Team Nowlin: Holland two springs ago...

Monday, March 31, 2008

Holland two springs ago...

...we enjoyed England, Scotland and Wales so much (we didn't make it to Ireland - sigh!) that we didn't travel Europe very often. We did visit Holland in the Spring though - we were so glad we did. Its hard to describe or show with photographs just what acres of tulips look like to the eye - or how they delight the soul. I am very thankful that we have the memories tucked away in our minds and hearts. A very small taste of heaven.

Our favorite visit was to Corrie ten Boom's home at the ten Boom watch shop in Rotterdam. Her family helped as many Jewish people as they could before they themselves were sent to Nazi concentration camps. I'll put together a separate post describing this experience.

Our second favorite experience was to see and walk amongst fields and fields of flowers.

Thirdly, the girls and I spent 2+ hours in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Fourth, there is a cathedral near the ten Boom home which has the most amazing, beautiful organ we've ever seen.

Fifth, we watched the annual flower parade.

Sixth, we got to explore some windmills.

Seventh, we enjoyed our bed and breakfast with soft boiled eggs and toast for breakfast (and many other wonderful foods) and the children enjoyed playing in the back garden with the proprietors grand daughters.

Eighth, we all crammed into a small cabin on the overnight ferry and I fretted all night that I would fall from my very narrow, high bunk and fall on my boys on the floor! It was a very fun experience despite my falling fears :-)

Street signs for bikes were just as common as for vehicles. Families riding for miles to get somewhere together was a common site. In Rotterdam I saw woman with a small child in a seat behind her, another small child on the handlebars, and an umbrells stroller slung across the mom's back so they could switch to walking when need be.