Well, today with M back in school, I returned to Haarlem. I quite like it there. It is friendly and interesting, and old and hard on the feet. Okay, I didn't like that part so much. My battery on the pedometer was going so I know that I made 4.98 km but I couldn't see the steps. Since then, and with a new battery, I'm at 2456 steps. I'll let you know later what the final is....we are going back to try the rijstaffle tonight, since for various reasons, it didn't work out yesterday.
In Haarlem, I poked around a lot of stores, but bought little. However, I really wanted to see the Corrie ten Boom museum. This is a lady that my grandmother talked about and introduced me to through a book called The Hiding Place. Tomorrow I'll add links to all that, but in this internet cafe at the hotel, ti is too expensive to do. As it turned out, I had a private tour of the museum, and my purchases included a newer copy of the book (as it is getting ahrder to find), and a copy of the dvd (because I really liked it).
This story is the other side of Anne Frank. These people had a lovely comfortable home, in a fashionable district of Haarlem. Corrie was the first female watchmaker in the Netherlands, and was a key player in the Dutch Resistance during the war. As I mentioned on the Anne Frank museum post, I was sure that this hiding place would be much smaller and indeed it was. In fact, this hiding place was the size of my closet in my bedroom at home...and in that place, for example, six people stayed for four days without food or water, and barely daring to breathe. The tenBooms had been betrayed, and while it was known there were people hidden there, they could not be found. They looked in the attic and under the floor--but the man who built the hiding place had the foresight to place bricks further down than the floor line, and that is the reason they were saved. I was shown the window that they eventually escaped out of....and let me tell you how very steep it was from that angle.
I can't possibly fit it all in here (again, expensive place, lack of time) but IO will try to do a longer post later.
And now, I just saw M get back--so it's off to ristaffle for me!
Oh, and why is it called Sunny Haarlem? Today for the first day since our visit, the sun actually shone most of the day. It was darned windy but still...sun!!
28 February 2007
Happy Birthday Esther!
I tried to send you an email yesterday but it bounced back, I see. However, you should know that I did as promised, and raised a glass to toast you yesterday. It was something that started with a w-that-sounded-like-a-v.
Hope your day was special!
love me
Hope your day was special!
love me
27 February 2007
Don't ask me how I know!
There can easily be a thousand or more in one spot.
They are long or tall or fold down to a briefcase size.
They come in every imaginable colour, including rust.
They have their own traffic lights.
They are the means to carrying everything from animals and children to flowers to kitchen tables to paintings (and yes, we have seen each of those!)
They congregate in large groups or line up along the street.
They are everywhere!
They are bikes of every conceivable style---and there isn't a single helmet, pair of padded shorts, gloves, or special shirts with water bottles in sight.
They also have no problem running you down if you get in their lane. No problem at all. Don't ask me how I know.
rain, rain, and only rain
Oh my goodness, I've never been so wet in my sorry life! Yes, I could take the tram, or the bus, or the metro, but I am being stubborn. I wanted to walk, to see, to take pictures. Well, I'm walking and seeing at least (8730 steps so far). It's a lovely city, quite clean, in spite of the very few trashcans I found....but it sure is wet. Water to look at , water to walk in, water to drip down, water to get splashed by, water to get in your coffee (which by the way, is very very very good coffee!).
On the bright side, there weren't too many lineups at the museums. This morning after the Anne Frank house, I walked over to the museumplein. I spent a few hours at the Rijksmuseum (and yes, Esther, I saw the Night Watch). My favourites were actually black and white oil paintings--something I must say that I don't recall seeing before. They were a set of four by Gerald de Lairesse...one of which is here.
The museum is under renovation, so all the masterpieces were placed in one area. This was good, as I have a limited tolerance for being able to absorb information in a museum. I like them....I just only survive a few hours in them. That is why I am not in the Van Gogh museum just yet. I needed to walk and clear my head. And that meant getting wet. So be it.
I actually realized that I am pretty close to the Albert Cuyp market, which is an outdoor market and supposed to be quite good. I am suspecting that it will still be open, even in the rain, but likely not as busy. Yes, I am trying to look at the bright side. I don't know what I'll find there, but I do think that I will enjoy it. Someone else who looked worse for wear asked me for directions--I had to explain that I am geographically challenged, but we looked at the map, and as it turns out, so is she. So I don't know if she will get to her hotel or not.
