Holland: Part One

Hey iedereen, we hebben het veilig naar Nederland en ik hou hier! :)

That's Dutch for: Hey everyone! We made it safely to Holland and I love it here! :)

Here we are in this little town right outside Amsterdam. We are staying on a cute little cow farm! I've never really been the super outdoor-sy type, but I can't get enough of it!!!

This is right outside our place:

The main bedroom/living area:

The colorful kitchen space with random, mismatched dishes:

And the cheery entrance to the humble abode:

Really though, I think I've found my cup of tea! Everyone here is willing to help you with just about anything you'd imagine! I mean ANYTHING! Once we got to our bed-and-breakfast (which is attached to a Dutch/Bohemian/surfer/river guiding couple's house), Em and I found this friendly little note they left for us in the Amsterdam City Guide book:

I am lovin' the easy-going, matter-of-fact vibe here! I could totally get used to this (hahaha)!

On our way in, we stopped at Burgers' Zoo to take a break from driving for a bit. We had a lot of fun, and we were all super excited for more fun to come! Well... at least most of us... ;)

It was good to finally get there after a long day of driving though. After we unpacked and I got my massage from Maurits (haha totally kidding... don't worry, Dad!), we made a delicious dinner with Dutch butter, cheese, and of course, chocolate. I know, terrible, right?! It's ok, it was totally worth it...

Yesterday morning, we took the kids to the Nemo science museum in Amsterdam and had a BALL! There were so many fun things to do there, in fact, I learned a lot myself! :)

After the museum, we went into Haarlem, which is home of Corrie Ten Boom from the book, The Hiding Place (one of my all-time fav's!). We are taking a tour of her house/watch shop on Tuesday morning... I am so excited! But Haarlem is just so cute and quaint--definately my favorite city we've been to! There was a fun farmers' market going on, and everyone just rides their little bikes around! Words can't describe the unique CHARM of Haarlem!

This morning, we woke up early and cruised on over to Amsterdam. There, Emily and I took turns going into museums. First was the Rijksmuseum, which is where painters including Vermeer and Rembrandt are! I was in complete awe and loved being able to see these renowned artists' works.

Claire, Jackson, and I had a great time doing some "still life painting for kids" outside the museum while Emily went in. Claire loved being an artist and making her very own masterpiece! How cute is she??!

Afterwards, we walked down the street to the Van Gogh Museum. I had no idea this guy was such a stud! I mean, I roughly knew a little background info, but seeing this man's work was prodigious beyond the imagination! I fell in love with everything about him!

After getting a little museum-ed out, Emily took the kids back to the cow farm, and I decided to stick around in Amsterdam for a bit longer. I had quite the adventure here! I ate the most amazing macaroon (a tribute to my mom and g-ma and our NY trip earlier this summer), watched a super cool Dutchman play the flute while doing extreme yoga poses, and just enjoyed the busy but picturesque city of Amsterdam!

When it was finally time to go home, I was a bit nervous because it takes so many steps! I had to hop on a street tram back to the central station, get on a ferry to get across the broad canal, and then get on a bus back to the cow farm! But... I rocked Berlin, got a root canal, and jumped off the Alps, so I knew I could easily get home!

Well, I was too cheap to buy a tram ticket, so I took a lonnng walk (and shopped along the way) back to the central station. Once I was there, I hopped on a ferry and lucked out because it was the right one! I didn't know if it was or not, but it was leaving, and I didn't want to wait for another one! Lucky for me, it took me back to the busses and I saw my bus... #110. At least I was pretty sure that was the one...

But it was starting to drive away!!! So I ran off some of the butter, cheese, and chocolate, and tried to stop the bus from leaving without me (Why is it that bus-chasing seems to be a reoccurring event for me?)! The nice Dutch driver saw me and stopped not too far down the road. I was relieved to have caught it and sat down to enjoy the easy, no-big-deal rest of the ride back home.

Well... about twenty minutes later, I wasn't recognizing much. I couldn't tell if we were approaching our town or not because all of Holland looks like this:

I kept asking the driver if he was going to drive past our part of town, but he kept telling me that he couldn't understand what town I was talking about (I later found out that I was saying it completely wrong). But things were NOT looking familiar at all. Half of me was laughing at the situation because it was just soo typical of me to be lost, and half of me was really actually worried that the busses would like shut down or something before I made it home...

After some more time of contemplating what to do, I finally decided I had probably just gotten on the wrong bus, so I told the driver to let me off at the next stop. By this time, the sweet old man and I were buddies, and he was happy to take me wherever I needed to get. Then, all of the sudden, I started seeing the things that Emily had told me to look for! The old Dutch church!? Check! The Texaco station!? Check! And finally... the "Cheese and Clogs" shop!? CHECK!!! The bus driver and I were both soo relieved and happy, we shouted for joy together (literally)! It was a moment. I gave him a big high-five and a "Thank you so much, you're amazing!" and hopped off the bus to get back to our cow farm house.

I know it seems like finding my way home shouldn't be that hard, but with my bad luck (and sense of direction), it was a big accomplishment for me! But even then, it's more than that. It's the fact that I can be here in beautiful Holland, "feel the love and joy here," and share it with my adorable cousins and awesome aunt. And whether "I find myself making every possible mistake," or simply breeze on by with the help of the fantastic Dutch people, it doesn't really matter because I'm NEW to this, and it's all part of the experience!

I love it.