Some days off, Amsterdam and a Visit with a Friend

I'm getting there. If I gauge my journalling progress by how many more folders of photos I need to mine to illustrate our vacation, I'm getting there. Back here in the real world, I was struck down by a nasty little virus for the last day and a half and am just now able to nibble on cheerios and sip gatorade to try and get my strength back. Ugh.

So, as they say, now back to our story...

On Thursday, July 19, the day after we returned from France, Eric flew home to actually work for a living. I know. Bummer. I was grateful he could come and stay as long as he did, though. The rest of us had a flop day and did laundry and accompanied my sister-in-law to the base to visit the commissary and PX, where we got to hand over our passports for fancy clip-on visitor badges. Every base we visited did this process a little differently. I was surprised by this, but I guess it has to do with the purpose of the base, the length of stay and the fact that the security duties at the bases are sometimes outsourced to local companies. Anyway, at the PX, the kids got a couple of things and I found a rockin' long skirt for SIX bucks! It was fun to get a taste of  the everyday life my brother and his family are experiencing while living in Germany. They have the mixed blessing of living in a very German/Dutch area, with the bases where they go for services about 30 minutes away in any direction. This means they get to experience more of the culture, but it also means a certain amount of isolation since they don't speak the languages a whole lot yet and there are few other military families nearby. They are making the best of it, though and I am full of admiration for them taking on this adventure.

Friday of that week, we headed to Amsterdam to get a taste of the Big City. My word. Amsterdam really is BIG in all senses of the word. It is vibrant and diverse and yes, there really are sex shops and marijuana all over the place, yippee!  But, there were also lots of beautiful old buildings, a harmonious sense of new energy built on a strong history, and completely different side of Europe than we saw in Normandy or the tiny corner of Germany my brother calls home. Amsterdam was all crowds and color and move, move, move! It was actually bewildering until we got our bearings.

We didn't have much time so we took a canal boat ride, which was a fun way to see a lot of the sights of Amsterdam in a short time. There was much of amazement and wonder at the ancient architecture and story of how this city was built on nothing. The land was reclaimed from the water and they made a city. I can hardly even imagine that kind of vision-to look at a stretch of water and swamp and think: "Beautiful city that will last for centuries. Yup. Let's get started!" It's even more astonishing to me when I consider how long it has stood on little more than shifting sands and many piers and pylons.

Here are the photos:

The main rail station. Not a super-old building, but cool,
nonetheless

One of the wonderful old churches in
Amsterdam

People filled the market streets, stepping aside for the
many bikes and scooters to whiz by. We saw everyone
on bikes, from men in elegant
business suits carrying shiny briefcases and women in the
highest heels you can imagine all the way to moms and dads
carrying kids and groceries in ingenius cargo bikes.

One of the many markets in the city. 

By the canal. 

Bikes and people riding them will remain in my mind as
one of the iconic images of this unique city. 

Cool old church from 1600's juxtaposed
with sleek, modern apartments, all in the
same courtyard. 

More contrasts: the elegant window grate caught my eye, as
did the exotic guy in the leather jacket. 

Love. This. Baby. 

The underpass to get to the train from where we parked.
When we came through the first time, there were two hip and
talented buskers playing their guitars. On the way back to
the car, the niece and nephew took the opportunity for some
impromptu graffiti-sliding.

That evening, when we got back home, this was the view we enjoyed across the street from my brother's house. Ahh. Evan commented that he may like small-town Europe better than big-city Europe, and I may agree with him.

Saturday we went to the Farmer's market in Sittard and did some shopping for souvenirs and gifts. Sittard is another town, like Bayeux, that perfectly captures the Europe I have dreamed of all these months, and we had a lovely day picking out bread, fresh produce, scarves and other goodies for eating and taking home.

On Sunday, we went to church in a another small town in the Netherlands and got to hear parts of the service in English and parts in Dutch. That was very interesting. That evening, after a perfect American cook-out courtesy of my brother, we headed south to visit friends. We will be back to Schalbruch before we fly home, but it was a good time for a new adventure. We had so much fun with the family. My kids were absolute STARS with the small ones but I could tell they were hankering for some company their own age after 2 weeks (the near fistfight was a clue). We first stopped at Felicity's house, about 2.5 hours from my brother. It was so very good to see her and the family. Good friends are treasures, whether in the next street over or on the next continent over. She graciously housed us for a perfectly refreshing overnight visit before we headed down further south to Amy's place.

