, onto the pictures.

a private home; the most colorful of the gardens

a private home; there's a WW2 bunker in the back corner

given the relative narrowness of the homes, often surprised at the amount of space out back

Garden at Museum Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis

The old "Waloon Orphanage for Boys and Girls" The ladder is a sculpture. The garden was once divided: one side for the boys. One side for the girls.

see the open door, had to walk right through the house to get to the garden

leaning canal side homes

My favorite gardens were the boys/girl orphanage and the Bijbels (Bible) Museum. The Bible Museum has stocked its  garden with plants mentioned in the Bible and then displayed them with corresponding Bible verses.  I still can't figure how the climate in Northern Europe and ancient Mesopotamia is similar enough to make such a garden practical, but now I know what a Acacia and a Judas tree looks like (among others).  Oh, and it was also kind of funny to catch the neighbors of one home on the tour walking around in their PJs and robes --at 3pm-- looking out their window, almost surprised at all the gawkers in the garden next door looking back.
(**All photos courtesy of RB, my camera-toting partner in crime for the day)

World Cup

Last Night Germany beat Uruguay to claim third place.  Tonight, the Netherlands takes on Spain.  Despite the fact that even at the tournament's outset many predicted it was Spain's year, despite a local Octopus with a flawless record picking Spain to win (yes, you read that right, an honest-to-goodness Octopus--only in Germany), we will be rooting for the Netherlands. 

We love the Netherlands.  We love the Dutch people - they're generous and crazy and zany and traditional all rolled up in one.  Most of our favorite local hangouts are on the Dutch side, some of our favorite day trips are further into the Netherlands.  We want this one for them.

Yet, we also wanted it for Germany.  For the quarterfinal game last week, we dressed up in yellow, red, and black, grabbed our German flags and headed to the Heinsberg main square to watch the game on the jumbotron.   We stood in the back to keep the kids out of the craziest of the mayhem.  By and large the crowd was well-behaved and when they noticed we had little ones did their best not to dance over them or spill beer on them. EXCEPT..... by the time the game ended, Germany was up 4-0.  With each goal the crowd got larger. With each goal the crowd got rowdier.  Everytime Germany scored a goal, the crowd celebrated by instantly tossing whatever beer/beverage they had in their hands into the air.  In the beginning of the game, no problem, but remember how I said with each goal the crowd got larger, the crowd got rowdier ....yeah.   We had to put C in the stroller under the canopy to keep him from freaking out from the spontaneous and seemingly random "rain."

After the game we stopped at the closest ice cream shop and watched the celebrating as an impromptu parade of decked-out fans and decorated cars erupted down main street.   I just can NOT imagine what viewing parties in Aachen or Koln  or larger cities must've been like, and I think, even though we love the Dutch, that we'll make it a point to stay home today.

Margraten

We visited the American War Cemetary in Margraten, NL this weekend.  Many of the men there died in the Dutch Liberation effort, Operation Market Garden.  Near the small chapel and reflecting pool that look out over the rest of the cemetary there's a wall, engraved  with the names of major battles -- so many of them within 50 miles of here: Maastricht, Eindhoven, Koln, Geilenkirchen, Krefeld, Julich.

We frequently see the remnants of the Siegfried Line as we explore the area. Time to get busy learning more about WW2 in the region

We took pics of the boys  under the "Geilenkirchen," section of the wall, knowing at some point there'll be a history lesson in it for them. (Note the Winter coats, in the middle of MAY)

To read more about the cemetary and its monuments, and the campaigns in the region download the cemetary's visitor booklet at the bottom of this page .

Christmas Markets

Between last year and this year we've made it to most of the local Christmas markets, and sampled lots of the traditional Gluwein. Christmas markets are lovely; they each have their own flavor, but I'm not quite sure I get the hype or why US tourists spend thousands of dollars, battle the usually crappy weather and the crowds solely to make Christmas market pilgrimages. We've yet to get to any of the markets in Bavaria, so perhaps those are different. They certainly are larger, but I don't know if larger equates with more hand made crafts and goodies or more traditional German woodworking OR if larger simply means more sausage, spirits, and "made in china" replicas?

However, as we ARE here, Christmas markets are fabulous wintertime diversions. Most of the small markets near us seem to function as local watering holes. The German version of Cheers, where you stop by and grab a drink and a snack on your way home, noshing with the locals, soaking up the ambiance. Each market has a distinct atmosphere, however, so read on for quick pics and over-brief summaries of the ones we've visited.

Geilenkirchen: A small, one weekend market, with performances by local groups and fundraising booths for local charities. Some food vendors, kid rides, and a flea-market esque section of retail booths

Aachen: the largest market closest to us with cool high energy buzz. Super crowded on the weekends and not stroller friendly (heck it was even dicey at times with B in the backpack carrier).

Gangelt: one weekend only, just one village up the road from us. Has a very small town feel to it, but in a quaint, the-neghborhood-has-gathered-for-the-weekend kind of way. Lots of flower and greenery vendors and fun rides for the kids. There's nothing better than soaking up the festive atmosphere while meandering the old Gangelt streets and you will run into most everyone you know, so it's got a great open-house feel to it too

Trier: the best market we went to. Trier is in itself a great city, about 90 minutes from here. This market looked the most traditional and of course strolling past the old Roman ruins Trier is famous for only added to the charm. The market takes over the main square and a side street or two and between the market's supersized German decor and the storefronts' decorated windows, it's lots of good holiday fun. AND the best market yummies we had, we had in Trier. Dan got a super yummy brick oven pizza and I sampled the kirsch dampfnuden, which was a sweet dumpling with a cherry sauce.

