Don and Joan Visit The Fatherland, Part I

In April we hosted Lori's parents, Don and Joan, for their first visit to The Netherlands, home of their ancestors.  In honor of their arrival we were blessed with two weeks of spectactular weather, with temperatures in the 70's and 80's and no rain.  Now no one will believe us when we complain about the dreary, wet Dutch weather. 

I've already chronicled our visits to the Keukenhof and Flower Market, but there was lots more of Holland that we saw.

Windmills
No trip to Holland is complete without a visit to a windmill or several visits as our case turned out to be.  We went to the Salamander, a restored windmill in the neighboring town of Leidschendam.  This wind power at this mill was used to cut wood.  Logs were floated down the canal, soaked for 1-3 years, dried and then cut for lumber.    The mill continues to cut wood today for people who want historically accurate lumber in their floors and furniture.


The Salamander Windmill.  In this style of mill, the top of the windmill rotates to catch the wind.  In earlier designs the entire windmill rotated. 



The storage area for the logs.  Most of the logs are beneath the surface and soak for up to three years.  The mill folks told us that they have a map showing which logs are stored where.  They also told us that they have to be careful where the logs come from.  Trees from areas that saw heavy fighting in WWII can contain shrapnel and bullets which ruin the saws. 




This mother duck and her flotilla of ducklings were enjoying a sunny day on the water. 

We also visited Kinderdijk, where 19 windmills stand.  Legend has it that the town's name originated following the flood of 1421 when a baby washed ashore here in a cradle.  (Kinder is Dutch for child).  The more likely origination is that the children of the town supplied the labor to build the dike. 



We took a boat tour down the canal to get a view of the windmills



People appeared to be living in many of the mills.  I'll be there are a lot of stairs. 

It was chilly on the water



The picture isn't the best, but these are the replacement windmills....large Cat engines with huge pumps. 

 
Zuiderzee Museum
Per the guidebook, the town of Enkhuizen was once a prosperous town of 40,000 people.  It rivaled Amsterdam in the 16th century.  But then several misfortunes struck...the harbor silted up and the plague struck its people.  The final blow came in the 1920's when the Zuiderzee -- a large inlet of the North Sea -- was damned, changing the water from North Sea salt water to a fresh water lake, effectively killing their fishing industry.  Seems like misfortune might be an understatement.

One of the town's responses was to create the Zuiderzee Museum, a recreation of a small, old time fishing village.  It is very similar to Colonial Williamsburg in the US; they've brought in old houses, created streets and canals, and have craftspeople demonstrating how things were done two or three centuries ago.  It's very well done and we hit it on a day with perfect weather.


The Zuiderzee Museum Village





Another view of the village



People in traditional Dutch Dress doing the traditional Dutch thing of drinking coffee.





Dutch Garden



The town rescue boat.  One of the displays told of a father and two sons who were ice fishing one evening.  The ice they were on broke away and they floated about the sea for two weeks before being rescued.  They had to throw most of their supplies overboard because the ice kept melting and they were losing buoyancy.  Two of them died following the rescue. 

 

Smoked eel.  They had herring too. 





Some of the "pureblood Dutch" of our group enjoying the smoked herring....a taste only a true Dutch peson could love.   Actually, it was quite good.   





The well water in this part of Holland contained dissolved natural gas, so the Dutch used these crude separation tanks to get usable form of the gas for cooking and lights.  Years later, not far from here, in Groningen, one of Europe's largest natural gas fields was discovered.   



One of the typical garden plants was Rhubarb. 



Chairs in the village church.  Note the names on the back.  Makes it pretty easy to see who's missing on Sunday. 




This modified leather "glove" was used by the village sailmaker to push the needle through the cloth sails.  Note the metal circle; it was located in the palm of the hand, allowing the sailmaker to apply a lot of pressure on the needle. 





One of the rows of shelves in the cheese house. 



This figure marked the entrance to the Apotheek, or pharmacy.  Inside they had about 20 more figures like this.....a bust with the mouth wide open.  Evidently this was the universal symbol for an apothecary. 



The author trying his hand (or feet in this case) at using stilts.  Lori had to take this photo quickly because I wasn't up for very long.   Notice that I'm only using the lower foothold on the stilts.  There was no use even trying the upper footholds.   





Now the Zuiderzee is a popular recreational sea for sailing.





Lori with her parents



Anne and Tom Save the Day

Although many of you may be thinking that my sister, Anne, and brother, Tom, only visited us to muscle in on the free birthday cake, I can assure that was not the case.  They were kind enough to come stay with Grant while Lori and I attended Kate's graduation in Nashville.  Then they stayed on for several days to see The Netherlands.  We really appreciate their generosity, plus it was great to have them visit. 

They quickly fell into the European pace....long walks with Graber, bicycling to get groceries, having coffee in the middle of the afternoon at an outdoor cafe, drinking bottled water (with gas) and driving a manual transmission.  The only hiccup occurred when the kitchen faucet sprung a leak while Lori and I were in the States.  No worries though -- Tom devised a tupperware waterfall to contain the leak overnight and the landlord sent a plumber out the next day.  Anne thoroughly spoiled Graber (as if that is possible) by taking him on 2 hour walks every morning.  Tom and I enjoyed a number of cycling trips around the area.  We also managed to see a few Holland sights. 



