Kinderdijk's Illumination Week 2024

 

The Lighting Week of Kinderdijk's 19 windmills (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is a small window, which this year was September 2-7, Monday-Saturday, during a rainy period.  It was our first ever experience (a gift from dear friends Femke and Jeannette for Astrid's 70th birthday and cat-sitting) and ended up being that Friday the 6th, after all the previous days were too unpredictable.

As it was, we still got some rain at the beginning of our 2-hour motor-boat tour, but NOTHING RAINED ON OUR PARADE!

Just SEE and BELIEVE!

Femke and Jeannette picked us up at 6:45 p.m. for our drive to Alblasserdam (26 km from home) to pick up the boat rental at their favorite restaurant there.  By 7:15 we were in the boat and our way for a magical experience.

As you can tell by the beginning photos, it was on-again off-again rain

(from Astrid's side with her iPhone 15 Pro Max camera)...

and also from my side with my iPhone 15 Pro Max camera.

Femke was our happy and most capable captain!

Femke and Jeannette had ordered duck rolls and sushi for the occasion,

which was a great way to start the tour...first with the duck rolls.

(Thanks to Astrid for these shots.)

There are 2 bridges on this 2-hour tour along the canal, with windmills on both sides.

This is the first bridge near the restaurant, while it was still light but overcast.

In past years it was sunny and nearing sunset at this time of the day,

but WE got the moody skies, which Astrid and I loved and even preferred.

Once crossing under the first bridge, and looking back, of course, we looked ahead to this one:

And that's where we docked.

Astrid was Femke's willing co-captain, of course,

and, as you see, this is when it started getting dark...

And when we ate the sushi Femke and Jeannette ordered for the occasion!

We had already eaten the duck rolls at the beginning, remember?!

While sitting there, we watched other boats coming to join us at the end of the line,

getting darker and darker by the minute.  Then we left and looked back.

It was a lazy hour cruising back to the restaurant.

THIS is what we had come to see.

And this, as we returned to Alblasserdam...

followed by the first bridge of the tour, now full of spectators.

It was 9:30 p.m. when we ended where we started, back at the restaurant.

What an experience!  What a celebration!  

What a memory at one of our favorite places on earth!

THANK YOU, Femke and Jeannette.  We'll never forget it!

Daughter Amy in the Netherlands, 2019

It was a pretty spontaneous decision but when I realized Amy had some time off between two jobs, I asked if she could come visit us, even if for just a week.  She agreed and she came!  In fact, she just returned back to Atlanta yesterday.

Each day I posted a collage on Facebook, documenting her time here with Astrid and me.  In this post I'm adding a few more photos to fill out the trip.

Day 1:  Thursday, 21 February:  Amsterdam Airport to Gorinchem

She arrived at the Amsterdam airport, we drove home, ate at our favorite Metropole restaurant for lunch, she took a nap and we chilled the rest of the day.  Even watched a movie together that night:  Sideways.  What you need to understand about Amy and us is that we LOVE watching movies together!

Believe it or not, I took no photos that first day.  This was all about chilling!

Day 2:  Friday, 22 February:  Gorinchem

We wanted Amy to sleep in as long as possible every day, which she did!  She needed to restore her body after 2 years of negative work stress.  She'd arrive at our apartment (from our center's guest room across the courtyard) by 11 a.m. each day.

The only thing we did at home that day, before Happy Hour, was to watch The Adjustment Bureau after lunch.  We wanted to get in our cozy movie time together.

Friday afternoon is Happy Hour here where we live, from 3:30-4:30.

Riet (top-left) planned Frikandel Speciaal especially for Amy 

(as she had also done last year for son Mark).

Amy ate the whole thing!

That was our appetizer before an evening dinner with nearby friends, Femke and Jeannette.

The only photos I took that evening were of Amy bonding with ragdoll Finn.

It was love at first sight for both...because Amy really has the touch!

Day 3:  Saturday, 23 February: Antwerp, Belgium

Before Amy came we had discussed the possibility of visiting another country, just to say she did it.  HA!  Because she is now working at the Mercedes Benz headquarters in Atlanta, we all assume she will one day need to travel to their worldwide headquarters in Germany.  So Belgium was the next country of choice...and because Antwerp is only an hour's drive away, we picked it.  (Remember, we were trying to keep this trip easy for her.)