M is in school, and he thought that he would be done around 2. But, that's not to be. He will actually not be done till 4:30, and not likely at the meeting place until closer to 6. We have reservations at an Indonesian restaurant--I am going to try the rijstafel because I want to. I need to go find the restaurant before the meeting place though since I suspect we will be a little bit late getting there. Ah well, such is life.
I am also very grateful for free internet at the libraries. They are very kind about it, and allow me to speak in English--though I have tried to learn please and thank you, and a few other niceties. It's a place to dry off for half an hour, and a place to write little notes like this one.
On the bright side, there weren't too many lineups at the museums. This morning after the Anne Frank house, I walked over to the museumplein. I spent a few hours at the Rijksmuseum (and yes, Esther, I saw the Night Watch). My favourites were actually black and white oil paintings--something I must say that I don't recall seeing before. They were a set of four by Gerald de Lairesse...one of which is here.
The museum is under renovation, so all the masterpieces were placed in one area. This was good, as I have a limited tolerance for being able to absorb information in a museum. I like them....I just only survive a few hours in them. That is why I am not in the Van Gogh museum just yet. I needed to walk and clear my head. And that meant getting wet. So be it.
I actually realized that I am pretty close to the Albert Cuyp market, which is an outdoor market and supposed to be quite good. I am suspecting that it will still be open, even in the rain, but likely not as busy. Yes, I am trying to look at the bright side. I don't know what I'll find there, but I do think that I will enjoy it. Someone else who looked worse for wear asked me for directions--I had to explain that I am geographically challenged, but we looked at the map, and as it turns out, so is she. So I don't know if she will get to her hotel or not.
M is in school, and he thought that he would be done around 2. But, that's not to be. He will actually not be done till 4:30, and not likely at the meeting place until closer to 6. We have reservations at an Indonesian restaurant--I am going to try the rijstafel because I want to. I need to go find the restaurant before the meeting place though since I suspect we will be a little bit late getting there. Ah well, such is life.
I am also very grateful for free internet at the libraries. They are very kind about it, and allow me to speak in English--though I have tried to learn please and thank you, and a few other niceties. It's a place to dry off for half an hour, and a place to write little notes like this one.
Prinsengracht 263
Today I went to the Anne Frank Museum. I suspect most of you know the story, but let's just recap it here. For slightly more than two years, July 1942 to August 1944, 8 people lived in the Secret Annex. One of these people was Anne Frank, and they were all protected from the Nazi's by honorable German and Dutch people This was at great risk, and I have often wondered if I would have been so brave. I am not convinced that I would be--but I hope so.
Anne kept a diary, published in several versions after the war. At first, her father protected the memory of his wife--a woman that Anne professes to not love, and to barely understand. She was a teenager, after all! The diary was required reading during grade school. Before our trip, I reread the book...a version that now has all of the writings, and even some of her rewrites. I know that it made a much bigger impact on me during this reading than it had when I was a naive kid. I laughed much more, and felt her fear more; I marvelled at the human capacity to dream and to forgive. I knew that I would be going to the museum, since it is so close to our hotel. So, while M went to school, I went on my own quest.
I am deeply humbled. In my reading, it was difficult to understand how 8 people could live together in close quarters for so long, having to be quiet to avoid detection. But, I assumed that, with two floors and an attic, there was ample space for everyone. There was--in war. But when I looked at it today, I was struck with how very small it is. It would be easy to assume that it was big, since there is no furniture in the rooms. However, in her room, it took a mere three paces to cross the width of it, and six to cross the length. Imagine now that there were two beds and a desk there. Anne, a teen-aged girl, shared her room with a grumpy dentist. I cannot imagine being that close to him, and it is no wonder that she was less than complimentary when she discussed him.
I realize when she said that they had luxurious accommodations in hiding, so speak, that she meant when compared to others in similar circumstances. I know that at the Corrie ten Boom house, in Haarlem (it was closed yesterday but perhaps will be open tomorrow when I return) the hiding place was the size of a closet, and when they were arrested, seven people remained there. I cannot imagine not being able to sit or lie down without stepping on someone else. At the Anne Frank house, there were almost-blackout curtains on them, and it was easy to imagine the oppressiveness that must have been there. How that girl remained so hopeful....it's beyond me.
Although we know her as Anne, her full name was Anneliese Maria Sara Frank...and somehow it seems important to know that.