About the autobahns: I was nervous but there was no cause. They are awesome. Fun to drive, perfectly sensible and you do not have to go 150 mph if you don't want to. Many people settle down at about 85-90 mph, which is often the speed of traffic on I-95, so it felt pretty normal. Plus, the unlimited speed had the benefit of stretching the traffic out and leaving lots of open road, so it actually felt safer and more orderly than the crazy roads here. I maxed out at about 100 mph on one stretch of my trip, and it was perfectly peachy.

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A Dutch Market, a Belgian Park and a German Cathedral

Thursday was another outing with my sister-in-law and the kids in the afternoon. In the morning, however,  she and I snuck out alone to the Thursday market day in Sittard, NL. Thank you to Eric for watching the kids! My brother lives right near the border of the Netherlands, so this was a 10-minute drive. The weather was blustery, with rain and wind, but we braved it anyway with our umbrellas and shopping bags. We were rewarded, as you can imagine, with fresh produce, wonderful pastries, breads and cheeses and an array of other stalls selling everything one needs, from underwear and socks to fabric and notions to shoes and bike panniers.

The afternoon weather cleared up beautifully and we went about 45 minutes away to Gent, BE to Bokrijklaan. (Pronounced, as near I can explain, as Bo-krake-lan. It is a large, tree-filled park with a REALLY excellent playground (they still have all the fun playground stuff here, like slick metal slides, push merry-go-rounds , see-saws and all that), a restaurant, paths for walking, and a fantastic open-air living history museum all about ancient Flemish life. Windmills, pigs, goats, blacksmith demonstration, bread baking, etc.; it was all there.

Friday, A and the niece and nephews decided to have a regular day at home, so we all piled into their generously-loaned car and took off for Aachen, DE, about 45 minutes driving time. We started off in a Lindt factory store that was as big as a medium-sized grocery store except that it sold only one thing: Chocolate. Yep. Lindt chocolate. Flavors and varieties were on those shelves that I've never even dreamed about. And then there were the big packs of seconds or odd lots that were inexpensive and filled with a kilo of chocolate surprises. Fantastic.

After that we went to the city center to explore the Cathedral complex, so another big European must-do is done. This was a good choice in cathedrals for our family. Gorgeous and medieval/gothic/renaissance all at once, easy to find, interesting, ancient, and a witness to the entire panorama of European history. Aachen was a seat of Charlemagne, and he lies buried here.  His story is told all over the cathedral complex. It was also a major site for Christian pilgrimage due to the relics that reside there (a cloak belonging to Mary, Christ's loincloth, his swaddling clothes from his birth and the cloak worn by John the Baptist at his beheading). We did not see the relics because they only come out for display every 7 years, but that's okay. It was enough to ponder the wonder of the construction of such a place such a long time ago.  Along with all that, this was the first city in western Germany to be taken by the Allies during the ending scenes of WW2. Aachen was heavily damaged in the war, and we saw evidence of that. Now though, Aachen is a peaceful yet vibrant place that speaks of both history and modernity. Such rebirth and reclaiming of the ordinary in Europe such a relatively short time since the war is a constant source of inspiration and awe for me. The destruction is nearly unimaginable, even after you see the photos of the demolished city center in the museum, yet now there is beauty and quiet.

Bear with me. I'm powerfully affected by WW2 history, and walking among it is meaningful to me.

So far, one principal dream of this trip is coming true. Because my brother is fortunate to live in a very small town, we have chosen to go to places that are not on the A-list guidebook itineraries and that are not too far from his home. They haven't been crowded (other than with the people who live there), the pace has been relaxed, and most things haven't been translated into English. I'm learning to handle my Euros without taking 10 minutes per transaction, and I feel comfortable. Everyone we've met has been happy to speak English if I need it, but for some transactions, it's not necessary, and I get a tiny thrill when I dream that I haven't stuck out like a sore thumb as a foreigner because a shopgirl simply tells me the price in German or Dutch, I look at the cash register to make sure, hand over the money and she says Danke and I say Bitte, and we go on our way.

It has been a serendipitous thing for me that we're visiting people who actually live here rather than coming on our own, so lots of things are unfolding naturally within the framework of my Sister-in-law's regular goings-on, such as shopping, errands, a trip to a park with kids etc.. Frankly, this is exactly what I wanted-to mix in the sightseeing and exploration with finding out about day-to-day life. It has been absolutely perfect.