We rode our bikes to the Wassenaar Market



The virtuosos gave us a concert (I think they played Heart and Soul). 





Children number 1,3 and 4 in the Woodburn Clan



Tom rode to school with Grant.



Cycling the paths in the countryside

 

The weather was warm on the first days of their visit.  Tom and Grant relaxing after lunch at the local pannenkoeken house. 





Graber's new best friend



Anne's idea of dog training is to say "good boy" when he catches the cheese.  Like Graber would ever not catch cheese. 



The tupperware waterfall kept the leak contained until help arrived




Our new faucet.  Not much different than the old one except that it doesn't leak. 





Now that all the visitors have left I need to get back to work....like mowing the lawn!



Leiden:  We did a self-guided walking tour of this historic city where Rembrandt was born and Holland's first university was established.  As you can see in the pictures, the warm, balmy weather that we enjoyed for Don and Joan's visit vanished and Holland returned to its normal spring climate of wind, rain and chills. 



Like all good Dutch, the weather didn't stop us.  This is the site of Rembrandt's birth, although it looks like they've updated the bricks and added siding since his time. 



This tree at the Leiden Univsersity Botanical Center reminded me of the apricot tree at our family's farm.  Both trees have some serious bracing to hold the trunks together. 




This Lutheran Church is visible from the road, but that hasn't always been the case.  The 17th century church was hidden behind houses for almost 200 years due to the Calvinist policy that prayer houses of a different faith couldn't be visible from the main road.  I guess that Dutch tolerance hadn't developed yet at that time.  The houses in front of the church were torn down in 1866. 




The Hooglandse Kerk, begun in 1366 but never finished. 




The interior courtyard of an Almshouse of which Leiden has 35.  These complexes were founded by rich people who tried to secure a spot in heaven by building homes for the elderly and poor people.  People could live in the Almhouses for free.  There would be one door leading into a courtyard such as this and the "apartments would surround the courtyard.  The residents had to follow strict rules and were expected to behave respectfully and thankfully. 


Den Haag:  We rode our bikes into Den Haag for an afternoon.  We visited the Escher Museum, the Bittenhof (government house) and had a coffee. 


At the museum



At the gate of the Bittenhof

When we came to the plien, or square, someone had taped yellow balloons all around.  It turned out to be Greenpeace holding a demonstration against nuclear power.  We didn't sign their petition. 

Our ritual afternoon coffee.

At Queen Beatrix's palace on the way home.



Cycling through the woods

 Delft:  Home and burial place of William the Silent (chronicled in earlier postings).  We had lunch at the former Weigh House, visited the two churches (Oude & Niewe) and took a canal boat tour. 

These pillows are for parishioners at the Oude Kerk.  Vanderbilt would have done well to offer these at Kate's graduation. 



One of Delft's old homes



The old towne hall in Delft is a beautiful building that is normally closed.  When Anne asked what it was used for, I didn't know.  Just then a bride and groom emerged.  Now we know what it's used for. 



Tom and Anne relaxing before our boat tour.  All that would change later on when things got a little more exciting.  We hit the side of the canal 3 or 4 times and the motor quit when a plastic bag wrapped around the propeller.



The boat tour guide told us that in olden times people were taxed according to the number of windows in their home.  Supposedly this person didn't pay their taxes so their window was bricked over.  It sounded like one of those stories that sounded great on the tour boat, but might not be the entire truth.   

Happy Birthday Tom!


Tom & Anne's visit also allowed us to celebrate another birthday (and eat another delicious cake).  Tom's birthday was Sunday so we went out to dinner then came home to eat Tuxedo Cake.  It's a chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting.  Then Lori poured bittersweet chocolate over the top.  Yum!  The recipe is from the Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe in Fredericksburg, TX whose owner is known as the Pastry Queen.  In addition to being a great cook, the Pastry Queen also has talent for naming her recipes.  Another of our favorites from her cookbook is Texas Big Hair Lemon Meringue Tarts. 

For those of you interested in other famous events on May 15, the first McDonalds opened in 1940, Joe DiMaggio began his 51 game hitting streak in 1941 and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island aired in 1981.  A little further back but closer to home, in 1491 German soldiers killed 232 people in Alkmaar, Holland to quell the Cheese and Bread Rebellion.  Quite a day in history. 

Happy Birthday Tom!

The only one who got a present was Graber -- a big bone toy from Target.

Oh The Thinks You Can Think!

The American School Middle School Spring musical this year was "Seussical the Musical, Jr." and Grant played the role of Mr. Mayor.  He was actually promoted twice to get that role.  After try-outs in January he was a Citizen of Whoville.  Then a boy had to quit due to schedule conflicts, so Grant was promoted to Judge Yertle the Turtle.   Several weeks later another boy quit and Grant was promoted again, this time to Mr. Mayor (of Whoville).   Grant did a great job acting mayoral in the show and his yellow suit was a big hit.  We really enjoyed it. 



