Saturday, April 21, 2012

7 Days in Holland

Patrick and I left for Holland on Monday, April 9. We were picked up by Patrick's dad from the airport and headed to Houten, the town where Patrick lives. It's not far from the airport by my standard, but to the Dutch it's not exactly convenient. It was raining in Holland when we arrived and continued to rain for the rest of the day. We relaxed at home, ate dinner with Patrick's dad and his dad's girlfriend, Marzena, and made a plan for Tuesday. It is now, as I'm writing this blog, that I realise that I didn't take many digital photos of our trip in Holland. I'll have to wait for the film to come back from the lab to show you the beauty of Holland.

Tuesday we went to Nemo, a really awesome science museum in Amsterdam. We took the train from Utrecht, the closest "big" city to Houten, to Amsterdam and from Central Station in Amsterdam it's just a short walk to Nemo. This museum was 4 floors of hands-on science for kids and adults alike. It was a lot of fun. We spent a few hours in Nemo, then left to find some lunch. We decided to buy some food form a grocery store and lunch in the Amsterdam's Vondelpark. Vondelpark is really pretty, but for some reason I didn't take any digital photos of it. We took the train back to Utrecht and the bus back to Houten for dinner with Patrick's dad and Marzena.

Wednesday I stepped out of my comfort zone and went with Patrick to meet his grandparents, adorably referred to as "Opa and Oma". It was a unique experience because they don't really speak English. In fact I think it's fair to say that their English is about as good as my Dutch. I was really nervous but they were extremely sweet and welcoming. It didn't take long for me to relax. I tried my best to follow their conversations in Dutch and learned a lot of new Dutch words. Actually, throughout the whole week I really improved my Dutch vocabulary. After lunch and visiting with Opa and Oma, we headed to Utrecht to meet with Patrick's friends from University. I was a bit relieved to hear English again, and to be able to participate more fully in conversation. We had a nice dinner in Utrecht, then went back to Frederick's house to play a game and eat dessert.

Thursday we went to Keukenhof, a sort of amusement park for flower lovers. Near the west coast of Holland, the place is only open  few weeks of the year and we just happened to make it! The sun came out and stayed out for the first day of the trip. It was warm, sunny, and beautiful. We ate our packed lunch in the park and enjoyed the weather and all of the different kinds of flowers. After a few hours we headed to Patrick's mother's house for dinner. I met his mother, Pascal, his brother, and Pascal's girlfriend, Karen. We had Dutch Chinese food for dinner and cake for dessert.
Friday we woke up semi-early and headed to Leeuwarden, a city in the North of Holland near where Pepijn lives. Patrick's mom was nice enough to let us borrow her car so we could save a lot of money on what would have been a really expensive train trip. The two hour drive to Leeuwarden from Houten was really beautiful. The countryside of Holland is postcard beautiful, especially when the sky is blue and dotted with fluffy clouds. We arrived in Leeuwarden and explored a Friday market while we waited to meet up with Pepijn. From Leeuwarden we went to Harlingen, a small town that was once a fishing village. Now it's a harbour for the ferries that take vacationers to one of the islands that dot the sea to the North of Holland. In Harlingen, we snacked on poffertjes, my favourite Dutch snack, while we watched the ships sail in and out of the harbour.
We spent the night with Pepijn and his parents. His mother made a lovely Italian dinner and we played a game. Saturday morning we rode bikes to Pepijn's dad's chocolate shop. We learned how the chocolate was made and we were even allowed to make our own cake. It turned out delicious! See me icing that cake like a pro? Ok more like a newbie with pro aspirations. We rode bikes around Pepijn's town before heading back to Houten. On the way back home, we stopped to pet some cows, naturally. To be honest, it was one of the only things I really wanted to accomplish during the trip. Mission accomplished. We had Turkish Kebabs for dinner with Patrick's dad before we went off to watch some basketball games.
Sunday we relaxed at the house and took a tour of the greenhouse where Patrick's dad works. The place was incredibly massive. Who knew growing food in Holland was so complex? After the greenhouse tour, we rode bikes to Houten's train station to meet more of Patrick's friends for dinner. We took the train to Utrecht and had tapas for dinner. I enjoyed meeting Patrick's friends and the yummy Spanish tapas. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
Monday I slept in, finished the laundry, and packed. We took a short trip to Houten's centre to shop for some souvenirs and yummy cheese to bring back to London. At 4 Patrick took me back to the airport. I had a lot of fun in Holland and I can't wait to go back again. I met so many really nice people, and felt really at home in both Patrick's and Pepijn's homes. Thanks a lot to Patrick's family for helping me feel welcome and at home in a foreign land. I hope to see Holland again very soon. It's still my favourite country in Europe.