The Hague
We spent the majority of our time in Den Haag as this was where our house exchange was located. This is a beautiful sea side city where old meets new and it is a 10 minute bike ride to the North Sea and dozens of bike baths in the dunes.
Our home for 3 weeks
Beautiful City with a Royal History
Off a major city street you open a door and you are in a little quiet alleyway that is so charming.
The North Sea
The North Sea (it was cold but we went in a surfed the waves)!
Our favorite spot for coffee and cake on the beach after a bike ride. This is Kijkduin. by the Westduin park, a natural vestige of The Hague's origins as a forest girded by sand dunes by the sea. The center of the district is its stately boardwalk, which is crowded with shops, restaurants, hotels, and attractions. Another feature of Kijkduin that is well-known in the Netherlands is its collection of 19th-century iron lighthouses, placed at regular intervals along its promenade. These lighthouses are no longer needed in an age of GPS driven shipping and advanced navigation, so they were converted into observation towers in the latter half of the 20th Century and are open to the public.
There was a glass and light exhibit on during our stay. This is the view from our cafe.
The Biennale Kijkduin is an international exhibition at the seaside of Kijkduin, the southerly beach resort of The Hague. Sea and dunes form the natural setting for the monumental works of glass and light art. Biennale Kijkduin 2011 was connected to the UN Program ‘Our life, our future‘. The United Nations has proclaimed the Year 2011 as ‘The Year of Chemistry‘, which is a worldwide celebration of the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind.
We visited 2 museums: M.C. Escher (Jeff sorry you missed this) and Mesdag Collection and Panorama.
Scott at M.C. Escher
We found some of our history here: Below we are a couple of dutch girls standing on Korte Vijverberg (our maiden name Verberg) and at the Doorn Straat (mother's family name).
Haarlem
Family history also in Haarlem. This is the city where my grandfather and grandmother on the Doorn side met, they were 16 when they met and waited until 30 years old to marry as my grandfather was getting his PHD in Astrophysics and they could not marry before he graduated. These are their houses below:
Below is the Teylers Museum oldest museum in the Netherlands and probably in all of Europe. My grandfather (Opa) gave letures here. The woodwork and wrought iron are spectacular! Check it out.
Corrie Ten Boom - The Hiding Place:
This is a must read for anyone but for my family especially! This page turning booking is an excellent account of Haalem and the world war 2 experience. http://www.corrietenboom.com/history.htm
The hiding place can be found in the Ten Boom Museum in Haarlem.
There is a family connection as my Great Grandfather was also a clock maker in Haarlem and knew Casper Ten Boom. (See photo below).
Me in the "Hiding Place"
My Great Grandfather on the left with Willem (centre) and Casper Ten Boom (right)
:
Rotterdam (The Kinderdijk)
Windmills are a perfect picture of Dutch culture, and Kinderdijk is the perfect place to visit this heritage. With over 1,000 mills in the Netherlands, the Dutch town, Kinderdijk, has the largest collection with its 19 mills. Built in 1740, these sturdy mills are still in place today.
Scott owning Rotterdam!
Boatride to the Kinderdijk:
So lucky to have 3 generations in the Netherlands together. Dad, Willy, Tanta Eveline, Aunt Yvonne, Me and Scott!
Tanta Eveline and me:
Dad and Willy
Aunt Yvonne
Arriving at the Kinderdijk
Inside the windmill - relaxing with my dutch heritage!
Scott at the Kinderdijk
Leiden
Okay, my parents both lived and met in Leiden. It was so special to get a personal tour from my Dad and Tante Eveline. My Tante Alice and Om Peter also came along. We were treated again to pannenkoeken!
Stronghold of Leiden: - Zijlpoort is a city gate in Leiden, The Netherlands. The gate was built in 1667 in the classical style according to a design by the Leiden architect Willem van der Helm and with sculpture by Rombout Verhulst. Because the gates have to connect with the city wall as well as with a bridge, the building is in the form of a parallelogram. Together with the Morspoort, the Zijlpoort is the only one of the original eight gates that survive.
Opa's church as a boy:
Verberg Reunion:
Thank you to the Verbergs who treated us to a wonderful dinner at Fust on Garenmarket 16 and drinks at Cafe Einstein!
The whole gang:
Here is the link to all the pics thanks to my cousin Govert:
Leidschendam - Wezep Birthday Celebration
The first day in Holland we arrived and went to visit my Aunt Eveline in Leidschendam.
It was her 80th Birthday on June 22nd so there was a family party on the Doorn side. We traveled to Wezep to my Aunt Paula and Uncle Wim's home where we were joined by their son's Ronald and Eric and their children. We went to the Pannenkoeken house for dinner, this is a dutch treat and is a different take on pancakes then we have in Canada. My 2nd cousin Thomas Versprille was kind enough to provide the recipe! You can add anything you like to the basic recipe. Delicious!
Recipe of the "pannenkoeken" or pancakes. For about 20 pancakes in a ~20cm frying pan.
Ingredients:
500 Gram Flour
1 Liter Milk
4 Eggs
A little bit of salt. (1 or 2 gram)
Step 1.
You have to mix this until it is a smooth pourable dough.This take around 5minutes.
When it's mixed, take a deep ladle with a content of 75 ml.
This is about the amount you need for a frying pan with a 20cm section.
Step 2
Put the frying pan on the stove with a moderated temperature and a little bit of oil/baking butter in it.
Step 3
Fill the frying pan, when it's hot enough, with a thin layer of the dough, wait until the dough at the top has dried, the color is what grayer. Now its time to turn the pancake, but be careful it's breakable.
Now wait a half a minute to a minute till the pancake is easily loose.
The pancake needs to be brown and a sort of yellow, but you've seen it in the restaurant, so you now which colour I mean.
Now go back to step 3, but every time you need some oil/baking butter, otherwise the pancake sticks in the pan. and most time it's ruined when you flip the pancake.
