We started the day with a buffet at the hotel restaurant. Abit of scrambled eggs, bacon, flaa and lots of bread with applestroop and hagel slaag. Ummm, my favorite. (Applestroop is an apple jam with a very tart flavor and hagel slaag are little chocolate sprinkles that look just like the cake or cookie sprinkles. On bread or toast with butter, mmmmm, delicious!).
Today, our main goal was to tour around Haarlem, to see where mom was born and grew up. We stopped along one of the larger canals called the Spaarne.
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If I am not mistaken, this is the main canal in Haarlem.We also saw the Amsterdamze Poort.
. This structure was built in 1274 and used to keep the enemy out of the town. Obviously, there must have been either a wall to either side for it's purpose to be effective but that is gone now. Next, we went to the open market. I loved going to the open markets in the towns we visited and I sure wish we had them here (I guess we do but call them swap meets, never been to one here).In the middle of the town center was the town hall. This is where Mom and Dad were married.
There was a wedding going on and mom told us that back then, if you were rich, you were married on the right side of the building, if you were poor, you were married on the left side. The were married on the left side. After spending money at the market, Mom wanted to show us the house she grew up in. We drove around for over an hour trying to find it. Finally, we asked for directions. 72 Voor Zorg Straat.
She didn't recognize it because the street leading up to the house used to have a canal running through it. During the winter it would freeze up and she would go ice skating there. The canal was gone, now a paved street. On the corner of the street used to be a catholic school. That had been converted to an apartment building. The front of the house had been updated too with new windows and doors.We had to be checked into our bungalow in Zaandfort, a little tourist town located close to the beach before it got too late.
I was sad to see our day end so quickly but was glad to be able to have the time to explore the shops in the little area we were staying in before they closed. Everything closes early in Holland. I don't think anything is open past 6pm.
5 comments:
Wow Terrie this is such a beautiful place! The only thing that I ever knew about Holland was Tulips and wooden shoes! The building that was built in 1274 looked really neat. Did you get to go inside?
I also loved the photo of your mom and dad. That is just so sweet!
I am loving this tour Terrie!
Love Di
Hi Di, The building that was built in 1274 is actually only a thoroughfare now. If you look closely, you can see the canal on either side of it. The canal is the same one as the picture above. Thanks for taking my tour. More to come.
Terrie
OH MY SWEET SISTER! I love this entry. Please Please keep going. What a fun trip to be remembering. It makes me so sad that I didn't go with everyone. Someday I am going. it won't be the same with mom, but I would love to walk the street she did and also see where I was born! I remember the ocean, and our cousins and also going to the dutch store with a dime to get some zout drop. UMMM still my favorite! and our Oma's house. I still remember the bathroom, with the pull chain coming from the ceiling to flush the toilet...I am so glad I at least experienced a little bit of Holland even though I was only a child!
Hey you forgot to mention the part of how you plugged in your hair dryer and the power went out in the hotel and there was smoke in your room! I remember it well, being in the dark in the shower and wondering what happened!!!
I think that was a coincidence. Me and Glen came out of our rooms at the same time and he told me that Michele had plugged in her hair dryer we laughed because I must have plugged in mine at the same time to cause the entire hotel to lose power. Yeah, I thought about putting that in.
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