Monschau: We ended up in Monschau on a Friday evening, and I suspect the market would have been better by day. It was rather poorly lit, so it was hard to appreciate the beautiful town as we were weaving in and out of market booths. In the day time, too, the local shops would have been open, adding more browsing options. However, they did have lederhosen clad horn players, an incredibly tasty orange punch, and lots of fried dough to keep the wee one entertained. No carousel in Monschau either, so that's either good or bad depending on what your take is on buying kids tokens for the merry-go-rounds


Satzvey Castle: Kitchy and Romantic and I absolutely love it! The Satzvey Christmas market isn't that much different in character than their Easter market or their summer time viking, medieval, and renaissance fairs, but Satzvey Castle at anytime of year is a keeper. C gets to gorge on the waffles and have his face painted. He gets to watch the sword fighting, see the horses and try his darndest to pull that sword out of the stone. At the Christmas Market this year he even got to tell St Nicholaus about his Christmas wishes and explain how it was this kid with the slightly southern draw was Christmasing in North Rhine Westphalia

Valkenburg, Netherlands: The markets in Valkenburg are nice because they are underground in caves, out of the elements, and temperature controlled. The port-a-potties in said caves aren't so nice, but when you've got a 4 year old along, you do what you've got to do. One of the caves is Dickensian themed and you watch Scrooge's story unfold on the walls as you wander past

Maastricht, Netherlands: Each winter, Maastricht converts its main square to a winter wonderland, with lots of games and rides and even an Ice Skating rink, just a quick stroll from some of the oldest Roman ruins in the Netherlands and against the backdrop of some beautiful church facades, it's a must see. High energy, lots of families and fun buzz.



Liege, Belgium (about 45 minutes from us): One big party with lots of different foods and wines to try. Typical candies, soaps, and knitted hats, but Liege has a number of fun city walks to take in and among marketing, namely the 406 steps of the Montagne de Bueren. Worth the climb for awesome city and river views. Then, instead of climbing back down, take the long way around, past the ruins of the citadel and the modern hospital through a nature reserve back to the city square for another glass of gluwein and Belgian chocolates to see you through the afternoon.

Tiptoe through the Tulips

We made it to the world famous Keukenhof Gardens this weekend. We did it as a day trip, yet forgot to factor in the Mc Family travel rule while in Europe: There will always be a traffic jam. *EVERY* single road trip we've taken since we've been here, short or long, has been lengthened significantly by a traffic jam. The trip to Keukenhof, which should've taken 2.5 hours, took closer to 5. Thank goodness the other two couples we were meeting (who had our tickets and who had gone up the night before) didn't mind waiting and thank goodness my kids are phenomenal travelers. Oldest is skilled at entertaining himself with road games and can alternate between holding youngest's bottle for him and giving him toys. Baby sleeps better in the car than almost anywhere else and if C gets too antsy I simply pop in the German CD. He doesn't like the CD series that teaches you actual phrases and sentences, but he listens with rapt attention to the one that simply goes over words: we've got the days of the week, months of the years, numbers and colors just about mastered.

The gardens themselves were beautiful. This year's theme was New York, NY. That part was a little over-hyped. Supposedly you could see the Statue of Liberty drawn out with different colored flowers, and maybe you could from a helicopter, but the viewing platform provided by the park wasn't tall enough to really make anything out. If we go again, we'll pack a picnic lunch. They didn't care if you brought your own food and their food was not so good, overpriced, and shut down at 4 in the afternoon. We actually ate stand waffles for lunch and for dinner (C was in heaven). They had a petting zoo and two playgrounds for the kids. C actually thought we were going to the zoo, and he just had to look at some flowers first.


I'm not sure we'll go back every year, but I'm glad to have gone and would certainly encourage anyone who was ever in the area during the spring time to make the effort to get to Keukenhof.

fountain FUN in Maastricht

he's "all boy" as they say


I didn't have any extra clothes for the big boy and 'twas too cold just to stay wet, so he ended wearing momma's cout for the afternoon


played too hard, had to take a snooze

THORN

Germany typically brings to mind Octoberfest and Liederhosen, which is what you get down south in the Bavaria region. We're quite a ways north in the North Rhine-Westphalia region. There's a great deal of farming (Tons of sugar beets are grown around here. Quick: you win if you even know what a sugar beet is) with small town after small town popping up to connect the farmlands. We live right along the German/Dutch border and have found, so far, that we really do enjoy hanging out in Nederland.

Today we ventured to Thorn. Follow the link and you'll find a lot of history about the town's church, which really is the main tourist thing to do in town, but the real reason to go to Thorn is to visit De Pannekoeoenbakker, home of thin crepe-style pancakes, as big as your head, that come topped in over 400 combinations. The boys and I were supposed to go with a group of moms on Thursday, but had to cancel to take the baby into see the doctor, so this afternoon we all went. There's a playground in the basement for the young ones, which gives mom plenty of time to drink her coffee. I think we'll be regulars! (Come and visit and we'll take you to try your own pancake.)

To Sittard

Today we wandered over to Sittard in the Netherlands. From what I hear we'll be there a great deal, seems like folks around here are always saying, "When I was over at Sittard..."

Todays destination was the open air market and then lunch at bagels and beans. If you go, C highly recommends the double chocolate muffin.


After lunch we went a little further to Shinnen so D could look at TVs and C could play on the indoor playplace as it 'twas mighty cold here today (a few snow flurries even). The indoor playplace, however, ajoins the bowling alley and C had more fun watching the bowling. He cheered each person on as they stepped to the line and then offered the heartiest of congratulations whether they threw a strike or a gutter ball. Me thinks that we might have a bowling birthday this year, hmmmm?