Mr & Mrs. Mayor with their child JoJo.  The real JoJo got sick prior to dress rehearsal and didn't recover in time for the play.  The cast didn't include understudies so this girl substituted at the last minute.  She did great. 

You may have noticed that Grant was not in any of Kate's graduation photo's.  As luck would have it, his play was the same weekend as Kate's graduation so he stayed in Holland  (I'm sure that he really missed sitting on those wooden bleachers for four hours at Kate's graduation).   That created a hectic weekend for Lori and I.  We attended Kate's graduation on Friday from 9:00 am to 1:00.  Following that we went to several receptions on campus, left for the airport at 3:00, took off at 5:00 and landed the next day at noon.  We were tired, but arrived in plenty of time to see Grant's performance that night. 



The mayor with his biggest fan.  For those of you who haven't seen him for awhile, notice that he's as tall as his Mother.  

All these logistics were possible because my sister and brother (Anne & Tom) were kind enough to come stay with Grant while Lori and I were in Nashville.  The also got to see the musical (twice) so Grant had lots of relatives in the audience.   




A happy couple lament over how to raise a child.  




The citizens of Whoville



Congratulations Kate!


Last Friday, Kate graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering.  Lori & I had a short, but great visit to Nashville to be with her.  It was my first visit back to the States in almost a year, so we had lots of US things on our "to do" list......eat high quality Mexican food, buy clothes for Grant since he seems to need taller sizes every month, wander the aisles of Target (where you can buy everything you need in one store) and drive an SUV that seemed as big as a tank.  It was really weird not to see one single bicycle on the road. 

While we were there, we received a sign that Kate's time in Nashville was complete and she could move on.  One of her frequent complaints has been that everyone has seen Taylor Swift out and about in Nashville (she's lives in a condo near the Vanderbilt campus).  But not Kate.  She saw Barack Obama when he was in town for the Presidential election debates, but she hadn't seen Taylor Swift.  She saw Michael Phelps in the Newark Airport, but she hadn't seen Taylor Swift.  All that changed when one day as the three of us were we enjoying our lunch at Zoe's, in walked Taylor Swift and her mother.  We thought about going up to get a refill on our limeades so we could brush shoulders with her, but decided to simply observe cooly from our table (and take her picture with our cell phone when she wasn't looking).  So with that (and her diploma), we knew that Kate's years in Nashville had been a success. 



Not exactly the picture we took with our cell phone, but close. 


One of Kate's Senior Year highlights was living in a suite with four other great girls.  Their living arrangements included a small living room/kitchen so it was closer to an apartment than a standard dorm room.  They had a lot of fun together.  As a closing finale', they (along with a friend, Mina) hosted their parents and families for dinner at a local restaurant.  Thanks Rachel, Michelle, Mina, Michelle, Kalee & Kate; it was delicious and lots of fun.  



The suite-mates on the morning of the big day.





With their official graduation attire.





The dinner hosts

The visit was not all fun and games though.  If I was the sentimental type, I would write that we boxed up four years of memories that Kate will take with her for the next stage of her life.  In reality we spent the time packing up four years of clothes, textbooks, shoes, plastic cups, etc. that Kate has to haul home.   It is always amazing how much stuff kids fit into their tiny dorm room.  Despite packing her car to a world record density, we had two boxes left over that had to be shipped.  To me it was still a major victory.  As we were lugging boxes down the elevator and out to the car in the Nashville heat, Lori and I were wondering the same thing -- how are we going to do this in 8 years when Grant graduates and we're really old.    

One thing we did bring from The Netherlands was rain; consequently the graduation ceremony had to be held inside. Vanderbilt is small enough that the undergradutates all walk across the stage to shake the Dean's hand, shake the Chancellor's hand and receive their diploma.  All 1734 of them.  So we sat on hard wooden bleachers in the unair-conditioned Memorial Gymnasium for close to four hours.  It actually wasn't that bad.  They wisely opened the concession stands so we could get snacks.  And our view was much better than if we had been sitting on lawn chairs far away from the outdoor stage.  I will commend the Chancellor.  Even though he had to be tired, he shook everyone's hand with great enthusiasm.  I'm sure that he washed his hands several times when it was all over. 



Vanderbilt's Class of 2011





Thanks to the wonder of an optical zoom camera, I could take this photo of Kate and the Chancellor from the uppper balcony of the gym.  Check back on the blog later when I'll have the official (and better) University photo.  With all the banner, robes, hats, scarves, etc. the ceremony reminded me of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. 



So now Kate has begun her summer of fun.  Then next fall it's off to medical school at Robert Wood Johnson in New Jersey.  Congratulations Kate!  We're proud of you. 

Kate and Grant when we dropped her off as a Freshman.  The four years went fast.  Grant's a little bigger now.  



Vanderbilt must own a lot of plastic chairs.  Here they are set up for a Freshman welcome session four years ago. 

 

This is the same lawn, same chairs four years later set up for graduation.  And this would have been our view of the ceremony if it hadn't rained and transferred events inside. 




Kate in front of the Chi-O house.




Even the hotel got into the graduation act.