We arrived in Rotterdam on Wednesday night around 11:30 and we were fortunate enough to be hosted by Katherine's distant cousin Sophie! She had a beautiful apartment! We sat and talked for about an hour before heading to bed. The next morning Sophie made a fried egg and we tried some filet Americana on our toast (it was as delicious as she made it sound). She then generously offered to let us borrow her bikes to ride around and explore Rotterdam. Let me take this time to explain that Sophie is not like Katherine and I. When I say that, I of course mean that she is tall, much taller then Katherine and a couple inches on me. As many of you know it can be quite difficult to ride a bike that is too big for you. Katherine quickly found that out as she almost crashed into a parked car. Sophie decided it would be a good idea to give Katherine a different bike that was a little bit smaller (but seemed to be equally as difficult for Katherine). I ended up biking around the city for two hours without sitting down because my feet would barely touch the pedals when I sat normally. We made it back around 1:00 and caught the train to oom Piet's (Katherine's great uncle) apartment in Gouda. We sat out on his balcony and had several drinks as we enjoyed the sun.
The next day we got a tour of Gouda from oom Piet. Of course our tour of Gouda started with a visit to a local cheese store. If you enjoy cheese you MUST visit Gouda. They had soooo many different types of Gouda cheese! Katherine was in heaven because they have samples of each and every type of cheese (lavender, pesto, old, sambal, etc.). We then visited the town hall which is a beautiful old building in the centre of town. Next on the list was to find the best stroopwaffles (a mini waffle with syrup on the inside- kind of like a soft, sweet cookie) in town! Gouda is also famous for their stroopwaffles and they did NOT disappoint! Gouda also has a couple of old windmills in the centre of town so we took a quick walk to the windmills. Next stop on the list was to visit the pool hall that oom Piet is a part of, which really looks like a gentleman's club. The second I walked through the door I thought that I needed a cigar and a glass of neat scotch. Oom Piet then took us to his childhood house where his dad owned the pharmacy below their apartment. It was a great day of exploring the city but I was not feeling great so it was early to bed.
Saturday it was planned to meet Katherine's great aunt- Tante Joke (Yo-ka). We took the train from Gouda and Tante Joke picked us up at the train station. She drove us back to her place where we met the highly energetic and extremely entertaining oom Wim. Oom Wim is 87 years old and a breath of fresh air! We sat down for a cup of coffee (not me because I still was under the weather) and talked for an hour or two. Then we decided it would be really cool to see the annual flower parade where the local florists make floats(according to the theme that year-this year was royalty) from the flowers that were taken from the exported bulbs. We had some time to kill so tante Joke took us to a little chip stand where she bought Katherine some herring and convinced her to try it. Unfortunately, I was sick so I could not eat the seemingly raw fish. Katherine grabbed the fish by the tail and took her first bite. Priceless! I wish I could share the experience of wanting to laugh at her misfortune and wanting to puke due to illness/disgust. She claims it wasn't too bad, she did finish it after all, but I still think it's because her "tough" father had a tough time with it (as witnessed by tante Joke and oom Wim). We then went back and watched the parade for about an hour before heading back to oom Wim and oom Piet who stayed at home. Oom Wim was soooooo very excited when Katherine told him that she had herring. I thought he was going to jump out of his chair! We finished the day with some drinks and croquettes (I had apple juice and water) and then caught the train home.
I (Katherine) am filling in as a guest writer for the next day as Travis was under the weather on Sunday and stayed in his pyjamas with Piet to drink vitamin water and watch war documentaries while I visited some more.
In the morning, I saw Sophie again and this time her parents too. They picked me up and drove me through the Dutch lakes on the way to Bodegraven to visit another great aunt, tante Anny and oom Leo. It was a really nice visit. I had a great time chatting, looking through photo albums, and old family birth, death, wedding licences etc. I can't quite describe the emotions I felt being with tante Anny other than to say it felt very familiar and comfortable. Looking into her eyes, memories of my own healthy Oma came back to me (unfortunately I have always remembered her only from stories and from my own memories of her in the nursing home when she had Alzheimer's). It was a bit of an emotional morning, but after reassuring Anny and Leo that I would be back and confirming that I would tell my parents, sisters and cousins to visit soon (did you get that guys?!) we were off to explore more of Holland!