On late-morning arrival at the market square, we first stopped for latte macchiatos and wine.

The shining sun called to us all!  It was good to soak it in.

Then we visited the cathedral, walked around city center, and then ate mussels.

It was exactly how we pictured the day.

BTW, the Cathedral of Our Lady, from 1531, was Amy's first Roman Catholic experience.

Like her mother, she was awestruck.

And that evening, back at home, we watched another movie:  Don Juan DeMarco.

Day 4:  Sunday, 24 February:  Kinderdijk and Pannenkoeken

Kinderdijk is always a must for us because of how soulful it is.

Besides, it's a UNESCO World Heritage site just 30 km away.  A no-brainer.

After Kinderdijk we met up with Jeroen, Eva and Hailey at our favorite pannenkoeken restaurant.

It was a perfect chance to share the "Dutch pancake" experience with Amy and meet the family.

Eva and Jeroen, after all, are her step-siblings!

Day 5:  Monday, 25 February:  Gorinchem's Citadel Walk

While Astrid did a short babysitting stint that afternoon, Amy and I walked our citadel.

Are you paying attention to the weather we had!!!

Amy was such a good sport, climbing all the way to the top of  De Hoop (The Hope) windmill.

That evening we ate at home and watched another movie:  A Star is Born (new version).

Day 6:  Tuesday, 26 February:  Loevestein Castle

Much like Kinderdijk, visiting the Loevestein castle across the Merwede river from us is a must.

After driving along the dijks, we crossed over the river by ferry in Brakel.

Both the ferry and castle were firsts for Amy.

How many times do Americans step foot in a place as old as from 1361!

We even had time to chill out in the sun again.

That evening we ate at out favorite Japanese restaurant in town.

And afterwards we watched Air Force One.

Day 7:  Wednesday, 27 February:  Back to the Amsterdam Airport

Bright and early...the only day she couldn't sleep in...we were back in the car for Amy's flight back to Atlanta.  That was yesterday!

I can't begin to express the joy and fulfillment I had in this first visit from Amy, maybe because after 9+ years she can finally picture what my life is like here in my new country.  You know how the mother-daughter relationship is like none other, on so many levels.  I needed THIS level and am so thankful to Astrid for the following images that speak louder than a thousand words:

Thank you, Amy, for coming.  Thank you for being YOU.

As you often used to say, we should to do this more often!

Son Mark in the Netherlands, 2018

He came, he saw, he conquered.  HA!

Actually, it all came and went too quickly, because we really did so much, when we look back on it.  See for yourself:

Day 1:  Sunday, September 30:  AMSTERDAM

We picked Mark up at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport bright and early...

and in plenty of time for me to snap 8 of the 34 Elephants on parade there till 12 October.

Because seeing Amsterdam is a must, we spent the day sightseeing.

Taking a canal cruise is one of the easiest ways to see the city, if you're stuck for time.

But we also walked to the Rijksmuseum area, because it's a favorite spot.

Eating at Wagamama is also a must for Astrid and me.

I don't think he was disappointed.

Day 2:  Monday, October 1:  KINDERDIJK

It was an on-again, off-again rainy day but we made the most of it at Kinderdijk,

followed by eating pannenkoeken out in the polder.

(It was our first time to see the new war memorial near Kinderdijk.)

Day 3:  Tuesday, October 2:  LOCKS and AIRBORNE MUSEUM

Mark has an avid interest in WWII movies, like "A Bridge too Far," which we watched together.

It was then perfect to see up-close-and-personal the Airborne Museum and cemetery in Oosterbeek,

as well as to cross the "bridge too far" in nearby Arnhem.

Along the way we showed him what big Dutch locks look like in Tiel and Driel.

Day 4:  Wednesday, October 3:  BRUGES, Belgium

Lucky for our visitors, we're close enough to other countries to make a day trip!

Mark's first choice was to see Bruges, about 2 hours away.