So here are the photos of the last couple of days. Now we are off to France to see the D-day beaches and just bask in the fact that we're in FRANCE for pete's sakes. It's actually Bastille day this weekend, so we may find some fireworks, which would be grand, don't you think? I have no idea about internet in our rented farmhouse for the next 5 days, so it might be till next week that I post but never fear, je reviens!

No one is ever really too old for a good playground. 

The niece and nephew loving the plank
bridge

We did not find out the story of this building in the park,
but it sure is pretty. 

An actual, old windmill. I never knew that the entire top
part of the structure, the house part, gets rotated to catch
the wind. At least this style does.  Amazing. 

As you know, gardening is an art form in Europe, and has
been for a long time, as this view of the gardens here shows.
Every bed had a border of flowers and boxwood to set off
the vegetables. Amazing. 

Looking down from the windmill. That large beam in the
lower right is the lever for turning the entire thing on its
base to find the wind.

Gorgeous boxwood arbor in the middle
of the garden. 

The glorious hydrangeas are everywhere. 

O pets a pig. He was a good pig. So friendly. 

Baby LOVES the goat and the goat loves baby (or at least
the goldfish crumbs all over his stroller)

Old church on the grounds of the park. 

Aachen Cathedral

Under the steeple

An entire wall of stained glass. Miraculously,
this survived the war. 

The complex was built piecemeal, over centuries, so it is a
mix of styles and structures. 

Inside the Town Hall, circa about the 14th century, I think. 

Scary face and amazing vaulted hall. 

Fountain and square in front of the town hall in Aachen. 

The kids taking it all in. They have been good traveling
companions. 

The kids at the feet of Charlemagne.  

We were exploring the Treasury of the Cathedral and
suddenly found ourselves in this lovely, deserted courtyard.
If I lived here, I would want to sit here every day and have my lunch. It was so peaceful. 

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Vacation Begins

The Youth Conference I helped to plan went great. I liked working with my husband and all the other people who were involved. There were logistical hiccups. There were moments of craziness. There were even a couple moments of panic. In the end though, it all came together and I'm so pleased. I think I will insert a real post about it sometime later, just for my own remembrance, but for now, it's time to move on.

About 48 hours after returning from that adventure, we packed our suitcases and headed to BWI airport for a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, then onto Brussels, Belgium. My brother, who lives in western Germany right now and is close to Belgium and the Netherlands, picked us up in Belgium and took us home to the tiny and charming village of Schalbruch.

Right now we are seeing the small-town, non-tourist driven side of Europe and I love it. It is idyllic here: quiet, narrow streets;  homes with a certain European something about them-clean lines, peaked roofs, gorgeous yards and flowers. Oh the flowers. They are everywhere. It's cool here, and hydrangeas grow in all colors, with giant globes of perfect blossoms, like the ones you see at the florist at home. I am loving the flowers. Many people ride their bikes to all destinations, with panniers always attached for shopping and errands. The ice cream portions are large and the chocolate actually is everywhere.

Yesterday, as perhaps all European tours should,  we started off with a visit to the ruins of a castle in a town called Valkenburg,  Netherlands. Today was a morning visit to Thursday market day in the town of Sittard, NL. Later today will be a trip to a park/museum in Belgium. It's all fun and new for us, so even ordinary places have the overlay of being completely fascinating at this point.

Already there are things I love about Europe. Fundamental, cultural bits that I want to remember and bring home with me (I mean come on, they serve chocolate on the airplanes and you can buy knitting needles and extra bicycle tires in the supermarket-so things are resonating already). However, I don't want to be the kind of traveler who just generalizes and judges, or thinks of things only as quaint or precious,  so I'll keep thinking about what appeals to me and write it down as I am able to articulate just what it is I like and how I want to be influenced by this trip. I do want to be influenced, because otherwise, why travel at all? Because of that, I want to be watching and learning and participating, not just observing.

Here are the photos so far.

All set up to await boarding at BWI

Frankfurt- a HUGE airport. 

Camped out and warding off jet-lag during our wait at
Frankfurt.  

Our greeting at my brother's house: the best of European
yumminess (they do junk food VERY well), artfully arranged
flowers, and a darling niece and nephew. Ahh. 

The view out the window in Schalbruch. 

Valkenburg Castle

The prince enjoys his prospect. 

The chapel

Most of our group

One of the inner walls

The view of the village. As my brother wryly observed,
in this area of hills soaring to several tens of feet, we were in the Rocky Mountains of the Netherlands. Ha!

A wide shot of the main part of the ruin.

Well, we are tourists, so a few classic tourist shots are in order,
eh?

More to come!

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