We drove around the countryside and saw a castle before stopping for bitterballen, which sounds gross but is actually delicious (like mini croquettes). We then headed to Zeist for a 6km walk through forest trails. It was a refreshing walk, and by the time we felt that we had burned off the fried bitterballen, we moved on to a pannenkoken (pancake/crepe) house where they serve a full main course on top of the pancake. They were super good and super filling. Once we were all stuffed, they drove me back home, where I found Travis, still in his pyjamas and feeling much better!
The next day we got a tour of Gouda from oom Piet. Of course our tour of Gouda started with a visit to a local cheese store. If you enjoy cheese you MUST visit Gouda. They had soooo many different types of Gouda cheese! Katherine was in heaven because they have samples of each and every type of cheese (lavender, pesto, old, sambal, etc.). We then visited the town hall which is a beautiful old building in the centre of town. Next on the list was to find the best stroopwaffles (a mini waffle with syrup on the inside- kind of like a soft, sweet cookie) in town! Gouda is also famous for their stroopwaffles and they did NOT disappoint! Gouda also has a couple of old windmills in the centre of town so we took a quick walk to the windmills. Next stop on the list was to visit the pool hall that oom Piet is a part of, which really looks like a gentleman's club. The second I walked through the door I thought that I needed a cigar and a glass of neat scotch. Oom Piet then took us to his childhood house where his dad owned the pharmacy below their apartment. It was a great day of exploring the city but I was not feeling great so it was early to bed.
Saturday it was planned to meet Katherine's great aunt- Tante Joke (Yo-ka). We took the train from Gouda and Tante Joke picked us up at the train station. She drove us back to her place where we met the highly energetic and extremely entertaining oom Wim. Oom Wim is 87 years old and a breath of fresh air! We sat down for a cup of coffee (not me because I still was under the weather) and talked for an hour or two. Then we decided it would be really cool to see the annual flower parade where the local florists make floats(according to the theme that year-this year was royalty) from the flowers that were taken from the exported bulbs. We had some time to kill so tante Joke took us to a little chip stand where she bought Katherine some herring and convinced her to try it. Unfortunately, I was sick so I could not eat the seemingly raw fish. Katherine grabbed the fish by the tail and took her first bite. Priceless! I wish I could share the experience of wanting to laugh at her misfortune and wanting to puke due to illness/disgust. She claims it wasn't too bad, she did finish it after all, but I still think it's because her "tough" father had a tough time with it (as witnessed by tante Joke and oom Wim). We then went back and watched the parade for about an hour before heading back to oom Wim and oom Piet who stayed at home. Oom Wim was soooooo very excited when Katherine told him that she had herring. I thought he was going to jump out of his chair! We finished the day with some drinks and croquettes (I had apple juice and water) and then caught the train home.
I (Katherine) am filling in as a guest writer for the next day as Travis was under the weather on Sunday and stayed in his pyjamas with Piet to drink vitamin water and watch war documentaries while I visited some more.
In the morning, I saw Sophie again and this time her parents too. They picked me up and drove me through the Dutch lakes on the way to Bodegraven to visit another great aunt, tante Anny and oom Leo. It was a really nice visit. I had a great time chatting, looking through photo albums, and old family birth, death, wedding licences etc. I can't quite describe the emotions I felt being with tante Anny other than to say it felt very familiar and comfortable. Looking into her eyes, memories of my own healthy Oma came back to me (unfortunately I have always remembered her only from stories and from my own memories of her in the nursing home when she had Alzheimer's). It was a bit of an emotional morning, but after reassuring Anny and Leo that I would be back and confirming that I would tell my parents, sisters and cousins to visit soon (did you get that guys?!) we were off to explore more of Holland!
We drove around the countryside and saw a castle before stopping for bitterballen, which sounds gross but is actually delicious (like mini croquettes). We then headed to Zeist for a 6km walk through forest trails. It was a refreshing walk, and by the time we felt that we had burned off the fried bitterballen, we moved on to a pannenkoken (pancake/crepe) house where they serve a full main course on top of the pancake. They were super good and super filling. Once we were all stuffed, they drove me back home, where I found Travis, still in his pyjamas and feeling much better!