It just happens to be one of Europe's favorite destinations for tourists.

Of course, we "made" him eat a Belgian waffle.

Day 5:  Thursday, October 4:  GORINCHEM

This is where we live, as you know, so a walk around our citadel was imperative.

We are always so proud to show family and friends where we live!

That evening we took Mark to meet Jeroen and Eva...and 3-week-old Hailey.

(We were also getting instructions for our first babysitting stint tomorrow evening!)

Day 6:  Friday, October 5:  WIJK bij DUURSTEDE and FRIENDS

Astrid drove along the Diefdijk, part of the Dutch Waterline, to see the war bunkers,

on our way to Wijk bij Duurstede.

We love the only drive-through windmill in the world...and the nearby castle.

We got back home in time for our community's Happy Hour,

with advocaatjes and frikandel speciaal.

Mark did tell us he wanted to have DUTCH food, so we took him seriously!

That evening we were guests at Femke's and Jeannette's for Italian.

They sure know how to do it up big!  Mark was more than impressed.
(And yes, we celebrated Hailey's birth with beschuit met muisjes.)

Day 7:  Saturday, October 6:  DEN HAAG and SCHEVENINGEN BEACH

To get to the Scheveningen beach, you first drive through Den Haag/The Hague.

So we first stopped at the Peace Palace, housing the Int'l Court of Justice (top-left),

and then the Kurhaus Hotel (bottom-right) before hitting the pier.

Talk about a perfect day for the beach at the North Sea, Holland's most famous seaside resort)!

Day 8:  Sunday, October 7:  LOEVESTEIN CASTLE

By now you know that the Loevestein Castle across the Merwede river from us is our favorite castle.

It was built in 1361 and caters to everything medieval, especially for kids' birthday parties.

It's hard NOT to love such a fun, interactive place, let alone feel the history.

Afterwards, on our way home, we stopped in next-door Woudrichem...

...Gorinchem's sister city across the river.  It was important for us that Mark see it.

We want all our visitors to see what makes US tick here where we live.

You've seen some of these food images in the above collages,

but here I've collected the 10 more-Dutch-you-cannot-get foods Mark ate while here.

He had specifically said before he came that he wanted to eat Dutch food, and he did!

But, can you match the images with the 10 foods he ate ??  Try it (in alphabetical order):

advocaatje

beschuit met muisjes

boerenkool stampot

erwtensoep

frikandel speciaal

nasi met saté (Dutch Indonesian)

ontbijtkoek

pannenkoek

saucijzenbroodje

uitsmijter

Day 9:  Monday, October 8:  SCHIPHOL AIRPORT (for his early departure back to Atlanta)

THANK YOU, Mark, for the time and expense it took you to come visit us.

We'll never forget it.  Make sure you come back again one day!

Brother Nelson in the Netherlands

You already know I took last week off because of Brother Nelson's visit with us for a week.  The most important thing to say from the get-go is that this is a post about NELSON and not so much about what we did or where we went.  It is NELSON I want to remember here....EVERYTHING about him that I can have and hold for the days I will not have him....

To start with, I discovered, as we talked about it, that the reason why this was like meeting him for the first time was because when he was 16 (and I was 13), he started working at the local grocery store after school.  That means he wasn't at home.  And once he graduated from high school, he was off to university, graduated, and got married.

So THAT'S why this is important to me.

To give more scale, Nelson is the oldest of us 8 kids (I'm #3 at 3.5 years his junior) and he lives in Holland, Michigan, where there is a huge Dutch community.  It was time for him to see the real Holland!

SUNDAY, 14 January:

We picked Nelson up at Amsterdam's airport on his 76th birthday!

[He came alone because his wife doesn't fly.]

From there it was fun and games in Amsterdam.

Mid-morning we had a latte macchiato break in the Rijksmusem café.

It was the closest thing to actually being IN the museum.

And then we did the touristy thing, taking a canal-boat ride around the city.

It's what you do when you have time only for the fast-track of the city.

MONDAY, 15 January:

Because Nelson had minimal sleep while flying over The Pond, we took Monday to get settled in.

