Loved: Cousin Josje , and her husband Frans, met us at the airport, tulips in hand. They then took us to their house for rest, coffee, and delicious, homemade tomato soup and vegetable soup, along with cheese (of course) and sandwiches. They continued to love on us by treating us to herring, poffertjes, and a canal cruise through Haarlem. I felt like I have known them my whole life, and this morning I am already missing them.
Beautiful: everywhere I looked, there was beauty. Old buildings, flowers, water, flowers, old buildings, flowers, you get the picture.
Peaceful: I felt so at home here. Josje and Frans made our first day stress free. The canal cruise was peaceful; the water and the hum of the boat's motor were soothing.
Interesting and fun: Josje and Frans told us many interesting facts about Dutch culture and about their city. The boat skipper was also interesting as he told us about the history of Haarlem. The whole day was fun, and I laughed a lot.
Jake: Holland is very sentimental for me. Every smell, taste, and the language reminds me of when Opa and Oma were alive. I am not going to go any further with this because it is way too emotional for me.
Haarlem was our first city to visit. There was a mix of old and new in the city. The streets were paved with asphalt and sometimes made with cobblestone. The buildings were refurbished with a modern decor mixed with buildings of the older centuries.
The market was going, since it was Easter weekend, and the streets were full of families and friends. Breads, sweets, cheeses, flowers, fruits and vegetables, and many other tents filled the cobblestone streets.
Poffertjes was a food I tried in the market. It was a small pancake with a little extra cook to them giving them a golden brown with a little burn on the edges to assist the melted butter and powdered sugar that hugged every bite.
I forgot to mention the first food I tried before we arrived downtown. There are side stands all over Haarlem serving fish. The delicacy of the Holland people is herring. Herring is about 4 inches long by an inch in width. They catch it with nets fresh from the sea and soak it in a salt bath. They serve it with its head cut off and sliced in half to its tail. You hold it by the tail and eat it from the bottom. Sometimes you can spoon onion bits and pickle bits to go along with the herring. It was a buttery texture and not very fishy. The salt bath took away the strong fish taste.
Josje, Frans, Julie and I went on a canal tour on a boat to hear and see the city from a different viewpoint. The tour guide spoke of the history of Haarlem from hospitals to churches to sawmills. Each channel and every turn introduced a new story and history of Haarlem.
I have to talk more about food. When we first arrived, we went to Josje and Frans home to visit and have some lunch. Josje made a tomato soup with onions, garlic, tomatoes, noodles, and little meatballs. Josje also made the meatball soup I remember eating at my Oma's house when I was little. It had noodles with string cut vegetables in a broth. It was really good, especially the memories that filled my head with every bite.
Before I finish today's blog, I do have to mention the beer here in Holland. It is embarrassing to say this, but America has no idea how to make beer. The taste of beer is smooth, crisp, and full of flavor. It is very different from even the microbreweries that are so popular now. Goede dag.
Sam agrees with the beer comment. When he was in the military traveling to Italy on deployment, he would have a layover in the airport (depends on the flight and the country) and stop for a beer. He said the beer was so much better there. I think he said that the Heinken was so much better in Europe. He likened the American version to the scum of the barrel.
ReplyDeleteHa! That's funny. Jake has really enjoying it here. I think we could take some home.
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