How do these things happen? Yes, that is the question, and there is no simple answer. But for every horror in this world, there are equivalent blessings. Thank you to Anne, who wrote her story, and to Miep Gies who saved it, and to Otto for letting it be published.
26 February 2007
Haarlem
Well, today we intended to go to Scheveningen-a place I cannot spell, never mind say. But that was before we woke up at 11:00 a.m.!!! Apparently our room is very quiet and dark, and we were very sleepy. However, that rest did us good, and so we decided to take an adventure to Haarlem. The original plan has been shelved until we come back to the area in a week or so.
Haarlem is a city a quick train ride away--just 15 minutes. And I loved it. While M is looking at all the cars, and commenting on most of them, I looked at the cobblestone streets. It amazes me that there are so many bikes and pedestrians and yes, the occasional car too. It's quite
something to see, and they all twist and turn, so you can end up in all sorts of places. The Grote Markt (okay, some of you have to forgive my spelling!) was great...Market Day in this great big square. There were so many flowers (20 roses, 3 euro), tulips by the gazillion, everything. It was so pretty. There was also a lot of fabric, and I couldn't help but think that Esther and MomK would like that alone. We bought one little thing there, and then went wondering through some of the other shops too. Our souvenir today were ceramic house numbers, painted with tulips. They are very lovely!
We had lunch today at a cozy little spot that was recommended in one of our tourbooks as a place where the locals gather. That was interesting, and the menu took some work. But we are brave, so when it sounded like mustard soup, we ordered it. It was surprisingly tasty and very rich--a cream soup for sure. It was also a very generous bowl, not so much like the little appetizer size we get at home--and which we were expecting. M ordered a carpaccio sandwich, and I ordered a superbowl salad. Good thing too, since we were able to share everything. Oh, he also had tomato soup, and it came with big huge slabs of chewy bread. And brilliant coffee. It was very welcome at that point, and very very good.
One of the most interesting parts? The non-smoking section. The non-smoking section is one table for two. In fact, that seems to be the way in most places, with just a table, maybe two reserved. Very amusing to us, and so very different from home.
We are back in Amsterdam now, and will soon be going for dinner. It didn't rain at all today but it is a little cooler. Stepcount so far? 14198, (10.64 km). I know that I am going to go back to Haarlem, especially because I want to wander through many more shops (on Monday, most things are closed). In fact, we think that we will meet there on Wednesday. Tomorrow I'll be going to some of the museums and things while M is in school. Then maybe we'll find a recommended place to try a rice table, in honour of DadK.
Till the next time!
Haarlem is a city a quick train ride away--just 15 minutes. And I loved it. While M is looking at all the cars, and commenting on most of them, I looked at the cobblestone streets. It amazes me that there are so many bikes and pedestrians and yes, the occasional car too. It's quite
something to see, and they all twist and turn, so you can end up in all sorts of places. The Grote Markt (okay, some of you have to forgive my spelling!) was great...Market Day in this great big square. There were so many flowers (20 roses, 3 euro), tulips by the gazillion, everything. It was so pretty. There was also a lot of fabric, and I couldn't help but think that Esther and MomK would like that alone. We bought one little thing there, and then went wondering through some of the other shops too. Our souvenir today were ceramic house numbers, painted with tulips. They are very lovely!We had lunch today at a cozy little spot that was recommended in one of our tourbooks as a place where the locals gather. That was interesting, and the menu took some work. But we are brave, so when it sounded like mustard soup, we ordered it. It was surprisingly tasty and very rich--a cream soup for sure. It was also a very generous bowl, not so much like the little appetizer size we get at home--and which we were expecting. M ordered a carpaccio sandwich, and I ordered a superbowl salad. Good thing too, since we were able to share everything. Oh, he also had tomato soup, and it came with big huge slabs of chewy bread. And brilliant coffee. It was very welcome at that point, and very very good.
One of the most interesting parts? The non-smoking section. The non-smoking section is one table for two. In fact, that seems to be the way in most places, with just a table, maybe two reserved. Very amusing to us, and so very different from home.We are back in Amsterdam now, and will soon be going for dinner. It didn't rain at all today but it is a little cooler. Stepcount so far? 14198, (10.64 km). I know that I am going to go back to Haarlem, especially because I want to wander through many more shops (on Monday, most things are closed). In fact, we think that we will meet there on Wednesday. Tomorrow I'll be going to some of the museums and things while M is in school. Then maybe we'll find a recommended place to try a rice table, in honour of DadK.
Till the next time!
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