He stayed in one of our community guest rooms at night and spent the days with us.

Eating.  Drinking.  Watching the news.  Talking.

We even walked to Aldi together that day.

Each day he caught up on his family and politics...at my laptop or his iPad.

That's when I really started LOOKING at him.

And started recognizing ME in him...or him in me?!

TUESDAY, 16 January:

After the day of rest, we took our long-distance drive to the Zeeland province in the west of Holland.

Our final destination was Oosterscheldekering, 117 km away.

But our first stop was the Basilica of St. Agatha and Barbara in Oudenbosch, 64 km. away.

[Did I mention that our mom's name is Barbara?]

Astrid and I had visited the basilica in 2010 and knew Nelson would love it.  He did!

We ate an uitsmijter lunch in the quaint small city of Zierikzee, 62 km. from the basilica.

Afterwards we stopped to see the Zeeland Bridge, the longest bridge in the Netherlands (top-right).

It's actually the longest bridge in Europe, spanning 5,022 meters (16,476 ft.).

It was then another 20 km. to the Oosterscheldekering storm surge barrier (bottom-center).

It's the largest of the 13 Delta Works, protecting the flooding of the Netherlands from the North Sea.

It's 9 km. long and was built after the North Sea flood of 1953 when 2100+ lives were lost.

The Dutch said..."never again!"

WEDNESDAY, 17 January:

By now, understand how fun it was for me to watch Nelson, seeing what intrigued him most.

Astrid was well prepared to stop on a dime after all my weathervanes.  HA!

That day our favorite Loevestein castle wasn't open, so we went to Doorwerth, 70 km. from home.

We wanted Nelson to see a real castle.

We got there in time to first eat lunch.

Notice how much fun we had over our meals!

I could show you more of the castle but, remember, this is more about NELSON.

And ME in relation to him, my big brother.

From the castle, across the Rhine river, we spied the Driel locks 

and decided to go see them before heading home.

These locks are normally closed but if high water is coming in from Germany,

they'll be raised to prevent flooding.

Have you noticed that the Dutch think ahead in relation to catastrophes??

The world has much to learn from this country that is 26% below sea level.

THURSDAY, 18 January:

You know what they say about the plans of mice and men!

Suddenly, out of the blue, the Netherlands issued a CODE RED wind advisory.

It was actually Code Orange when we drove along the dijk to Brakel to check out the river level.

By the afternoon, 66 semi-trucks had flipped over and all train/plane transportation was cancelled.

The Merwede river reminded Nelson of Lake Michigan during a storm.

Astrid and I had never seen it so tempestuous!

Needless to say, we went back home and decided to change the schedule up,

to walk our Gorinchem city citadel wall that afternoon instead of the next day.

It ended up being a good plan.

And that evening we walked over to our favorite Malle Molen restaurant for supper.

FRIDAY, 19 January:

Our last full day together began with Kinderdijk...the magical UNESCO village of 19 windmills.

We had some of the best light of any time Astrid and I have ever been there.

It's only 29 km from home.

The mechanical screws were working overtime, pumping out the water.

I was glad Nelson got to see them operational.

From Kinderdijk we drove to Fort Altena in Werkendam, 34 km from Kinderdijk.

Our favorite Fort Vuren was closed because of a bat population they are protecting right now.

But Nelson still got the general idea from this 19th century fort about the Dutch line of defense,

going all the way back to before WWI.

That day we had lunch at the fort (top row).

Back home we went to our 3:30 Happy Hour, here where we live, to eat advocaatjes (middle).

And then for supper we ate Dutch pancakes at our favorite pannenkoeken restaurant,

out in the polder (bottom row).

SATURDAY, 20 January:

With a tear and a smile, and breakfast under our belts, we drove to Amsterdam in time for Nelson's noon flight back to America.  

I really do mean with a tear and a smile.  I know that this is probably the only time, first and last, that I will ever have like this with Nelson, the Elder of our Hart tribe.  I have a catch in my throat as I say it.  Trust me when I say I will have and hold it for the rest of my life.

THANK YOU, Nelson.  THANK YOU for choosing us.

We'll never forget it.